Rabies Vaccination for Sheep and Goats: Influence of Booster on Persistence of Antibody Response.

Infrequent rabies cases occur in Israel, endangering humans and animals. While dogs receive mandatory vaccinations, farm animals are vaccinated voluntarily. However, optimal vaccination protocol for small ruminants is lacking.

Persistence of Anti-Rabies Antibody Response in Horses Following Vaccination.

Rabies is a fatal zoonotic disease affecting all mammalian species. It is caused by the rabies virus and is prevalent worldwide. Horses are not commonly infected with rabies but their vaccination is recommended due to the potential zoonotic risk.

Temporal trends of tilapia lake virus disease in Israel, 2017-2018.

Tilapia lake virus (TiLV) is an emerging viral disease that affects several tilapia species in different countries since 2014. In 2017-2018, 129 samples were collected from 14 tilapia farms in Israel. Ninety samples represented mortality events (ME), and 39 were used as control samples (CS).

Further Evidence of Inadequate Quality in Lateral Flow Devices Commercially Offered for the Diagnosis of Rabies.

As a neglected zoonotic disease, rabies causes approximately 5.9 × 10 human deaths annually, primarily affecting low- and middle-income countries in Asia and Africa. In those regions, insufficient surveillance is hampering adequate medical intervention and is driving the vicious cycle of neglect.

Tilapia lake virus disease: Phylogenetic analysis reveals that two distinct clades are circulating in Israel simultaneously.

Tilapia lake virus (TiLV) is an emerging viral disease that affects several tilapia species in different countries since 2014. In 2017-2018, 129 samples were collected from 14 tilapia farms in Israel. Ninety samples represented TiLV-suspected cases (TSC), and 39 were used as control samples (CS).

Identification of a novel RNA virus lethal to tilapia.

Tilapines are important for the sustainability of ecological systems and serve as the second most important group of farmed fish worldwide. Significant mortality of wild and cultured tilapia has been observed recently in Israel. The etiological agent of this disease, a novel RNA virus, is described here, and procedures allowing its isolation and detection are revealed.

A pivotal role for the Streptococcus iniae extracellular polysaccharide in triggering proinflammatory cytokines transcription and inducing death in rainbow trout.

Streptococcus iniae is a major pathogen of fish, causing considerable economic losses in Israel, the United States and the Far East. Containment of mortalities through vaccination was recently compromised due to the emergence of novel vaccine-escape strains that are distinguished from previous strains by their ability to produce large amounts of extracellular polysaccharide (EPS) that is released to the medium. In vitro and in vivo data now indicate that the EPS is a major virulence factor, capable of triggering the proinflammatory cytokine machinery and inducing mortality of fish.

Emergence of novel Streptococcus iniae exopolysaccharide-producing strains following vaccination with nonproducing strains.

Streptococcus iniae is a major pathogen of fish, producing fatal disease among fish species living in very diverse environments. Recently, reoccurrences of disease outbreaks were recorded in rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss, Walbaum) farms where the entire fish population was routinely vaccinated. New strains are distinguished from previous strains by their ability to produce large amounts of extracellular polysaccharide that is released into the medium.

Transcytosis of Streptococcus iniae through skin epithelial barriers: an in vitro study.

By constructing a biological model based on in vitro culture of polarized rainbow trout primary skin epithelial cell monolayers, the series of early events that precede Streptococcus iniae infection, particularly colonization and translocation through external barriers, were analyzed. Streptococcus iniae promptly invades skin epithelial cells, but the rapid decline of viable intracellular bacteria points out the limited capability of intracellular survival for this bacterium. Translocation assays, supported by electron microscopy microphotographs, demonstrate that following successful in vitro invasion of skin epithelial cell, the bacterium exists free in the cytoplasm after release from the endosome, and translocates through the skin barrier.

Cloning of the koi herpesvirus (KHV) gene encoding thymidine kinase and its use for a highly sensitive PCR based diagnosis.

Background: Outbreaks with mass mortality among common carp Cyprinus carpio carpio and koi Cyprinus carpio koi have occurred worldwide since 1998. The herpes-like virus isolated from diseased fish is different from Herpesvirus cyprini and channel catfish virus and was accordingly designated koi herpesvirus (KHV). Diagnosis of KHV infection based on viral isolation and current PCR assays has a limited sensitivity and therefore new tools for the diagnosis of KHV infections are necessary.

Clonality and diversity of the fish pathogen Lactococcus garvieae in Mediterranean countries.

Infection with Lactococcus garvieae is considered the most important risk factor for the European trout industry, and the losses are approximately 50% of the total production. To improve our understanding of the genetic links among strains originating from different countries, we examined the population structure of L. garvieae by comparing 81 strains isolated from different sources and ecosystems (41 farms in six countries) in which the bacterium is commonly found.

Trojan horse effect: phagocyte-mediated Streptococcus iniae infection of fish.

The salmonid macrophage-like cell line RTS-11 and purified trout pronephros phagocytes were used to analyze in vitro entry and survival of two Streptococcus iniae serotypes. Efficient invasion by S. iniae occurred in both cells, but only the type II strain persisted in pronephros phagocytes for at least 48 h.