Prevalence of Giardia duodenalis Infection in Household Cats of Ahvaz District, South-West of Iran

Background: The occurrence of Giardia duodenalis in cats is of potential significance from both clinical and public health perspectives. The object of this study was antigenic detection of G. duodenalis in household cats of Ahvaz district, South-West of Iran. Methods: The prevalence of G. duodenalis was determined in fecal samples by two techniques: centrifugation-flotation and a commercial Giardia Antigen Test Kit (immunochromatography assay) in 150 household cats of different ages among referred cases to Veterinary Hospital of Ahvaz University from January 2008 to February 2010. Results: Five out of 150 fecal samples (3.33%) were positive for antigen of G. duodenalis by immunochromatography assay. The prevalence was significantly higher in young cats less than 6 months (15.79%) compared with adult cats 6 months – 3 years (1.37%) (P=0.027) and above 3 years (1.72%) (P=0.044). The infection had more prevalence in diarrheic cats (17.39%) compared with non-diarrheic cats (0.79%) and the difference was significant (P=0.02) as well. The prevalence was higher in male cats (3.41%) than females (3.23%) and in the season of autumn (6.06%), but the difference was not significant between the prevalence of infection relative to host gender and season (P>0.05). Microscopy examinatio

A Serological Survey of Neospora caninum Infection in Urban and Rural Dogs in Ahvaz District, Southwest of Iran

Dogs are important in the epidemiology of Neospora caninum because they act as definitive hosts, shedding oocysts in the environment. The aim of the present survey was to evaluate the serological prevalence of Neospora caninum infection in urban and rural dogs in Ahvaz district, southwest of Iran. In this study, blood samples were taken from 100 rural dogs and 50 urban dogs. The dogs were categorized into two age groups (i.e., ≤ 3 and > 3 years). Neospora agglutination test (NAT) was performed for the detection of infection. Among 150 samples, 30 (20%) showed infection in 1:50 to 1:800 dilutions by NAT (confidence interval 95%: 13.60-26.40). The antibody titers were as follows: 1:50 (n=1), 1:100 (n=14), 1:200 (n=3), 1:400 (n=10) and 1:800 (n=2). The highest serum dilution was 1:100 in 46.67% of the infected dogs and the lowest serum dilution was 1:50 in 3.33% of them. The obtained results showed a significant difference in seroprevalence between urban (10%) and rural (25%) dogs (P=0.03). Although the seroprevalence was higher in dogs above three years of age (23.33%) than below three years (17.78%), there was not a significant difference among different age groups in this regard (P>0.05). The possibility of infection in dogs above the age of three years was 1.3 more than those below three years of age (confidence interval 95%: 0.58-2.9). It can be concluded that a relatively considerable percentage of dogs in Ahvaz district are infected with N. caninum. These infected dogs can play an important role in the transmission of neosporosis to other animals

Effects of Hormone Agonists on Sf9 Cells, Proliferation and Cell Cycle Arrest

Methoxyfenozide and methoprene are two insecticides that mimic the action of the main hormones involved in the control of insect growth and development, 20-hydroxyecdysone and juvenile hormone. We investigated their effect on the Spodoptera frugiperda Sf9 cell line. Methoxyfenozide was more toxic than methoprene in cell viability tests and more potent in the inhibition of cellular proliferation. Cell growth arrest occurred in the G2/M phase after a methoprene treatment and more modestly in G1 after methoxyfenozide treatment. Microarray experiments and real-time quantitative PCR to follow the expression of nuclear receptors ultraspiracle and ecdysone receptor were performed to understand the molecular action of these hormone agonists. Twenty-six genes were differentially expressed after methoxyfenozide treatment and 55 genes after methoprene treatment with no gene in common between the two treatments. Our results suggest two different signalling pathways in Sf9 cells

Anterior uveitis in a kitten infected with Toxoplasma gondii (Tehran strain)

Summary Ocular lesions are a common manifestation of toxoplasmosis in cats. In this survey, 10 healthy Syrian mice were infected through intraperitoneal inoculation of bradyzoites of Toxoplasma gondii (Tehran strain). Mice were killed 30 days after inoculation and the suspension of their brains was prepared, after confirmation of the infection. Seven kittens were fed with the infected mice brain suspension. The kittens were 2.5-3 months old and had body weights of 650-900 g. All kittens shed oocyst 7-8 days after infection, and had antibody titers as high as 1/320-1/1280 30 days after the challenge. Serum chemistry and complete blood count were determined in all of the kittens. Examination of eyes was done with ophthalmoscope twice during one week. Only one kitten showed unilateral anterior uveitis on day 16 after the infection was diagnosed based on serology, oocyst shedding and other clinical signs

