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Nature Communications Oct 2023The sudden mortality of African elephants (Loxodonta africana) in Botswana and Zimbabwe in 2020 provoked considerable public interest and speculation. Poaching and...
The sudden mortality of African elephants (Loxodonta africana) in Botswana and Zimbabwe in 2020 provoked considerable public interest and speculation. Poaching and malicious poisoning were excluded early on in the investigation. Other potential causes included environmental intoxication, infectious diseases, and increased habitat stress due to ongoing drought. Here we show evidence of the mortalities in Zimbabwe as fatal septicaemia associated with Bisgaard taxon 45, an unnamed close relative of Pasteurella multocida. We analyse elephant carcasses and environmental samples, and fail to find evidence of cyanobacterial or other intoxication. Post-mortem and histological findings suggest a bacterial septicaemia similar to haemorrhagic septicaemia caused by P. multocida. Biochemical tests and 16S rDNA analysis of six samples and genomic analysis of one sample confirm the presence of Bisgaard taxon 45. The genome sequence contains many of the canonical P. multocida virulence factors associated with a range of human and animal diseases, including the pmHAS gene for hyaluronidase associated with bovine haemorrhagic septicaemia. Our results demonstrate that Bisgaard taxon 45 is associated with a generalised, lethal infection and that African elephants are susceptible to opportunistically pathogenic Pasteurella species. This represents an important conservation concern for elephants in the largest remaining metapopulation of this endangered species.
Topics: Humans; Animals; Cattle; Hemorrhagic Septicemia; Elephants; Pasteurella; Pasteurella multocida; Ecosystem
PubMed: 37880229
DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-41987-z -
Brazilian Journal of Biology = Revista... 2022Brazil is one of the world leaders in the agribusiness sector tending to directly influence a growing dependence on imported inputs, specifically synthetic... (Review)
Review
Brazil is one of the world leaders in the agribusiness sector tending to directly influence a growing dependence on imported inputs, specifically synthetic agrochemicals. At the state level, in 2013, Tocantins stood out in first place in the ranking of agrochemical consumers, however, these products can cause several problems, such as poisoning to humans, environmental contamination, and increased resistance to phytopathogens. Biological control is an alternative to the use of agrochemicals towards eliminating pests naturally by using living organisms called Biological Control Agents (BCA). Currently, fungi of the Trichoderma genus are some of the most used organisms in biological pest control for their relevant characteristics that favor them in terms of survival in the environment, such as high capacity to adapt to ecological conditions, potential to colonize the rhizosphere of plants, mycoparasitism, production of volatile and non-volatile metabolites. In addition, it works on plant growth and productivity. In general, the use of Trichoderma favors the control of soil pathogens, such as Rhizoctonia, Pythium, Sclerotinia, and nematodes. Thus, this review aims to demonstrate the importance of using Trichoderma in biological control, as well as to present an overview and perspectives of research developed by respondents in the Brazilian Midwest region and Tocantins state.
Topics: Agrochemicals; Biological Control Agents; Brazil; Humans; Pest Control, Biological; Plant Diseases; Trichoderma
PubMed: 35946640
DOI: 10.1590/1519-6984.260161 -
Frontiers in Pediatrics 2023Poisoning occurs when a person is exposed to an external substance at a too high dose for them. It is possible for young children to be exposed to chemicals. Lungs, the...
BACKGROUND
Poisoning occurs when a person is exposed to an external substance at a too high dose for them. It is possible for young children to be exposed to chemicals. Lungs, the heart, CNS, the digestive tract, and kidneys can be poisoned. In 2004, over 45,000 children and teenagers died from acute poisoning, representing 13% of all accidental poisoning deaths worldwide. Poisoning patterns vary by exposure type, age group, poison type, and dose.
AIM
This study assessed the pattern of acute poisoning with drugs, chemicals, and natural toxins among children (<12 years old). The study was done in Makkah region and registered in the poison control center in Makkah, the forensic chemistry center in Haddah during 2020-2021.
METHODS
A retrospective cohort study was done on 122 children exposed to toxic substances in Makkah. The children were 12 years old and had good health for a maximum of one year. Stratified random sampling was used to divide cases into groups of similar poisons (pharmaceutical products, household products, plant envenomation, and animal envenomation). Then each group got a random samples. The data were analysed with SPSS software.
