Detection and molecular characterization of porcine parvovirus in fetal tissues from sows without reproductive failure in Argentina

Porcine parvovirus (PPV) is one of many pathogens responsible for reproductive failure in pregnant sows. Several studies have reported the appearance of new PPV strains that differ from previous isolates both genetically and antigenically. Thus, the protective effects of commercially inactivated vaccines could not be complete. In South America, the information about PPV is limited. Thus, the aim of the present study was to detect and characterize the PPV strains present in 131 mummies or stillbirths from normal deliveries in sows from a commercial swine farm of Argentina that uses the commercial vaccine. PCR results showed that 17/131 were positive to PPV. Ten of these viruses were isolated and sequenced. All viruses were related to the PPV1 sequence (NADL-2), maintaining the amino acid differences in positions 436 (S–P) and 565 (R–K). This study is the first to report the isolation of PPV in Argentina and the results suggest that PPV can cross the placenta even in vaccinated sows, thus affecting some of the fetuses and being able to cause fetal death in sows without reproductive failure. The results also suggest that vaccination only reduces clinical signs and reproductive disorders and may thus not be a perfect tool to manage PPV infection. This study provides information that needs to be studied in depth to improve strategies to prevent and control PPV infection in swine farms.Fil: Serena, Maria Soledad. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Veterinarias. Departamento de Microbiología. Cátedra de Virología; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - La Plata; ArgentinaFil: Cappuccio, Javier Alejandro. Instituto Nacional de Tecnologia Agropecuaria. Centro Regional Cordoba. Estacion Experimental Agropecuaria Marcos Juarez. Agencia de Extension Rural Rio Cuarto.; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Córdoba; ArgentinaFil: Metz, German Ernesto. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Veterinarias. Departamento de Microbiología. Cátedra de Virología; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - La Plata; ArgentinaFil: Aspitia, Carolina Gabriela. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Veterinarias. Departamento de Microbiología. Cátedra de Virología; ArgentinaFil: Dibárbora, Marina. Instituto Nacional de Tecnologia Agropecuaria. Centro Regional Cordoba. Estacion Experimental Agropecuaria Marcos Juarez. Agencia de Extension Rural Rio Cuarto.; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Córdoba; ArgentinaFil: Calderón, M. Gallo. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Parque Centenario. Instituto de Ciencia y Tecnología "Dr. César Milstein". Fundación Pablo Cassará. Instituto de Ciencia y Tecnología "Dr. César Milstein"; ArgentinaFil: Echeverría, M. G.. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Veterinarias. Departamento de Microbiología. Cátedra de Virología; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - La Plata; Argentin

Primer análisis de la secuencia completa del gen VP2 de una cepa local de parvovirus porcino

El parvovirus porcino (PPV) es uno de los agentes infecciosos más importantes que se asocia a fallas reproductivas en granjas porcinas. En Argentina, como en otros países donde la producción porcina es de importancia económica, estas fallas son un gran problema. El PPV es un virus con genoma ADN monocatenario (cadena negativa) de aproximadamente 5000 nt. La cápside es icosaédrica, no envuelta y está formada por copias múltiples de VP1, VP2 y VP3. En los últimos años, se viene reportando una variación genética entre las cepas de campo y las cepas de referencia y/o vacunales. Además, se sabe que las cepas de PPV se pueden distinguir por su diferente patogenicidad; las sustituciones de pocos residuos en la VP2 (D378G, H383Q y S436P), son responsables de las distintas propiedades biológicas entre las cepas NADL-2 y Kresse (vacuna y salvaje, respectivamente). El objetivo de este trabajo fue amplificar por PCR el gen completo de la VP2 de una cepa local y analizar la secuencia respecto de cepas vacunales y de referencias publicadas en el Genbank.Trabajo publicado en Cagliada, Maria del Pilar Lilia y Galosi, Cecilia Mónica (comps.). I Congreso de Microbiología Veterinaria. Libro de resúmenes. La Plata: Facultad de Ciencias Veterinarias, 2021.Facultad de Ciencias Veterinaria

