Veterinary Research Communications最新文献

Peste des petits ruminants virus (PPRV) is an infectious pathogen; causing highly contagious, acute febrile, and economically important disease of small ruminants. The virus is known to have intrinsic ability to adapt new hosts and to cross the species barrier. The incidence of PPR has already been reported in unusual host species such as camels, bovines, and wild animals from spill-over or natural infection. Still, there are elementary gaps in our knowledge of the extent of susceptibility of camel to PPRV and the adaptability of PPRV to camel. The present study delineates the potential role of preferential codon usage patterns responsible for adaptation, host immune evasion, and transmission of PPRV to unusual hosts like old world camel species namely, dromedary and bactrian camel. The results indicate codon usage of the PPRV genome is functioned by an interplay of mutational pressure and natural selection to exhort the adaptation and fitness of PPRV in probable hosts. The indices of natural selection like the relative codon deoptimization index (RCDI) and codon adaptation index (CAI) predict the ability of PPRV to adapt and evolve in camel species. The analysis also depicts the potential role of the CpG depletion mechanism employed by PPRV to evade host adaptive immune response. The report emphasizes the need for a comprehensive national PPR surveillance plan in unusual hosts like camels for the successful implementation of the PPR Global Eradication Programme (PPR- GEP).

Staphylococcus pseudintermedius is a major opportunistic bacterial pathogen that belongs to the skin and mucosal microbiota of the dog. Since its global emergence around 2006, multidrug - methicillin-resistant S. pseudintermedius (MRSP) clones have become endemic worldwide. MRSP strains pose a significant threat to animal health and make antimicrobial therapy difficult due to their typical multidrug resistance phenotypes. The difficulty to treat MRSP infections using the current antimicrobials licensed for veterinary use has intensified research efforts to develop new treatment strategies and alternative anti-infective approaches to conventional antimicrobial therapy. The present narrative review outlines the latest changes in the epidemiology of MRSP with focus on the geographical distribution variability and antimicrobial resistance profiles in the main MRSP lineages. It also provides an overview of the effectiveness of currently available antimicrobials and the status of anti-infective alternatives to conventional antimicrobials.Recent studies have reported notable changes in the population structure of MRSP, with the emergence of new epidemic lineages, such as ST258, ST123, ST496, and ST551 in European countries and ST45, ST181, ST258, ST496 in non-European countries, which partly or totally replaced those that were initially prevalent, such as ST71 in Europe and ST68 in the US. Due to methicillin resistance often associated with the resistance to a broader number of antimicrobials, treating canine MRSP skin infection is challenging. Several alternative or supplementary treatment options to conventional antibiotics, especially for topical treatment, such as a novel water-soluble hydroxypyridinone-containing iron-chelating 9 kDa polymer (DIBI), antimicrobial peptides (AMPs), nanoparticles, and bacteriophages seem to be particularly interesting from a clinical perspective.

Introduction: Individuals working in veterinary field suffer significantly from mental health problems, and research has extensively focused on psychological and work-related predictors of psychological distress. This study intended to approach psychological distress through a positive lens by investigating the predictive role of life satisfaction on psychological distress in veterinary staff, and the mediating effect of compassion satisfaction, resilience and perceived social support.

Methodology: A total of 868 veterinary staff (i.e. veterinarians, veterinary nurses, veterinary assistants and veterinary administrative staff) completed a web-survey assessing life satisfaction, psychological distress, compassion satisfaction, resilience, and social support.

Results: Life satisfaction negatively predicts psychological distress, and compassion satisfaction and resilience showed a mediation effect on the relationship between life satisfaction and psychological distress, with compassion satisfaction explaining 59% and resilience 6.4% of the effect of life satisfaction on psychological distress.

Conclusion: Current data support the role of life satisfaction as a protective dimension on psychological distress within a broader sample population of veterinary staff in Portugal, highlighting the role of compassion satisfaction and resilience in contributing in minimising distress among veterinary staff.

