Zoonosis. The Hidden Face of the COVID-19 Pandemic

Zoonoses are diseases that are transmitted naturally between animals and man. Their interest is enormous and growing, especially in recent years in which they have emerged as serious and widespread problems, such as emerging zoonoses. Zoonoses represent at least 60% of human infectious diseases and up to 75% of emerging diseases, so their relative importance is more than justified. From the health point of view they are the cause of death, disease, suffering and sequelae, and from the economic point of view, they cause damage in nations or throughout the world, when the spread of the disease is global. The article discusses issues related to the prediction, prevention and control of zoonoses and is particularly set, due to its timeliness, in COVID-19, a pandemic that has the status of zoonosis by admitting its origin in bats. The union of forces between animal health, human health and environmental health, in the context of One Health, is important to achieve success in the control and eradication of these diseases.Las zoonosis son enfermedades que se transmiten de forma natural entre los animales y el hombre. Su interés es enorme y creciente, especialmente en los últimos años en los que han emergido como problemas de gravedad y gran difusión, como zoonosis emergentes. Las zoonosis representan, al menos, el 60% de las enfermedades infecciosas humanas y hasta el 75% de las enfermedades emergentes, por lo que su importancia relativa esta sobradamente justificada. Desde el punto de vista sanitario son causa de muerte, enfermedad, sufrimiento y secuelas y, desde el punto de vista económico, causan quebranto en las naciones o, en todo el mundo, cuando la extensión de la enfermedad es global. El artículo discute cuestiones relativas a la predicción, prevención y control de zoonosis y se fija de modo particular, por su actualidad, en la COVID-19, una pandemia que tiene la condición de zoonosis al admitirse su origen en murciélagos con la intervención probable de un hospedador intermediario. Es importante la unión de fuerzas entre la sanidad animal, la salud humana y la sanidad ambiental, en el contexto de Una sola Salud, para lograr el éxito en el control y erradicación de estas enfermedades

Molecular Investigation of Tularemia Outbreaks, Spain, 1997–2008

Tularemia outbreaks occurred in northwestern Spain in 1997–1998 and 2007–2008 and affected >1,000 persons. We assessed isolates involved in these outbreaks by using pulsed-field gel electrophoresis with 2 restriction enzymes and multilocus variable number tandem repeat analysis of 16 genomic loci of Francisella tularensis, the cause of this disease. Isolates were divided into 3 pulsotypes by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis and 8 allelic profiles by multilocus variable number tandem repeat analysis. Isolates obtained from the second tularemia outbreak had the same genotypes as isolates obtained from the first outbreak. Both outbreaks were caused by genotypes of genetic subclade B.Br:FTNF002–00, which is widely distributed in countries in central and western Europe. Thus, reemergence of tularemia in Spain was not caused by the reintroduction of exotic strains, but probably by persistence of local reservoirs of infection.project PEP 2009/1422 of the Junta de Castilla y León (Spain)

Transcriptomics of Haemophilus (Glässerella) parasuis serovar 5 subjected to culture conditions partially mimetic to natural infection for the search of new vaccine antigens

11 p.Haemophilus (Glässerella) parasuis is the etiological agent of Glässer’s disease in pigs. Control of this disorder has been traditionally based on bacterins. The search for alternative vaccines has focused mainly on the study of outer membrane proteins. This study investigates the transcriptome of H. (G.) parasuis serovar 5 subjected to in vitro conditions mimicking to those existing during an infection (high temperature and iron-restriction), with the aim of detecting the overexpression of genes coding proteins exposed on bacterial surface, which could represent good targets as vaccine candidates. The transcriptomic approach identified 13 upregulated genes coding surface proteins: TbpA, TbpB, HxuA, HxuB, HxuC, FhuA, FimD, TolC, an autotransporter, a protein with immunoglobulin folding domains, another large protein with a tetratricopeptide repeat and two small proteins that did not contain any known domains. Of these, the first six genes coded proteins being related to iron extraction. Six of the proteins have already been tested as vaccine antigens in murine and/or porcine infection models and showed protection against H. (G.) parasuis. However, the remaining seven have not yet been tested and, consequently, they could become useful as putative antigens in the prevention of Glässer’s disease. Anyway, the expression of this seven novel vaccine candidates should be shown in other serovars different from serovar 5.S

