Fasciola hepatica IN BOVINES IN BRAZIL: DATA AVAILABILITY AND SPATIAL DISTRIBUTION

Fasciolosis is a disease of importance for both veterinary and public health. For the first time, georeferenced prevalence data of Fasciola hepatica in bovines were collected and mapped for the Brazilian territory and data availability was discussed. Bovine fasciolosis in Brazil is monitored on a Federal, State and Municipal level, and to improve monitoring it is essential to combine the data collected on these three levels into one dataset. Data were collected for 1032 municipalities where livers were condemned by the Federal Inspection Service (MAPA/SIF) because of the presence of F. hepatica. The information was distributed over 11 states: Espírito Santo, Goiás, Minas Gerais, Mato Grosso do Sul, Mato Grosso, Pará, Paraná, Rio de Janeiro, Rio Grande do Sul, Santa Catarina and São Paulo. The highest prevalence of fasciolosis was observed in the southern states, with disease clusters along the coast of Paraná and Santa Catarina and in Rio Grande do Sul. Also, temporal variation of the prevalence was observed. The observed prevalence and the kriged prevalence maps presented in this paper can assist both animal and human health workers in estimating the risk of infection in their state or municipality

Effects of initial body weight and litter material on broiler production

This experiment was carried out in a 104 m² poultry house located between the geographical coordinates 25°45'00" south latitude and 53°03'25" west longitude and an average altitude of 550 m, from September to November, 2008. The chickens were placed in 12 pens measuring 2 m² each at a stocking density of 12 chickens m-2. This study aimed at evaluating the effect of two different initial weights (chick weight on first day of experiment) and two types of litter material on broiler production parameters, litter humidity, as well as on breast and footpad lesions. A total of 240 female Cobb® chickens, derived from the same flock of breeders, was distributed in a completely randomized experimental design with a 2 (initial weight) by 2 (litter material) factorial arrangement with three replicates per treatment. Initial weights were classified as light (34.40 - 35.22 g) or heavy (39.29 - 41.30 g), whereas wood shavings and sawdust were used as litter material. Data were analyzed by ANOVA and means were compared by Tukey's test at 95% confidence level. Initial weight significantly influenced bird performance, as chickens with heavy initial weight presented higher feed intake and body weight. Type of litter did not have any effect on breast injuries and litter humidity. However, the wood shavings litter significantly influenced footpad lesions

Progress in imaging methods: insights gained into Plasmodium biology.

Over the past decade, major advances in imaging techniques have enhanced our understanding of Plasmodium spp. parasites and their interplay with mammalian hosts and mosquito vectors. Cryoelectron tomography, cryo-X-ray tomography and super-resolution microscopy have shifted paradigms of sporozoite and gametocyte structure, the process of erythrocyte invasion by merozoites, and the architecture of Maurer's clefts. Intravital time-lapse imaging has been revolutionary for our understanding of pre-erythrocytic stages of rodent Plasmodium parasites. Furthermore, high-speed imaging has revealed the link between sporozoite structure and motility, and improvements in time-lapse microscopy have enabled imaging of the entire Plasmodium falciparum erythrocytic cycle and the complete Plasmodium berghei pre-erythrocytic stages for the first time. In this Review, we discuss the contribution of key imaging tools to these and other discoveries in the malaria field over the past 10 years