Ruminant Brucellosis in the Kafr El Sheikh Governorate of the Nile Delta, Egypt: Prevalence of a Neglected Zoonosis

Brucellosis is a zoonosis of mammals caused by bacteria of the genus Brucella. It is responsible for a vast global burden imposed on human health through disability and on animal productivity. In humans brucellosis causes a range of flu-like symptoms and chronic debilitating illness. In livestock brucellosis causes economic losses as a result of abortion, infertility and decreased milk production. The main routes for human infection are consumption of contaminated dairy products and contact with infected ruminants. The control of brucellosis in humans depends on its control in ruminants, for which accurate estimates of the frequency of infection are very useful, especially in areas with no previous frequency estimates. We studied the seroprevalence of brucellosis and its geographic distribution among domestic ruminants in one governorate of the Nile Delta region, Egypt. In the study area, the seroprevalence of ruminant brucellosis is very high and has probably increased considerably since the early 1990s. The disease is widespread but more concentrated around major animal markets. These findings question the efficacy of the control strategy in place and highlight the high infection risk for the animal and human populations of the area and the urgent need for an improved control strategy

Effects of tetrodotoxin and ion replacements on the short-circuit current induced by Escherichiacoli heat stable enterotoxin across small intestine of the gerbil (Gerbillus cheesmani)

The effects of mucosally added Escherichia coli heat stable enterotoxin (STa 30 ng ml-1) on the basal short-circuit current (Isc in µA cm-2) across stripped and unstripped sheets of jejuna and ilea taken from fed, starved (4 days, water ad lib) and undernourished (50% control food intake for 21 days) gerbil (Gerbillus cheesmani) were investigated. The effect of neurotoxin tetrodotoxin (TTX 10 µM) and the effects of replacing chloride by gluconate or the effects of removing bicarbonate from bathing buffers on the maximum increase in Isc induced by STa were also investigated. The maximum increase in Isc which resulted from the addition of STa were significantly higher in jejuna and ilea taken from starved and undernourished gerbils when compared with the fed control both using stripped and unstripped sheets. In the two regions of the small intestine taken from fed and starved animals TTX reduced the maximum increase in Isc induced by STa across unstripped sheets only. Moreover in jejuna and ilea taken from undernourished gerbils TTX reduced significantly the maximum increase in Isc induced by STa across stripped and unstripped sheets. Replacing chloride by gluconate decreased the maximum increase in Isc induced by STa across jejuna and ilea taken from undernourished gerbils only. Removing bicarbonates from bathing buffer decreased the maximum increase in Isc across the jejuna and ilea taken from starved and undernourished gerbils