Search

Early diagnosis and prevention of Rhodococcus equi pneumonia in foals represent important goals for equine clinicians. Recent protocols for diagnosis and treatment of Rhodococcosis in foals typically rely on a multimodal approach based on sonographic evidence suggestive of pyogranulomas, sonographic abscess scores and laboratory findings including plasma fibrinogen concentrations, blood biochemistry testing and platelet and leukocyte counts. The aim of this study was to assess the utility of weekly testing of serum amyloid A (SAA) and plasma fibrinogen concentrations in foals to achieve early diagnosis of R. equi pneumonia prior to the onset of clinical signs. This testing was used to simulate a clinically practical screening procedure and compared with thoracic ultrasonography performed in parallel. The present study suggests that SAA does not represent a reliable early marker of Rhodococcosis when plasma concentrations are tested weekly. However, when clinical signs of R. equi pneumonia are present, SAA concentrations may allow clinicians to obtain 'real-time' indications concerning both the progress of infection and the effectiveness of therapy. This study raises the possibility that plasma fibrinogen monitoring starting at 1 week of age and repeated on a weekly basis, could serve as a screening test allowing clinicians to identify foals as suspected of R. equi infection. Future investigations regarding both physiological plasma fibrinogen concentrations in foals as well as fibrinogen kinetics in foals affected with R. equi pneumonia, including the establishment of appropriate reference intervals for the test method employed in this study, will be necessary in order to clarify this possibility. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims: To develop a protocol for environmental sampling to detect parvoviruses of dogs and cats in the environment., Methods and Results: Environmental contamination was carried out using different dilutions of parvovirus-contaminated materials; further field samplings were performed in areas in which clinical cases of parvovirus infections were present. Sterile cotton swabs and sponges for microbial surface sampling were used. Viruses were detected in these samples with different methods: conventional PCR, nested PCR and real-time PCR, detecting viral DNA; virus isolation, detecting infectious virus; and a commercial rapid enzyme immunoassay, detecting viral antigen. No substantial differences were observed in the two sampling methods, although the sponge was more convenient for sampling rough surfaces. Molecular assays were the most sensitive methods, identifying even very low amounts of viral DNA (up to 10 copies of viral DNA/10 µl of sample). Virus isolation and the rapid test detected the viruses only at the highest viral concentrations, both in the experimental setting and field conditions., Conclusions: Environmental sampling and molecular protocols were effective in detecting environmental contamination with parvoviruses., Significance and Impact of the Study: The protocol will be useful to identify possible sources of infection and to assess the efficacy of disinfection protocols in the environment., (© 2020 The Society for Applied Microbiology.)

A 4-month-old puppy died after showing intracranial signs a few days after a suspected viral enteritis. Grossly, the right cerebral hemisphere had a large irregular cavity external to the internal capsule. Histopathological examination revealed a cystic lesion in the right hemisphere and non-suppurative inflammation of the diencephalon and periaqueductal nervous tissue. Porencephaly associated with periventricular non-suppurative encephalitis was diagnosed. A nested polymerase chain reaction (PCR) identified the presence of parvovirus DNA in the brain and real-time PCR typed this as canine parvovirus (CPV) type 2a. Immunohistochemistry revealed the presence of CPV antigen in the cytoplasm of scattered cells in the subependymal layers and choroid plexus epithelium. The porencephaly was not associated with inflammatory lesions or CPV antigen and was considered to have preceded the neurological signs. In contrast, the detection of CPV antigen in the subependymal layers and choroid plexus epithelium supported the association of this virus with the periventricular encephalitis., (Copyright © 2019 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

During a serological survey, 157 out of 681 unvaccinated buffaloes resulted seropositive for bovine alphaherpesvirus 1 (BoHV1) glycoprotein B (gB) and seronegative for BoHV1 glycoprotein E (gE). These serological results were generally expected in animals vaccinated with a BoHV1 gE-deleted vaccine but not in unvaccinated animals. Seroneutralization tests on 36 selected sera detected neutralizing antibody titers more than three times higher for BuHV1 than for BoHV1. In order to investigate the virus, one of these buffaloes was injected with dexamethasone, and from nasal and vaginal swabs collected at different time points, a ruminant herpesvirus was isolated, characterized and also detected by PCR. Restriction enzyme analysis, sequencing and phylogenic analysis of gB and gD genes showed that the virus was genetically similar but not identical to BuHV1 strain b6. Intranasal inoculation of the virus in a healthy seronegative buffalo resulted in a mild and transient upper respiratory disease; the virus was isolated from clinical specimens and DNA was detected by PCR in nasal and vaginal swabs up to 9 days after infection. Further investigations should be aimed at sequencing the whole viral genome and at evaluating the host-range of this virus. Specific tests are needed to discriminate infections by different ruminant herpesviruses and to improve eradication programs of infectious bovine rhinotracheitis/infectious pustular vulvovaginitis in cattle., (Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

The aim of this study was to evaluate the safety of intra-articular (IA) lidocaine plus adrenaline for improving peri-operative analgesia in anaesthetized dogs undergoing arthroscopy of the elbow. A solution of lidocaine (L) 1.98% plus adrenaline 1:100.000 was administered via the IA route and its safety evaluated in terms of cardio-, neuro-, and chondro-toxicity. No bradycardia or hypotension was recorded from induction to the last observational time point. Signs of toxicity of the nervous system could have been masked by the general anaesthesia but lidocaine concentrations detected in the blood were lower than those thought to be capable of producing toxicity. The assessment of in vitro chondrotoxicity showed a dose- and time-dependent effect of lidocaine on the viability of articular cells. Adrenaline appeared to reduce the chondrotoxicity of 1% lidocaine, following an exposure of up to 30 min., (Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

