Gastrointestinal parasites as a threat to grazing sheep

Despite pressure to increase farm productivity, a tendency for animal-friendly production systems, like the one that includes grazing, is becoming more common due to an increased consumer awareness of animal welfare. Pasture is generally the main food source for these animals. Grazing sheep are therefore exposed to a huge diversity of parasites. These parasites impact greatly on animal health, welfare and productivity, and can be responsible for high economic losses due to delayed development of lambs and low productivity levels of adult sheep, which can be especially threatening in endangered breeds. Nematodes of the genera Haemonchus, Trichostrongylus, Teladorsagia, Cooperia and Nematodirus can cause serious health problems in sheep. Haemonchus contortus is responsible for the main health problems in sheep, and represents a significant cause of mortality worldwide. Nematodirus battus is a common cause of lamb diarrhoea. Some trematodes, besides affecting animal health, are zoonotic and may have health implications for farmers and local communities. Prophylaxis plans are essential in order to keep acceptable infection levels. A detailed knowledge of parasite species involved, as well as their burden and prevalence, is necessary. Pasture management should be a primary tool to control parasites. Integration of more than one measure like good farming practices, and appropriate biological control measures is essential to achieve the sustainable control on the parasites. Anti-parasitic drugs are still an important part of parasite control in grazing sheep. Consumers worry about the quality of meat as well as about the animal welfare, but studies of the effects of parasites are scarce, and there is a concern that grazing management systems increase the prevalence of parasites. The question is whether to choose less productive breeds but well adapted to the local environmental conditions (autochthonous breeds) and more resistant to parasites, or high productive breeds but not adapted to the local environment and its parasites. The aim of this review was to understand the current situation of the prevalence of gastrointestinal parasites in grazing sheep, and the consequences on sheep management and the effects on meat quality.A91F-E8B8-FA62 | Teresa Susana Letra MateusN/

Risk communication strategies (on listeriosis) for high-risk groups

Background: Most cases of listeriosis are domestically acquired. Although consumers have a key role in its prevention, it is generally agreed that individuals at higher risk have a low awareness of the infection. Scope and approach: A summary of the scientific information on listeriosis awareness among high-risk groups will be presented. Reasons explaining unawareness and potential strategies to communicate with target groups in a manner that can effectively change risk behaviours reducing the burden of listeriosis will be discussed. Key findings and conclusions: Research efforts are needed in particular experimental studies that can identify which communication factors have a causal effect on peoples’ risk behaviour and how these factors influence the processing of information by consumers.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2 in Client-Owned Cats from Portugal

Funding Information: The participation of T.L.M. was supported by the projects UIDB/CVT/00772/2020 and LA/P/0059/2020, funded by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT). The participation of M.A.P was supported by Global Health and Tropical Medicine (GHTM) under the project UID/04413/2020 and by the Centre for Natural Resources, Environment and Society (CERNAS) through the project UIDB/00681/2020, both founded by FCT, and by the Instituto Politécnico de Viseu (IPV) through the project Biossegurança: um passo firme na melhoria de um futuro incerto. Ref. BiossAPESPCall2. The participation of H.V. was supported by the Centre for the Research and Technology of Agro-Environmental and Biological Sciences (CITAB) through the project UIDB/04033/2020 and by CERNAS through the project UIDB/00681/2020, both funded by FCT, and by IPV through the project Biossegurança: um passo firme na melhoria de um futuro incerto. Ref. BiossAPESPCall2. Publisher Copyright: © 2022 by the authors.The close contact between humans and domestic cats raises concerns about the potential risks of SARS-CoV-2 transmission. Thus, this study aims to investigate anti-SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence in client-owned cats from Portugal and evaluate the infection risk of cats that maintain contact with human COVID-19 cases. A total of 176 cats, belonging to 94 households, were sampled. Cat owners answered an online questionnaire, and cats were screened for antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 using a commercial ELISA. Twenty (21.3%) households reported at least one confirmed human COVID-19 case. Forty cats (22.7%) belonged to a COVID-19-positive and 136 (77.3%) to a COVID-19-negative household. The seroprevalences of cats from COVID-19-positive and -negative households were 5.0% (2/40) and 0.7% (1/136). The two SARS-CoV-2-seropositive cats from COVID-19-positive households had an indoor lifestyle, and their owners stated that they maintained a close and frequent contact with them, even after being diagnosed with COVID-19, pointing towards human-to-cat transmission. The SARS-CoV-2-seropositive cat from the COVID-19-negative household had a mixed indoor/outdoor lifestyle and chronic diseases. Owners of the three SARS-CoV-2-seropositive cats did not notice clinical signs or behavior changes. This study highlights the low risk of SARS-CoV-2 transmission from COVID-19-positive human household members to domestic cats, even in a context of close and frequent human–animal contact.publishersversionpublishe

