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Frontiers in Veterinary Science 2020African Swine Fever (ASF) is a viral disease that affects animals of the family, and soft ticks from the genus can also be infected by the ASF virus (ASFV). The... (Review)
Review
African Swine Fever (ASF) is a viral disease that affects animals of the family, and soft ticks from the genus can also be infected by the ASF virus (ASFV). The disease was first described in Africa at the beginning of the twentieth century as an acute disease characterized by high mortality and fatal hemorrhages. ASF has caused outbreaks in numerous countries and it continues to be devastating nowadays for the porcine sector in those countries affected, and a massive threat for those free of the disease. ASF can follow clinical courses from peracute to chronic in domestic pigs () depending on a variety of factors, including the immune status of the animals and the virulence of the ASFV strain. The key features of the pathogenesis of the disease in domestic swine are a) a severe lymphoid depletion including lymphopenia and a state of immunodeficiency, and b) hemorrhages. However, African wild swine like bushpigs (), red river hogs (), and warthogs () can be infected by ASFV showing no clinical signs of disease and acting as natural reservoir hosts. In this article we review the key features of the gross and microscopic pathology together with a description of the pathogenesis of ASFV infection in domestic pigs following the different clinical courses. The pathogenesis of ASF in wild and domestic swine is also described, what can provide important information for the design of control strategies, such as vaccines.
PubMed: 32509811
DOI: 10.3389/fvets.2020.00282 -
Journal of Veterinary Diagnostic... May 2023Free-living amoebae are rare causes of morbidity and mortality in humans and animals around the globe. Because the route of exposure and clinical progression of disease... (Review)
Review
Free-living amoebae are rare causes of morbidity and mortality in humans and animals around the globe. Because the route of exposure and clinical progression of disease caused by different species of amoebae may vary in people and animals, determining the species of amoeba present is important. We describe here a fatal infection by the free-living amoeba in a Siberian tiger (). The 17-y-old patient had a rapid clinical decline after a peracute onset of severe lethargy, dull mentation, and anorexia. Autopsy did not identify a cause of death. Histology revealed inflammation associated with amoebic trophozoites in the brain, lungs, and iris of one eye. These amoebae were confirmed to be based on a PCR assay and sequencing. Although there are subtle morphologic differences between cyst stages of spp., , and when present and identified on routine staining, other modalities, including PCR, immunofluorescence, electron microscopy, and immunohistochemistry, are typically utilized to confirm the pathogen involved in these cases. We review the reports of balamuthosis in animals.
Topics: Humans; Animals; Tigers; Amebiasis; Amoeba; Acanthamoeba; Naegleria fowleri; Balamuthia mandrillaris
PubMed: 36908206
DOI: 10.1177/10406387231160771 -
BMC Microbiology Dec 2021Peste des Petits Ruminants (PPR) is an acute or peracute contagious transboundary viral disease that mainly affects caprine and ovine and causes significant economic...
BACKGROUND
Peste des Petits Ruminants (PPR) is an acute or peracute contagious transboundary viral disease that mainly affects caprine and ovine and causes significant economic impact in developing countries. After two PPR virus outbreaks in 2011 and 2014, an investigation, from August 2015 to September 2016, was carried out in Northern Iraq when an increased morbidity and mortality rates were reported in the domestic and captive wild goats. In the present study, ten domestic goat farms and seven captive wild goat herds located in seven geographical areas of Northern Iraq were clinically, pathologically, serologically and genotypically characterized to determine the prevalence and potential cause of PPR virus outbreak.
RESULTS
The outbreak occurred with rate of morbidity (26.1%) and mortality (11.1%) in domestic goat farms as compared to captive wild goat herds where relatively high mortality (42.9%) and low morbidity (10.9%) rates were recorded. Based on the clinical symptoms (mucopurulent nasal discharges, ulceration and erosion of oral mucosa, profuse watery diarrhea) and necropsy (hemorrhage and congestion on mucous membranes of the colon and rectum with zebra stripes lesions) results, overall, the serological test findings revealed a high frequency (47.9%) of positive samples for anti-PPRV nucleoprotein antibodies. Furthermore, the nucleoprotein (N) gene was detected in 63.2 and 89.1% of samples using conventional and reverse transcription real-time quantitative PCR assays. A phylogenetic analysis of N gene amino acid sequences clustered with the reference strain revealed lineage IV similar to the strains isolated in 2011 and 2014, respectively. However, two sub-types of lineage IV (I and II), significantly distinct from the previous strains, were also observed.
CONCLUSION
The phylogenetic analysis suggests that movements of goats are possible cause and one of the important factors responsible for the spread of virus across the region. The study results would help in improving farm management practices by establishing a PPR virus eradication program using regular monitoring and vaccination program to control and mitigate the risk of re-emergence of PPR virus infection in domestic and captive wild goats in Iraq.
