Publications by authors named "Rafael Molina Lopez"

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), considered a zoonotic agent of wildlife origin, can infect various animal species, including wildlife in free-range and captive environments. Detecting susceptible species and potential reservoirs is crucial for preventing the transmission, spread, genetic evolution, and further emergence of viral variants that are major threats to global health. This study aimed to detect exposure or acute infection by SARS-CoV-2 in 420 animals from 40 different wildlife species, including terrestrial and aquatic mammals, from different regions of Spain during the 2020-2023 coronavirus disease 19 (COVID-19) pandemic.

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is a generalist zoonotic parasite that involves a wide range of warm-blooded animals as intermediate hosts and felines as definitive hosts. Recent studies have proved significant positive associations between human population density and seroprevalence in wildlife. However, there is limited data regarding wildlife in urban areas, where the highest human density occurs.

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Wildlife rehabilitation centers (WRC) play a crucial role in the collection of data and the monitoring of hedgehog populations. The main objective of this study was to identify the morbidity and prognostic factors associated with the mortality of wild hedgehogs admitted at a WRC in Catalonia. A total number of 3397 hedgehogs admitted from 1995 to 2020 were studied.

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Research on antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in pet rabbits is very scarce. The aim of this study was to provide an overview of the current state of AMR in rabbits attended to in veterinary clinics distributed in Spain. Records of 3596 microbiological results of clinical cases submitted from 2010 to 2021 were analyzed.

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infection in healthy animals is often asymptomatic. However, some species with little history of contact with the parasite, such as marsupials and New World primates, present high mortality rates after infection. Despite its potential conservation concern, infection in insectivorous bats has received little attention, and its impact on bat populations' health is unknown.

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Literature related to antimicrobial resistant (AMR) bacteria in exotic pets is minimal, being essential to report objective data on this topic, which represents a therapeutic challenge for veterinary medicine and public health. Between 2016 and 2020, laboratory records of 3156 exotic pet specimens' microbiological diagnoses and antibiotic susceptibility testing (AST) results were examined. The samples were classified into three animal classes: birds ( = 412), mammalia ( = 2399), and reptilian ( = 345).

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Emergence of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in bacterial pathogens has been recognized as a major public health concern worldwide. In the present study, antimicrobial resistant Gram-negative bacteria (AMRGNB) and AMR genes were assessed in semi-aquatic wild animals from a highly populated and intensive farming region of Spain, Catalonia. Cloacal/rectal swab samples were collected from 241 animals coming from invasive species Trachemys scripta (n = 91) and Neovison vison (n = 131), and endangered-protected species Lutra lutra (n = 19).

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Article Synopsis
  • West Nile virus lineage 2 (WNV-L2) emerged in Europe in 2004 and has spread widely, causing outbreaks in humans and animals, notably detected in northern goshawks in Catalonia, Spain.
  • Researchers conducted genome sequencing and phylogenetic analyses, revealing that Spanish WNV-L2 isolates are related to a cluster that originated in Italy and have shown moderate to high virulence in laboratory studies.
  • These findings indicate that WNV-L2 can overwinter and circulate in the region, highlighting the need for increased surveillance due to rising cases in both humans and animals across Europe.
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The surveillance for West Nile virus (WNV) in Catalonia (northeastern Spain) has consistently detected flaviviruses not identified as WNV. With the aim of characterizing the flaviviruses circulating in Catalonia, serum samples from birds and horses collected between 2010 and 2019 and positive by panflavivirus competition ELISA (cELISA) were analyzed by microneutralization test (MNT) against different flaviviruses. A third of the samples tested were inconclusive by MNT, highlighting the limitations of current diagnostic techniques.

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Wildlife has been suggested to be a good sentinel of environmental health because of its close interaction with human populations, domestic animals, and natural ecosystems. The alarming emergence of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in human and veterinary medicine has activated/triggered the awareness of monitoring the levels of AMR pollution in wildlife. European hedgehogs () are common wild species habiting urban areas in Europe.

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Background: The increasing emergence of multidrug-resistant bacteria, causing urinary tract infections (UTI) in dogs and cats, represents a great therapeutic challenge and a public health concern.

Methods: Laboratory records of 4943 urinary microbiological diagnosis results and antimicrobial resistance profiles of suspected UTI cases in dogs and cats were analysed from 2016 to 2018 in Spain.

Results: This study showed a higher percentage of positive microbiological diagnoses in dogs (42%, 1368/3270) than in cats (27%, 457/1673).

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Pet animals are assumed to be potential reservoirs in transferring antimicrobial resistance (AMR) to humans due to the extensively applied broad-spectrum antimicrobial agents and their close contact with humans. In this study, microbiological data and antimicrobial susceptibility results of dog ( = 5,086) and cat ( = 789) clinical samples from a private Laboratory of Diagnosis in Barcelona were analyzed. Samples came from different counties of the Iberian Peninsula during 2016-2018.

