scholarly journals Serological and Molecular Techniques for the Diagnostic of Brucellosis

2020 ◽  
Vol 22 (4) ◽  
pp. 378-386
Author(s):  
Mujeeb Ur Rahman ◽  
Amir Ullah ◽  
Haroon Haroon ◽  
Muhammad Bilal ◽  
Fazal Mehmood Khan ◽  
...  

Brucellosis is known as undulant fever or Malta fever, caused by the genus Brucella. It is the most common human zoonosis. The disease is worldwide distributed and causes significant economic losses. In animals, it causes abortion, reduction in milk production, and infertility. While brucellosis in humans is a debilitating disease with various clinical manifestations that may lead to death in some cases. Control of disease in animals needs proper diagnosis, permanent monitoring of brucellosis-free herds, and removal of infected animals. The current review will discuss the serological and molecular techniques daily used for the determination of brucellosis in animals and humans.  

Parasitology ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 146 (2) ◽  
pp. 129-141 ◽  
Author(s):  
Muhammad Rashid ◽  
Muhammad Imran Rashid ◽  
Haroon Akbar ◽  
Liaquat Ahmad ◽  
Muhammad Adeel Hassan ◽  
...  

AbstractParasites reside inside or outside their hosts and get host nutrition and blood. Here, we have emphasized economic losses in cattle caused by parasitic diseases due to ecto- and endo- parasites (flies, ticks, mites and helminths). We have outlined different methods/models including economic evaluation techniques and dynamic analysis as a major class, used for the calculation of economic losses caused by parasites in cattle. According to already conducted studies, a decrease in production is mentioned in quantity and percentage while financial losses are expressed in the form of account with respect to per head, herd or for the specific study area. The parasites cause the reduced production and financial losses due to control, treatment and mortality costs. We calculated the average decrease in milk production and organ condemnation as 1.16 L animal−1 day−1 and 12.95%, respectively, from overall cattle parasitic infections. Moreover, the average calculated financial and percentage losses were US$ 50.67 animal−1 year−1 and 17.94%, respectively. Economically important parasitic diseases mentioned here are caused by specific spp. of protozoans and helminths according to data collected from the literature. Protozoan diseases include tick-borne diseases, coccidiosis, neosporosis, trypanosomiasis and cryptosporidiosis. Losses due to tick-borne infections were encountered for decreased milk production, mortality, treatment and control. Losses from coccidiosis were due to decreased weight gain, treatment costs and mortality. While abortion losses were encountered in neosporosis. Trypanosomiasis caused losses due to a decrease in milk yield. Moreover, only diagnostic (conventional or molecular techniques) cost was taken into account for cryptosporidiosis. Economically important nematode parasites are Oesophagostomum spp., Cooperia spp., Trichostrongylus spp., Strongyloides spp., Ostertagia spp. and Haemonchus placei. Due to the zoonotic importance of echinococcosis, Echinococcus granulosus is the most economically important cestode parasite. Losses caused by echinococcosis were due to organ condemnation, carcass weight loss and decreases hide value, milk production and fecundity. While, fascioliasis is one of the most economically important trematodal disease, which causes cirrhosis of the liver due to parasite migration, and thus, the organ becomes inedible. So, it would be helpful for farmers and researchers to approach these methods/models for calculation of parasitic losses and should adopt suitable measures to avoid long-term economic losses.


Author(s):  
Romina Della Vedova ◽  
Alejandra Hevia ◽  
Walter Vivot ◽  
Julián Fernández ◽  
Susana Beatriz Córdoba ◽  
...  

Aspergillus species are widely distributed throughout the world and can develop parasitic and saprophytic ways of life, allowing Aspergillus to infect living hosts, including plants, insects, birds and mammals. The most common form of aspergillosis in poultry and other birds is respiratory infection. Clinical manifestations depend on the infective dose, pre-existing diseases, and the immune response of the host. The aim of the present research was to study aspergillosis in domestic and wild birds from Argentina. We carried out morphological and molecular identification, and determination of antifungal susceptibility against seven antifungal drugs. Six birds from different cities of Buenos Aires Province of Argentina were studied. Three of the samples belonged to broiler chicks, while the other three belonged to an eagle, a pheasant, and a kelp gull. Two isolates were identified as Aspergillus fumigatus by morphological characteristics and growth at 50 °C. Morphology and BenA sequencing enabled us to identify three isolates as Aspergillus flavus, and one as Aspergillus sydowii. All antifungal drugs tested showed low MIC values, ranging from 0.008 to 1 mg/L. Aspergillosis in birds causes high economic losses and could be controlled by sanitation, avoidance of moldy food, nest and litter and reducing stress factors.


