Seroprevalencia de Fasciola hepatica en ganado ovino y caprino en Galicia y análisis de los principales factores de riesgo

Con objeto de estudiar la seroprevalencia frente a Fasciola hepatica en pequeños rumiantes de Galicia, se visitaron 98 granjas extensivas y semiextensivas de ganado ovino y caprino, en las que se recogieron 1.666 muestras de sangre. 51 rebaños estaban compuestos solo por ovejas y 13 únicamente por cabras, mientras que 34 estaban integrados por ambas especies de pequeños rumiantes. Las explotaciones muestreadas pertenecían a la Asociación de Defensa Sanitaria de Ovino y Caprino de Galicia “ACIVO”, representando todas las zonas agroganaderas de esta Comunidad Autónoma. También se estudió la posible influencia de varios factores intrínsecos (edad, raza de cabras y sexo) y extrínsecos (zona climática de procedencia de los animales, tamaño del rebaño, tipo de manejo y presencia/ausencia de cabras) sobre la seroprevalencia por F. hepatica. Para determinar la presencia de anticuerpos frente a F. hepatica, las muestras de suero se analizaron mediante ELISA MM3-SERO, basado en el empleo del anticuerpo monoclonal MM3. El análisis de factores de riesgo se realizó primeramente mediante un análisis univariante (Chi-cuadrado), y posteriormente se realizaron análisis multivariantes (CHAID exhaustivo y regresión logística de efectos mixtos). Nuestros resultados indican que las infecciones por F. hepatica son muy frecuentes en los pequeños rumiantes de Galicia, pues el porcentaje individual de seropositivos fue del 24,3%. Además, el parásito está muy distribuido en nuestra Comunidad Autónoma, ya que el porcentaje de granjas que tenían al menos un animal seropositivo fue del 67,7%. La seroprevalencia fue ligeramente superior en los rebaños de ovejas (25,3%) que en los de cabras (22,7%) (p>0,05). El porcentaje de rebaños que presentaban al menos un animal seropositivo fue significativamente superior en las explotaciones de ovino que en las de caprino (81% y 61%); los valores de odds ratio indicaron que las granjas de ovino mostraban 2,6 veces más probabilidades de tener animales seropositivos que las de caprino. En ganado ovino, la regresión logística de efectos mixtos permitió comprobar que la edad y el tamaño de la granja eran los factores que influían de forma más significativa sobre la seroprevalencia de infección por F. hepatica. Así, los animales de mayor edad tienen 2,1-2,2 veces más probabilidad de ser seropositivos los animales menores de un año. Con respecto al tamaño de granja, los ovinos de las granjas pequeñas mostraron una probabilidad de ser seropositivos 2,6 veces superior que los pertenecientes a las granjas de mayor tamaño. En ganado caprino se constató que la raza y la edad eran los principales factores que influían sobre la seroprevalencia por F. hepatica. De esta manera, los cruces tienen una probabilidad 3 veces superior de ser seropositivos que los de la raza autóctona “Cabra Galega”. Respecto a la influencia de la edad, y de forma semejante a lo observado en ovino, se comprobó que las cabras de mayor edad tienen una probabilidad de ser seropositivos entre 2,5 y 4,3 veces superior a la de los animales menores de un año. Los elevados valores de seroprevalencia observados indican que las medidas empleadas para el control de la infección por F. hepatica en pequeños rumiantes de Galicia no son las adecuadas. Los resultados obtenidos en el presente estudio deberían tenerse en cuenta para la realización de nuevos programas de control frente a la enfermedad, a fin de evitar las pérdidas económicas tanto directas como indirectas causadas por este trematodo en la ganadería de los pequeños rumiantes

First report of Setaria tundra in roe deer (Capreolus capreolus) from the Iberian Peninsula inferred from molecular data: epidemiological implications