Topics: Animals; Animals, Domestic; Animals, Zoo; Antibodies, Viral; Genotype; Goat Diseases; Goats; Iraq; Nucleocapsid Proteins; Peste-des-Petits-Ruminants; Peste-des-petits-ruminants virus; Phenotype; Phylogeny
PubMed: 34876012
DOI: 10.1186/s12866-021-02372-2 -
Frontiers of Neurology and Neuroscience 2013Stroke remains the most frequent cause of handicap in adult life and according to the WHO the second cause of death in the Western world. In the peracute phase,... (Review)
Review
Stroke remains the most frequent cause of handicap in adult life and according to the WHO the second cause of death in the Western world. In the peracute phase, intravenous thrombolysis and in some cases endovascular therapy may induce early revascularization and hereby improve prognosis. However, only up to 20-25% of patients are eligible to causal treatment. Further, care in a specialized stroke unit improves prognosis in all patients independent of age and stroke severity. Even when it is not possible to prevent tissue loss, the surviving brain areas of functional brain networks have a substantial capacity to reorganize after a focal ischemic (or hemorrhagic) brain lesion. This functional reorganization contributes to functional recovery after stroke. Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) provides a valuable tool to capture the spatial and temporal activity changes in response to an acute ischemic lesion. Task-related as well as resting-state fMRI have been successfully applied to elucidate post-stroke remodeling of functional brain networks. This includes regional changes in neuronal activation as well as distributed changes in functional brain connectivity. Since fMRI is readily available and does not pose any adverse effects, repeated fMRI measurements provide unprecedented possibilities to prospectively assess the time course of reorganization in functional neural networks after stroke and relate the temporospatial dynamics of reorganization at the systems level to functional recovery. Here we review the current status and future perspectives of fMRI as a means of studying functional brain reorganization after stroke. We summarize (a) how fMRI has advanced our knowledge regarding the recovery mechanisms after stroke, and (b) how fMRI has been applied to document the effects of therapeutical interventions on post-stroke functional reorganization.
Topics: Animals; Humans; Magnetic Resonance Imaging; Neuronal Plasticity; Recovery of Function; Stroke
PubMed: 23859959
DOI: 10.1159/000346408 -
Journal of Veterinary Internal Medicine Jan 2018Cell-free DNA (cfDNA) comprises short, double-stranded circulating DNA sequences released from damaged cells. In people, cfDNA concentrations correlate well with disease...
BACKGROUND
Cell-free DNA (cfDNA) comprises short, double-stranded circulating DNA sequences released from damaged cells. In people, cfDNA concentrations correlate well with disease severity and tissue damage. No reports are available regarding cfDNA kinetics in dogs.
OBJECTIVES/HYPOTHESIS
Cell-free DNA will have a short biological half-life and would be able to stratify mild, moderate, and severe tissue injury. Our study aims were to determine the kinetics and biological half-life of cfDNA and to contrast them with those of creatine kinase (CK).
ANIMALS
Three groups of 10 dogs undergoing open ovariohysterectomy, surgery for cranial cruciate ligament rupture (CCLR), or hemilaminectomy.
METHODS
Plasma for cfDNA and CK analysis was collected at admission, at induction of anesthesia, postsurgery (time 0) and at 6, 12, 24, 36, 48, 60, and 72 hours after surgery.
RESULTS
The biological half-life of plasma cfDNA and CK were 5.64 hours (95% confidence interval [CI 95], 4.36-7.98 hours) and 28.7 hours (CI95, 25.3-33.3 hours), respectively. In the hemilaminectomy group, cfDNA concentrations differed significantly from admission at 6-12 hours after surgery. Creatine kinase activity differed among the surgical groups and reached a peak 6 hours after surgery. In the ovariohysterectomy and CCLR groups, plasma CK activity 72 hours after surgery did not differ from admission activity of the ovariohysterectomy group. In contrast, in the hemilaminectomy group, plasma CK activity after 72 hours did not return to the ovariohysterectomy group admission activity.
CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL IMPORTANCE
Plasma CK activity has a longer biological half-life than previously thought. In contrast to plasma CK activity, cfDNA has a short half-life and could be a useful marker for peracute severe tissue injury.
