Os ambientes hospitalares podem albergar micro-organismos patogênicos e oportunistas, capazes de infectar, particularmente, os indivíduos imunossuprimidos. O processo de limpeza e desinfecção assume importância capital para o controle de tais doenças. O presente trabalho avaliou a suscetibilidade de leveduras isoladas de superfícies de ambiente hospitalar veterinário frente a quatro desinfetantes/antissépticos comumente utilizados na rotina de desinfecção. O teste de microdiluição em caldo foi realizado com 24 isolados leveduriformes frente ao hipoclorito de sódio 4%, cloreto de benzalcônico 2%, clorexidina-cetrimida 6,6% e derivado de cloro-fenol 3%. A clorexidina-cetrimida, cloreto de benzalcônio e derivado de cloro-fenol foram eficazes em todos os isolados com concentração inibitória mínima e concentração fungicida inferiores à concentração recomendada pelo fabricante. Por outro lado, a ação fungicida do hipoclorito de sódio em 79,1% dos isolados testados foi obtida na concentração recomendada pelo fabricante, com desempenho inferior aos demais desinfetantes avaliados. | Hospital environments can have pathogens and opportunistic pathogens, important for immunocompromising individuals. The process of cleaning and disinfection constitutes an important measure for the control of these diseases. This study evaluated the sensitivity of yeasts isolated from surfaces of nosocomial veterinary environment to four disinfectants/antiseptics used in the routine of disinfection. The test of broth microdilution was carried in 24 isolates of yeasts against 4% sodium hypochlorite, 2% benzalkonium chloride, 6.6% chlorexidine-cetrimide and 3% chloro-phenol derivate. Chlorexidine-cetrimide, benzalkonium chloride and chloro-phenol derivate were efficient in all isolates with minimal inhibitory concentration and minimal fungicide concentration lower than the concentration recommended by manufacturer. By other hand, fungicide action of the sodium hypochlorite in the concentration recommended by the manufacturer was verified in 79.1% of the isolated tested, with the lower performance of than the others evaluated disinfectants.

A toxoplasmose é uma zoonose causada pelo Toxoplasma gondii, que afeta uma grande variedade de vertebrados. Os roedores são hospedeiros intermediários e servem de alimento para felinos, os hospedeiros definitivos. No entanto, por causa da elevada variedade de espécies na ordem Rodentia, o diagnóstico serológico é difícil de ser realizado, uma vez que as técnicas mais empregadas requerem a utilização de um anticorpo específico conjugado com fluoresceína ou enzimas. O objetivo deste estudo foi avaliar o uso de um conjugado secundário heterólogo na Reação de Imunofluorescência Indireta (RIFI) para diagnóstico de anticorpos anti-T. gondii em duas espécies de roedores silvestres: Euryoryzomys russatus (WAGNER, 1848) e Calomys callosus (RENGGER, 1830). A espécie Mus musculus (Linnaeus, 1758) foi utilizada como controle do conjugado. As três espécies de roedores foram experimentalmente infectadas com cinco cistos de T. gondii (cepas ME 49) por animal. O Teste de Aglutinação Modificado (MAT), que não requer o uso de conjugados, bem como, a presença de cistos de T. gondii nos roedores foram usados para confirmar a infecção. Para cada espécie de animal, amostras de soro foram coletadas durante cinco semanas e testadas (50 amostras por espécie de roedor, total de 150 amostras). Nenhuma das amostras de C. callosus e E. russatus foram positivas na RIFI, quando foi usado o conjugado heterólogo anti-camundongo. Cistos cerebrais de T. gondii foram microscopicamente observados em todos os animais, exceto em um dos E. russatus. Resultados positivos foram encontrados pelo MAT após 14 dias de inoculação em todas as três espécies estudadas e pela RIFI no grupo controle (M. musculus), também no dia 14 após a infecção utilizando conjugado anti-camundongo. O uso de conjugados secundários heterólogos deve ser empregado com cautela e o MAT apresentou uma boa concordância para o diagnóstico sorológico de T. gondii nas espécies de roedores estudadas. | Toxoplasmosis is a zoonotic infection caused by Toxoplasma gondii that affects a wide range of vertebrates. Rodents are intermediate hosts and serve as food for felids, the definitive hosts. However, because of the high variety of species in the order Rodentia, the serological diagnosis is difficult to perform, since the most used techniques require the use of specific antibody conjugated to fluorescein or enzymes. The aim of this study was to evaluate the use of a heterologous secondary antibody conjugate in Immunofluorescence Antibody Test (IFAT) for diagnosis of anti-T. gondii antibodies in two species of wild rodents: Euryoryzomys russatus (WAGNER, 1848) and Calomys callosus (RENGGER, 1830). The specie Mus musculus (Linnaeus, 1758) was used as control conjugate. The animals were experimentally infected with five cysts of T. gondii (strain ME 49) per animal. The Modified Agglutination Test (MAT), which does not require the use of conjugates, and the presence of T. gondii cysts in the rodents were used to confirm the infection. For each animal species, serum samples were collected weekly for five weeks and tested (50 samples per rodent specie, total of 150 samples). None of the samples from C. callosus and E. russatus were positive in the IFAT when anti-mouse heterologous conjugate was used. Brain cysts of T. gondii were microscopically observed in all animals, except in one of the E. russatus. Positive results were found in the MAT 14 days after T. gondii infection in all three species of rodents and IFAT of the control group (M. musculus) was also positive 14 days after infection using anti-mouse (homologous) conjugate. The use of heterologous secondary antibody conjugates should be used with caution and the MAT had a good agreement for serological diagnosis of T. gondii in the studied rodent species.

