Las unidades de deshabituación tabáquica como oportunidad para el diagnóstico de EPOC: el proyecto 1000-200

This study received an unconditional grant from GlaxoSmithKline Laboratories Spain

Molecular Detection and Epidemiology of Potentially Zoonotic Cryptosporidium spp. and Giardia duodenalis in Wild Boar (Sus scrofa) from Eastern Spain

Altres ajuts: Programa Banco Santander-UCH-CEU FUSPBS-PPC24/2018Cryptosporidium spp. and Giardia duodenalis are widely distributed pathogens in vertebrates. Both protozoa are among the major causes of diarrhoea in humans. Wild boars are known hosts of both parasites and are able to harbour zoonotic species. The main goal of this study was to molecularly evaluate the presence of Cryptosporidium spp. and Giardia duodenalis in faecal samples taken from hunted wild boar in eastern Spain. This area is experiencing a rapid increase in the wild boar population, which is colonising all habitats, including urban and peri-urban areas, thereby increasing interactions with humans. Both parasites were found in our study, evidencing a high prevalence, mainly of Cryptosporidium scrofarum and Cryptosporidium suis, which have been previously reported to affect humans. These results point out the potential for wild boar-human transmission because of close contact interactions, such as space sharing or dressing for meat consumption. The protozoans Giardia duodenalis and Cryptosporidium spp. are common causes of gastrointestinal disease in humans and animals. While both are commonly documented in domestic animals, few studies have analysed their presence in wildlife. To assess the prevalence of both parasites in wild boar (Sus scrofa) in the Valencian Community (eastern Spain), 498 wild boar faecal samples were collected from 2018 to 2022. Cryptosporidium spp. was detected by performing a nested PCR targeting a 578 bp sequence of the small subunit ribosomal RNA gene (SSU rRNA), followed by sequencing and phylogenetic analysis. For G. duodenalis, a qPCR amplifying a fragment of 62 bp from the SSU rRNA was employed. Positive samples were genotyped for glutamate dehydrogenase and β-giardin genes. Different epidemiological factors were considered potential modulating variables in the transmission of both parasites. G. duodenalis prevalence was 1.20%, while Cryptosporidium spp. prevalence reached 21.7%. Coinfection was observed in 0.2%. Genotyping of G. duodenalis isolates only detected genotype E. Two species of Cryptosporidium spp. were identified: Cryptosporidium scrofarum and Cryptosporidium suis. The results of this study demonstrate that the exposure to Cryptosporidium spp. in wild boars is high, particularly among young individuals belonging to the Typical Mediterranean climate. Moreover, the probability of infection is dependent on both the season and the density of wild boars. On the other side, exposure to G. duodenalis seems scarce and is influenced, in turn, by the climate. Both Cryptosporidium species detected in the present study have been reported in humans. Due to wild boar increasing in number and their colonisation of urban and peri-urban areas, this could represent an inherent health risk for the human population

Parasitofauna survey of song thrushes (Turdus philomelos) from the eastern part of Spain

© 2020. This document is made available under the CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 license http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ This document is the accepted version of a published work that appeared in final form in Parasitology International.Thrushes (Turdus spp.) are migratory passerine birds found in northern Europe during the summer months and in southern Europe and north of Africa during the winter. They constitute an important small game bird group very appreciated by Spanish hunters. Between October 2013 and February 2014, 90 adult song thrushes were collected for their exam. After necropsies, three species of helminths were macroscopically recovered from 15 birds (16.7%): Morishitium sp. (16.7%), Splendidofilaria mavis (6.7%) and Dilepis undula (7.8%). One of them showed an adult cestode in the lung. Moreover, 12 of the positive thrushes (80%) harboured microfilaria in pulmonary blood vessels and three of them (20%) were infected by Sarcocystis sp. on skeletal musculature. All parasitized birds showed lesions, ranging from mild to moderate airsacculitis, bronchitis and coelomitis associated to Morishitium sp. infection. To the authors' knowledge, this is the first description of Sarcocystis spp. in song thrushes from Spain. Our results reveal the need for further studies to evaluate the epidemiological role of song thrushes as spreaders of parasites during their annual migratio

Genomic Characterization of Staphylococcus aureus in Wildlife

Altres ajuts: Universidad Cardenal Herrera-CEU INDI 22/11 i Generalitat Valenciana CIPROM-2021-053Staphylococcus aureus is both a commensal and opportunistic pathogen that colonizes human and animal skin and mucosal membranes. It is widely acknowledged that livestock can act as a reservoir for human strains and genetic traits, but less is known about the epidemiological significance of wild animals. In the present work, the S. aureus isolated from wild animals, hunters, and hunting auxiliary animals of Eastern Spain are described and characterized. The genomic structure of the population of the sequenced isolates showed a significant degree of diversity, raising the question of these strains' origin and evolution. In addition, genomic characterization revealed the presence of relevant genes in the isolates belonging to wild animals, including resistance genes, as well as superantigens implicated in the pathogenicity of certain human S. aureus infections. These findings highlight the role of wild animals as a reservoir for some clinically relevant S. aureus strains and the importance of wildlife surveillance because the environment-animals-humans interaction impacts the transmission and evolution dynamics of S. aureus. Staphylococcus aureus is an opportunistic multi-host pathogen that threatens both human and animal health. Animals can act as a reservoir of S. aureus for humans, but very little is known about wild animals' epidemiological role. Therefore, in this study, we performed a genomic characterization of S. aureus isolates from wildlife, hunters, and their auxiliary hunting animals of Eastern Spain. Of 20 different species, 242 wild animals were examined, of which 28.1% were S. aureus carriers. The common genet, the Iberian ibex, and the European hedgehog were the species with the highest S. aureus carriage. We identified 30 different sequence types (STs), including lineages associated with wild animals such as ST49 and ST581, multispecies lineages such as ST130, ST398, and ST425, and lineages commonly isolated from humans, including ST1 and ST5. The hunters and the single positive ferret shared ST5, ST398, or ST425 with wild animals. In wildlife isolates, the highest resistance levels were found for penicillin (32.8%). For virulence factors, 26.2% of them carried superantigens, while 14.8% harbored the immune evasion cluster (IEC), which indicates probable human origin. Our findings suggest that wild animals are a reservoir of clinically relevant genes and lineages that could have the potential to be transmitted to humans. These data support the notion that wildlife surveillance is necessary to better understand the epidemiology of S. aureus as a pathogen that circulates among humans, animals, and the environment