RESULTS
The mean age of children was 5.2 years, with 59% being boys. The mean temperature, pulse, systolic, diastolic, and respiratory rates were 36.77, 98.29, 109.1, 69.17, and 21.49. The most documented pharmaceutical products (200 mg) were carbamazepine (5 mg), methanol, risperidone (5 mg), propranolol (5 mg), and olanzapine (5 mg). The most common poison forms were tablets (42.6%), syrups (15.6%), capsules (13.9%), and solutions (13.1%). The most common poisoning routes were ingestion (82.8%), dermal (5.7%), injection (4.9%), and inhalation (6.6%). Accidental poisoning was 83%, with a 30-minute lag for 30.3% of children, and most (69.7%) occurred at home. Benzodiazepines were the most commonly used category class drug (18%), with normal pupils and an ECG of 85.2%. Sixty-seven percent had blood tests. Sickness was 9.48, and the positive result was 213.01. The most common presenting symptoms were GIT and neurological (23.8%). 31.1% had mild, moderate, or severe toxicity. Most cases (68%) were complex. 34.4% were intubated, 9.8% had repeated-dose-activated charcoal for enhanced elimination, and 27.8% were on IV fluids. Children with GIT, CVS, respiratory, dermal, and neurological symptoms had a higher percentage of severe toxicity ( < 0.05). Slight toxicity was associated with whole bowel irrigation, intubation for oxygen therapy, N-acetylcysteine or sedation, fluids, and phenytoin ( < 0.05). Complicated cases had a higher mean AST/IUL than non-complicated cases (75.5 vs. 20.08, < 0.05). The level of toxicity did not correlate with the mean of all lab tests ( > 0.05). The age of the children correlated positively with their systolic BP ( = 0.22, < 0.01).
CONCLUSION
The results show how important it is to teach the public about poisoning and make rules for tracking and dealing with poisonings in Saudi Arabia.
PubMed: 37009288
DOI: 10.3389/fped.2023.1087095 -
Children (Basel, Switzerland) Feb 2024Exposure to plants accounts for approximately 5% of human poisoning cases reported by poison control centers in North America and Europe. The aim of this study was to...
BACKGROUND
Exposure to plants accounts for approximately 5% of human poisoning cases reported by poison control centers in North America and Europe. The aim of this study was to investigate acute plant poisoning in patients aged 0-18 years admitted to a Romanian pediatric poison center, focusing on epidemiological and clinical aspects.
METHODS
A retrospective observational study was conducted between 2017 and 2022, analyzing medical records for demographic information, clinical features, biological findings, and outcomes. Statistical analysis was performed using Microsoft Excel.
RESULTS
71 patients (aged 7 months to 16 years) presented with acute plant poisoning. Most cases were unintentional (92.9%), peaking during the autumn season. (18.3%), (9.8%), and (5%) were the most frequently involved plants. Gastrointestinal symptoms, especially vomiting, predominated. The Poisoning Severity Score classified most cases as mild (52.1%), with no severe or fatal cases. The mean length of hospitalization was 1.8 days.
CONCLUSIONS
Unintentional plant exposure, mainly in children under 5 years of age, accounted for more than 90% of cases. Gastrointestinal exposure and symptoms were prevalent, and treatment consisted mainly of symptomatic and supportive measures. Severe and fatal cases were rare, highlighting the generally favorable outcome and low incidence of severe poisoning in the pediatric population.
PubMed: 38539306
DOI: 10.3390/children11030271 -
SAGE Open Medicine 2023Pesticides are frequently used by plant cultivars to control pests that could affect yield. Although many local farmers in Eastern Ethiopia use organophosphate...
INTRODUCTION
Pesticides are frequently used by plant cultivars to control pests that could affect yield. Although many local farmers in Eastern Ethiopia use organophosphate insecticides extensively for the production of khat, the pattern and treatment outcome of acute poisoning of these organophosphates has been poorly quantified and reported in this region.
MATERIALS AND METHOD
A cross-sectional study design was employed at two public hospitals found in Harari region, Ethiopia. The data were collected through face-to-face interviews and card review, then analyzed with SPSS version 20. Pearson's Chi-square test was used to compare independent variables with the treatment outcome. Statistical significance is defined at 95% confidence interval of odds ratio not including 1 or < 0.05.