A avaliação do grau de apego de proprietários com os seus cães e gatos é um importante recurso para o estudo da influência dos animais em diferentes fatores físicos e psicossociais dos humanos. O presente trabalho empregou o teste LAPS (Lexington Attachment to Pets Scales) para a análise do grau de apego de proprietários com os seus cães e gatos. O teste foi aplicado em 95  indivíduos, dos sexos masculino e feminino de diferentes faixas etárias, dos estados de Minas Gerais e São Paulo. A maior parte das questões apresentou correlação com o escore total (p < 0,0001). As mulheres apresentaram menores escores quando  comparadas aos indivíduos do sexo masculino, assim como pessoas mais velhas em comparação aos indivíduos mais jovens. Concluiu-se que tanto o gênero como a faixa etária apresentam diferenças para o grau de apego. O emprego de questões negativas, em um teste composto em sua maior parte por questões positivas, pode inibir as respostas dos entrevistados. | The evaluation of the degree of attachment of owners to pets is an important resource to study the influence of the pets to different physical and psychosocial  factors to humans. The current study applied the LAPS (Lexington Attachment to Pets Scales) test to evaluate attachment degree of owners to their pets. The test was performed in 95 subjects, males and females from different age groups, in Minas Gerais and São Paulo state. Most of the questions were correlated to the total score (p < 0.0001). Women and elderly subjects had lower scores, demonstrating a greater degree of attachment when compared to males and  younger individuals, respectively. In conclusion, the age and gender differ to the degree of attachment. The use of negative questions in a test composed mostly by positive issues may inhibit the interviewer responses.

O presente trabalho analisou o emprego do choque osmótico (HOST) com o uso da água deionizada (0 mOsmol), como método de avaliação do sêmen ovino descongelado e correlacionou os resultado obtidos com aqueles encontrados em diferentes técnicas de avaliação de sêmen. Para tanto, vinte amostras de sêmen criopreservado (20 reprodutores), foram avaliadas quanto aos parâmetros de cinética espermática pelo sistema computadorizado (IVOS 12, Hamilton Thorne Biosciences, Beverly, MA, EUA) e análise subjetiva. A análise da viabilidade das membranas espermáticas foi efetuada com a associação de sondas fluorescentes (PI, JC-1 e FITC-PSA). A integridade estrutural da membrana plasmática foi estudada com o teste supravital com eosina (EOS) e, por fim, a integridade funcional da membrana foi avaliada pelo choque osmótico, com a utilização da água deionizada nas seguintes proporções: uma parte de sêmen para 10 (HOST 10), 50 (HOST 50) e para 100 (HOST 100) partes de água. Após a diluição do sêmen, nas diferentes proporções, as amostras foram analisadas quanto ao percentual de espermatozoides reativos ao HOST. Os valores de positividade obtidos para o HOST 10 (33,1%), HOST 50 (32,8%) e HOST 100 (31,8%) não diferiram significativamente. O HOST 10 apresentou importante correlação positiva com a integridade da membrana plasmática pela EOS (r = 0,8; p < 0,05). Os HOST 50 e 100 demonstraram correlações positivas com subpopulações espermáticas com membrana plasmática íntegra pela fluorescência (r = 0,83 e r = 0,85; p < 0,01). Os resultados obtidos revelaram que o HOST com água deionizada pode fornecer informações complementares para a avaliação da viabilidade do sêmen ovino pós-descongelação. | This study evaluated the use of hipoosmotic swelling test (HOST) with deionized water (0 mOsmol), as a method of post thaw ram semen evaluation and correlate their findings with different techniques of semen evaluation. Therefore, twenty semen samples of 20 different adult rams were assessed as for kinetic sperm parameters through computerized system (IVOS 12, Hamiton Thorn Biosciences, Beverly, MA, EUA) and subjective analysis. The sperm membranes viability was carried out by the association of fluorescent probes (propidium iodide, JC-1 and FITC-PSA). The structural integrity of the plasma membrane was also studied through supravital test with eosin and the functional integrity of membrane evaluated by doing the hipoosmotic swelling test with deionized water (0 mOsmol), in the following proportions: One part of semen for 10 (HOST 10), 50 (HOST 50) and 100 (HOST 100) parts of water. After semen dilution in the different proportions it was fixed in formalin-buffered saline and analyzed with regard to percentage of HOST reactive sperm (bent/coiled). The percentage of reaction obtained for HOST 10 (33,1%); HOST 50 (32,8%) and HOST 100 (31,8%) did not differ significantly. HOST 10 presented positive correlation with the plasma membrane integrity by the EOS (r = 0,80; p < 0,05). Positive correlations between HOST 50 and HOST 100 with sperm subpopulation with membrane integrity by fluorescence were observed (r = 0,83 and r = 0,85; p < 0,01). The findings suggest that the HOST with deionized water can provide additional information for post thawing ram sperm viability evaluation.

No presente trabalho, foi pesquisada infecção riquetsial em amostras de sangue de 108 cães e 22 carrapatos Rhipicephalussanguineus (Ixodida, Ixodidae) coletados destes animais durante 2011 e 2012, em Patos, Estado da Paraíba, Nordestedo Brasil. As amostras de sangue foram examinadas pela reação de imunofluorescência indireta (RIFI) utilizando-seantígenos de seis isolados de Rickettsia do Brasil. Todos os 108 cães foram soronegativos para os antígenos de R.rickettsii, R. parkeri, R. amblyommii, R. felis, R. rhipicephali e R. bellii, sugerindo que a região estudada não é endêmicapara riquetsioses do grupo da febre maculosa. Dos 22 carrapatos R. sanguineus, R. felis foi detectada em um (4,5%)espécime por PCR do gene riquetsial gltA. São discutidas as possíveis implicações desse achado incomum na PCR. | In this study, rickettsial infection was searched in 108 canine blood samples and 22 Rhipicephalus sanguineus (Ixodida,Ixodidae) ticks collected on these dogs during 2011 and 2012 in Patos municipality, state of Paraíba, northeasternBrazil. Blood samples were tested through indirect immunofluorescence assay (IFA) by using antigens of six Rickettsiaspecies isolates from Brazil. All 108 dogs tested seronegative for R. rickettsii, R. parkeri, R. amblyommii, R. felis, R.rhipicephali, and R. bellii antigens, suggesting a non-endemic status of the studied region for spotted fever ricketsiosis.Among 22 R. sanguineus ticks, R. felis was detected in one (4.5%) specimen by PCR targeting a portion of the rickettsialgltA gene. The possible implications of this unusual PCR finding are discussed.

Cestodes are parasitic flatworms that live in the digestive tract of vertebrates as adults and often in the liver, muscle, haemocoel, mesentery and brain of various animals as larval stages. To identify the cestodes infecting Clarias gariepinus Burchell, 1822 (sharptooth catfish) in the Vaal Dam, a total of 45 host specimens were collected with the aid of gill nets between October 2011, January and April 2012. The fish were sacrificed and examined for cestode parasites. Two adult cestodes, Tetracampos ciliotheca Wedl, 1861 (prevalence 86.7%, mean intensity = 15, n = 45) and Proteocephalus glanduligerus (Janicki, 1928) (prevalence 51.1%, mean intensity = 5, n = 45) were found in the intestines of the catfish. Both T. ciliotheca and P. glanduligerus are new locality records. There were statistically insignificant differences in the infection of the male and female C. gariepinu. Fish with standard length ranging from 40 cm – 54 cm (≥ 3 years) had the highest prevalence and mean intensity while those ranging from 10 cm – 24 cm ( 1 year) had the lowest prevalence and mean intensity for both cestodes. The study highlights the importance of changing feeding habits of C. gariepinus with age on the prevalence and mean intensity of the two gastrointestinal cestode parasites.

The indirect effects of mastitis treatment are often overlooked in cost-benefit analyses, but it may be beneficial for the dairy industry to consider them. The cost of mastitis treatment may increase when the duration of intra-mammary infections are prolonged due to misdiagnosis of host-adapted mastitis. Laboratory diagnosis of mastitis can be costly and time consuming, therefore cow-side tests such as the California Milk Cell Test (CMCT) and Milk Electrical Resistance (MER) need to be utilised to their full potential. The aim of this study was to determine the relative benefit of using these two tests separately and in parallel. This was done using a partial-budget analysis and a cost-benefit model to estimate the benefits and costs of each respective test and the parallel combination thereof. Quarter milk samples (n= 1860) were taken from eight different dairy herds in South Africa. Milk samples were evaluated by means of the CMCT, hand-held MER meter and cyto-microbiological laboratory analysis. After determining the most appropriate cut-off points for the two cow-side tests, the sensitivity and specificity of the CMCT (Se= 1.00, Sp= 0.66), MER (Se= 0.92, Sp= 0.62) and the tests done in parallel (Se= 1.00, Sp= 0.87) were calculated. The input data that were used for partial-budget analysis and in the cost-benefit model were based on South African figures at the time of the study, and on literature. The total estimated financial benefit of correct diagnosis of host-adapted mastitis per cow for the CMCT, MER and the tests done in parallel was R898.73, R518.70 and R1064.67 respectively. This involved taking the expected benefit of a correct test result per cow, the expected cost of an error per cow and the cost of the test into account. The CMCT was shown to be 11%more beneficial than the MER test, whilst using the tests in parallel was shown to be the most beneficial method for evaluating the mastitis-control programme. Therefore, it is recommended that the combined tests should be used strategically in practice to monitor udder health and promote a pro-active udder health approach when dealing with host-adapted pathogens.