Antibody detection of feline infectious peritonitis virus (FIPV) in sera of companion cats in Ahvaz, south west of Iran

Feline infectious peritonitis virus (FIPV) is ubiquitous in domestic cats, especially in young cats and multi-cat environments. In the present study, a total of 248 companion cats of different ages were examined for serum antibody detection of FIPV by immunochromatography assay. The cats were selected from those referring to Veterinary Hospital of Ahvaz University, southwestern Iran from December 2006 to June 2009. Classification was made by age, sex, breed, region and season. The studied cats were divided based on age into three groups ( 3 years) and based on area into five regions (north, east, west, south and central). The results were analyzed by using Chi-square analysis and Fischer's exact test. Seventeen of 248 serum samples (6.85%) had antibody against feline infectious peritonitis virus. Prevalence was significantly higher in young kittens less than 6 months (9.72%; 7 out of 72) and mean-age cats 6 months – 3 years (9.28%; 9 out of 97) compared with above 3 years (1.27%; 1 out of 79) (P0.05). It is necessary to control cat population in these area particular young cats to reduce risk of infection transmission between them

A serological survey on Brucella canis in companion dogs in Ahvaz.

Summary Canine brucellosis is a zoonotic infectious disease caused by Brucella canis. This bacterium can be transmitted to humans as well as other dogs. It is a significant cause of reproductive failure, predominantly in kennels. The aim of this study was to determine the seroprevalence of Brucella canis infection in companion dogs referred to the Veterinary Hospital of Shahid Chamran University of Ahvaz in the southwest of Iran. A total of 102 blood samples were obtained from dogs between 2006 and 2008. Sera were examined by Immunochromatography assay. The studied dogs were divided into two age groups (1-5 years and >5 years) and based on clinical signs (related signs to brucellosis such as scrotum dermatitis, diskospondylitis, lymphadenitis, abortion and infertility) into two groups also. Prevalence to Brucella canis antibodies in these dogs was 4.90% (5 of 102). The infection had more prevalence in dogs above 5 years (9.3%; 4 of 43) in comparison with dogs less than 5 years (1.69%; 1 of 59), but the difference between the two age groups was not statistically significant (P>0.05). There was no significant difference between the different sexes either (P>0.05). Nevertheless, the difference for related signs to brucellosis was significant between the groups (P=0.018). Three out of 14 cases (21.4%) which had clinical signs and two out of 88 cases (2.3%) which had no clinical signs were seropositive. This study showed that antibody against Brucella canis is present among the companion dog population of the Ahvaz area and preventive measures should be taken to control pathogenic bacteria

Comparative evaluation between chitosan and atorvastatin on serum lipid profile changes in hyperlipidemic cats

Summary The purpose of the present survey was to determine the effects of the chitosan and atorvastatin on serum lipid profile changes and the influence of time on treatment process in cats. For the management of cholesterol induced hyperlipidemia, twenty-one healthy cats were randomly divided into three equal groups. Group A (control) included seven cats that were fed with cholesterol powder (4 g/kg for 10 days). Group B was similar to group A, but in addition, atorvastatin (5 mg/kg) was administered for 45 days after induced hyperlipidemia. Group C was similar to group B, but chitosan (3 g/cat) was administered instead of atorvastatin. Blood samples were collected four times on days 0, 10, 40 and 55 after challenge. Serum total cholesterol, triglycerides, HDL-C and LDL-C levels were measured using standard commercial kits. Atorvastatin (P<0.001) and chitosan (P<0.01) showed more hypolipidemic activity in lowering triglycerides compared with group A. In a comparison between two drugs and their effects on triglyceride, atorvastatin showed a significant difference with chitosan (P<0.01). Atorvastatin (P<0.01) and chitosan (P<0.05) showed more activity in lowering cholesterol than the control group. The treated groups (B and C) had good results in lowering LDL-C, compared with group A, on day 45 (P<0.001). A significant difference was seen only between groups A and B and on day 45 in increase of HDL-C (P<0.01). In conclusion, it was shown that although both drugs had hypolipidemic activity in cats, atorvastatin was more effective than chitosan. Further experimentation will be needed to elucidate the possible biochemical mechanism of the drugs