Perception and knowledge of portuguese veterinarians about the zoonotic transmission of helicobacter pylori and helicobacter suis: the need for one health intervention

Helicobacter species can colonize the gastrointestinal tract of both humans and animals, and are associated with gastrointestinal and extra-gastrointestinal diseases. Some studies indicate that animals, health professionals, and people in close contact with animals might be at higher risk for infection with gastric Helicobacter spp. Considering that veterinarians are professionals at risk for infection with zoonotic gastric Helicobacters and are also seen by many as health communicators concerning zoonoses, the aim of this study was to evaluate the Portuguese veterinarians’ perception and knowledge of Helicobacter spp. infection and its zoonotic risk/potential. Therefore, a structured questionnaire composed of 34 dichotomic, multiple-choice, rating scale, matrix, drop-down, and open-ended questions was developed and given to Portuguese veterinarians via an online platform from May 2021 to July 2021, and statistical analysis was used to obtain results. There was a total of 149 respondents, most of them (73.8%) being females. Evidently, Portuguese veterinarians have a limited perception regarding Helicobacter spp. infections. Of the respondents that “have heard of Helicobacter”, 17.6% do not know which animal species can be affected by it. Most of the companion animal veterinarians (76.2%) do not consider Helicobacter spp. infection a differential diagnosis when evaluating animals with gastritis. A significant percentage (37.2%) of the respondents that have “heard of H. suis” do not consider it a zoonotic bacterium. There is a need for education and sensitization of veterinarians regarding the potential zoonotic risk of Helicobacter spp. in order to elucidate these professionals to this One Health issue, as the number of reports of non-Helicobacter pylori Helicobacter in livestock, companion, and wild animals is increasing.A91F-E8B8-FA62 | Teresa Susana Letra MateusN/

Revis?o dos parasitas gastrointestinais em carn?voros selvagens na Europa

A proximidade dos animais silvestres ?s ?reas urbanas permite um maior contacto entre estes, os animais dom?sticos e o Homem, aumentando a probabilidade de transmiss?o de doen?as zoon?ticas. Grande parte das doen?as, nomeadamente as parasit?rias, que afetam humanos t?m origem em animais selvagens. Com este artigo pretendemos fazer uma revis?o dos estudos existentes na Europa sobre parasitas gastrointestinais de carn?voros selvagens, nomeadamente em lobo ib?rico (Canis lupus signatus), lobo europeu (Canis lupus lupus), raposa vermelha (Vulpes vulpes), lince ib?rico (Linx pardinus), marta (Martes martes), fuinha (Martes foina), texugo euroasi?tico (Meles meles) e gineta (Genetta genetta). Para o efeito, realizamos uma pesquisa bibliogr?fica online, nomeadamente nos sites PubMed e ResearchGate, colocando como palavras chave de pesquisa "parasites/parasitas" e o nome cient?fico dos diferentes carn?voros estudados. A maioria dos parasitas identificados correspondem a agentes potencialmente zoon?ticos (ancilostomat?deos, Taeniidae, Toxocara, entre outros), alertando para a import?ncia dos estudos epidemiol?gicos nesta ?rea, que podem gerar evid?ncias da necessidade de aplica??o de medidas profil?ticas para minimizar a dissemina??o destes agentes, em prol da manuten??o da sa?de ambiental, animal e humana.A91F-E8B8-FA62 | Teresa Susana Letra Mateusinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Listeria e listeria monocytogenes em alimentos

info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

First Report of Echinococcus ortleppi in Free-Living Wild Boar (Sus scrofa) from Portugal

