Fish meat – a potential danger for consumers`health

Fish is an excellent source of Omega 3 protein and fatty acids, which have the property of reducing cholesterol, maintaining a healthy heart, and even helping to prevent depression. Also, meat fish is a lean meat with low calorie but delicious assortment of meat, and is recommended in the consumer's diet . The fish content vitamins (A, D, E, B12), minerals (phosphorus, iodine, potassium) and healthy fats that can not be synthesized in the human body and must be fed through food. How healthy the fish meat is, the more dangerous it can be in terms of its safety for the consumer, and more precisely the presence of parasitic hazards. The main objectives of this paper are to describe the parasitic hazards of fish meat to indicate the proper preparation of fish meat and to increase consumer awareness of the risks associated with the consumption of this type of meat, threats of parasitic nature. Avoiding the consumption of untreated or poorly treated fish meat is one of the preventive measures that need to be taken to avoid fish parasites

Effect of ochratoxin A on the intestinal mucosa and mucosa-associated lymphoid tissues in broiler chickens

The immunotoxic effect of ochratoxin A (OTA) on the intestinal mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue and its cytotoxic action on the intestinal epithelium were studied in broiler chickens experimentally treated with the toxin. From the 7th day of life, 80 male broiler chickens (Ross 308) were randomly divided into four groups of 20 birds each. The three experimental groups (E1-3) were treated with OTA for 28 days (E1: 50 μg/kg body weight [bw]/day; E2: 20 μg/kg bw/day; E3: 1 μg/kg bw/day) and the fourth group served as control. Histological examination of the intestinal mucosa and immunohistochemical staining for identification of CD4+, CD8+, TCR1 and TCR2 lymphocytes in the duodenum, jejunum and ileocaecal junction were performed, and CD4+/CD8+ and TCR1/TCR2 ratios were calculated. OTA toxicity resulted in decreased body weight gain, poorer feed conversion ratio, lower leukocyte and lymphocyte count, and altered intestinal mucosa architecture. After 14 days of exposure to OTA, immunohistochemistry showed a significant reduction of the lymphocyte population in the intestinal epithelium and the lamina propria. After 28 days of exposure, an increase in the CD4+ and CD8+ values in both the duodenum and jejunum of chickens in Groups E1 and E2 was observed, but the TCR1 and TCR2 lymphocyte counts showed a significant reduction. No significant changes were observed in Group E3. The results indicate that OTA induced a decrease in leukocyte and lymphocyte counts and was cytotoxic to the intestinal epithelium and the mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue, altering the intestinal barrier and increasing susceptibility to various associated diseases

The first detection of Acuaria spinosa in pheasants

Parasitoses caused by the Acuariidae helminths sporadically occur in both free-living and artificially bred pheasant populations (Phasianus colchicus L.). In order to verify this situation, an investigation with the aim of detecting the Acuaria species. infection on seven pheasant farms in Serbia and Romania, was carried out. A total of 127 adult birds were examined. The collected nematodes were identified by their morphometric characteristics. The three different Acuaria species were identified including: Cheilospirura (Acuaria) hamulosa, Dyspharinx (Acuaria) spiralis and Acuaria spinosa. The parasites identified as the Acuaria spinosa species had equal lips and furrow cuticula. Both parasites had four spiny cordons 'which did not exceed a third of the anterior of the esophagus. The tail was short and rounded. Eggs were ellipsoid, thick shelled, embryonated, 0.039-0.41 μm long by 0.025-0.027 μm wide. Furthermore, thefirst parasite's body length was 32 μm, with a width of 0.336 μm (maximal width at the middle of the body). Four spiny cordons were 0.797 μm long, and the cylindrical pharings were 0.018 μm long. The vulva lies just posterior to the middle of the body, 3.56 μm from the anterior end, 51 % of the total body length (TBL) from the anterior end. The anus lies at 0.25 μm from the posterior end. The body length of the second parasite was 34 μm with a width of 0.367 μm. Spiny cordons 'which did not exceed a third of the anterior of the oesophagus were 0.809 μm long, and the cylindrical pharings were 0.021 μm long. The vulva lies just posterior to the middle of the body, 5.64 μm from the anterior end, 57 % of the total body length (TBL) from the anterior end. The anus lies at 0.28 μm from the posterior end

Ultrastructural lesions and immunohistochemical analysis of Bcl-2 protein expression in the kidney of chickens with experimental ochratoxicosis

A study was conducted to evaluate the nephrotoxic effect of ochratoxin A (OTA) in broiler chickens. Forty Ross 308 broilers (6 days old) were divided into two groups: one group received daily, by gavage, ochratoxin A at a daily dose of 50 μg/kg body weight for up to 21 days, while the control group received only diluent (sunflower oil). After 21 days, the chickens were euthanised and the kidneys removed for analysis by histopathology and immunohistochemistry to detect an anti-apoptotic marker (Bcl-2), and by transmission electron microscopy. Macroscopically the kidneys were enlarged, showing degeneration and gout deposits. Histologically, glomerulonephrosis and tubulonephrosis were common lesions in all chicks. In two of the five chicks exposed to OTA for 21 days, focal tubular cell proliferation, multiple adenoma-like structures and Bcl-2-positive epithelial cells were identified in layers of the renal papilla and in convoluted tubules. Transmission electron microscopy of the proximal convoluted tubules identified abnormal forms of mitochondria. The nephrotoxic effect of ochratoxicosis in chickens is probably due to carcinogenic changes induced in the epithelial tissues