RESULTS
A total of 135 cases of organophosphate were admitted in the emergency departments of the hospitals during the study period. 42.2% of participants were adolescents (age: 11-20 years) while the mean age of all participants was 18.8 ± 12.9 years with a range of 1-61 years. 73.7% of the study participants were rural residents. The result showed that 47.4% of the cases were exposed to the poison accidentally. Family disharmony was the common reason among cases poisoned intentionally. The mean time elapsed between poisoning and reaching the health facility was 3.1 h. Atropine was administered for 47% of the cases. About 11% of cases expired following the poison. The home remedy given, lag time, and residency were found to be factors significantly related to poor treatment outcomes.
CONCLUSION
Easy availability, low cost, and excessive popularity of organophosphate use as pesticides in Eastern Ethiopia have increased the incidence of ingestion, resulting in increasing intentional and unintentional poisoning. In the present study, accidental exposure accounts for 47.4%.
PubMed: 38084292
DOI: 10.1177/20503121231216603 -
Journal of Veterinary Diagnostic... Jul 2021We determined the prevalence of diseases and pathogens associated with mortality in beef cattle in the State of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, based on pathology laboratory...
We determined the prevalence of diseases and pathogens associated with mortality in beef cattle in the State of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, based on pathology laboratory submissions. Postmortem examinations were conducted on 1,277 beef cattle that died between 2008 and 2018. Information regarding age, time of the year, breed, and regional location were analyzed statistically. Most cattle were from the surrounding region of Porto Alegre, and 78.7% of the analyzed cases had diagnostic value. The diagnostic category with most cases was infectious and/or parasitic diseases (60%), followed by toxic and toxicoinfectious (25%). Most cases occurred in the fall. Major disease conditions identified included hemoprotozoal infection (18.2%), rabies (8.2%), and plant intoxications by spp. (8.5%) and (4.6%). Hemoprotozoal infection occurred at a higher frequency in young cattle, mainly in animals up to 1 y old. Intoxication by spp. was more frequent in cattle 2-3 y old.
Topics: Age Factors; Animals; Brazil; Cattle; Cattle Diseases; Cause of Death; Geography; Plant Poisoning; Protozoan Infections, Animal; Rabies; Seasons
PubMed: 33834923
DOI: 10.1177/10406387211007952 -
International Journal of Molecular... Oct 2021is one of the major invasive weeds that causes instability of the ecosystem. Research has reported that produces allelochemicals that inhibit the growth and... (Review)
Review
is one of the major invasive weeds that causes instability of the ecosystem. Research has reported that produces allelochemicals that inhibit the growth and development of food crops, and also contain some toxic compounds that cause toxicity to animals that consume it. Over the past decades, studies on the identification of major toxic compounds of and their toxic molecular mechanisms have been reported. In addition, weed control interventions, such as herbicides application, was employed to reduce the spread of . However, the development of therapeutic and prophylactic measures to treat the various -induced toxicities, such as hepatotoxicity, splenotoxicity and other related disorders, have not been established to date. The main toxic pathogenesis of is oxidative stress and inflammation. However, numerous studies have verified that some extracts and secondary metabolites isolated from possess anti-oxidation and anti-inflammation activities, which implies that these extracts can relieve toxicity and aid in the development of drug or feed supplements to treat poisoning-related disorders caused by . Furthermore, beneficial bacteria isolated from rumen microbes and can degrade major toxic compounds in so as to be developed into microbial feed additives to help ameliorate toxicity mediated by . This review presents an overview of the toxic mechanisms of , provides possible therapeutic strategies that are available to mitigate the toxicity of and introduces relevant information on identifying novel prophylactic and therapeutic measures against -induced toxicity.
Topics: Ageratina; Animals; Antioxidants; Ecosystem; Humans; Inflammation; Introduced Species; Plant Weeds
PubMed: 34769012
DOI: 10.3390/ijms222111581 -
Frontiers in Veterinary Science 2021A cross-sectional survey was conducted to estimate the incidence of small ruminant abortion and identify its major causes and potential risk factors in goat and sheep...