Topics: Animals; Anterior Cruciate Ligament; Biomarkers; Cell-Free Nucleic Acids; Creatine Kinase; Disease Models, Animal; Dogs; Female; Hysterectomy; Kinetics; Laminectomy; Male; Ovariectomy
PubMed: 29230875
DOI: 10.1111/jvim.14901 -
Journal of Veterinary Diagnostic... Mar 2020type D epsilon toxin (EXT) causes an important neurologic disorder of sheep, goats and, rarely, cattle. The disease can occur in peracute, acute, subacute, and chronic... (Review)
Review
type D epsilon toxin (EXT) causes an important neurologic disorder of sheep, goats and, rarely, cattle. The disease can occur in peracute, acute, subacute, and chronic forms. High circulating levels of ETX produce vasculocentric brain lesions, in which microvascular endothelial injury results in diagnostically useful perivascular and intramural extravasations of plasma protein, especially in sheep, and less frequently in goats. With lower toxin doses, a more protracted clinical course tends to occur, particularly in sheep, leading to focal, bilaterally symmetrical, necrotic foci in certain brain regions. Although these morphologic features usually permit the diagnostic pathologist to make a definitive etiologic diagnosis, there are many aspects of the pathogenesis of these cerebral lesions that are not completely understood. ETX has also been shown to produce microvascular damage in the retina of rats, resulting in severe, diffuse vasogenic edema, similar to that found in brains exposed to this neurotoxin. The pathoclisis and vascular theories offer alternative explanations of the differential susceptibility of different brain regions to the same neurotoxic insult.
Topics: Bacterial Toxins; Brain Diseases; Clostridium Infections; Clostridium perfringens; Eye Diseases; Virulence
PubMed: 31955669
DOI: 10.1177/1040638719900190 -
The American Journal of Pathology May 1978In the past 6 years we have encountered 26 cases of fatal adenoviral pneumonia in six species of simian primates. O these, 22 animals were between 11 and 38 days old at...
In the past 6 years we have encountered 26 cases of fatal adenoviral pneumonia in six species of simian primates. O these, 22 animals were between 11 and 38 days old at the time of death, and pneumonia was the primary clinical disease. The spectrum of clinical disease varied from peracute fatal disease to inapparent disease with seroconversion. In one outbreak involving 4 infants housed together in an isolation unit, simian virus 11 was isolated from 3 of the infants and seroconversion occurred in all 4. At necropsy the lungs were voluminous, with firm gray areas of consolidation. On histopathologic examination, severe patchy necrotizing alveolitis and bronchiolitis were present. Variable edema and hyaline membrane formation, alveolar epithelial hyperplasia, and secondary bacterial pneumonia were also seen. Large basophilic intranuclear inclusions were present in bronchiolar and alveolar epithelial cells in all 26 cases. In 4 of 8 cases examined ultrastructurally typical intranuclear paracrystalline arrays of adenoviral virions were demonstrated. Intranuclear inclusion bodies were also observed occasionally in bile duct and pancreatic duct epithelium. Simian adenoviral pneumonia can be a spontaneous disease problem in laboratory-reared primates and offers excellent potential as an animal model of human adenoviral pneumonia.
Topics: Adenoviridae Infections; Adenoviruses, Simian; Animals; Bronchi; Haplorhini; Lung; Monkey Diseases; Pneumonia, Viral; Pulmonary Alveoli
PubMed: 206147
DOI: No ID Found -
Animals : An Open Access Journal From... Mar 2024This review paper provides an in-depth analysis of three critical metabolic diseases affecting dairy cattle such as subacute ruminal acidosis (SARA), ketosis, and... (Review)
Review
This review paper provides an in-depth analysis of three critical metabolic diseases affecting dairy cattle such as subacute ruminal acidosis (SARA), ketosis, and hypocalcemia. SARA represents a disorder of ruminal fermentation that is characterized by extended periods of depressed ruminal pH below 5.5-5.6. In the long term, dairy herds experiencing SARA usually exhibit secondary signs of the disease, such as episodes of laminitis, weight loss and poor body condition despite adequate energy intake, and unexplained abscesses usually 3-6 months after an episode of SARA. Depressed milk-fat content is commonly used as a diagnostic tool for SARA. A normal milk-fat test in Holstein dairy cows is >4%, so a milk-fat test of <3% can indicate SARA. However, bulk tank testing of milk fat is inappropriate to diagnose SARA at the herd level, so when >4 cows out of 12 and <60 days in milk are suspected to have SARA it can be considered that the herd has a problem. The rapid or abrupt introduction of fresh cows to high-concentrate diets is the most common cause of SARA. Changes in ruminal bacterial populations when exposed to higher concentrate rations require at least about 3 weeks, and it is recommended that concentrate levels increase by no more than 400 g/day during this period to avoid SARA. Ketosis, a prevalent metabolic disorder in dairy cattle, is scrutinized with a focus on its etiological factors and the physiological changes leading to elevated ketone bodies. In total mix ration-fed herds, an increased risk of mastitis and reduced fertility are usually the first clinical signs of ketosis. All dairy cows in early lactation are at risk of ketosis, with most cases occurring in the first 2-4 weeks of lactation. Cows with a body condition score ≥3.75 on a 5-point