Comparative Field Trial Effect of <em>Brucella</em> spp. Vaccines on Seroconversion in Goats and Their Possible Implications to Control Programs

The aim of this study was to determine the seroprevalence of Brucella spp. in a goat flock and the seroconversion of three groups of animals vaccinated with Rev-1 (Brucella melitensis), RB51, and RB51-SOD (Brucella abortus) to estimate the level of protection conferred on susceptible females. Seventy-two animals were used by group. Goats were older than 3 months, seronegative to brucellosis, not vaccinated previously, and kept within positive flocks. Vaccinated animals received 2 mL of product subcutaneously in the neck region. The first block was injected with Rev-1; the second received RB51, and the third group was injected with RB51-SOD. Follow-up sampling was performed at 30, 60, 90, and 365 days postvaccination. The general prevalence of brucellosis for the three groups was 1.2% (95%CI:0.5–2.7). The seroconversion rate by day 30 after vaccination was 77.7% (95%CI:61.9–88.2) for goats vaccinated with Rev-1. At 365 days post vaccination, the percentage of seropositive goats declined to 13.8% (95%CI:6.0–28.6). At day 365 after vaccination, 2.7% (95%CI:0.4–14.1) and 5.5% (95%CI:1.5–18.1) of animals vaccinated with RB51 and RB51-SOD, respectively, became positive. Results show that the seroconversion induced by Brucella abortus RB51 and RB51-SOD vaccines is lower than that by Brucella melitensis Rev-1

Estimación del riesgo microbiológico asociado al consumo de ostión crudo contaminado con Vibrio cholerae y Vibrio parahaemolyticus

The aim of the study was to assess the potential riskof exposure to V. cholerae and V. parahaemolyticus associated to raw American oyster (Crassostrea virginica) consumption collected from the Mandinga Lagoon System (MLS), in restaurants, oyster bars, and street vendors. Risk was estimated as number of cases/100,000 servings with FDA model. The risk of oyster consumption from MLS contaminated with V.cholerae noO1/noO139 chxA+ and unrefrigerated 10-h was low (99 × 10-5 cases) in summer; V. parahaemolyticus tdh+ y tdh+/trh+ estimated risk was high in spring (2,200 × 10-5 y 4,000 × 10-5 cases, respectively) and the pandemic strain orf8+ risk was medium in winter (110 × 10-5 cases). Oyster cocktailconsumption unrefrigerated for 10 h and contaminated with V. cholerae noO1/noO139 chxA+, represented a low mean risk (0.87 × 10-5 and 0.44 × 10-5 cases) for oyster cocktails from restaurants and oyster bars, respectively, a high mean risk forstreet vendor cocktails stored at ambient temperature 24 h (2,500 × 10-5 cases), and a low mean risk for V. parahaemolyticus tdh+ in restaurants (0.21 × 10-5 cases) and oyster bar (1.1 × 10-5 cases) cocktails. Risk assessment results indicated that pathogenic percentage, type of establishment, and unrefrigerated storage time were variables that most increased the probability of illness, and spring the season with the highest risk for consumers.El objetivo del estudio fue predecir el riesgo potencial de exposición a V. cholerae y V. parahaemolyticus asociado al consumo de ostión americano (Crassostrea virginica) crudo colectado del Sistema Lagunar Mandinga (SLM), en restaurantes, coctelerías y puestos ambulantes. El riesgo se estimó como casos esperados/100,000 porciones con el modelo de la FDA. En ostiones del SLM el riesgo estimado por consumir ostiones contaminados con V. cholerae noO1/noO139 chxA+ sin refrigerar 10 h en verano fue bajo (99×10-5 casos); V. parahaemolyticus tdh+ y tdh+/trh+ representaron un riesgo estimado alto en primavera (2,200×10-5 y 4,000×10-5 casos, respectivamente) y la cepa pandémica orf8+ un riesgo medio (110×10-5 casos) en invierno. El consumo de ostión crudo sin refrigerar 10 h contaminado con V. cholerae noO1/noO139 chxA+ representó un riesgo promedio bajo (0.87×10-5 y 0.44×10-5 casos) para restaurantes y coctelerías, respectivamente, alto para cocteles expendidos en puestos ambulantes a temperatura ambiente 24 h (2,500×10-5 casos) y bajo a V. parahaemolyticus tdh+ en restaurantes (0.21×10-5 casos) y coctelerías (1.1×10-5 casos). El porcentaje patogénico, el sitio de venta y el tiempo sin refrigerar fueron las variables que incrementaron el riesgo de enfermar, siendo primavera la estación con el mayor riesgo para el consumidor

Detection of Bartonella bovis DNA in blood samples from a veterinarian in Mexico

The genus Bartonella encompasses 38 validated species of Gram-negative, facultative intracellular bacteria that colonize the endothelial cells and erythrocytes of a wide spectrum of mammals. To date, 12 Bartonella species have been recorded infecting humans, causing diseases of long historical characterization, such as cat scratch fever and trench fever, and emerging bartonellosis that mainly affect animal health professionals. For this reason, this study aimed to report a documented case of Bartonella bovis infecting a veterinarian from Mexico by the amplification, sequencing and phylogenetic reconstruction of the citrate synthase (gltA) and the RNA polymerase beta-subunit (rpoB) genes, and to report the natural course of this infection. To our knowledge, this work is the first to report the transmission of B. bovis via needlestick transmission to animal health workers in Latin America

