Background: Thelaziosis is a neglected vector-borne disease caused by parasitic nematode worms of the genus Thelazia which affects various hosts. Limited attention has been given to ungulate-associated Thelazia species. Current diagnosis of thelaziosis and the identification/differentiation of species heavily relies on morphological features.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Toxoplasma gondii is a protozoan parasite that infects a large spectrum of warm-blooded animals, including humans. Small rodents and insectivores play an important role in the epidemiology of T. gondii and may serve as a source of infection for both, domestic and wild definitive felid hosts.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF(1) Background: Various studies on artemisinin and its derivatives have shown that Artemisia annua may be of therapeutic interest for different diseases, including chicken coccidiosis. This study aimed to evaluate the effects of Artemisia annua on farm-reared broiler chickens by analyzing both the anticoccidial efficacy and its effect on the intestinal microbiota of poultry. (2) Methods: The experiment was performed within three houses on a broiler chicken farm located in Romania.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFTickborne bacterial pathogens have been described worldwide as risk factors for both animal and human health. Spotted fevers caused by Rickettsiae may cause non-specific symptoms, which make clinical diagnosis difficult. The aim of the current study was to evaluate and review the diversity of SFG Rickettsiae in ticks collected in 41 counties in Romania.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIntroduction: West Nile virus (WNV), Usutu virus (USUV), and the tick-borne encephalitis virus (TBEV) are all arboviruses belonging to family. All are characterized by vectorial transmission and sometimes associated with neuroinvasive infections. The circulation of these viruses is considered endemic in parts of Europe, with human cases reported in many countries.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFNematodes of the genus are among the most widespread parasites of domestic and wild omnivores and predatory animals. The present study aimed to evaluate the antiparasitic effect of ATCC 393 (original) and CNCM in CD-1 mice experimentally infected with . Four groups of 20 mice (10 females and 10 males/group) were used, with two control (C) groups and two experimental (E) groups, in which each animal received a daily oral dose of 100 µL of 10 CFU/mL probiotics in Ringer's solution.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Gaining insight into the risk perceptions and the knowledge evolution of the public about emerging or changing health risks is vital for the improvement of health promotion activities. Currently, scientific evidence regarding the attitudes of the Romanian public towards ticks is scanty. This study aimed to identify how the lockdown enforced by the COVID-19 pandemic in Romania impacted the recreational behaviour, risk perceptions, and protective practices of the Romanian population regarding ticks.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFDespite the increasingly recognized eco-epidemiological importance of ticks as vectors for numerous zoonotic pathogens in urban areas, data regarding the pathogen diversity and co-infection rates in ticks and wildlife hosts in urban and peri-urban Romania are scanty. We aimed to establish the risk of human exposure to co-infected ticks in Cluj-Napoca, a major city in Romania. DNA was isolated from 151 questing ticks: ( = 95), ( = 53), ( = 2), and ( = 1); 222 engorged ticks: ( = 164), ( = 36), ( = 16), ( = 6), and 70 tissue samples collected from wildlife hosts during 2018 in five urban, and two peri-urban sites.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Ticks are increasingly acknowledged as significant vectors for a wide array of pathogens in urban environments with reports of abundant tick populations in recreational areas. The study aims to contribute to a better knowledge of the abiotic and biotic factors which impact the ecology of hard ticks in urban and peri-urban habitats in Romania.
Methods: Questing ticks were collected by flagging in seven recreational locations, from four types of habitats in Cluj-Napoca, Romania: parks; gardens; a cemetery; and peri-urban forests.