Safety and effectiveness of isavuconazole in real-life non-neutropenic patients

Objectives: Information is scarce on clinical experiences with non-neutropenic patients with invasive fungal infection (IFI) receiving isavuconazole. We aimed to report the safety and effectiveness of this drug as a first-line treatment or rescue in real life. Methods: A retrospective, observational multicentric study of non-neutropenic patients who received isavuconazole as an IFI treatment at 12 different university hospitals (January 2018-2022). All patients met criteria for proven, probable or possible IFI according to EORTC-MSG. Results: A total of 238 IFIs were treated with isavuconazole during the study period. Combination therapy was administered in 27.7% of cases. The primary IFI was aspergillosis (217, 91.2%). Other IFIs treated with isavuconazole were candidemia (n = 10), mucormycosis (n = 8), histoplasmosis (n = 2), cryptococcosis (n = 2), and others (n = 4). Median time of isavuconazole treatment was 29 days. Only 5.9% (n = 14) of cases developed toxicity, mainly hepatic-related (10 patients, 4.2%). Nine patients (3.8%) had treatment withdrawn. Successful clinical response at 12 weeks was documented in 50.5% of patients. Conclusion: Isavuconazole is an adequate treatment for non-neutropenic patients with IFIs. Toxicity rates were low and its effectiveness was comparable to other antifungal therapies previously reported. (c) 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd on behalf of International Society for Infectious Diseases. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license ( http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/

Investigation of a mass stranding of 68 short-beaked common dolphins in Golfo Nuevo, Península Valdés, Argentina

We report on the investigation of a mass stranding of 68 short-beaked common dolphins (Delphinus delphis) that occurred in Golfo Nuevo, Península Valdés, Argentina in March 2018. Twenty-one of the stranded dolphins were returned alive to the sea, while 47 animals died. Dead dolphins included all ages, with more males than females (29 males and 18 females). The cause of death investigation reported here is restricted to 15 adult individuals and one fetus on which a full set of diagnostics was prioritized due to limited funding. Our results demonstrate that the death of 16 dolphins assessed in this study was not due to obvious human effects (e.g. bycatch) or underlying pathologies, as all animals were in good body condition and had no external evidence of injuries. Infections by Morbillivirus, Influenza A virus, Sarcocystis spp., Toxoplasma gondii, or Neospora caninum, as well domoic acid (DA) toxicity were ruled out as ethiologies in this event. Notably, results on exposure to paralytic shelfish toxins (PSP) were the only investigated cause of death found positive. This is the first documentation of exposure to PSP toxins in short-beaked common dolphins from the Argentine Sea. At present our results are insufficient to assess whether PSP toxin exposure played a role in the death of the stranded dolphins. Notwithstanding, the full documentation and investigation of the most commonly reported pathogens and toxins involved in cetacean mass strandings allowed us to clear the most relevant health differentials and suggests areas for future study. Additional potential hypothesis related to factors known or speculated to cause cetacean mass strandings are currently being explored within the ecological context at the time of the event

Clonal chromosomal mosaicism and loss of chromosome Y in elderly men increase vulnerability for SARS-CoV-2

The pandemic caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19) had an estimated overall case fatality ratio of 1.38% (pre-vaccination), being 53% higher in males and increasing exponentially with age. Among 9578 individuals diagnosed with COVID-19 in the SCOURGE study, we found 133 cases (1.42%) with detectable clonal mosaicism for chromosome alterations (mCA) and 226 males (5.08%) with acquired loss of chromosome Y (LOY). Individuals with clonal mosaic events (mCA and/or LOY) showed a 54% increase in the risk of COVID-19 lethality. LOY is associated with transcriptomic biomarkers of immune dysfunction, pro-coagulation activity and cardiovascular risk. Interferon-induced genes involved in the initial immune response to SARS-CoV-2 are also down-regulated in LOY. Thus, mCA and LOY underlie at least part of the sex-biased severity and mortality of COVID-19 in aging patients. Given its potential therapeutic and prognostic relevance, evaluation of clonal mosaicism should be implemented as biomarker of COVID-19 severity in elderly people. Among 9578 individuals diagnosed with COVID-19 in the SCOURGE study, individuals with clonal mosaic events (clonal mosaicism for chromosome alterations and/or loss of chromosome Y) showed an increased risk of COVID-19 lethality

Likelihood mapping of the Fsp (A) and H (B) datasets.