2018 ◽  
Vol 46 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Elizabeth Schwegler ◽  
Augusto Schneider ◽  
Ana Rita Tavares Krause ◽  
Paula Montagner ◽  
Eduardo Schmitt ◽  
...  

 Background: Bovine mastitis causes major economic losses for milk producers by reducing the quantity and the quality of the milk or even leading to the complete loss of the mammary gland secretory capacity. During the transition period, dairy cows are susceptible to infectious diseases; therefore, markers that allow early identification of cows in higher risk of developing diseases are especially useful at this time. Therefore, the aim of this study was to evaluate serum markers in the pre and postpartum of multiparous dairy cows with clinical mastitis and with health condition in the postpartum period in a semi-extensive management system.Materials, Methods & Results: Thirty-Six Holstein cows were monitored daily during milking until 59 days postpartum and were categorized according to the pre-milking strip cup test into clinical mastitis (mastitis group (MG)) and absence of symptoms (control group (CG)) that were negative to the test, representing the health cows. All cows were reared as one group and maintained in a semi-extensive pasture-based system. Blood samples were collected weekly after morning milking via venipuncture of the coccinea vein into tubes without anticoagulant and grouped for prepartum (-21 to 0 days from calving), early postpartum (0 to 30 days from calving), and late postpartum (30 to 59 days from calving) periods. Milk production was recorded daily. The serum markers albumin, aspartate aminotransferase (AST), phosphorus, gamma-glutamyltransferase (GGT) and non-esterified fatty acids (NEFA) were measured. Statistical analyses were performed using SAS®. The cases of clinical mastitis occurred on average at 37.2 ± 4.9 days postpartum. Health cows (CG) had higher milk production compared to the mastitis group (MG) only in the late postpartum period (P < 0.05). There was no difference among groups for albumin and NEFA concentrations in all periods evaluated (P > 0.05). In the early postpartum period the AST activity was higher in CG than in MG (P = 0.02). The GGT enzyme tended to be more concentrated in the CG than in the MG during the early (P = 0.06) and late (P = 0.08) postpartum periods. Late postpartum phosphorus concentration was lower for MG than CG (P = 0.04). In the prepartum and early postpartum periods, there was no difference among groups for phosphorus concentration (P > 0.05).Discussion: A decrease in milk production in MG compared to CG observed in late postpartum period was due to the inci­dence of mastitis observed around 37 days postpartum. Cows that presented clinical mastitis in the postpartum period did not differ in the blood concentration of NEFA in the prepartum period. In the late postpartum period higher concentration of phosphorus was observed in the CG than in MG, indicating that animals affected by mastitis may be in the weakest energy status. Regarding liver health, the concentration of AST was higher in the recent postpartum period for CG, in disagree­ment with previous studies that related AST to tissue injury caused by mastitis. The GGT enzyme tended to had higher concentrations in CG than MG during the whole postpartum period and may be related to increased hepatic metabolism due to higher production. There were no changes in albumin levels among healthy and mastitis cows, indicating that this marker can not be used to predict clinical mastitis. There were no metabolic alterations in the prepartum period related to the occurrence of postpartum mastitis in multiparous cows in a semi-extensive management system.Keywords: AST, dairy cows, NEFA.


2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Selene Rubiola ◽  
Tiziana Civera ◽  
Felice Panebianco ◽  
Davide Vercellino ◽  
Francesco Chiesa

Abstract Background Cattle are intermediate hosts of six Sarcocystis species, among which Sarcocystis hominis and Sarcocystis heydorni can infect humans through the consumption of raw or undercooked meat. In addition to the zoonotic potential, there is increasing interest in these protozoa because of the evidence supporting the role of Sarcocystis spp. in the occurrence of bovine eosinophilic myositis (BEM), a specific inflammatory myopathy which leads to carcass condemnation and considerable economic losses. Actually, all the prevalence studies carried out on cattle in Italy have been based on either morphological or 18S rDNA-based molecular techniques, most likely leading to misidentification of closely related species. Therefore, there is a strong need for new data on the prevalence of the different Sarcocystis spp. in cattle in Italy and their association with bovine eosinophilic myositis. Methods To reach our aim, individual striated muscle samples from BEM condemned carcasses (N = 54) and diaphragm muscle samples from randomly sampled carcasses (N = 59) were obtained from Northwest Italy slaughterhouses. Genomic DNA was extracted and analyzed by multiplex-PCR targeting 18S rDNA and cox1 genes. PCR products amplified using the genus-specific primer set in absence of the specific fragment for S. hirsuta, S. cruzi, S. hominis or S. bovifelis were sequenced to achieve species identification. Results Sarcocystis DNA was detected in 67.8% of the samples from slaughter cattle and in 90.7% of the samples from BEM condemned carcasses. S. cruzi was identified as the most prevalent species in slaughter cattle (61%), followed by S. bovifelis (10.2%), S. hominis (8.5%) and S. hirsuta (1.7%). Notably, among the different Sarcocystis spp. detected, the presence of S. bovifelis and S. hominis was significantly higher in samples isolated from BEM condemned carcasses (46.3% and 40.7% respectively), while there was no statistically significant difference between the presence of S. cruzi or S. hirsuta in BEM condemned carcasses (42.6% and 1.8%, respectively) and randomly sampled carcasses. Furthermore, DNA sequence analysis revealed the presence of a putative new species in two carcasses. Conclusions Our study contributes to updating the data on the prevalence of the different Sarcocystis spp. in cattle in Italy, highlighting the presence of three Sarcocystis spp., S. cruzi, S. hominis and S. bovifelis, in BEM lesions and allowing us to speculate on the possible role of S. hominis and S. bovifelis as the major sarcosporidian species involved in bovine eosinophilic myositis. Graphic Abstract


2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 11
Author(s):  
Evrysthenis Vartholomatos ◽  
George Vartholomatos ◽  
George A. Alexiou ◽  
Georgios S. Markopoulos

Central nervous system malignancies (CNSMs) are categorized among the most aggressive and deadly types of cancer. The low median survival in patients with CNSMs is partly explained by the objective difficulties of brain surgeries as well as by the acquired chemoresistance of CNSM cells. Flow Cytometry is an analytical technique with the ability to quantify cell phenotype and to categorize cell populations on the basis of their characteristics. In the current review, we summarize the Flow Cytometry methodologies that have been used to study different phenotypic aspects of CNSMs. These include DNA content analysis for the determination of malignancy status and phenotypic characterization, as well as the methodologies used during the development of novel therapeutic agents. We conclude with the historical and current utility of Flow Cytometry in the field, and we propose how we can exploit current and possible future methodologies in the battle against this dreadful type of malignancy.


2015 ◽  
Vol 33 (2) ◽  
pp. 190-199 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas Marth

Background: The actinobacterium Tropheryma whipplei was detected 20 years ago by molecular techniques, and following its culture has been characterized as the cause of a systemic infection known as Whipple's disease (WD). T. whipplei occurs in the environment, is prevalent only in humans, is believed to be transmitted via oral routes and to be host dependent. Key Messages: The classical form of T. whipplei infection, i.e. classical WD (CWD), is rare. It is well defined as slowly progressing chronic infection with arthralgia, diarrhea and weight loss, mostly in middle-aged men. However, current research revealed a much broader spectrum of clinical features associated with T. whipplei infection. Thus, T. whipplei may cause acute and transient infections (observed primarily in children) and the bacterium, which is found in soil and water, occurs in asymptomatic carriers as well as in CWD patients in clinical remission. In addition, T. whipplei affects isolated and localized body compartments such as heart valves or the central nervous system. Subtle immune defects and HLA associations have been described. New findings indicate that the progression of asymptomatic T. whipplei infection to clinical WD may be associated with medical immunosuppression and with immunomodulatory conditions. This explains that there is a discrepancy between the widespread occurrence of T. whipplei and the rareness of WD, and that T. whipplei infection triggered by immunosuppression presents with protean clinical manifestations. Conclusions: This review highlights recent findings and the clinical spectrum of infection with T. whipplei and WD, focusing specifically on the role of host immunity and immunosuppression. Current concepts of the pathogenesis, diagnosis and therapy are discussed.


