Research

Seroepidemiology of tuberculosis in sheep in southern Spain

Preventive Veterinary Medicine 215:105920.

     Tuberculosis (TB) is a multi-host infectious disease caused by members of the Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex (MTC). In Mediterranean ecosystems, where multiple animal hosts of TB are present, identifying the role of the different species involved in the epidemiology of TB is a key point to be able to implement proper control measures. Sheep are susceptible to MTC infection but have traditionally been considered a spillover host. However, the occurrence of outbreaks involving sheep in recent years evidences the need to better understand the role of this small ruminant species in the epidemiology of the disease. Here, we aimed to determine the seroprevalence and risk factors associated with MTC seropositivity in sheep in Andalusia (southe… Leer más

Jimenez-Martin D., Cano-Terriza D., Risalde MA., Napp S., Alvarez J., Fernandez-Molera V., Moreno I., Infantes-Lorenzo JA. and Garcia-Bocanegra I.

Histopathologic and immunohistochemical findings in the placentas and fetuses of domestic swine naturally infected with Brucella suis biovar 2

Journal Of Veterinary Diagnostic Investigation 35(3):258-265.

     Porcine brucellosis, which is caused by Brucella suis biovar (bv) 2, is a re-emerging disease that causes reproductive problems in pigs in Europe. The pathogenesis and lesions of B. suis intrauterine infection are poorly characterized; characterization could facilitate the diagnosis and investigation of porcine brucellosis. We collected samples of placentas and fetuses for histologic and microbiologic studies during an outbreak of abortions on a pig-breeding farm in Spain. Brucella was cultured from the vaginal swabs obtained from sows that had aborted, some placentas, and fetal tissues (spleen, liver, lung, gastric content); molecular testing confirmed B. suis bv 2 infection. Histologically, there was necrotizing and hemorrhagic placentiti… Leer más

Rebollada A., Garcia-Seco T., Perez-Sancho M., Dominguez L. and Rodriguez-Bertos A..

Editorial: Advancing the development and implementation of regional, national tuberculosis control programs in livestock in Africa, Asia, and Latin America

Frontiers In Veterinary Science 10:1192091.

     Tuberculosis in livestock caused by members of the Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTb) complex is a notifiable zoonotic animal disease (1), which has been eradicated or held to very low prevalence levels in many high-income economies. Successful campaigns were all build
on a very strict test-and-slaughter strategy using the tuberculin PPD skin tests as diagnostic tool. However, tuberculosis in livestock remains endemic in most Low- and Middle-Income Countries (LMICs). This not only represents a threat to public health in those countries but also places a significant burden on their economies due to a negative impact on livestock productivity and the resources invested in healthcare, prevention, surveillance, and, when present, control a… Leer más

Bakker D., Buza JJ., Alvarez J. and Kapur V.

Genome-wide association reveals host-specific genomic traits in Escherichia coli

BMC Biology 21(1):76.

     Escherichia coli is an opportunistic pathogen that can colonize or infect various host species. There is a significant gap in our understanding to what extent genetic lineages of E. coli are adapted or restricted to specific hosts. In addition, genomic determinants underlying such host specificity are unknown.By analyzing a randomly sampled collection of 1198 whole-genome sequenced E. coli isolates from four countries (Germany, UK, Spain, and Vietnam), obtained from five host species (human, pig, cattle, chicken, and wild boar) over 16 years, from both healthy and diseased hosts, we demonstrate that certain lineages of E. coli are frequently detected in specific hosts. We report a novel nan gene cluster, designated nan-9, putatively encodin… Leer más

Tiwari SK., van der Putten BCL., Fuchs TM., Vinh TN., Bootsma M., Oldenkamp R., La Ragione RM., Matamoros S., Hoa NT., Berens C., Leng J., Alvarez J., Ferrandis- Vila M., Ritchie JM., Fruth A., Schwarz S., Dominguez L., Ugarte-Ruiz M., Bethe A., Huber C., Johanns V., Stamm I., Wieler LH., Ewers C., Fivian-Hughes A., Schmitt H., Menge C., Semmler T. and Schultsz C.

Global scenario of the RmtE pan-aminoglycoside-resistance mechanism: emergence of the rmtE4 gene in South America associated with a hospital-related IncL plasmid

Microbial Genomics 9(3).

     Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) mechanisms, especially those conferring resistance to critically important antibiotics, are a great concern for public health. 16S rRNA methyltransferases (16S-RMTases) abolish the effectiveness of most clinically used aminoglycosides, but some of them are considered sporadic, such as RmtE. The main goals of this work were the genomic analysis of bacteria producing 16S-RMTases from a ‘One Health’ perspective in Venezuela, and the study of the epidemiological and evolutionary scenario of RmtE variants and their related mobile genetic elements (MGEs) worldwide. A total of 21 samples were collected in 2014 from different animal and environmental sources in the Cumaná region (Venezuela). Highly aminoglycosid… Leer más

Delgado-Blas JF., Ovejero CM., David S., Serna C., Pulido-Vadillo M., Montero N., Aanensen DM., Abadia-Patino L. and Gonzalez-Zorn B..