Background Filarioid nematode parasites are major health hazards with important medical, veterinary and economic implications. Recently, they have been considered as indicators of climate change. Findings In this paper, we report the first record of Setaria tundra in roe deer from the Iberian Peninsula. Adult S. tundra were collected from the peritoneal cavity during the post-mortem examination of a 2 year-old male roe deer, which belonged to a private fenced estate in La Alcarria (Guadalajara, Spain). Since 2012, the area has suffered a high roe deer decline rate (75 %), for unknown reasons. Aiming to support the morphological identification and to determine the phylogenetic position of S. tundra recovered from the roe deer, a fragment of the mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 (cox1) gene from the two morphologically identified parasites was amplified, sequenced and compared with corresponding sequences of other filarioid nematode species. Phylogenetic analyses revealed that the isolate of S. tundra recovered was basal to all other formely reported Setaria tundra sequences. The presence of all other haplotypes in Northern Europe may be indicative of a South to North outbreak in Europe. Conclusions This is the first report of S. tundra in roe deer from the Iberian Peninsula, with interesting phylogenetic results, which may have further implications in the epidemiological and genetic studies of these filarioid parasites. More studies are needed to explore the reasons and dynamics behind the rapid host/geographic expansion of the filarioid parasites in EuropeThis work was supported by the Programme for Consolidating and Structuring Competitive Research Groups (GRC2015/003, Xunta de Galicia). Molecular analyses were carried out in the LEM of EBD, CSIC and funded by RNM 118; Junta AndaluciaS

Seroprevalence of Toxoplasma gondii and Neospora caninum in goats from north-western Spain

Introduction and objective: Toxoplasma gondii and Neospora caninum are protozoans involved in reproductive failure especially in ruminant livestock. The objective was to estimate the seroprevalence of both parasites in goats from north-western Spain and to study the influence of some factors on seropositivity. Material and Methods: Blood samples from 638 goats were collected in 50 farms. Presence of T. gondii and N. caninum antibodies were detected by direct agglutination and competitive ELISA techniques, respectively. The risk factor analysis was performed using a mixed-effects logistic regression. Results: Individual (48%) and herd-level (74%) T. gondii seroprevalence values were high; the within-herd prevalence was 53%. In contrast, 6% of animals tested positive to N. caninum and 38% of the herds had at least one positive animal, with a true within-herd prevalence of 10%. Mixed infections were limited; 91% of N. caninum seropositive goats were also positive to T. gondii The risk factor analysis showed that T. gondii seroprevalence is influenced by the presence of sheep in the farm (OR=4.9) and the seropositivity to N. caninum (OR=16.5); goats from the Central-coastal area, more humid and warm, had a 15.7-fold probability of being seropositive to T. gondii than those from the Mountainous area. Cross-breed goats (OR=4.5) and the seropositivity to [i]T. gondii [/i](OR= 9.5) were factors associated with N. caninum seropositivity. Conclusions: The high T. gondii seroprevalence in goats constitute a noticeable zoonotic risk. The consideration of the risk factors identified in designing T. gondii and N. caninum control programs in goat herds should allow the implementation of more efficient measures, avoiding the appearance of outbreaks of reproductive disorders by both protozoans in goatsThe authors express their thank to OVICA (Galician Association of Ovine and Caprine Breeders), BOAGA (Galician Autochthonous Breed Federation) and the veterinarians of the ADSG ACIVO for their collaboration in this study. This work was supported by a Programme for consolidating and structuring competitive research groups (GRC2015/003, Xunta de Galicia) and by the Research Project ‘RUMIGAL: Rede de estudomultidisciplinar dos ruminantesen Galicia’ (R2014/005, REDES, Xunta de Galicia)S

Prevalence and distribution of infectious and parasitic agents in roe deer from Spain and their possible role as reservoirs