2011 ◽  
Vol 35 (1) ◽  
pp. 16-24
Author(s):  
Lazem H. Al-Taie

Back ground: Toxoplasmosis is an important zoonosis that causes economic losses in animal herds due to abortion and stillbirth as well as changes in the reproductive and neural system of susceptible animals . Objective: The aims of the present study is to determination the prevalence of T. gondii in farm animals ( sheep& goat)of both genders and different ages in Sulaimani province by using two serological tests (ELISA and LAT). Methods: Blood samples were collected from farm animals ,142 sheep and 46 goats , of different sexes and ages. Tow different serological tests ,ELISA and LAT for qualitative determination of T. gondii antibody titer in sheep and goats serum samples. Results: The prevalence rate in sheep was 73 (51.7 %) and 82 (57 %) , and 21 (54.6 %) and 25 (54.35 %) in goats ,by ELISA and LAT respectively. The prevalence of toxoplasmosis was highest in age group 7-9 (66.6%) in sheep in compares’ with other age groups. There was no significant differences between both spp.and tow test. Conclusion: Statistical results show no significant differences between both tests (ELISA &LAT) at (P ≥ 0.05).The prevalence of toxoplasmosis was increased proportionally with the age of animals, while gender has no effect on the prevalent rate .


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eduardo Sobrino Reig ◽  
Eduardo Sobrino-Reig ◽  
Telma Meizoso ◽  
Jesús García ◽  
David Varillas-Delgado ◽  
...  

Abstract IntroductionMicrosatellite instability occurs due to a series of mutations in the DNA pairing error repair (Mismatch repair; MMR) genes, which can affect germ cells as occurs in Lynch syndrome, whose patients are at high risk of developing multiple cancers. The loss of MMR protein is commonly determined by immunohistochemical studies. Although the relation between microsatellite instability and urothelial carcinomas has been widely studied, its evaluation is not currently performed in the analysis of urothelial carcinomas.Methods In this study, the microsatellite status of 139 urothelial carcinomas was analyzed and their clinicopathological characteristics were evaluated. We identified that 10.3% (13 patients) of urothelial carcinomas had loss of MMR protein expression (9 MLH1; 5 MSH2; 2 PMS2; 2 PSH6; n = 139). ResultsResults suggest that these tumors occur more frequently in males, are more frequently located in the bladder or ureters, and present a high tumor grade with a papillary histological pattern that does not infiltrate the lamina propria or, in the case of infiltrating tumors, that grows into perivesical tissues.ConclusionsWe identified patients with the aforementioned tumor characteristics as patients with a high probability of presenting microsatellite instability, and consider that only these patients should undergo further immunohistochemical and molecular techniques for proper diagnosis. Therefore, we propose that the clinicopathological characteristics found in the present study could become possible markers to determine which cases should undergo additional tests.


2020 ◽  
Vol 2 (3) ◽  
pp. 43-46
Author(s):  
Eloiza Sarmento Amoras ◽  
Anderson Luiz Pena Costa

Aflatoxins are toxic secondary metabolites produced by the fungi of the genus Aspergillus. These substances cause food poisoning with clinical manifestations that vary according to the time of exposure and concentration of the dose ingested, representing a serious public health problem for compromising the food security, also causing considerable economic losses both in the production of stocked vegetable foods, as well as in the livestock contaminated with these substances through the feed. Therefore, this literature review aims to introduce some aspects related to the contamination of food by the fungi of the genus Aspergillus, the chemical and toxicological properties of the aflatoxins, as well as the strategies of control to avoid them in food.


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