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Bovine paratuberculosis (PTB) is a chronic enteritis caused by Mycobacterium avium subspecies paratuberculosis (Map) that causes a heavy economic impact worldwide. Map infected animals can remain asymptomatic for years while transmitting the mycobacteria to other members of the herd. Therefore, accurate detection of subclinically infected animals is crucial for disease control. In a previous RNA-Seq study, we identified several mRNAs that were overexpressed in whole blood of cows with different PTB-associated histological lesions compared with control animals without detected lesions. The proteins encoded by two of these mRNAs, ATP binding cassette subfamily A member 13 (ABCA13) and Matrix Metallopeptidase 8 (MMP8) were significantly overexpressed in whole blood of animals with focal histological lesions, the most frequent pathological form in the subclinical stages of the disease. In the current study, the potential of sensitive early diagnostic tools of commercial ELISAs, based on the detection of these two biomarkers, was evaluated in serum samples of 704 Holstein Friesian cows (566 infected animals and 138 control animals from PTB-free farms). For this evaluation, infected animals were classified into three groups, according to the type of histological lesions present in their gut tissues: focal (n = 447), multifocal (n = 59), and diffuse (n = 60). The ELISA based on the detection of ABCA13 was successfully validated showing good discriminatory power between animals with focal lesions and control animals (sensitivity 82.99% and specificity 80.43%). Conversely, the MMP8-based ELISA showed a poor discriminatory power between the different histological groups and non-infected controls. The ABCA13-based ELISA showed a higher diagnostic value (0.822) than the IDEXX ELISA (0.517), the fecal bacterial isolation (0.523) and the real-time PCR (0.531) for the detection of animals with focal lesions. Overall, our results indicate that this ABCA13 ELISA greatly improves the

Bovine paratuberculosis (PTB) is a chronic granulomatous enteritis, caused by Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis (Map). The progression of PTB from subclinical to the clinical stage of the disease is determined locally at the level of the granuloma, a host defence hallmark against mycobacterial infection. Therefore, in- depth characterization of distinct cell populations controlling granuloma formation is critical to understanding PTB progression. Confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM) has been extensively used to visualize two or more proteins of interest concomitantly within a variety of cellular structures. As such, it is an invaluable tool for the correct identification and characterization of different cell populations. In this study, a novel approach, CLSM of whole-mount small intestinal mucosa samples, is used to characterize three-dimensional (3-D) paratuberculosis granulomas and epithelioid macrophages. Detailed optimized procedures to perform CLSM in whole mount small intestinal mucosa samples and also in formalin fixed paraffin embedded (FFPE) intestinal tissue sections of Holstein Friesian cows presenting different types of PTB-associated histological lesions are described.

Las enfermedades son responsables del 20% de las pérdidas de la producción animal y constituyen una de las barreras al comercio de animales vivos y alimentos de origen animal. En este contexto, cabe destacar la importancia estratégica de la sanidad animal, ya que garantiza la salud y el bienestar animal, la salud pública, la seguridad alimentaria, la producción sostenible de alimentos, la conservación del medio ambiente y la sostenibilidad y competitividad de la producción ganadera y la economía rural. (Rodríguez García y col., 2014).

The present work investigated the prevalence, spatial distribution, and temporal distribution of tuberculosis (TB) in free-ranging Eurasian badgers (Meles meles) and cattle in Asturias (Atlantic Spain) during a 13-year follow-up. The study objective was to assess the role of badgers as a TB reservoir for cattle and other sympatric wild species in the region. Between 2008 and 2020, 673 badgers (98 trapped and 575 killed in road traffic accidents) in Asturias were necropsied, and their tissue samples were cultured for the Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex (MTC) isolation. Serum samples were tested in an in-house indirect P22 ELISA to detect antibodies against the MTC. In parallel, data on MTC isolation and single intradermal tuberculin test results were extracted for cattle that were tested and culled as part of the Spanish National Program for the Eradication of Bovine TB. A total of 27/639 badgers (4.23%) were positive for MTC based on bacterial isolation, while 160/673 badgers (23.77%) were found to be positive with the P22 ELISA. The rate of seropositivity was higher among adult badgers than subadults. Badger TB status was spatially and temporally associated with cattle TB status. Our results cannot determine the direction of possible interspecies transmission, but they are consistent with the idea that the two hosts may exert infection pressure on each other. This study highlights the importance of the wildlife monitoring of infection and disease during epidemiological interventions in order to optimize outcomes.

