Investigation of Proliferative Kidney Disease in Brown Trout and Habitat Characteristics Associated with a Swiss Wastewater Treatment Plant

Wastewater treatment plants (WWTP) play a critical role in mitigating adverse environmental impacts of urban and industrial wastewater by removing pollutants and reducing the risk of contamination. Discharges of treated effluents from WWTPs can still have significant effects on freshwater ecosystems, particularly on sensitive species like brown trout. We analyzed the effects of a modern WWTP on a freshwater ecosystem, studying fish biodiversity and biomass, the occurrence of the parasitic disease Proliferative Kidney Disease (PKD) on brown trout, river water temperatures throughout the year and fish habitat and diversity. No major differences between upand downstream of the WWTP were observed in habitat structure and attractiveness, fish biomass and species diversity, nor in PKD prevalence or intermediate host presence. However, immediately at the WWTP’s effluent and continuing downstream, the water temperature rose by almost 1 °C. While WWTPs are crucial for reducing the environmental impact of urban and industrial wastewater, their effluents can still have important consequences for freshwater ecosystems. Brown trout are particularly susceptible to increases in water temperature, especially regarding PKD severity and consequent mortality. To ensure the long-term health and sustainability of freshwater ecosystems, it is imperative to improve measures to minimize water temperature rises and mitigate downstream cascade effects on sensitive organisms like brown trout

Sheep-associated malignant catarrhal fever: role of latent virus and macrophages in vasculitis

Malignant catarrhal fever (MCF) is a sporadic, generally fatal disease caused by gammaherpesviruses in susceptible dead-end hosts. A key pathological process is systemic vasculitis in which productively infected cytotoxic T cells play a major role. Nonetheless, the pathogenesis of MCF vasculitis is not yet clear. We hypothesized that it develops due to an interaction between virus-infected cells and immune cells, and we undertook a retrospective in situ study on the rete mirabile arteries of confirmed ovine gammaherpesvirus-2 (OvHV-2)-associated MCF cases in cattle, buffalo, and bison. Our results suggest that the arteritis develops from an adventitial infiltration of inflammatory cells from the vasa vasorum, and recruitment of leukocytes from the arterial lumen that leads to a superimposed infiltration of the intima and media that can result in chronic changes including neointimal proliferation. We found macrophages and T cells to be the dominant infiltrating cells, and both could proliferate locally. Using RNA in situ hybridization and immunohistology, we showed that the process is accompanied by widespread viral infection, not only in infiltrating leukocytes but also in vascular endothelial cells, medial smooth muscle cells, and adventitial fibroblasts. Our results suggest that OvHV-2-infected T cells, monocytes, and locally proliferating macrophages contribute to the vasculitis in MCF. The initial trigger or insult that leads to leukocyte recruitment and activation is not yet known, but there is evidence that latently infected, activated endothelial cells play a role in this. Activated macrophages might then release the necessary pro-inflammatory mediators and, eventually, induce the characteristic vascular changes

Intrahepatic icterus in pigs: rare clinical sign in porcine circovirus type 2 systemic disease

Icterus is a yellow discolouration of tissue and blood plasma due to a disorder of the bilirubin metabolism. This case report describes two porcine circovirus type 2 (PCV2) outbreaks in a fattening farm (F1) and a breeding farm (F2). At F1, pigs had intradermal bleedings and wasting, and three pigs showed icterus. At F2, suckling and weaning pigs (WPs) had an icterus and were wasted. Three fattening pigs (F1), one suckling piglet and one WP (F2) were dissected. Additional investigations included histology, PCV2 immunohistochemistry (IHC), fluorescence in situ hybridisation (FISH) of tissue samples, PCR including sequencing of the PCV2 strains and next-generation sequencing (NGS) of liver samples. Three of the five dissected pigs showed a lymphohistiocytic, periportal hepatitis with disruption of the hepatic cord architecture. PCV2 was detected by IHC, FISH, PCR and NGS in several organs of the pigs. In both farms, sequencing revealed a PCV2b genotype

