Genetic, histochemical and biochemical studies on goat TSE cases from Cyprus.

Scrapie and bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) are transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSE's) affecting sheep and goats. Susceptibility of goats to scrapie is influenced by polymorphisms of the prion protein gene (PRNP) of the host. Five polymorphisms are associated with reduced susceptibility to TSE's.

Rickettsia typhi and Rickettsia felis in Xenopsylla cheopis and Leptopsylla segnis parasitizing rats in Cyprus.

Fleas collected from rats during a three-year period (2000-2003) in 51 areas of all provinces of Cyprus were tested by molecular analysis to characterize the prevalence and identity of fleaborne rickettsiae. Rickettsia typhi, the causative agent of murine typhus, was detected in Xenopsylla cheopis (4%) and in Leptopsylla segnis (6.6%).

Rats as indicators of the presence and dispersal of six zoonotic microbial agents in Cyprus, an island ecosystem: a seroepidemiological study.

A total of 622 rats (402 Rattus norvegicus and 220 R. rattus frugivorus) were collected in 51 different areas in Cyprus during 2000-2003 and used as indicators of the presence and dispersal of six zoonotic microbial agents. IgG antibodies against Rickettsia typhi (241/496, 48.

Rats as indicators of the presence and dispersal of pathogens in Cyprus: ectoparasites, parasitic helminths, enteric bacteria, and encephalomyocarditis virus.

Rodents play an active role in the transmission of a number of zoonoses by harboring and disseminating the pathogens involved, either through their biological materials or via their ectoparasites. Hence, the spatial and seasonal distribution of potential agents of zoonoses may be studied by examining their distribution in the rodent vectors and their ectoparasites. A surveillance was conducted in wild rodents in 51 different areas of Cyprus, an island ecosystem, to monitor the reemergence of Echinococcus granulosus and Encephalomyocarditis virus (pathogens that have been eradicated from Cyprus), to study the presence and dispersal of Salmonella spp.

PrP gene polymorphisms in Cyprus goats and their association with resistance or susceptibility to natural scrapie.

In contrast to scrapie in sheep, the genetic basis of susceptibility to scrapie in goats is not well understood. To study the association of prion protein (PrP) alleles with susceptibility to scrapie in goats in Cyprus, the coding sequence of the caprine PrP gene was determined in 717 goats, including 218 scrapie positive animals. Several novel polymorphisms were detected, such as a novel octarepeat variant and a stop codon mutation.