Paratuberculosis (PTB), a chronic granulomatous enteritis caused by Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis (MAP), is responsible for important economic losses in the dairy industry. Our previous RNA-sequencing (RNA-Seq) analysis showed that bovine intelectin 2 (ITLN2) precursor gene was overexpressed in ileocecal valve (ICV) samples of animals with focal (log2 fold-change = 10.6) and diffuse (log2 fold-change = 6.8) PTB-associated lesions compared to animals without lesions. This study analyzes the potential use of ITLN2, a protein that has been described as fundamental in the innate immune response to infections, as a biomarker of MAP infection. The presence of ITLN2 was investigated by quantitative immunohistochemical analysis of ICV samples of 20 Holstein Friesian cows showing focal (n = 5), multifocal (n = 5), diffuse (n = 5) and no histological lesions (n = 5). Significant differences were observed in the mean number of ITLN2 immunostained goblet and Paneth cells between the three histopathological types and the control. The number of immunolabelled cells was higher in the focal histopathological type (116.9 ± 113.9) followed by the multifocal (108.7 ± 140.5), diffuse (76.5 ± 97.8) and control types (41.0 ± 81.3). These results validate ITLN2 as a post-mortem biomarker of disease progression.

Bovine paratuberculosis (PTB) is a chronic granulomatous enteritis, caused by Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis (MAP), responsible for important economic losses in the dairy industry. Current diagnostic methods have low sensitivities for detection of latent forms of MAP infection, defined by focal granulomatous lesions and scarce humoral response or MAP presence. In contrast, patent infections correspond to multifocal and diffuse types of enteritis where there is increased antibody production, and substantial mycobacterial load. Our previous RNA-Seq analysis allowed the selection of five candidate biomarkers overexpressed in peripheral blood of MAP infected Holstein cows with focal (ABCA13 and MMP8) and diffuse (FAM84A, SPARC and DES) lesions vs. control animals with no detectable PTB-associated lesions in intestine and regional lymph nodes. The aim of the current study was to assess the PTB diagnostic potential of commercial ELISAs designed for the specific detection of these biomarkers. The ability of these ELISAs to identify animals with latent and/or patent forms of MAP infection was investigated using serum from naturally infected cattle (n = 88) and non-infected control animals (n = 67). ROC analysis revealed that the ABCA13-based ELISA showed the highest diagnostic accuracy for the detection of infected animals with focal lesions (AUC 0.837, sensitivity 79.25% and specificity 88.06%) and with any type of histological lesion (AUC 0.793, sensitivity 69.41% and specificity 86.57%) improving on the diagnostic performance of the popular IDEXX ELISA and other conventional diagnostic methods. SPARC and MMP8 showed the highest diagnostic accuracy for the detection of animals with multifocal (AUC 0.852) and diffuse lesions (AUC 0.831), respectively. In conclusion, our results suggest that quantification of ABCA13, SPARC and MMP8 by ELISA has the potential for implementation as a diagnostic tool to reliably identify MAP infection, greatly improving early dete

Tuberculosis (TB) vaccination could be used as a key part of integrated strategies for the disease’s control if an effective and safe vaccine under field conditions is obtained. Recent studies in Spain have evaluated the protective efficacy of two oral vaccines against experimental challenge with live intra-bronchial Mycobacterium bovis in captive badgers: the live-attenuated M. bovis BCG vaccine (Danish strain) and a heat-inactivated M. bovis (HIMB) vaccine. With the objective of increasing the knowledge of the cellular development progress of infection and generating further tools to discriminate between mild and severe TB lesions between and within animals, the immunopathology of tuberculous lesions was studied to characterize the local immune response (cell type profile) within lung granulomas from control (non-vaccinated), BCG vaccinated and HIMB-vaccinated experimentally infected badgers with M. bovis. Four immunohistochemical protocols, for the specific detection of macrophages, T lymphocytes, B lymphocytes and plasma cells within TB granulomas in formalin fixed sections of the right middle lung lobe (lobe targeted for the M. bovis delivery), were performed. Immunolabelled sections were scanned and five randomly selected areas were analyzed with digital image analysis software. The results were expressed as the proportion of the positively immunolabelled area within the total area of the selected site. Data was analyzed using the statistical analysis software (SAS). In the three treatment groups, macrophages were the most abundant inflammatory cells within the granulomas, followed by B lymphocytes and plasma cells. T lymphocyes were absent in those granulomas. This would suggest a predominance of a non-specific innate response mediated by phagocytic cells over an adaptative humoral immune response. The proportion of macrophages and plasma cells was higher in BCG and HIMB-vaccinated badgers, respectively, suggesting the establishment of an adaptative humoral r