Molecular characterization of Haemophilus parasuis ferric hydroxamate uptake (fhu) genes and constitutive expression of the FhuA receptor

Bacteria have evolved a set of highly specialized proteins to capture iron in iron-depleted environments. The acquisition and uptake of iron present in the extracellular milieu of eukaryotic organisms is indispensable for the growth and survival of microbial pathogens in the course of infection. Haemophilus parasuis is the causative agent of Glässer disease, which is responsible for considerable financial losses in pig-rearing worldwide. To gain insight into the mechanisms involved in siderophore-mediated iron uptake in H. parasuis, genes in the H. parasuis ferric hydroxamate uptake (Fhu) region were amplified in the work being reported here. As has been described in A. pleuropneumoniae, an Fhu genomic region was also present in H. parasuis, being composed of four potential consecutive open reading frames (ORF) designated as fhuC, fhuD, fhuB, and fhuA, respectively. By immunoblotting, using a cross-reactive polyclonal antibody raised against Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae FhuA protein, it was demonstrated that this protein was constitutively expressed in H. parasuis and its level of expression was not modified under conditions of restricted iron availability. This is the first report describing the presence of the fhu genes in H. parasuis. Our results indicate that FhuA protein expression is not affected under iron-restricted conditions, however, it is one of the targets of the humoral immune response

Immunoproteomic analysis of the protective response obtained with subunit and commercial vaccines against Glässer's disease in pigs.

An immunoproteomic analysis of the protective response of subunit and commercial vaccines in colostrum-deprived pigs against Glässer's disease was carried out. A mixture of proteins with affinity to porcine transferrin (PAPT) from Haemophilus parasuis Nagasaki strain (serovar 5) was inoculated intramuscularly (PAPT(M)) and intratracheally (PAPT(Cp)), along with a commercial bacterin. PAPT were separated using 2 dimensional electrophoresis (2DE) gels and with them, 2DE Western blots were carried out. A total of 17 spots were identified as positive with sera of pigs from any of the three vaccinated groups, the highest number of immunoreactive proteins being detected in those having received PAPT(Cp). Among them, six proteins (FKBP-type peptidyl-prolyl cis-trans isomerase, neuraminidase exo-α-sialidase, xanthine-guanine phosphoribosyl transferase, CMP-N-acetylneuraminic acid synthetase, phenylalanyl-tRNA synthetase and glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate dehydrogenase) were found to be novel immunogens in H. parasuis. These proteins showed a high potential as candidates in future subunit vaccines against Glässer's disease. The three experimental groups developed specific systemic total IgG (IgGt), IgG1, IgG2 and IgM antibodies after immunizations. In addition, those receiving PAPT(Cp) yielded a serum IgA response

Antimicrobial susceptibility patterns of Brazilian Haemophilus parasuis field isolates

ABSTRACT: Haemophilus parasuis is the etiological agent of Glässer’s disease (GD), an ubiquitous infection of swine characterized by systemic fibrinous polyserositis, polyarthritis and meningitis. Intensive use of antimicrobial agents in swine husbandries during the last years triggered the development of antibiotic resistances in bacterial pathogens. Thus, regular susceptibility testing is crucial to ensure efficacy of different antimicrobial agents to this porcine pathogen. In this study, 50 clinical isolates from South Brazilian pig herds were characterized and analyzed for their susceptibility to commonly used antibiotic. The identification and typing of clinical isolates was carried out by a modified indirect hemagglutination assay combined with a multiplex PCR. The susceptibility of each isolate was analyzed by broth microdilution method against a panel of 21 antimicrobial compounds. We found that field isolates are highly resistance to gentamycin, bacitracin, lincomycin and tiamulin, but sensitive to ampicillin, clindamycin, neomycin, penicillin, danofloxacin and enrofloxacin. Furthermore, an individual susceptibility analysis indicated that enrofloxacin is effective to treat clinical isolates with the exception of those classified as serovar 1. The results presented here firstly demonstrate the susceptibility of Brazilian clinical isolates of H. parasuis to antimicrobials widely used by swine veterinary practitioners and strengthen the need to perform susceptibility test prior to antibiotic therapy during GD outbreaks. In addition, because only six antimicrobial drugs (28.6%) were found effective against field isolates, a continuous surveillance of the susceptibility profile should be of major concern to the swine industry