Prevalence and associated risk factors of Salmonella spp. On the pork production chain in Córdoba, Argentina

Salmonella is considered a major pathogen in Public Health. Córdoba is an important region for the production of pork. In this study we estimated the prevalence and risk factors associated with Salmonella at different stages of pig production chain (farms, slaughterhouses and pork sausages industries). The observed prevalence of farms in this study was higher than reported by EU. The main Risk Factors could be linked to the lack of good manufacturing practices in the whole pork chain in the region.</p

Expression of dipeptidylaminopeptidase IV/CD26 in peripheral blood lymphocytes of hemophilic subjects.

CD26 antigen, a 110 kDa membrane glycoprotein with exopeptidase activity (DAP IV), is an activation marker of T lymphocytes preferentially expressed on CD4+ memory cells and involved in T cell proliferation and IL-2 production after antigenic stimulation. We employed cytochemical and immunocytochemical techniques to study DAP IV/CD26 expression in circulating lymphocytes from 40 hemophilic patients, chronically treated with coagulation factors, in order to verify the possible involvement of this molecule in the immunological alterations of hemophilia. In all the hemophiliacs DAP IV activity was significantly lower than in the controls, independently of the quantity of blood transfused and previous exposure to viruses. This reduction may be responsible for the impaired proliferative response of lymphocytes to antigens and mitogens, notoriously observed in hemophilia. Whereas in the group of HIV- patients CD26 expression was similar to that of normal controls, in the 8 HIV+ hemophilic patients both percentages of positive lymphocytes and intensity of staining were significantly lower. In only 4 of the 8 cases was this deficit associated with CD4+ cell depletion. The significant selective loss of CD26 expression observed in HIV+ patients is probably an early event after HIV infection and seems to occur even before CD4 cell depletion. In conclusion, evaluation of DAP IV/CD26 might be a useful option for monitoring the immunological alterations of all hemophilic patients, HIV positive or not, chronically treated with coagulation factors

Prevalence, associated risk factors, and antimicrobial resistance profiles of non-typhoidal Salmonella in large scale swine production in Córdoba, Argentina

Fil: Vico, J. P. Universidad Católica de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Agropecuarias, Veterinaria. Instituto de Investigaciones en Recursos Humanos y Sustentabilidad, José Sánchez Labrador S.J.; Córdoba, Argentina.Fil: Lorenzutti, A. M. Universidad Católica de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Agropecuarias, Veterinaria. Instituto de Investigaciones en Recursos Humanos y Sustentabilidad, José Sánchez Labrador S.J.; Córdoba, Argentina.Fil: Zogbi, A. P. Universidad Católica de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Agropecuarias, Veterinaria. Instituto de Investigaciones en Recursos Humanos y Sustentabilidad, José Sánchez Labrador S.J.; Córdoba, Argentina.Fil: Aleu, G. Universidad Católica de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Agropecuarias, Veterinaria. Instituto de Investigaciones en Recursos Humanos y Sustentabilidad, José Sánchez Labrador S.J.; Córdoba, Argentina.Fil: Sánchez, I. C. Universidad Católica de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Agropecuarias, Veterinaria. Instituto de Investigaciones en Recursos Humanos y Sustentabilidad, José Sánchez Labrador S.J.; Córdoba, Argentina.Fil: Caffer, M. I. ANLIS Dr.C.G.Malbrán. Instituto Nacional de Enfermedades Infecciosas. Servicio de Enterobacterias; Argentina.Fil: Rosmini, M. R. Universidad Nacional del Litoral, Facultad de Ciencias Veterinarias; Santa Fe, Argentina.Fil: Mainar-Jaime, R. C. Universidad de Zaragoza. Instituto Agroalimentario de Aragón - IA2. Facultad de Veterinaria. Departamento de Patología Animal; España.Non-typhoidal Salmonella is considered a major public health concern. The growing relevance of pigs as reservoir of Salmonella spp. has prompted several countries to set up surveillance and control programs to fight Salmonella infection in swine and reduce public health risk. In the last decade, pork production in Córdoba increased significantly to become one of the most important pig production provinces in Argentina. The aim of this study was to estimate Salmonella spp. prevalence and associated risk factors in large scale-farms in this province. Mesenteric lymph nodes (MLN) of 580 pigs from 20 finishing large-scale farms were collected between 2014 and 2015 to estimate Salmonella infection. A prevalence of 41.5% (95%CI: 37.6-45.6%) was observed. Two major risk factors were significantly associated with Salmonella infection, both related to the pre-slaughter period (distance from the farm to the slaughterhouse and lairage time), highlighting the need to pay special attention to pre-slaughter practices in the province. Shortening transport times and complying with national regulations for lairage time at slaughter may help to reduce the prevalence of infection. Sixteen different serovars were identified, being S. Anatum and S. Typhimurium the most prevalent ones. Moreover, two isolate of the monophasic variant of Salmonella Typhimurium (I 4,5,12:i:-) resistant to enrofloxacin and which also displayed multidrug resistance was isolated for first time from pigs in Córdoba. The moderate to high levels of antimicrobial resistance detected for antibiotics commonly used in the pig sector suggested the need for implementing a plan to limit their use in the province