Ranaviruses have been identifed as the cause of explosive disease outbreaks in amphibians worldwide and can be transmitted between hosts both via direct and indirect contact, in which humans might contribute to the translocation of contaminated material. The aim of this study was to evaluate the possible role of water sports in the human translocation of ranavirus, Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd), and B. salamandrivorans (Bsal). A total of 234 boats were sampled during the spring Spanish Canoe Championship which took place in Pontillón de Castro, a reservoir with a history of ranavirosis, in May 2017. Boats were tested for the presence of ranavirus and Batrachochytrium spp. DNA, using quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction techniques (qPCR). A total of 22 swabs (22/234, 9.40%) yielded qPCR-positive results for Ranavirus DNA while Bd or Bsal were not detected in any of the samples. We provide the frst evidence that human-related water sports could be a source of ranavirus contamination, providing justifcation for public disinfecting stations in key areas where human trafc from water sports is high.

Paratuberculosis is chronic granulomatous enteritis of ruminants caused by Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis (MAP). Whole RNA-sequencing (RNA-Seq) is a promising source of novel biomarkers for early MAP infection and disease progression in cattle. Since the blood transcriptome is widely used as a source of biomarkers, we analyzed whether it recapitulates, at least in part, the transcriptome of the ileocecal valve (ICV), the primary site of MAP colonization. Total RNA was prepared from peripheral blood (PB) and ICV samples, and RNA-Seq was used to compare gene expression between animals with focal or diffuse histopathological lesions in gut tissues versus control animals with no detectable signs of infection. Our results demonstrated both shared, and PB and ICV-specific gene expression in response to a natural MAP infection. As expected, the number of differentially expressed (DE) genes was larger in the ICV than in the PB samples. Among the DE genes in the PB and ICV samples, there were some common genes irrespective of the type of lesion including the C-X-C motif chemokine ligand 8 (CXCL8/IL8), apolipoprotein L (APOLD1), and the interferon inducible protein 27 (IF127). The biological processes (BP) enriched in the PB gene expression profiles from the cows with diffuse lesions included the killing of cells of other organism, defense response, immune response and the regulation of neutrophil chemotaxis. Two of these BP, the defense and immune response, were also enriched in the ICV from the cows with diffuse lesions. Metabolic analysis of the DE genes revealed that the N-glycan biosynthesis, bile secretion, one-carbon pool by folate and purine metabolism were significantly enriched in the ICV from the cows with focal lesions. In the ICV from cows with diffuse lesions; the valine, leucine and isoleucine degradation route, purine metabolism, vitamin digestion and absorption and the cholesterol routes were enriched. Some of the identified DE genes, BP and meta

A 6-month-old female Iberian lynx (Lynx pardinus) cub that was severely affected by mange died in September 2016 in the Montes de Toledo (Spain) with crusts and fissures on its face, outer ears, nipples and footpads. The body condition of the cub was very poor, and it also had a mandibular abscess and a severely ankylosed luxation on its left knee. After confirming that the origin of the deceased cub’s dermal lesions was Sarcoptes scabiei, the subsequent search for ectoparasites and a comparison of histopathological and immunohistochemical findings in all sympatric lynxes handled (n = 30) and submitted for necropsy (n = 4) during 2016 and 2017 revealed the presence of S. scabiei mites and/or milder mange compatible lesions in five members of her family group, which was treated against mange together with two exposed contiguous family groups. An ELISA developed by the authors showed the presence of antibodies against S. scabiei in the deceased female cub and one brother. The presence of concomitant immunosuppressive factors in the dead female cub and the results obtained for the other sympatric lynxes studied since 2016 suggest that S. scabiei had a limited effect on immune-competent Iberian lynxes in the local population of the Montes de Toledo. However, a different evolution and relevance of sarcoptic mange in different populations—or even in the same one in the presence of immunosuppressive factors—cannot be ruled out, thus confirming the need for further research in order to attain a complete comprehension of the epidemiology and the real threat that this ectoparasitic disease may imply for L. pardinus

Worldwide amphibian population declines have been ascribed to global warming, increasing pollution levels, and other factors directly related to human activities. These factors may additionally be favoring the emergence of novel pathogens. In this report, we have determined the complete genome sequence of the emerging common midwife toad ranavirus (CMTV), which has caused fatal disease in several amphibian species across Europe. Phylogenetic and gene content analyses of the first complete genomic sequence from a ranavirus isolated in Europe show that CMTV is an amphibian-like ranavirus (ALRV). However, the CMTV genome structure is novel and represents an intermediate evolutionary stage between the two previously described ALRV groups. We find that CMTV clusters with several other ranaviruses isolated from different hosts and locations which might also be included in this novel ranavirus group. This work sheds light on the phylogenetic relationships within this complex group of emerging, disease-causing viruses. © 2012, American Society for Microbiology.