Epidemiology of a hybrid swarm: evidence of 11 feline infectious agents circulating in a population of sympatric European wildcat hybrids and free-living domestic cats, in Scotland:Epidemiology of a hybrid swarm

Hybridisation between wild and domestic species poses a serious challenge to conservation management and can, potentially, lead to extinction. Alongside it, disease transmission will inevitably occur. However, the link between these two phenomena has historically been neglected. In Scotland, the European wildcat is particularly threatened by hybridisation with the domestic cat, a process promoted by long-term habitat loss, human encroachment, and persecution. Between 2015 and 2019, free-living cats (n = 120) were captured in six conservation priority areas of northern Scotland. Samples were collected for infectious disease screening (feline immunodeficiency virus, feline leukaemia virus, feline calicivirus, feline herpesvirus, Chlamydia felis, Mycoplasma felis, Bordetella bronchiseptica, Mycoplasma haemofelis, Candidatus Mycoplasma haemominutum, Candidatus Mycoplasma turicensis, and Tritrichomonas foetus) and genetic analysis. Polymerase chain reaction and reverse transcriptionPCR were used to detect infectious DNA or RNA, respectively. The hybrid score (Q) for each individual cat was determined using a 35-SNP-marker test. Statistical analysis investigated the association between Q and probability of infection, accounting for spatial clustering. The results confirmed the presence of 11 infectious agents circulating in the free-living cat population of northern Scotland, which consists of a hybrid swarm between F. silvestris and F. catus. For eight of them (feline leukaemia virus, feline herpesvirus C. felis, B. bronchiseptica, M. felis, M. haemofelis, Ca. M. haemominutum, and T. foetus), there was no significant association between infection probability and Q, supporting our hypothesis that the hybrid swarm may be functioning as a single epidemiological unit. Considering the impact of infectious diseases on health, welfare, and population dynamics of domestic cats, their presence in the extremely fragile and hybridised population of F. silvestris in Scotland could be population limiting or, potentially, contribute to local extinction. Comprehensive disease surveillance, risk analysis, and domestic cat management will be essential for the European wildcat conservation, particularly where hybridisation is increasing and anthropogenic factors are prevalent

Seasonal variation in serum metabolites of northern European dogs

Background Metabolic profiling identifies seasonal variance of serum metabolites in humans. Despite the presence of seasonal disease patterns, no studies have assessed whether serum metabolites vary seasonally in dogs. Hypothesis There is seasonal variation in the serum metabolite profiles of healthy dogs. Animals Eighteen healthy, client-owned dogs. Methods A prospective cohort study. Serum metabolomic profiles were assessed monthly in 18 healthy dogs over a 12-month period. Metabolic profiling was conducted using a canine-specific proton nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy platform, and the effects of seasonality were studied for 98 metabolites using a cosinor model. Seasonal component was calculated, which describes the seasonal variation of each metabolite. Results We found no evidence of seasonal variation in 93 of 98 metabolites. Six metabolites had statistically significant seasonal variance, including cholesterol (mean 249 mg/dL [6.47 mmol/L] with a seasonal component amplitude of 9 mg/dL [0.23 mmol/L]; 95% confidence interval [CI] 6-13 mg/dL [0.14-0.33 mmol/L], P < .008), with a peak concentration of 264 mg/dL (6.83 mmol/L) in June and trough concentration of 236 mg/dL (6.12 mmol/L) in December. In contrast, there was a significantly lower concentration of lactate (mean 20 mg/dL [2.27 mmol/L] with a seasonal component amplitude of 4 mg/dL [0.42 mmol/L]; 95% CI 2-6 mg/dL [0.22-0.62 mmol/L], P < .001) during the summer months compared to the winter months, with a peak concentration of 26 mg/dL (2.9 mmol/L) in February and trough concentration of 14 mg/dL (1.57 mmol/L) in July. Conclusions and Clinical Importance We found no clear evidence that seasonal reference ranges need to be established for serum metabolites of dogs.Peer reviewe

Serum metabolomic profiles in dogs with chronic enteropathy

Background Metabolic profiles differ between healthy humans and those with inflammatory bowel disease. Few studies have examined metabolic profiles in dogs with chronic enteropathy (CE). Hypothesis Serum metabolic profiles of dogs with CE are significantly different from those of healthy dogs. Animals Fifty-five dogs with CE and 204 healthy controls. Methods A cross-sectional study. The serum concentrations of 99 metabolites measured using a canine-specific proton nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy platform were studied. A 2-sample unpaired t-test was used to compare the 2 study samples. The threshold for significance was set at P < .05 with a Bonferroni correction for each metabolite group. Results Nineteen metabolites and 18 indices of lipoprotein composition were significantly different between the CE and healthy dogs. Four metabolites were significantly higher in dogs with CE, including phenylalanine (mean and SD) (healthy: 0.0417 mmol/L; [SD] 0.0100; CE: 0.0480 mmol/L; SD: 0.0125; P value:Peer reviewe

Serological Patterns of Brucellosis, Leptospirosis and Q Fever in Bos indicus Cattle in Cameroon