Since the discovery of the endocannabinoid system and due to the empirical evidence of the therapeutic effects on several illnesses both in humans and animals that follow the administration of exogenous cannabinoids (i.e., phytocannabinoids), numerous studies have been conducted. These investigations aimed to identify the expression and distribution of cannabinoid receptors in healthy and pathologic organs and tissues of different animal species and to define the interactions of phytocannabinoids with these receptors. In the last decade, pharmacokinetics, efficacy and tolerability of many Cannabis derivatives formulations, mainly containing cannabidiol, in the main species of veterinary interest, have been also investigated. This manuscript summarizes the findings reported by the scientific studies published so far on the molecular mode of action of the main phytocannabinoids, the localization of cannabinoid receptors in organs and tissues, as well as the pharmacokinetics, efficacy and tolerability of Cannabis derivatives in dogs, cats, horses and other species of veterinary interest. A deep knowledge of these issues is crucial for the use of phytocannabinoids for therapeutic purposes in animal species.

This article describes the development of the pathogenic dimorphic fungus Histoplasma capsulatum var. farciminosum (HCF), which is the causative agent of Equine epizootic lymphangitis (EEL), from the mycelial form in the soil to the yeast form in the horse. In this study, the stages and morphology of HCF were identified through histopathological analysis and culture with various samples collected in Ethiopia from 15 horses showing clinical signs of EEL. In equids, especially cart horses in Ethiopia, poor-quality harnesses cause cutaneous wounds, which often attract flies facilitating the transmission of the fungus. Also, HCF infection occurs through open wounds or ocular mucous membranes when horses roll on contaminated damp soil. Respiratory histoplasmosis can occur through inhaling fungal spores, which is rare. HCF microconidia enter the lungs and skin wounds and are phagocytized by tissue-resident macrophages. The spores undergo intracellular replication within the macrophages transitioning into yeasts. The infected macrophages undergo lysis releasing pathogenic yeast cells into the surrounding tissue. Consequently, yeast-rich purulent exudate is produced, contaminating the soil in stables where yeast cells germinate into the mycelial form, and the entire process starts from the beginning.

Clinical appointment generates stress in feline patients, influencing the frequency of veterinary care with the species. The purpose of this study was to assess serum cortisol in cats submitted to oral gabapentin and integrative practices during clinical care. Twenty cats were evaluated in three clinical appointments, one week apart. All cats were submitted to treatments: placebo (PL), gabapentin (GA), and integrative practices (IP) (music therapy, pheromone therapy, and chromotherapy). GA and PL were administered by the owners 90 min before transportation to the veterinary teaching hospital, and IP were applied 30 min before clinical care. Cats were physically examined at all timepoints, and blood samples were collected for cortisol measurement. Serum cortisol levels ranged from 0.49 µg/dL to 17.99 µg/dL. Mean cortisol concentrations when cats received PL (7.6 µg/dL) were higher than when cats received GA (4.9 µg/dL) and IP (4.1 µg/dL). There was a statistical difference in cortisol levels when cats receiving PL and GA were compared (p = 0.03) and between PL and IP (p = 0.005). The study showed that feline serum cortisol levels were lower when cats received the treatments to IP (integrative practices) and GA (gabapentin), demonstrating that these are applicable methods for reducing stress of feline patients in clinical evaluation.