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Most of the studies focused on antimicrobial resistance (AMR) performed in wildlife describe Escherichia coli as the principal indicator of the selective pressure. In the present study, several species of Enterobacterales with a large panel of cephalosporin resistant (CR) genes have been isolated from wildlife in Catalonia. A total of 307 wild animals were examined to determine the prevalence of CR enterobacteria, AMR phenotypes and the presence of common carbapenem and CR genes.

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Water-borne transmission may play an important role in the epidemiology of Toxoplasma gondii. Mammals closely related to freshwater ecosystems, such as the American mink (Neovison vison), are potentially valuable sentinels for T. gondii.

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Background: Blood biochemistry and hematology are essential in the laboratory diagnosis of disease. In Strigiformes, little information regarding reference values and influence of different preanalytic factors is available, while age is known to have an effect on some biochemistry analytes, especially in early life characterized by a rapid growth rate and increase in body mass.

Objective: The objective of this study was to determine baseline data for 29 blood biochemistry variables in 5 species of Iberian Strigiformes assigned to different age classes.

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Background: There are few studies of careful examination of wildlife casualties in Wildlife Rehabilitation Centers. These studies are essential for detecting menaces to wild species and providing objective criteria about cost-benefit of treatments in those centers. The release rate is considered the main outcome indicator, but other parameters such as length of stay at the center and a cost-benefit index expressed as number of released animals per euro and day, could be used as reliable estimators of the rehabilitation costs.

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Background: The clinical importance of hematologic testing in avian veterinary medicine is reflected in the increasing number of studies for the establishment of hematologic RIs of Strigiformes and other species. Age is an important physiologic factor in birds and the effect on hematology variable should be understood.

Objectives: The objective of this study was to determine baseline data of hematologic variables in 5 species of Iberian Strigiformes in different age classes.

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Free-living raptors (birds of prey) can act as reservoirs of potentially zoonotic agents, but they also can be affected by microorganisms as target hosts. In this retrospective study, microbiological results (n = 663) and antibiotic sensitivity profiles (n = 108) of bacterial isolates were analysed from diseased free-living raptors. Sixty-nine percent of cases (n = 457) yielded bacteria: 58% were in pure culture and 42% were of different species.

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The assessment of memory decline in people with intellectual disability (ID) is more difficult than in the general population, due to a lack of appropriate instruments and to preexisting cognitive impairment. The aim of this study was to describe performance of healthy adults with Down syndrome (healthy-DS; prospectively cohort) on a Spanish version of the modified Cued Recall Test (mCRT). We also recruited retrospectively a cohort of DS subjects with Dementia of the Alzheimer's Type (DS-DAT).

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Wildlife can act as long-term asymptomatic reservoirs for zoonotic bacteria, such as Salmonella. The prevalence and antimicrobial-susceptibility profiles of Salmonella spp. were assessed in 263 cases in wildlife from 22 animal orders from a wildlife rehabilitation center in Catalonia (NE Spain), September 2013-May 2014.

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Article Synopsis
  • The study examined the presence of anticoagulant rodenticides (ARs) in 344 predatory wildlife individuals from Catalonia and Majorca, revealing that 62.8% of them tested positive for these chemicals.
  • Six different ARs were detected, and a significant number of animals (34.6%) had multiple ARs in their systems, with a correlation found between AR presence and human population density.
  • Notably, the resident Eurasian scops owl population in Majorca showed a higher prevalence of ARs than migratory populations in Catalonia, indicating a potential risk of SGAR poisoning among wild predators in the region.
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Background: Assessment of the prognostic indicators of wildlife casualties is critical in wildlife rehabilitation practice, to optimize the use of economical resources, and to protect animal welfare. Few studies have been conducted in this field.

Objective: To identify the prognostic indicators associated with raptor mortality during the first week of hospitalization.

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In the context of an epidemiological study carried out by several wildlife recovery centers in Spain, trichomonads resembling Trichomonas gallinae were found in the oropharyngeal cavity of 2 Egyptian vultures (Neophron percnopterus) and 14 cinereous vultures (Aegypius monachus) which did not show any symptoms of trichomonosis. In order to characterize them, these isolates along with seven other T. gallinae isolates obtained from different hosts and from different geographical origin were analyzed.

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Background: Anal cancer is caused by human papillomavirus (HPV). Moreover, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is an additional risk factor for anal cancer. Therefore, when designing preventive protocols for HIV-infected men, it is important to detect high-risk (HR) oncogenic HPV genotypes present in their anal canals.

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Background: We studied the type-specific infection of human papillomavirus (HPV) at the anal canal and penile site in a cohort of HIV-infected men.

Methods: Prevalence, clearance, and incidence of specific HPV types in the anal canal and penis were determined in 733 HIV-infected men from the Spanish CAn Ruti HIV+ Men ([CARH•MEN]) cohort (538 men who have sex with men [MSM] and 195 heterosexual men).

Results: In both groups, the most prevalent high-risk type was HPV-16 (anal canal [31.

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