Dirofilariosis, a mosquito-borne disease caused by and , affects canids, felids and occasionally humans. Recent evidence suggests that prevalence is rising in the canine populations in several areas of Brazil, even those historically considered to be non-endemic, highlighting the need for ongoing surveillance. However, prevalence studies are frequently based on inference from single diagnostic methods, and it is acknowledged that this may lead to biases and an underestimation of the disease situation.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever is a tick-borne zoonotic disease that may be severe and is present in many African countries. We aimed to understand the seroprevalence and risk for Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever virus in Tanzania by testing archived serum samples from patients enrolled in a prospective cohort study.
Methods: We prospectively enrolled febrile inpatients and outpatients from 2012 through 2014 at two referral hospitals in northern Tanzania.
The control of brucellosis across sub-Saharan Africa is hampered by the lack of standardized testing and the use of tests with poor performance. This study evaluated the performance and costs of serological assays for human brucellosis in a pastoralist community in northern Tanzania. Serum collected from 218 febrile hospital patients was used to evaluate the performance of seven index tests, selected based on international recommendation or current use.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThis paper aims to illustrate the interdependencies between key epidemiological and economic factors that influence the control of many livestock infectious diseases. The factors considered here are (i) farmer heterogeneity (i.e.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe Ave River in northern Portugal has a history of riverbanks and water quality degradation. The river water quality was assessed by physicochemical, biological (macroinvertebrates) and microbiological (Enterococcus spp. and Escherichia coli) parameters in six locations (A-F, point A being the nearest to the source) throughout its course during a year.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe emergence of mobile colistin resistance genes (mcr) is yet another challenge in the fight against antimicrobial resistance, with reports proving the dissemination of these genes in different countries and different environments being of great concern. In the present study, we describe the recovery of three E. coli strains with mcr-1 gene in IncHI2 plasmids from intestinal content of necropsied meat rabbits reared in two intensive production systems in Portugal.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAscariasis is considered a common parasitosis of swine worldwide. The disease causes significant economic losses due to its effect on feed conversion ratio and liver condemnations at slaughter (liver milk spots). This study aimed to characterise the between-farm and spatial variance in porcine ascariasis in England and to assess the association between the percentage of infected animals and potential environmental risk factors, including production system, socioeconomic deprivation, soil characteristics (pH, topsoil bulk density, topsoil organic matter, topsoil texture class, soil water regime, topsoil available water capacity, and elevation), and climatic conditions (relative humidity, air temperature, and rainfall) before slaughter.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFEssential oils (EOs) from Eucalyptus globulus Labill. ssp. globulus and from Mediterranean autochthonous aromatic plants - Thymus mastichina L.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Am Anim Hosp Assoc
September 2016
Staphylococcus pseudintermedius is the most prevalent coagulase-positive Staphylococcus inhabitant of the skin and mucosa of dogs and cats, causing skin and soft tissue infections in these animals. In this study, coagulase-positive Staphylococcus species were isolated from companion animals, veterinary professionals, and objects from a clinical veterinary environment by using two particular culture media, Baird-Parker RPF agar and CHROMagar Staph aureus. Different morphology features of colonies on the media allowed the identification of the species, which was confirmed by performing a multiplex polymerase chain reaction (PCR).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFTwo isolates, Escherichia coli ella00 and Pseudomonas aeruginosa ella01, obtained from bronchoalveolar lavage, were found to be closely associated in clusters in agar medium. Escherichia coli ella00 was multidrug resistant and CTXM-15 extended-spectrum β-lactamase producer, while P. aeruginosa ella01 was susceptible to all antimicrobials tested.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAntimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a growing global public health problem, which is caused by the use of antimicrobials in both human and animal medical practice. The objectives of the present cross-sectional study were as follows: (1) to determine the prevalence of resistance in Escherichia coli isolated from the feces of pets from the Porto region of Portugal against 19 antimicrobial agents and (2) to assess the individual, clinical and environmental characteristics associated with each pet as risk markers for the AMR of the E. coli isolates.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIn this study, microbial quality and antimicrobial resistance of faecal bacteria from a Portuguese river were assessed. River water samples collected upstream and downstream of a wastewater treatment plant, throughout a 3-month period, were used for the enumeration of Escherichia coli and Enterococcus spp. The highest numbers found for E.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAdvances in veterinary medicine have resulted in the survival of many animals with severe illness or infectious diseases. In addition, increased usage of antimicrobial agents for veterinary purposes has contributed to the worldwide problem of increasing antimicrobial resistance. The objective of this study was to contribute to better understand the potential and implications for the spread of antimicrobial-resistant enterococci between pets receiving antimicrobial treatments and their owners.
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