Antimicrobial-resistant Escherichia coli is a global health challenge from a One Health perspective. However, data on its emergence in the Caatinga biome are limited. This biome is exclusive to the Brazilian Northeast and offers unique epidemiological conditions that can influence the occurrence of infectious diseases and antimicrobial resistance. In this study, the carriage proportion, antimicrobial susceptibility, and population structure of cephalosporin-resistant E. coli were assessed in 300 cloacal swab samples of free-range chickens from three Brazilian states covered by the Caatinga biome. The results showed that 44 (14.7%) samples were positive for cephalosporin-resistant E. coli, and Paraíba state had the highest frequency of isolates (68.2%). Genes encoding cephotaximase-Munich or ampicillin class C (AmpC) enzymes were identified in 30 (68.2%) and 8 (18.2%) isolates, respectively, comprising 31 E. coli isolates. Overall, molecular typing by genome restriction using XbaI endonuclease followed by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis revealed four clusters from two properties of Paraíba state composed by extended-spectrum β-lactamase-producing and AmpC-producing E. coli carrying bla_CTX-M-1-like and bla_MIR-1/ACT-1 genes and belonging to different phylogenetic groups. There is a need to control antimicrobial resistance while taking into account the genetic diversity of the strains and their implications for animal and public health, especially in free-range chickens reared in the Brazilian Caatinga biome.

Leptospirosis is a worldwide re-emerging zoonotic disease. The study was conducted to estimate the Seroprevalence of canine leptospirosis in a total of 450 dogs, from a total of 97 puppies and 353 adult dogs selected for examination Sampling, started from January to December 2023 in District Kasur in the province Punjab of the country Pakistan. Leptospira IgG ELISA kit manufactured by DRG Instruments GmbH, Germany was used for the screening of canine Leptospira antibodies. Out of 450 tested dogs, 183 dogs (40.67%) were tested positive for Leptospira antibody for the screening of Leptospira antibodies. The estimated Seroprevalence of leptospirosis in various age groups of dogs, were 23.7% (23/97) and 45.3% (160/353), in puppies and adults, respectively (P < 0.05). It was found that out of the sampled dogs, a total of 35/127 (27.6%), 29/100 (29%), 73/130 (56.2%), and 46/93 (49.5%) dogs were tested seropositive for Leptospira antibodies in winter, spring, summer and fall, respectively (P < 0.05).

The study isolated two strains of intestinal autochthonous bacteria Lactiplantibacillus plantarum1 (MH155966.1) (L1) and Lactiplantibacillus plantarum2 (MH105076.1) (L2) from the Choobdeh Abadan region. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of different strains of probiotic bacteria on the growth performance, digestive enzyme activity, histopathologic and histomorphometric characterization of the intestine, expression of immune and growth related genes, and evaluate Lates calcarifer resistance against Vibrio alginolyticus. To achieve this, for each treatment 60 L. calcarifer juveniles (75 ± 12 g) were randomly distributed in three fiberglass tanks (300 L) and fed for 45 days. The treatments were established as Diet 1 (control diet); L1 (diet with Lb. plantarum isolated 1); L2 (diet with Lb. plantarum isolated 2) with a bacterial concentration of 1 × 10⁹ CFU/g. Nine fish from each treatment were sampled and examined, after euthanasia. The fish were placed 2 cm from the beginning of the intestine for microscopic sampling of villi height, villi width and thickness of the epithelium, with 3 treatments: The result showed differences in the mean values of total weight were found at the end of the experiment. After 45 days of culture, the fish fed with L1 had higher (P < 0.05) growth performance than the other treatment groups. But at the end of the trial, in L2, the digestive enzyme activities were higher (P < 0.05) than the other treatment groups. The fishes fed diets supplemented with the L2 group, like the digestive enzyme activities test, presented an increase in the thickness of the epithelium of the intestine, and villus height, and villus width were greatest in L2. Fish feeding with L1 and L2 probiotics induced higher transcription levels of interleukin-10 (IL-10), granulocyte-macrophage colony-forming cells (GMCFC), epidermal growth factor (EGF), and Transforming Growth Factor Beta (TGF-β) genes in the gut, which may correlate with better immune and hematological parameters in these groups. The results of the challenge test revealed that the percentage of survival was significantly higher in L1 (76.2%) and L2 (80.95%) treatments than in the control (P < 0.05). These results indicate that host-derived probiotics (Lb. plantarum) have significant potential as important probiotics to enhance nutrient utilization, Digestive enzymes, and metabolism by increasing the gut surface area of Lates calcarifer juveniles at 45 days of culture.