Microbial risk assessment of Vibrio spp. in seafood products in Mexico

Food-borne diseases are among the major public health problems that currently exist. Microbiological risk assessment is a process used to evaluate the hidden hazards in food, the likelihood of exposure to these hazards and their impact on public health. Risk assessment is performed in four steps: hazard identification, hazard characterization, assessment of exposure and risk characterization. According to the process/response microbial risk assessment is classified in two categories, qualitative and quantitative. The aim of this review is to underline the importance of implementing assessments in seafood that is usually consumed raw, strengthening access to good quality and safe food for the consumer’s benefit and to stress the necessity of microbiological risks assessments in Mexico

Crecimiento y sobrevivencia de Vibrio parahaemolyticus en ostión americano (Crassostrea virginica) almacenada en refrigeración

Objetivo. Cuantificar las densidades de Vibrio parahaemolyticus en ostión americano (Crassostrea virginica) almacenado en refrigeración. Material y métodos. Se almacenaron 320 ostiones a 7 °C durante nueve días y se determinaron las densidades totales y patogénicas mediante la técnica NMP-PCR. Resultados. Se observaron densidades de V. parahaemolyticus tlh+ en los días 0, 3 y 6 de almacenamiento con 1.134, 2.764 y 0.785 log10NMP/g, respectivamente, y en los días 0 y 3 la densidad patogénica trh+ con 0.477 y 0.519 log10NMP/g, respectivamente; las densidades patogénicas tdh+ (0.519 log10NMP/g), tdh+/trh+ (0.519 log10NMP/g) y tdh+/orf8+ (-0.444 log10NMP/g) se detectaron al tercer día de almacenamiento. Conclusión. Los resultados sugieren que el crecimiento de V. parahaemolyticus y la ocurrencia de genes patogénicos a 7 °C involucran cambios en la expresión génica como una respuesta al estrés por frío. Esto contribuye a la sobrevivencia y virulencia de V. parahaemolyticus, lo cual representa un riesgo a la salud pública

Molecular evidence of Leishmania spp. in spider monkeys (Ateles geoffroyi) from The Tuxtlas Biosphere Reserve, Veracruz, Mexico

The black-handed spider monkey (Ateles geoffroyi) is a platyrrhine primate distributed in southern Mexico, Central America, and part of South America. Two subspecies inhabit Mexico: Ateles geoffroyi vellerosus and Ateles geoffroyi yucatanensis, both threatened with extinction. Serological evidence of exposure of spider monkeys to various groups of parasites such as Trypanosoma cruzi in México and Leishmania spp. in Brazil has been reported. The genus Leishmania encompasses about 23 species of flagellate protozoa that are transmitted by the bite of females of Phlebotominae sand flies. These parasites cause a zoonotic disease called leishmaniasis, which generates skin, mucocutaneous and/or visceral manifestations. The aim of the present study was to demonstrate the presence of Leishmania sp. in spider monkeys from the Tuxtlas Biosphere Reserve, Veracruz, Mexico. Blood samples from 10 free- ranging specimens of A. geoffroyi yucatanensis and 11 specimens in captivity of A. geoffroyi vellerosus were collected and used. The samples were subjected to a conventional Polymerase Chain Reaction test for the identification of a 116 bp fragment of a region from the kinetoplast minicircle of the parasite. Our analyzes showed that 71.4% of the sampled animals had fragment sizes compatible with Leishmania spp. The implications involve the survival of the specimens and the possibility that these primates act as sentinels of the disease. Furthermore, it is the first report suggesting the presence of Leishmania spp. in A. geoffroyi vellerosus and A. geoffroyi yucatanensis in Veracruz, Mexico.Instituto de PatobiologíaFil: Pérez-Brígido, Carlos D. Universidad Veracruzana. Facultad de Medicina Veterinaria y Zootecnia. Unidad de Diagnóstico, Rancho Torreón del Molino. Laboratorio de Parasitología; MéxicoFil: Pérez-Brígido, Carlos D. Universidad Veracruzana. Facultad de Ciencias Biológicas y Agropecuarias. Región Tuxpan; MéxicoFil: Romero-Salas, Dora. Universidad Veracruzana. Facultad de Medicina Veterinaria y Zootecnia. Unidad de Diagnóstico, Rancho Torreón del Molino. Laboratorio de Parasitología; MéxicoFil: Pardío-Sedas, Violeta T. Universidad Veracruzana. Facultad de Medicina Veterinaria y Zootecnia. Laboratorio de Toxicología; MéxicoFil: Cruz-Romero, Anabel. Universidad Veracruzana. Facultad de Medicina Veterinaria y Zootecnia. Unidad de Diagnóstico, Rancho Torreón del Molino. Laboratorio de Parasitología; MéxicoFil: González-Hernández, Milagros. Universidad Autónoma de San Luis Potosí. Facultad de Agronomía y Veterinaria; MéxicoFil: Delprá-Cachulo, Joyce Mara. Universidad Autónoma de San Luis Potosí. Facultad de Agronomía y Veterinaria; MéxicoFil: Ascencio, Mariano E. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Instituto de Patobiología; ArgentinaFil: Ascencio, Mariano E. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Florin-Christensen, Monica. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Instituto de Patobiologia; ArgentinaFil: Florin-Christensen, Monica. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina.Fil: Schnittger, Leonhard. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Instituto de Patobiologia; ArgentinaFil: Schnittger, Leonhard. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina.Fil: Rodriguez, Anabel Elisa. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Instituto de Patobiología; ArgentinaFil: Rodriguez, Anabel Elisa. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentin