Introduction: Rabies as a zoonosis threatens public health worldwide. Several thousand people die each year of infections by the rabies virus (RABV). Oral rabies vaccination (ORV) of wildlife was successfully implemented in many European countries and led to rabies being brought under control there. In Poland, ORV was introduced in 1993 using vaccines containing an attenuated strain of the rabies virus. However, attenuated rabies viruses may have residual pathogenicity and cause the disease in target and non-target animals. Material and Methods: A red fox carcass was tested as part of national rabies surveillance, and its brain was screened for RABV infection using two conjugates and a fluorescent antibody test (FAT). The rabies virus was isolated in mouse neuroblastoma cells by rabies tissue culture infection test (RTCIT), and viral RNA was detected by heminested reverse transcriptase PCR (hnRT-PCR) as well as by quantitative real-time RT-PCR (rtRT-qPCR). An amplicon of 600 bp was subjected to Sanger sequencing. To differentiate between vaccine and field RABV strains, PCR-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) using the Dra I, Msp I, Nla IV and Mbo II restriction endonucleases was performed. Results: The rabies virus was detected in the fox’s brain using FAT, RTCIT and molecular tests. The PCR-RFLP revealed of vaccine-induced rabies, and full-length genome analysis showed 100% nucleotide sequence identity of the isolate with the reference sequences of Street Alabama Dufferin Bern (SAD Bern) vaccine strains and other vaccine-induced rabies virus isolates detected in animals and deposited in GenBank. Conclusion: We detected vaccine-induced rabies for the first time in Poland in a fox during routine rabies surveillance.

Rabies as a zoonosis threatens public health worldwide. Several thousand people die each year of infections by the rabies virus (RABV). Oral rabies vaccination (ORV) of wildlife was successfully implemented in many European countries and led to rabies being brought under control there. In Poland, ORV was introduced in 1993 using vaccines containing an attenuated strain of the rabies virus. However, attenuated rabies viruses may have residual pathogenicity and cause the disease in target and non-target animals.

Potential biomarkers for chronic seasonal heat stress in Kagoshima Berkshire pigs reared in the subtropical region were investigated by comparing the biomarker changes in the summer (a period of chronic heat stress) and winter (a thermoneutral period) seasons. Pigs were allocated to summer- and winter-finishing cohorts, 12 each. The evaluations included assessment of carcass traits and internal organs’ normality carried out at the time of slaughter, and measurement of biomarkers in whole blood: derivatives of reactive oxygen metabolites (d-ROMs) and biological antioxidant potential as markers of oxidative stress, and serum amyloid A and albumin/globulin (A/G) ratio as markers of acute and chronic inflammation, respectively. The summer-finished pigs reared under subtropical field conditions showed lower carcass quality than the winter-finished pigs, indicating a potential adverse effect of summer temperatures on the swine industry. Marginal changes were observed in d-ROMs and the A/G ratio between the summer- and winter-finishing cohorts. The results demonstrate that d-ROMs and the A/G ratio could be used as sensitive markers for heat stress under field conditions.

Potential biomarkers for chronic seasonal heat stress in Kagoshima Berkshire pigs reared in the subtropical region were investigated by comparing the biomarker changes in the summer (a period of chronic heat stress) and winter (a thermoneutral period) seasons.

Johne’s disease, caused by infection with Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis (MAP), causes economic losses in dairy herds due to reduced milk production and premature culling. A test-and-cull strategy coupled with changes in calf rearing management preventing new infections has been introduced into infected herds to control MAP prevalence. This study appraised the effectiveness of these practice changes. In 19 large dairy herds (of a median 470 milk-producing cows), implementing MAP control measures for 3–7 years, a serum ELISA was used to detect infected cows in their dry-off period. The number of ELISA-positive animals per year (EPAY) was calculated and statistical analysis was used to test whether the EPAY total decreased during the control period and to analyse the EPAY in relationship to the duration of the control programme. Statistical support was found for a decrease of EPAY over time (P < 0.01, odds ratio 0.756) and in 14 herds a significant fall in the percentages of EPAY during the test period (P ≤ 0.05) was noted. Our results demonstrated the effectiveness of the control measures in place to reduce MAP infection in herds with initial EPAY ≥3.36%. The missing decreasing trend in the remaining five herds with low average initial EPAY suggested the need for additional measures to reduce the number of infected animals in these herds.

Johne’s disease, caused by infection with Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis (MAP), causes economic losses in dairy herds due to reduced milk production and premature culling. A test-and-cull strategy coupled with changes in calf rearing management preventing new infections has been introduced into infected herds to control MAP prevalence. This study appraised the effectiveness of these practice changes.

Seal parapoxvirus (SPPV) infection has been reported among pinnipeds in aquaria in Japan; however, its seroprevalence is unknown. Therefore, an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was developed for serological diagnosis of SPPV infection. The gene encoding the major envelope protein of SPPV was cloned into the eukaryotic expression vector pAcGFP1-N1, which encodes the green fluorescence protein (GFP), thereby producing a fusion protein (Env-GFP). Parental and cloned vector DNA was independently transfected into cultured seal cells for the expression of GFP and Env-GFP. The wells of an ELISA plate were coated with either GFP- or Env-GFP-transfected cell lysates. The light absorbance of each serum sample was adjusted by subtracting the absorbance of GFP-coated wells from that of Env-GFP-coated wells. Sera from two spotted seals (Phoca largha), six beluga whales (Delphinapterus leucas), three Pacific white-sided dolphins (Lagenorhynchus obliquidens), and ten bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) from an aquarium in Japan were examined using the ELISA. Positive reactions were not observed, except in one preserved sample collected ten years ago from a naturally SPPV-infected spotted seal. The established ELISA could be useful in screening marine mammal sera for anti-SPPV antibodies.

Seal parapoxvirus (SPPV) infection has been reported among pinnipeds in aquaria in Japan; however, its seroprevalence is unknown. Therefore, an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was developed for serological diagnosis of SPPV infection.