Cystic echinococcosis (CE) is a zoonosis that is prevalent worldwide. It is considered endemic in Portugal but few studies have been performed on Echinococcus granulosus sensu lato and their hosts. In this study, CE cysts are reported for the first time in a free-living wild boar (Sus scrofa) in Portugal. The presence of the metacestodes in the liver of the wild boar was identified by morphological features, microscopic examination and molecular analysis. The sequencing of part of the DNA nuclear ribosomal internal transcribed spacer-1 (ITS-1) region revealed a G5 genotype that presently corresponds to Echinococcus ortleppi. This is the first report of E. ortleppi in Portugal and to the best of the authors' knowledge, in Europe. These results suggest that wild boar may be a host of CE, namely, crossing the livestock-wildlife interface, which has important public health implications. Wildlife reservoirs must be taken into account as CE hosts and surveillance of game as well as health education for hunters should be implemented using a One Health approach, with implementation of feasible and tailor-made control strategies, namely, proper elimination of byproducts in the field.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Prickly connections: sociodemographic factors shaping attitudes, perception and biological knowledge about the european hedgehog

The modern lifestyle of humans is leading to a limited exposure to nature. While several wild species are adapting and thriving in anthropic environments, natural history knowledge is declining, and positive attitudes and behaviours towards nature are facing challenges. Because anticipating attitudes and engendering broad-based support for nature-related measures requires a good grasp of social contexts, we set out to evaluate the sociodemographic factors driving the perception, attitudes towards, and natural history knowledge of a keystone species?the European hedgehog. In 2022, we conducted a questionnaire answered by 324 Portuguese adults. We found generally positive feelings and attitudes towards this species. A higher degree of academic qualifications and previous personal experience with the species seem to play a role in (i) people?s perception about human impacts on hedgehogs and (ii) positive attitudes, especially during encounters where the animals were in difficulty. Despite this, the extent of natural history knowledge was low overall, and the study population was self-aware of this. Our insights underline the need to tailor educational programmes if we are to encourage people to re-establish meaningful connections with nature, to foster social support for biodiversity stewardship, and to implement the One Health approach in a way that resonates with distinct social groups.A91F-E8B8-FA62 | Teresa Susana Letra MateusN/

Gastrointestinal parasites in iberian wolf (canis lupus signatus) from the Iberian Peninsula

The Iberian Peninsula is one of the most humanized areas in Europe, yet humans may cohabit with large predators, such as the Iberian wolf (Canis lupus signatus), at the expense of many contributions to its conservation. The limited wolves? territory leads to a close relationship between this wild species, humans, and other animals, which may promote the spillover of pathogens, such as gastrointestinal parasites. This review intends to provide an update concerning gastrointestinal parasite findings performed using coprological methods on fecal samples from Iberian wolves. Studies conducted in Portugal and Spain through coprology presented a prevalence of gastrointestinal parasites of 57.0?100% in Spain and 21.5?68.3% in Portugal. Parasites belonging to Protozoa, Trematoda, Cestoda, and Nematoda were specified, alongside thirteen genera and twenty species of gastrointestinal parasites. In this study, 76.9% (10/13) of genera and 65.0% (13/20) of species of gastrointestinal parasites were identified as having zoonotic potential. These results highlight that further studies are needed to better understand the parasitic agents circulating in the wild in humanized areas, such as the Iberian Peninsula.A91F-E8B8-FA62 | Teresa Susana Letra MateusN/

Molecular detection of metronidazole and tetracycline resistance genes in Helicobacter pylori-Like positive gastric samples from pigs

Antimicrobial resistance is a major public health concern. The aim of this study was to assess the presence of antibiotic resistance genes, previously reported in Helicobacter pylori, in gastric samples of 36 pigs, in which DNA of H. pylori-like organisms had been detected. Based on PCR and sequencing analysis, two samples were positive for the 16S rRNA mutation gene, conferring tetracycline resistance, and one sample was positive for the frxA gene with a single nucleotide polymorphism, conferring metronidazole resistance. All three amplicons showed the highest homology with H. pylori-associated antibiotic resistance gene sequences. These findings indicate that acquired antimicrobial resistance may occur in H. pylori-like organisms associated with pigs.A91F-E8B8-FA62 | Teresa Susana Letra MateusN/