In order to provide up-to-date information about the prevalence of infectious and parasitic agents in Spanish roe deer (Capreolus capreolus), samples from 93 animals hunted from January 2013 to April 2015 were collected and analysed by parasitological, serological and molecular techniques. Sampled animals came from four roe deer populations corresponding to Oceanic, Continental, Mediterranean and Mountainous ecosystems of Spain. Data regarding sex, age and year were also considered. A high percentage of roe deer (95.7%) resulted positive for at least one agent. Sarcocystis spp. was the most frequently diagnosed genus (88.8%), followed by gastrointestinal nematodes (62.9%) and Schmallenberg virus (53.5%). Varestrongylus capreoli (38%), Anaplasma phagocitophylum (34.2%), Eimeria spp. (29.2%), Toxoplasma gondii (25%) and Cephenemyia stimulator (23.8%) displayed medium prevalences and, finally low percentages were registered for Moniezia spp. (6.7%), Dictyocaulus noerneri (2.4%) and Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis (1.5%). No infections by Neospora caninum, Bovine herpesvirus, pestivirus or Coxiella burnetii were found. Climate was significantly associated with the prevalence of T. gondii, C. stimulator and A. phagocitophylum, with higher prevalences in animals from Oceanic and Mediterranean areas. Our results suggest that infections affecting Spanish roe deer, especially those of parasitic aetiology, represent one of the causes of the descent in the abundance of this ungulate in the last years. Moreover, the high prevalence of zoonotic agents such as T. gondii and A. phagocitophylum could also have a great relevance in the environmental and/or Public Health.This research was supported by a Programme for consolidating and structuring competitive research groups (GRC2015/003, Xunta de Galicia) and by the Research Project ‘RUMIGAL: Rede de estudo multidisciplinar dos ruminantes en Galicia’ (R2014/005, Xunta de Galicia, Spain)S

Molecular identification of Borrelia spirochetes in questing Ixodes ricinus from northwestern Spain

Abstract Background Ixodes ricinus, the predominant tick species in Europe, can transmit the causative agents of important human diseases such as Lyme borreliosis (LB), caused by Borrelia spirochetes. In northern Spain, LB is considered endemic; recently, a significant increase of the annual incidence of LB was reported in the northwestern (NW) region. Methods In order to provide information on the prevalence of Borrelia spp., pooled and individually free-living I. ricinus from NW Spain were molecularly analyzed. Positive samples were characterized at the fla and Glpq genes and the rrfA-rrlB intergenic spacer region to identify Borrelia species/genospecies. Results Borrelia burgdorferi (sensu lato) (s.l.) individual prevalence and MIR were significantly higher in adult females (32.3 and 16%) than in nymphs (18.8 and 6.2%) and adult males (15.6 and 8.4%). Five Borrelia genospecies belonging to the B. burgdorferi (s.l.) group were identified: B. garinii was predominant, followed by B. valaisiana, B. lusitaniae, B. afzelii and B. burgdorferi (sensu stricto) (s.s.). One species belonging to the tick-borne relapsing fever group (B. miyamotoi) was also found, showing low individual prevalence (1%), positive pool (0.7%) and MIR (0.1%) values. To our knowledge, this is the first citation of B. miyamotoi in free-living ticks from Spain. Conclusions The significant prevalences of B. burgdorferi (s.l.) genospecies detected in questing ticks from NW Spain are similar to those detected in northern and central European countries and higher to those previously found in Spain. These results together with the high incidence of LB in humans and the high seroprevalence of B. burgdorferi (s.l.) in roe deer shown in other studies reveal that the northwest area is one of the most risky regions for acquiring LB in Spain

Additional file 1: Table S1. of Molecular identification of Borrelia spirochetes in questing Ixodes ricinus from northwestern Spain

Supplementary sequence information of all individual and pooled samples from Ixodes ricinus and identified as Borrelia burgdorferi (s.l.) or Borrelia miyamotoi. Borrelia burgdorferi (s.l.) isolates were characterized at both the flagellin (fla) gene and the rrfA-rrlB intergenic spacer region (IGS); Borrelia miyamotoi isolates were characterized at the flagellin (fla) and the glycerophosphodiester phosphodiesterase (GlpQ) genes. For each isolate and gene, the amplicon length and the closest matching sequences in GenBank are included. The GenBank number of unique partial sequences is also included. (DOCX 35 kb