scale at calving are at a greater risk of ketosis than those with lower body condition scores. The determination of serum or whole blood acetone, acetoacetate, beta-hydroxybutyrate (BHB) concentration, non-esterified fatty acids (NEFA), and liver biopsies is considered the best way to detect and monitor subclinical ketosis, while urine or milk cowside tests can also be used in on-farm monitoring programs. Concentrations >1.0 mmol/L or 1.4 mmol/L blood or serum BHB are considered diagnostic of subclinical ketosis. The standard threshold used for blood is 1.2 mmol/L, which corresponds to thresholds of 100 mcmol/L for milk and 15 mg/dL for urine. Oral administration of propylene glycol (250-400 g, every 24 h for 3-5 days) is the standard and most efficacious treatment, as well as additional therapy with bolus glucose treatment. Hypocalcemia is a disease of adult dairy cows in which acute hypocalcemia causes acute to peracute, afebrile, flaccid paralysis that occurs most commonly at or soon after parturition. Dairy cows are at considerable risk for hypocalcemia at the onset of lactation, when daily calcium excretion suddenly increases from about 10 g to 30 g per day. Cows with hypocalcemia have a more profound decrease in blood calcium concentration-typically below 5.5 mg/dL. The prevention of parturient paresis has been historically approached by feeding cows low-calcium diets during the dry period. Negative calcium balance triggers calcium mobilization before calving and better equips the cow to respond to the massive calcium needs at the onset of lactation. Calcium intake must be limited to <20 g per day for calcium restriction to be effective. The most practical and proven method for monitoring hypocalcemia is by feeding cows an acidogenic diet for ~3 weeks before calving. Throughout the review, emphasis is placed on the importance of early diagnosis and proactive management strategies to mitigate the impact of these metabolic diseases on dairy cattle health and productivity. The comprehensive nature of this paper aims to serve as a valuable resource for veterinarians, researchers, and dairy farmers seeking a deeper understanding of these prevalent metabolic disorders in dairy cattle.
PubMed: 38473200
DOI: 10.3390/ani14050816 -
Veterinary Sciences Aug 2023Coronavirus Infectious Disease 2019 (COVID-19) initiated a global pandemic that thus far has resulted in the death of over 6.5 million people internationally....
Coronavirus Infectious Disease 2019 (COVID-19) initiated a global pandemic that thus far has resulted in the death of over 6.5 million people internationally. Understanding the viral tropism during the initial, subclinical phase of infection is critical to develop targeted vaccines and therapeutics. With the continued emergence of variants of concern, particularly those that appear to have a tropism for the upper respiratory tract, understanding the complete pathogenesis is critical to develop more effective interventions. Thus far, the Syrian hamster has served as the most consistent small animal model of SARS-CoV-2 infection for mild to moderate respiratory disease. Herein, we utilize histopathology and immunohistochemistry to characterize the peracute phase of disease initiating at 6-h-post-inoculation in the intranasal inoculation route Syrian hamster model. Inflammation and viral replication initiates in the respiratory epithelium of nasal turbinates as early as 12-h-post-inoculation and moves caudally through the nasal cavity by 36-h-post inoculation. Lower respiratory involvement can be detected as early as 12-h-post inoculation in the intranasal inoculated hamster model. These data highlight the importance of rostral nasal cavity sampling at early timepoints for detection of SARS-CoV-2 in the Syrian hamster model.
PubMed: 37756057
DOI: 10.3390/vetsci10090536 -
Animals : An Open Access Journal From... Jun 2022Acute noncompressive nucleus pulposus extrusion (ANNPE) is related to contusive spinal cord injuries, and dogs usually appear to be exercising vigorously at the time of...
Acute noncompressive nucleus pulposus extrusion (ANNPE) is related to contusive spinal cord injuries, and dogs usually appear to be exercising vigorously at the time of onset. ANNPE has a characteristic peracute onset of clinical signs during exercise or following trauma, with non-progressive signs during the first 24 h and possibly signs of spinal shock. The main aim was to assess if the presence of spinal shock affects the neurorehabilitation outcomes of ANNPE dogs. This prospective controlled cohort clinical study was conducted at the Arrábida Rehabilitation Center. All of the dogs had T3−L3 injuries and were paraplegic/monoplegic with/without nociception, the study group (n = 14) included dogs with ANNPE spinal shock dogs, and the control group (n = 19) included ANNPE dogs without spinal shock. The study group was also evaluated using a new scale—the Spinal Shock Scale (SSS)—and both groups were under the same intensive neurorehabilitation protocol. Spinal shock was a negative factor for a successful outcome within less time. SSS scores > 4 required additional hospitalization days. The protocol was safe, tolerable, and feasible and accomplished 32% ambulation within 7 days, 29% in 14 days, and 29% in 30 days. The results were better than those obtained in previous studies—94% at 60 days—and 75% of the dogs without nociception recovered ambulation. Long-term follows-ups carried out 4 years later revealed a positive evolution.
PubMed: 35739893
DOI: 10.3390/ani12121557