The insulin-like growth factor system (insulin-like growth factor 1, insulin-like growth factor 2, insulin-like growth factor 1 receptor, insulin-like growth factor 2 receptor and six insulin-like growth factor-binding proteins) and insulin are essential to muscle metabolism and most aspects of male and female reproduction. Insulin-like growth factor and insulin play important roles in the regulation of cell growth, differentiation and the maintenance of cell differentiation in mammals. In order to better understand the local factors that regulate equine physiology, such as muscle metabolism and reproduction (e.g., germ cell development and fertilisation), real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction assays for quantification of equine insulin-like growth factor 1 receptor and insulin receptor messenger ribonucleic acid were developed. The assays were sensitive: 192 copies/µLand 891 copies/µL for insulin-like growth factor 1 receptor, messenger ribonucleic acid and insulin receptor respectively (95%limit of detection), and efficient: 1.01 for the insulin-like growth factor 1 receptor assay and 0.95 for the insulin receptor assay. The assays had a broad linear range of detection (seven logs for insulin-like growth factor 1 receptor and six logs for insulin receptor). This allowed for analysis of very small amounts of messenger ribonucleic acid. Low concentrations of both insulin-like growth factor 1 receptor and insulin receptor messenger ribonucleic acid were detected in endometrium, lung and spleen samples, whilst high concentrations were detected in heart, muscle and kidney samples, this was most likely due to the high level of glucose metabolism and glucose utilisation by these tissues. The assays developed for insulin-like growth factor 1 receptor and insulin receptor messenger ribonucleic acid expression have been shown to work on equine tissue and will contribute to the understanding of insulin and insulin-like growth factor 1 receptor physiology in the horse.

Several lyssavirus species occur in Africa (Rabies virus, Lagos bat virus, Mokola virus, Duvenhage virus, Shimoni bat virus and Ikoma lyssavirus), displaying a high sequence diversity between isolates belonging to the same species. There is limited information about comparative pathogenesis of these African lyssaviruses and this precludes authoritative opinion on the potential public and veterinary health impact. In this study, an analysis of representative African lyssaviruses attempted to correlate viral genomic sequence similarities and differences with the corresponding pathogenic profiles observed in mice. The study demonstrated that the virus isolates evaluated could be lethal to mice when introduced intramuscularly and that different isolates of the same lyssavirus species differ in their virulence. Using real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR), viral RNA was detected in brain tissue, but no viral RNA was detected in the salivary glands or blood of mice that succumbed to infection. Comparison of known pathogenic domains indicated that pathogenicity is likely to be dependent on multiple domains. Cumulatively, our results re-emphasised the realisation that the pathogenicity of a lyssavirus species cannot be deduced based on studies of only a single isolate of the species or a single pathogenic domain.

The study aimed to determine the prevalence of peste des petits ruminants in the arid zone (Niamey, Tillabéry and Tahoua) of the Republic of Niger. A serological survey was conducted and 519 serum samples were collected from 253 unvaccinated sheep and 266 unvaccinated goats. The sample included 340 female animals (168 sheep and 172 goats) and 160 kids and lambs (78 lambs and 82 kids). A competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay yielded an overall seroprevalence of 45.0%. The prevalence in sheep was 42.0% compared with 47.9% in goats. The seroprevalence observed amongst small ruminants in Tahoua (49.8%) and Tillabéry (46.6%) was significantly higher (p = 0.001) than that observed in animals from Niamey (25.1%). It was also higher (p = 0.04) in sheep younger than two years (51.8%) than in adults (37.6%). Conversely, the seroprevalence showed no significant difference between male animals (35.8% in sheep; 50.1% in goats) and female animals (45.1% in sheep; 46.4% in goats). The prevalence of the disease observed amongst the sheep and goat populations confirms the continued danger of this disease in the areas studied. It is therefore necessary to develop strategies such as improving livestock services, providing effective vaccines and implementing a vaccination programme for an effective control of the disease in sub-Saharan Africa.