Brucellosis, leptospirosis and Q fever are important infections of livestock causing a range of clinical conditions including abortions and reduced fertility. In addition, they are all important zoonotic infections infecting those who work with livestock and those who consume livestock related products such as milk, producing non-specific symptoms including fever, that are often misdiagnosed and that can lead to severe chronic disease. This study used banked sera from the Adamawa Region of Cameroon to investigate the seroprevalences and distributions of seropositive animals and herds. A classical statistical and a multi-level prevalence modelling approach were compared. The unbiased estimates were 20% of herds were seropositive for Brucella spp. compared to 95% for Leptospira spp. and 68% for Q fever. The within-herd seroprevalences were 16%, 35% and 39% respectively. There was statistical evidence of clustering of seropositive brucellosis and Q fever herds. The modelling approach has the major advantage that estimates of seroprevalence can be adjusted for the sensitivity and specificity of the diagnostic test used and the multi-level structure of the sampling. The study found a low seroprevalence of brucellosis in the Adamawa Region compared to a high proportion of leptospirosis and Q fever seropositive herds. This represents a high risk to the human population as well as potentially having a major impact on animal health and productivity in the region

A rabies lesson improves rabies knowledge amongst primary school children in Zomba, Malawi

<div><p>Rabies is an important neglected disease, which kills around 59,000 people a year. Over a third of these deaths are in children less than 15 years of age. Almost all human rabies deaths in Africa and Asia are due to bites from infected dogs. Despite the high efficacy of current rabies vaccines, awareness about rabies preventive healthcare is often low in endemic areas. It is therefore common for educational initiatives to be conducted in conjunction with other rabies control activities such as mass dog vaccination, however there are few examples where the efficacy of education activities has been assessed. Here, primary school children in Zomba, Malawi, were given a lesson on rabies biology and preventive healthcare. Subsequently, a mass dog vaccination programme was delivered in the same region. Knowledge and attitudes towards rabies were assessed by a questionnaire before the lesson, immediately after the lesson and 9 weeks later to assess the impact the lesson had on school children’s knowledge and attitudes. This assessment was also undertaken in children who were exposed to the mass dog vaccination programme but did not receive the lesson. Knowledge of rabies and how to be safe around dogs increased following the lesson (both p<0.001), and knowledge remained higher than baseline 9 weeks after the lesson (both p<0.001). Knowledge of rabies and how to be safe around dogs was greater amongst school children who had received the lesson compared to school children who had not received the lesson, but had been exposed to a rabies vaccination campaign in their community (both p<0.001) indicating that the lesson itself was critical in improving knowledge. In summary, we have shown that a short, focused classroom-based lesson on rabies can improve short and medium-term rabies knowledge and attitudes of Malawian schoolchildren.</p></div

Vitamin D status is heritable and under environment‐dependent selection in the wild

Vitamin D has a well‐established role in skeletal health and is increasingly linked to chronic disease and mortality in humans and companion animals. Despite the clear significance of vitamin D for health and obvious implications for fitness under natural conditions, no longitudinal study has tested whether the circulating concentration of vitamin D is under natural selection in the wild. Here, we show that concentrations of dietary‐derived vitamin D(2) and endogenously produced vitamin D(3) metabolites are heritable and largely polygenic in a wild population of Soay sheep (Ovis aries). Vitamin D(2) status was positively associated with female adult survival, and vitamin D(3) status predicted female fecundity in particular, good environment years when sheep density and competition for resources was low. Our study provides evidence that vitamin D status has the potential to respond to selection, and also provides new insights into how vitamin D metabolism is associated with fitness in the wild

Sliding mode control of quantum systems

This paper proposes a new robust control method for quantum systems with uncertainties involving sliding mode control (SMC). Sliding mode control is a widely used approach in classical control theory and industrial applications. We show that SMC is also a useful method for robust control of quantum systems. In this paper, we define two specific classes of sliding modes (i.e., eigenstates and state subspaces) and propose two novel methods combining unitary control and periodic projective measurements for the design of quantum sliding mode control systems. Two examples including a two-level system and a three-level system are presented to demonstrate the proposed SMC method. One of main features of the proposed method is that the designed control laws can guarantee desired control performance in the presence of uncertainties in the system Hamiltonian. This sliding mode control approach provides a useful control theoretic tool for robust quantum information processing with uncertainties.Comment: 18 pages, 4 figure

What can cohort studies in the dog tell us?

This paper addresses the use of cohort studies in canine medicine to date and highlights the benefits of wider use of such studies in the future. Uniquely amongst observational studies, cohort studies offer the investigator an opportunity to assess the temporal relationship between hypothesised risk factors and diseases. In human medicine cohort studies were initially used to investigate specific exposures but there has been a movement in recent years to more broadly assess the impact of complex lifestyles on morbidity and mortality. Such studies do not focus on narrow prior hypotheses but rather generate new theories about the impact of environmental and genetic risk factors on disease. Unfortunately cohort studies are expensive both in terms of initial investment and on-going costs. There is inevitably a delay between set up and the reporting of meaningful results. Expense and time constraints are likely why this study design has been used sparingly in the field of canine health studies. Despite their rather limited numbers, canine cohort studies have made a valuable contribution to the understanding of dog health, in areas such as the dynamics of infectious disease. Individual exposures such as neutering and dietary restriction have also been directly investigated. More recently, following the trend in human health, large cohort studies have been set up to assess the wider impact of dog lifestyle on their health. Such studies have the potential to develop and test hypotheses and stimulate new theories regarding the maintenance of life-long health in canine populations