A 7-year-old male trotter horse with a history of recurrent colic displayed clinical findings consistent with chronic intestinal pseudo-obstruction (CIP). At laparotomy, an impaction of the descending colon associated with marked atrophy of the right dorsal colon was found. The horse was humanely destroyed and tissues collected at necropsy examination revealed diffuse enteric ganglionitis comprising an infiltrate of CD3(+) T lymphocytes and plasma cells. At all levels of the intestinal tract the number of myenteric ganglia and of normal ganglion cells was decreased significantly. There were chromatolytic or necrotic neurons and the amount of connective tissue surrounding ganglia was increased. Immunohistochemical studies demonstrated slightly reduced expression of neuron-specific enolase and a moderate increase in expression of S100 and glial fibrillary acidic protein in a sample of right dorsal colon taken during the necropsy examination compared with a biopsy sample taken from the same location. Immunolabelling and semi-nested polymerase chain reaction for equine herpesvirus (EHV)-1 performed on the gut were positive, supporting an aetiological relationship between EHV-1 infection and the enteric ganglionitis., (Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Staphylococcus pseudintermedius is the most frequent staphylococcal species isolated from canine pyoderma. The control of S. pseudintermedius infection is often difficult due to the expanded antimicrobial resistance phenotypes. Antibiotic resistance in staphylococcal pathogens is often associated to mobile genetic elements such as the insertion sequence IS256 that was first described as a part of the transposon Tn4001, which confers aminoglycoside resistance in Staphylococcus aureus and in Staphylococcus epidermidis. In this study a collection of 70 S. pseudintermedius isolates from canine pyoderma was used to investigate antimicrobial susceptibility to 15 antibiotics and the presence of IS256, not revealed in S. pseudintermedius yet. Antibiotic resistance profiling demonstrated that all S. pseudintermedius isolates had a multi-drug resistance phenotype, exhibiting simultaneous resistance to at least five antibiotics; indeed methicillin resistant S. pseudintermedius isolates were simultaneously resistant to at least nine antibiotics and all were also gentamicin resistant. PCR analyses revealed the presence of IS256 in 43/70 S. pseudintemedius isolates. The association between the presence of IS256 and the resistance was particularly significant for certain antibiotics: cefovecin, amikacin, gentamicin and oxacillin (χ(2)p-value<0.05). However, there was a striking result in frequency of strains resistant to gentamicin and oxacillin, suggesting a specific association between the presence of the IS256 element and the determinants for the resistance to these antibiotics. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report showing the detection of IS256 in S. pseudintermedius isolates and its association with antibiotic resistance. Our findings suggest that S. pseudintermedius may acquire antibiotic resistance genes through mobile genetic elements which may play a predominant role in the dissemination of multi-drug resistance., (Copyright © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

The objective of this manuscript was to validate published PCR-based methods for detection of β-haemolytic Streptococci by comparison with established bacteriological techniques using 85 clinical isolates recovered from uterine swabs of mares with clinical signs of endometritis and to determine the distribution of SeeL/SeeM and SzeL/SzeM superantigens in isolates of Streptococcus equi subsp. equi (S. equi) and S. equi subsp. zooepidemicus (S. zooepidemicus). The conventional bacteriological techniques showed the vast majority of these isolates (78) were S. zooepidemicus with just 5 Streptococcus dysgalactiae subsp. equisimilis (S. equisimilis) and 2 S. equi strains detected. The PCR analyses confirmed the bacteriological results demonstrating the reliability of the 16S rRNA PCR assay for detecting Streptococci, the multiplex PCR for differentiating between S. zooepidemicus, and S. equi, and PCR assays based on streptokinase genes for identification of S. equisimilis. PCRs for genes encoding superantigens revealed seeL and seeM specific amplicons with size of approximately 800 and 810 bp respectively for the S. equi strains and for 2 S. zooepidemicus strains. To our knowledge, this is the first report of szeL and szeM possession by S. zooepidemicus isolates derived from endometritis in mares., (Copyright © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

In order to assess the Rhodococcus equi infection in three provinces of Turkey (Bursa, Izmir and Istanbul), 696 sera from healthy foals and adult horses were tested by indirect ELISA using a R. equi reference strain (ATCC 6939) as antigen. 103 sera (14.80%) with titres >0.646 resulted positive. Seroprevalence was significantly higher (P=0.0053) in male than in female horses of Istanbul province, although higher antibody titres (mean value) were observed in the female group of Bursa and Izmir provinces with differences estimated between provinces (P=0.0002). Seroprevalence was correlated with age: foals aged less than 1 year (P<10(-4)) and horses from 5 to 10 years old (P=0.018) resulted more infected in Bursa and Izmir provinces. Our findings indicate that R. equi infection actually occurs in all investigated provinces, suggesting the importance of serological survey to diagnose the infection and to prevent the zoonotic risk.

Staphylococcus aureus is a widespread pathogen causing infections in different animal species. The extensive use of antibiotics, particularly methicillin, causes the rise of antibiotic-resistant strains (MRSA). In order to verify the epidemiology and genetic relatedness among MRSA and sensible strains (MSSA), an accurate fingerprinting technique, the amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP), was carried out. The isolates were cultured, subdivided on MRSA and MSSA and submitted for the genomic DNA extraction that was utilized for AFLP. The data were analysed for genetic similarity using the Dice coefficient. The results of genomic analysis among MRSA and MSSA and within them revealed that the major component of variation was due to variation within strains (82.12%), while variance among strains was lower (17.88%). The low level of genomic similarity found among S. aureus strains implies high level of genetic diversity. Different similarity was found as well in all strains independently of the source.