Prevalence and antibiotic resistance of Enterococcus strains isolated from poultry

The aim of this study was to evaluate the frequency of occurrence of bacteria of the genus Enterococcus in poultry, to identify them by means of matrixassisted laser desorption/ionisation time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDITOF MS), and to analyse the antimicrobial susceptibility of the isolated strains to the drugs most frequently used in poultry. The material for the bacteriological tests was obtained mainly from the heart (97%) of the birds investigated. Of a total of 2,970 samples tested, 911 (30.7%) tested positive for Enterococcus spp. Enterococci were detected in broilers (88.1%), laying hens (5.3%), turkeys (3.9%), breeding hens (2.2%), and geese (0.4%). The most commonly identified species were Enterococcus (E.) faecalis (74.7%), E. faecium (10.1%), E. gallinarum (5.5%), E. hirae (4.6%), and E. cecorum (4.1%). The most frequent resistance properties were resistance to sulphamethoxazole/trimethoprim (88%), tylosin (71.4%), enrofloxacin (69.4%), doxycycline (67.3%), and lincomycin/spectinomycin (56.1%). Only one vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus, E. cecorum from a broiler, was found

EPIDEMIOLOGICAL STUDIES TOWARDS CATTLE BABESIOSIS – TICK–BORNE DISEASE

Cattle babesiosis is a dangerous and economically important tick–borne disease caused by hemoprotozoan parasites of the genus Babesia. The vector of the disease are ticks from Ixodidae family. Symptoms of disease are fever, anorexia, lethargy, anemia, jaundice and hemoglobinuria.The purpose of this study was to investigate prevalence of Babesia spp. in cattle in Lublin region. The PCR technique revealed the presence of 18S RNA Babesia spp. genetic material in the blood of 20 from 192 examined animals (10.4%). Our study showed that the bovine babesiosis occur in Poland with asymptomatic form and does not reduce milk production significantly. The diagnosis depends only on the basis of detection of the genetic material of parasite, and the direct microscopic examination of blood smears is not useful in the identification of Babesia spp. in erythrocytes.The comparison of PCR products showed low homology level between isolates with present study and other Babesia sequences obtained around the world.Moreover, the study showed the prevalence of piroplasms in ticks from Lublin region is low (0,63%).

High-resolution melt and morphological analyses of mealybugs (Hemiptera: Pseudococcidae) from cacao: tools for the control of Cacao Swollen Shoot Virus spread

BACKGROUND: Mealybugs (Hemiptera: Coccoidea: Pseudococcidae) are key vectors of badnaviruses, including Cacao Swollen Shoot Virus (CSSV) the most damaging virus affecting cacao (Theobroma cacao L.). The effectiveness of mealybugs as virus vectors is species dependent and it is therefore vital that CSSV resistance breeding programmes in cacao incorporate accurate mealybug identification. In this work the efficacy of a CO1-based DNA barcoding approach to species identification was evaluated by screening a range of mealybugs collected from cacao in seven countries. RESULTS: Morphologically similar adult females were characterised by scanning electron microscopy and then, following DNA extraction, were screened with CO1 barcoding markers. A high degree of CO1 sequence homology was observed for all 11 individual haplotypes including those accessions from distinct geographical regions. This has allowed for the design of a High Resolution Melt (HRM) assay capable of rapid identification of the commonly encountered mealybug pests of cacao. CONCLUSIONS: HRM Analysis (HRMA) readily differentiated between mealybug pests of cacao that can not necessarily be identified by conventional morphological analysis. This new approach, therefore, has potential to facilitate breeding for resistance to CSSV and other mealybug transmitted diseases

Procoagulant and anticoagulant plasma indicators in diabetic dogs showing increased antithrombin III levels in canine diabetes mellitus.

BACKGROUND: Diabetes mellitus (DM) often leads to dangerous thromboembolic complications in humans. DM is also a relatively common endocrinopathy of dogs. There is scarce information regarding procoagulant and anticoagulant plasma indicators in this disease. The aim of the study was to evaluate the levels of the selected plasma haemostatic parameters in dogs suffering from diabetes. The study group consisted of 20 dogs meeting all the inclusion criteria, with fasting glycaemia exceeding 11.1 mmol/l. The control group consisted of 15 healthy dogs presented for routine examination. An evaluation of the prothrombin time (PT); and fibrinogen, D-dimer and antithrombin III (ATIII) levels was performed. RESULTS: Except for ATIII activity, the haemostatic parameter differences were not statistically significant. High values of ATIII activity were observed in 90% of diabetic dogs. On average, the values amounted to 166.6% and were 31.4% higher than those in the control group. The ATIII activity in the diabetic group was significantly higher than that in the control group (p = 0.0004). CONCLUSIONS: Here, we report elevated levels of ATIII in diabetic dogs. This finding may suggest the protective role of ATIII against potential thrombotic events. However, the exact role of ATIII in dog diabetes remains unclear

Predicting the distribution of Ixodes ricinus and Dermacentor reticulatus in Europe: a comparison of climate niche modelling approaches.

BackgroundThe ticks Ixodes ricinus and Dermacentor reticulatus are two of the most important vectors in Europe. Climate niche modelling has been used in many studies to attempt to explain their distribution and to predict changes under a range of climate change scenarios. The aim of this study was to assess the ability of different climate niche modelling approaches to explain the known distribution of I. ricinus and D. reticulatus in Europe.MethodsA series of climate niche models, using different combinations of input data, were constructed and assessed. Species occurrence records obtained from systematic literature searches and Global Biodiversity Information Facility data were thinned to different degrees to remove sampling spatial bias. Four sources of climate data were used: bioclimatic variables, WorldClim, TerraClimate and MODIS satellite-derived data. Eight different model training extents were examined and three modelling frameworks were used: maximum entropy, generalised additive models and random forest models. The results were validated through internal cross-validation, comparison with an external independent dataset and expert opinion.ResultsThe performance metrics and predictive ability of the different modelling approaches varied significantly within and between each species. Different combinations were better able to define the distribution of each of the two species. However, no single approach was considered fully able to capture the known distribution of the species. When considering the mean of the performance metrics of internal and external validation, 24 models for I. ricinus and 11 models for D. reticulatus of the 96 constructed were considered adequate according to the following criteria: area under the receiver-operating characteristic curve > 0.7; true skill statistic > 0.4; Miller's calibration slope 0.25 above or below 1; Boyce index > 0.9; omission rate ConclusionsThis comprehensive analysis suggests that there is no single 'best practice' climate modelling approach to account for the distribution of these tick species. This has important implications for attempts to predict climate-mediated impacts on future tick distribution. It is suggested here that climate variables alone are not sufficient; habitat type, host availability and anthropogenic impacts, not included in current modelling approaches, could contribute to determining tick presence or absence at the local or regional scale