VetVirtopsy by CT and MRI–Complementing conventional necropsy

Objective: Post mortem (PM) examination of euthanized or deceased individual animals or a herd is important to clarify forensic cases, confirm or correct clinical diagnosis, and improve future therapeutic approaches. The aim of this descriptive study is to evaluate PM imaging by CT and MRI (VetVirtopsy) and to compare the results to conventional necropsy. Animals: Hundred deceased or euthanized dogs and cats (47 dogs, 53 cats) of different age, breed, and body weight from the Small Animal Clinic of the University of Zurich underwent VetVirtopsy followed by a conventional necropsy and histologic examination with investigators unblinded to VetVirtopsy. Procedures: All animals were examined by PM whole body CT (PMCT), 31 of them also by MRI (PMMRI) in selected regions. The findings of VetVirtopsy were compared with the pathology report as the gold standard. Results: In a majority of cases of 81% VetVirtopsy detected the cause of death. The agreement was high in cases with trauma and space occupying lesions and low in systemic inflammatory diseases. VetVirtopsy produced 336 (Median: 3, Min: 1, Max: 11) additional findings in multiple organs. Conclusion and Clinical Relevance: The strengths of VetVirtopsy in supporting conventional necropsy lie in the detection of trauma and space-occupying lesions. Advantageous is the detailed overview, whereby the relevance of the findings must remain in focus. VetVirtopsy could be very helpful in cases without owner consent for dissection. In systemic inflammatory events, disease with discrete, morphologic changes, or in contagious, at most zoonotic cases, it would need imaging-guided specimen sampling

VetVirtopsy by CT and MRI–Complementing conventional necropsy

Objective: Post mortem (PM) examination of euthanized or deceased individual animals or a herd is important to clarify forensic cases, confirm or correct clinical diagnosis, and improve future therapeutic approaches. The aim of this descriptive study is to evaluate PM imaging by CT and MRI (VetVirtopsy) and to compare the results to conventional necropsy. Animals: Hundred deceased or euthanized dogs and cats (47 dogs, 53 cats) of different age, breed, and body weight from the Small Animal Clinic of the University of Zurich underwent VetVirtopsy followed by a conventional necropsy and histologic examination with investigators unblinded to VetVirtopsy. Procedures: All animals were examined by PM whole body CT (PMCT), 31 of them also by MRI (PMMRI) in selected regions. The findings of VetVirtopsy were compared with the pathology report as the gold standard. Results: In a majority of cases of 81% VetVirtopsy detected the cause of death. The agreement was high in cases with trauma and space occupying lesions and low in systemic inflammatory diseases. VetVirtopsy produced 336 (Median: 3, Min: 1, Max: 11) additional findings in multiple organs. Conclusion and Clinical Relevance: The strengths of VetVirtopsy in supporting conventional necropsy lie in the detection of trauma and space-occupying lesions. Advantageous is the detailed overview, whereby the relevance of the findings must remain in focus. VetVirtopsy could be very helpful in cases without owner consent for dissection. In systemic inflammatory events, disease with discrete, morphologic changes, or in contagious, at most zoonotic cases, it would need imaging-guided specimen sampling

COVID-19 in breast cancer patients: a subanalysis of the OnCovid registry

Background: cancer patients are at higher risk of COVID-19 complications and mortality than the rest of the population. Breast cancer patients seem to have better prognosis when infected by SARS-CoV-2 than other cancer patients. Methods: we report a subanalysis of the OnCovid study providing more detailed information in the breast cancer population. Results: we included 495 breast cancer patients with a SARS-CoV-2 infection. Mean age was 62.6 years; 31.5% presented more than one comorbidity. The most frequent breast cancer subtype was luminal-like (n = 245, 49.5%) and 177 (35.8%) had metastatic disease. A total of 332 (67.1%) patients were receiving active treatment, with radical intent in 232 (47.6%) of them. Hospitalization rate was 58.2% and all-cause mortality rate was 20.3%. One hundred twenty-nine (26.1%) patients developed one COVID-19 complication, being acute respiratory failure the most common (n = 74, 15.0%). In the multivariable analysis, age older than 70 years, presence of COVID-19 complications, and metastatic disease were factors correlated with worse outcomes, while ongoing anticancer therapy at time of COVID-19 diagnosis appeared to be a protective factor. No particular oncological treatment was related to higher risk of complications. In the context of SARS-CoV-2 infection, 73 (18.3%) patients had some kind of modification on their oncologic treatment. At the first oncological reassessment (median time: 46.9 days ± 36.7), 255 (51.6%) patients reported to be fully recovered from the infection. There were 39 patients (7.9%) with long-term SARS-CoV-2-related complications. Conclusion: in the context of COVID-19, our data confirm that breast cancer patients appear to have lower complications and mortality rate than expected in other cancer populations. Most breast cancer patients can be safely treated for their neoplasm during SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. Oncological treatment has no impact on the risk of SARS-CoV-2 complications, and, especially in the curative setting, the treatment should be modified as little as possible