<p>The probabilities close to the triangle corners represent tree-like topologies (well-resolved). Those in the center and on the sides represent star-like (unresolved) and network-like signals (partially unresolved), respectively.</p

Inter- and intra-lineage amino acid divergences (p-distances).

<p>The upper values represent the divergence for Fsp; the lower values represent the divergence for the H protein. AS1, Asia 1; AS2, Asia 2; EU1/SA1, Europe 1/South America 1; EU2, Europe 2; EU3, Europe 3; NA1, North America 1; NA2, North America 2; SA2, South America 2.</p

Phylogenetic analysis of CDV isolates.

<p>Thirty-seven nucleotide sequences of the Fsp (left) and H (right) datasets were used. Maximum likelihood trees were constructed using the Hasegawa-Kishino-Yano (G) substitution model for both datasets and were inferred through 500 replicates. Branch lengths are measured in the number of substitutions per site, as shown by the scale bars. Unrooted trees were depicted facing each other for comparison. AS1, Asia 1; AS2, Asia 2; EU1/SA1, Europe 1/South America 1; EU2, Europe 2; EU3, Europe 3; NA1, North America 1; NA2, North America 2; SA2, South America 2; Onder, Onderstepoort strain; Snyder, Snyder-Hill strain.</p

Inter- and intracontinental migrations and local differentiation have shaped the contemporary epidemiological landscape of canine parvovirus in South America

Canine parvovirus (CPV) is a fast-evolving single-stranded DNA virus that causes one of the most significant infectious diseases of dogs. Although the virus dispersed over long distances in the past, current populations are considered to be spatially confined and with only a few instances of migration between specific localities. It is unclear whether these dynamics occur in South America where global studies have not been performed. The aim of this study is to analyze the patterns of genetic variability in South American CPV populations and explore their evolutionary relationships with global strains. Genomic sequences of sixty-three strains from South America and Europe were generated and analyzed using a phylodynamic approach. All the obtained strains belong to the CPV-2a lineage and associate with global strains in four monophyletic groups or clades. European and South American strains from all the countries here analyzed are representative of a widely distributed clade (Eur-I) that emerged in Southern Europe during 1990-98 to later spread to South America in the early 2000s. The emergence and spread of the Eur-I clade were correlated with a significant rise in the CPV effective population size in Europe and South America. The Asia-I clade includes strains from Asia and Uruguay. This clade originated in Asia during the late 1980s and evolved locally before spreading to South America during 2009-10. The third clade (Eur-II) comprises strains from Italy, Brazil, and Ecuador. This clade appears in South America as a consequence of an early introduction from Italy to Ecuador in the middle 1980s and has experienced extensive local genetic differentiation. Some strains from Argentina, Uruguay, and Brazil constitute an exclusive South American clade (SA-I) that emerged in Argentina in the 1990s. These results indicate that the current epidemiological scenario is a consequence of inter-and intracontinental migrations of strains with different geographic and temporal origins that set the conditions for competition and local differentiation of CPV populations. The coexistence and interaction of highly divergent strains are the main responsible for the drastic epidemiological changes observed in South America in the last two decades. This highlights the threat of invasion from external sources and the importance of whole-genome resolution to robustly infer the origin and spread of new CPV variants. From a taxonomic standpoint, the findings herein show that the classification system that uses a single amino acid to identify variants (2a, 2b, and 2c) within the CPV-2a lineage does not reflect phylogenetic relationships and is not suitable to analyze CPV evolution. In this regard, the identification of clades or sublineages within circulating CPV strains is the first step towards a genetic and evolutionary classification of the virus