Drug Repositioning as a Therapeutic Strategy against Streptococcus pneumoniae: Cell Membrane as Potential Target

International Journal Of Molecualr Sciences 24(6):5831.

     A collection of repurposing drugs (Prestwick Chemical Library) containing 1200 compounds was screened to investigate the drugs` antimicrobial effects against planktonic cultures of the respiratory pathogen Streptococcus pneumoniae. After four discrimination rounds, a set of seven compounds was finally selected, namely (i) clofilium tosylate; (ii) vanoxerine; (iii) mitoxantrone dihydrochloride; (iv) amiodarone hydrochloride; (v) tamoxifen citrate; (vi) terfenadine; and (vii) clomiphene citrate (Z, E). These molecules arrested pneumococcal growth in a liquid medium and induced a decrease in bacterial viability between 90.0% and 99.9% at 25 µM concentration, with minimal inhibitory concentrations (MICs) also in the micromolar range. Moreover, … Leer más

Ortiz-Miravalles L., Sanchez-Angulo M., Sanz JM. and Maestro B.

Histopathology, Immunohistochemical Diagnosis, and Management of Penicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus delphini Cutaneous Infection in a Bottlenose Dolphin

Aquatic Mammals 49(2), 117-120.

Romani-Cremaschi U., Rebollada A., Canales R., Vargas-Castro I., Perez-Sancho M., Sanchez-Vizcaino F., Dominguez M., Dominguez L. and Rodriguez-Bertos A..

One Health surveillance - cross-sectoral detection, characterisation, and notification of foodborne pathogens

Frontiers In Public Health 11:1129083.

     Several Proficiency Test (PT) or External Quality Assessment (EQA) schemes are currently available for assessing the ability of laboratories to detect and characterise enteropathogenic bacteria, but they are usually targeting one sector, covering either public health, food safety or animal health. In addition to sector-specific PTs/EQAs for detection, cross-sectoral panels would be useful for assessment of the capacity to detect and characterise foodborne pathogens in a One Health (OH) perspective and further improving food safety and interpretation of cross-sectoral surveillance data. The aims of the study were to assess the crosssectoral capability of European public health, animal health and food safety laboratories to detect, characteri… Leer más

Tast-Lathi E., Karamehmedovic N., Riedel H., Blom L., Boel J., Delibato E., Denis M., van Essen-Zanbergen A., Garcia-Fernandez A., Hendriksen R., Heydecke A., van Hoek AH., Huby T., Kwit R., Lucarelli C., Lundin K., Michelacci V., Owczarek S., Ring I., Kjeldgaard JS., Sjogren I., Skora M., Ugarte-Ruiz M., Torpdahl M., Veldman K., Ventola E., Zajac M. and Jernberg C.

A useful tool for the safe diagnosis and control of the two main pandemics of the XXI century: COVID-19 and African Swine Fever disease

PLoS ONE 18(3):e0282632.

     The COVID-19 pandemic and the disease triggered by the African Swine Fever virus are currently two of the main problems regarding public and animal health, respectively. Although vaccination seems to be the ideal tool for controlling these diseases, it has several limitations. Therefore, early detection of the pathogen is critical in order to apply preventive and control measures. Real-time PCR is the main technique used for the detection of both viruses, which requires previous processing of the infectious material. If the potentially infected sample is inactivated at the time of sampling, the diagnosis will be accelerated, impacting positively on the diagnosis and control of the disease. Here, we evaluated the inactivation and preservatio… Leer más

Barroso-Arevalo S., Diaz-de Frutos M., Kosowska A., Perez-Sancho M., Dominguez L. and Sanchez-Vizcaino JM..

Treatment with the senolytics dasatinib/quercetin reduces SARS-CoV-2-related mortality in mice

Aging Cell 22(3):e13771.

     The enormous societal impact of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has been particularly harsh for some social groups, such as the elderly. Recently, it has been suggested that senescent cells could play a central role in pathogenesis by exacerbating the pro-inflammatory immune response against SARS-CoV-2. Therefore, the selective clearance of senescent cells by senolytic drugs may be useful as a therapy to ameliorate the symptoms of COVID-19 in some cases. Using the established COVID-19 murine model K18-hACE2, we demonstrated that a combination of the senolytics dasatinib and quercetin (D/Q) significantly reduced SARS-CoV-2-related mortality, delayed its onset, and reduced the number of other clinical symptoms. The increase in senescent markers… Leer más

Pastor-Fernandez A., Rodriguez-Bertos A., Sierra-Ramirez A., del Moral-Salmoral J., Merino J., de Avila AI., Olague C., Villares R., Gonzalez-Aseguinolaza G., Rodriguez MA., Fresno M., Girones N., Bustos M., Smerdou C., Fernandez-Marcos PJ. and von Kobbe C.