Assessing the levels of intraspecific admixture and interspecific hybridization in Iberian wild goats (Capra pyrenaica)

Iberian wild goats (Capra pyrenaica, also known as Iberian ibex, Spanish ibex, and Spanish wild goat) underwent strong genetic bottlenecks during the 19th and 20th centuries due to overhunting and habitat destruction. From the 1970s to 1990s, augmentation translocations were frequently carried out to restock Iberian wild goat populations (very often with hunting purposes), but they were not systematically planned or recorded. On the other hand, recent data suggest the occurrence of hybridization events between Iberian wild goats and domestic goats (Capra hircus). Augmentation translocations and interspecific hybridization might have contributed to increase the diversity of Iberian wild goats. With the aim of investigating this issue, we have genotyped 118 Iberian wild goats from Tortosa-Beceite, Sierra Nevada, Muela de Cortes, Gredos, Batuecas, and Ordesa and Monte Perdido by using the Goat SNP50 BeadChip (Illumina). The analysis of genotypic data indicated that Iberian wild goat populations are strongly differentiated and display low diversity. Only three Iberian wild goats out from 118 show genomic signatures of mixed ancestry, a result consistent with a scenario in which past augmentation translocations have had a limited impact on the diversity of Iberian wild goats. Besides, we have detected eight Iberian wild goats from Tortosa-Beceite with signs of domestic goat introgression. Although rare, hybridization with domestic goats could become a potential threat to the genetic integrity of Iberian wild goats; hence, measures should be taken to avoid the presence of uncontrolled herds of domestic or feral goats in mountainous areas inhabited by this iconic wild ungulate.This research was funded by the European Regional Development Fund (FEDER)/Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovaci?n?Agencia Estatal de Investigaci?n/Project Reference grant: PID2019-105805RB-I00 and by the CERCA Programme/Generalitat de Catalunya. We acknowledge the support of the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness for the Center of Excellence Severo Ochoa 2020?2023 (CEX2019-000902-S) grant awarded to the Centre for Research in Agricultural Genomics (CRAG). We also acknowledge Jos? Folch, of the Centro de Investigaci?n y Tecnolog?a Agroalimentaria de Arag?n for his help in the development of his research. MGLS was funded with a FPI Ph.D. grant from the Spanish Ministry of Education (BES-C-2017-079079). TFC was funded with a fellowship from the CAPES Foundation-Coordination of Improvement of Higher Education, Ministry of Education of the Federal Government of Brazil. EMS was funded with a FPU Ph.D. grant from the Spanish Ministry of Education (FPU15/01733). GM is a Serra H?nter fellow (professor) of the Generalitat de Catalunya. Thanks also to the CERCA Programme of the Generalitat de Catalunya for their support. Sample collection benefitted from the research grants CGL2012-40043-C02-01, CGL2012-40043-C02-02, and CGL2016-80543-P, also from the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness. Many thanks to Laura Botigu? for her help and assistance in carrying out the f3 tests of admixture

Assessing the levels of intraspecific admixture and interspecific hybridization in Iberian wild goats (Capra pyrenaica)

Iberian wild goats (Capra pyrenaica, also known as Iberian ibex, Spanish ibex, and Spanish wild goat) underwent strong genetic bottlenecks during the 19 th and 20 th centuries due to overhunting and habitat destruction. From the 1970s to 1990s, augmentation translocations were frequently carried out to restock Iberian wild goat populations (very often with hunting purposes), but they were not systematically planned or recorded. On the other hand, recent data suggest the occurrence of hybridization events between Iberian wild goats and domestic goats (Capra hircus). Augmentation translocations and interspecific hybridization might have contributed to increase the diversity of Iberian wild goats. With the aim of investigating this issue, we have genotyped 118 Iberian wild goats from Tortosa-Beceite, Sierra Nevada, Muela de Cortes, Gredos, Batuecas, and Ordesa and Monte Perdido by using the Goat SNP50 BeadChip (Illumina). The analysis of genotypic data indicated that Iberian wild goat populations are strongly differentiated and display low diversity. Only three Iberian wild goats out from 118 show genomic signatures of mixed ancestry, a result consistent with a scenario in which past augmentation translocations have had a limited impact on the diversity of Iberian wild goats. Besides, we have detected eight Iberian wild goats from Tortosa-Beceite with signs of domestic goat introgression. Although rare, hybridization with domestic goats could become a potential threat to the genetic integrity of Iberian wild goats; hence, measures should be taken to avoid the presence of uncontrolled herds of domestic or feral goats in mountainous areas inhabited by this iconic wild ungulate