A cross-sectional survey was conducted to estimate the incidence of small ruminant abortion and identify its major causes and potential risk factors in goat and sheep flocks in three agroecology and production systems of Ethiopia. Information on pregnancy outcomes and management risk factors were collected for 299 goat and 242 sheep flocks. Blood samples were collected from 133 sheep and 90 goat flocks and tested for spp., , and . A causal diagram outlined relationships between potential predictor variables and abortion in the flock. The effect of management and exposure to infectious causes on the number of abortions in the flock across agroecology was tested using zero-inflated negative binomial regression. Results showed that 142 (58.68%) goats and 53 (17.73%) sheep flocks reported abortions in the 12 months before the survey. The mean annual flock abortion percentages were 16.1% (±26.23) for does and 12.6% (±23.5) for ewes. Farmers perceived infectious diseases, extreme weather conditions, feed shortage, physical traumas, and plant poisoning as the most important causes of abortion. A higher proportion of abortion was recorded during the short rainy season (March to May) and start of the short dry and cold season (June to August) in the lowland mixed crop-livestock and pastoral agroecology and production system, respectively. Overall, 65.41% sheep and 92.22% goat flocks tested positive for one or more abortion causing agents, namely, spp., and mixed infection was found in 31.58% sheep and 63.33% goat flocks. Spending the night in a traditional house and providing supplementary feed for pregnant dams were important management factors which significantly ( ≤ 0.05) decreased the risk of abortion by 2.63 and 4.55 times, respectively. However, the presence of other livestock species and dogs in the household and exposure of the flock to spp. or anyone of the four tested infectious agents significantly ( ≤ 0.05) increased the risk of abortion in sheep and goat flocks. In general, abortion is a challenge for small ruminant production in the study area especially in lowland agroecology and calls for improvement in husbandry practices, health care and biosecurity practices.
PubMed: 33585619
DOI: 10.3389/fvets.2021.615310 -
Foods (Basel, Switzerland) Oct 2022Members of the Lamiaceae family are considered chief sources of bioactive therapeutic agents. They are important ornamental, medicinal, and aromatic plants, many of... (Review)
Review
Members of the Lamiaceae family are considered chief sources of bioactive therapeutic agents. They are important ornamental, medicinal, and aromatic plants, many of which are used in traditional and modern medicine and in the food, cosmetic, and pharmaceutical industries. In North Africa, on the Mediterranean side, there is the following particularly interesting Lamiaceous species: Willd. sp. Boiss. Et Reut. The populations of this endemic plant are distributed from the subhumid to the lower arid zone and are mainly employed as ethnomedicinal remedies in the following Maghreb countries: Algeria, Libya, Morocco, and Tunisia. In fact, they have been applied as antimicrobial agents, antispasmodics, astringents, expectorants, and preservatives for several food products. The species is commonly consumed as a tea or infusion and is used against hypercholesterolemia, diabetes, respiratory ailments, heart disease, and food poisoning. These medicinal uses are related to constituents with many biological characteristics, including antimicrobial, antioxidant, anticancer, anti-ulcer, anti-diabetic, insecticidal, and anti-inflammatory activities. This review aims to present an overview of the botanical characteristics and geographical distribution of Boiss. Et Reut and its traditional uses. This manuscript also examines the phytochemical profile and its correlation with biological activities revealed by in vitro and in vivo studies.
PubMed: 37430944
DOI: 10.3390/foods11203195 -
Frontiers in Toxicology 2024Bog bilberry ( L.) is a wild-growing berry native to all circumboreal regions. There is however a significant discrepancy in the uses of bog bilberry fruits around the... (Review)
Review
Bog bilberry ( L.) is a wild-growing berry native to all circumboreal regions. There is however a significant discrepancy in the uses of bog bilberry fruits around the world. There exists a strong prejudice against the use of these berries in many European countries as well as a few incidences of poisoning reported between 1906 and 1944. In Asia and North America, this fear is completely absent from the local knowledge and the bog bilberry is valued as an excellent food and medicinal plant. There has been a lack of research on the topic in the last 50 years and thus the presumed toxicity remains unproven. This review aims to gather the conflicting information from all regions where bog bilberry grows and present them in a critical way to elucidate the possible explanations for the discrepancies. There are several possible explanations for the alleged toxicity of the bog bilberry, including a fungal infection of the fruits, individual intolerance or accidental poisoning by a different plant species; the local names meaning "drunk, inebriating, vomit-inducing berry" may be related to the alcoholic drinks made from them. This review highlights the gap in knowledge and serves as a theoretical framework for future research.
PubMed: 38357417
DOI: 10.3389/ftox.2024.1358840