Introduction of an animal viral disease, especially a notifiable disease, into an importing country or region free from the disease may lead to serious epidemiological consequences and economic losses. Trade in live animals is historically considered one of the most important risk pathways. To estimate the magnitude of such risk, the likelihood of a virus’ entry into a country and the consequences of this event should be jointly evaluated. Depending on data availability, the urgency of the problem and the detail level of the objectives, a risk assessment may be conducted in a qualitative, semi-quantitative or quantitative way. The purpose of this review was firstly to provide a brief description of each step of the risk analysis process, with particular emphasis on the risk assessment component, and subsequently to supply examples of different approaches to the assessment of the risk of the introduction of selected animal viral diseases. Based on the reviewed models, the overall likelihood of introduction of particular diseases was generally estimated as low. The output risk value was strongly dependent on the duration of the silent phase of the epidemic in the country of origin. Other parameters with some bearing upon the risk derived from the epidemiological situation in the country of origin and the biosecurity or mitigation measures implemented in the country of destination. The investigated models are universal tools for conducting assessment of the risk of introduction of various animal diseases to any country. Their application may lead to timely implementation of appropriate measures for the prevention of the spread of a disease to another country or region.

Feline foamy virus (FFVfca) is widespread and its prevalence in naturally infected domestic cats ranges between 30% and 80% worldwide. The infection is persistent, with a sustained antibody response in FFVfca-positive cats; however to date, no defined disease or clinical symptoms have been proved to be associated with it. The goal of the presented study was to determine the prevalence of FFVfca infection in domestic cats in Poland. A total of 223 serum samples collected from domestic cats were tested with a glutathione S-transferase capture ELISA test to detect antibodies specific to capsid (Gag), accessory (Bet) and envelope (Env) FFVfca antigens. A Western blot test was used to confirm the ELISA results. The cut-off value for the Gag antigen was established by calculation and evaluation with the immunoblotting assay. The cut-off values for Bet and Env were calculated from the reactivity of Gag-negative samples. The sera of 99 cats (44%) showed reactivity to Gag, those of 80 did so (35.9 %) to Bet, while only 56 samples (25%) were reactive to Env. Only 51 (22.9%) sera were positive for all antigens. The main diagnostic antigen was selected to be Gag. A statistically significant association was found between FFVfca status and the age of the cat. This study proved the high seroprevalence of FFVfca in domestic cats in Poland for the first time and confirmed that adult cats are at higher FFVfca infection risk than preadult cats. Its results correspond to those reported from other countries.

Leishmaniasis is a life-threatening zoonosis of which dogs are the major reservoir and sandflies are the vectors. Until now, the prevalence of canine leishmaniasis (CanL) in the Slovenian dog population was unknown. Epidemiological data, eye swabs and blood samples were taken from 465 dogs born in Slovenia and older than one year. Commercial ELISA kits and real-time PCR were used. For ELISA-positive samples, an immunofluorescence antibody test (IFAT) was performed. Descriptive statistics were used to characterise the samples. The one-sample nonparametric chi-square test was used to test whether the categories of a variable were equally distributed. A 59.9% proportion of the recruited dogs had travelled to endemic regions and 62.1% of them had not been protected by insect repellents. Skin symptoms that might be CanL-related were described in 109 of the dogs’ histories (23.4%), inappetence and/or weight loss in 25 (5.4%), and anaemia, intermittent fever, and/or lymphadenopathy in 19 (4.1%). At the time of recruitment, all dogs were asymptomatic. All samples were PCR negative, nine (1.9%) were ELISA positive, but none were IFAT positive. Five of the nine ELISA-positive dogs were non-travellers. We conclude that the seroprevalence of canine leishmaniasis of 1.9 % in the autochthonous Slovenian dog population may pose a risk of endemic spread of the disease.

Milk has been suggested to be a possible source of oestrogenically active compounds. In order to assess the health risk for milk consumers and ensure the safety of this staple part of the human diet, it is important to study the effect of xenooestrogen mixtures present in milk. This investigation used the available in vivo model to learn to what extent such compounds may be endocrine disruptors. The recommended immature golden hamster uterotrophic bioassay was chosen. A total of 132 animals were divided into nine groups of experimental animals and positive and negative control groups, each of 12 animals. The experimental females received ad libitum either one of five samples of raw cow’s milk from individual animals or one of four samples of pasteurised or ultra-high temperature treated cow’s milk as retail products. After 7 days, the animals were sacrificed and necropsied. Uterine weight increases were measured as the endpoint of oestrogenic activity in milk. The milk samples from individual cows and the retail milk samples did not show oestrogenic activity. However, in three groups, decreased uterine weights were observed. Considering that milk supplies are beneficial to health, contamination in this food should be avoided. There is a need for further animal experiments and epidemiological studies are warranted to evaluate any causative role of milk in human endocrinological disorders.

The transfer of polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and dibenzofurans (PCDD/Fs) and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) from a contaminated environment into the food chain is a serious consumer safety problem. As part of the Polish National Surveillance Program of PCDD/Fs and PCBs in food of animal origin, a concentration of PCDD/Fs of 4.61 ± 0.75 pg WHO-TEQ/g fat was determined in a sample of free-range eggs, which exceeded the permitted limit of 2.5 pg WHO-TEQ/g. The aim of the study was to investigate the source of the egg contamination and the risk for the eggs’ consumers. Eggs, muscles, feed and soil from the place where backyard waste burning had been carried out in the past and ash from a household stove tipped onto the paddock were analysed using the isotope dilution technique with high-resolution gas chromatography coupled with high-resolution mass spectrometry. The concentration in ash was low at 0.20 pg WHO-TEQ/g and the congener profile did not indicate the source of contamination. The dioxin content in soil from the backyard waste-burning site was 2.53 pg WHO-TEQ/g dry matter (d.m.) and the soil’s profile of PCDD/F congeners matched the profile of the contaminated eggs. By reason of the congener profile similarity, the investigation concluded, that the cause of the contamination was the backyard waste-burning site soil which the animals had access to. Frequent consumption of contaminated eggs from the analysed farm could pose a health risk due to chronic exposure, especially for vulnerable consumers.

The objective of this study was to determine the prevalence and characteristics of antimicrobial-resistant Enterococcus faecalis and E. faecium isolated from the oral cavities of captive giant pandas in China. The virulence-associated determinant and antimicrobial resistance genes were detected and antimicrobial susceptibility tests were performed on 54 strains of each bacterium. All isolates showed 100% multidrug resistance. E. faecalis isolates showed a higher percentage of strains resistant to gentamicin (48.1%), vancomycin (55.6%), linezolid (100%), and streptomycin (33.3%) than E. faecium isolates. The resistance genes of Enterococcus spp. were present to highly varying extents according to antibiotic type, their presence breaking down for E. faecalis and E. faecium respectively as aac(6')/aph(2″) 5.56% and 5.56%; aph(3')-Ⅲ 0% and 14.81%; ant(6)-I 0% and 3.7%; ant(4')-Ia 0% and 64.81%; tetL 20.37% and 100%; vanA 92.59% and 46.3%; vanB 0% and 0%; cfr 0% and 90.74%; optrA 96.3% and 3.7%; blaZ 0% and 1.85%; blaTEM 0% and 0%; tetA 20.37% and 0%; tetC 24.07% and 100%; tetM 0% and 0%; ermA 12.96% and 100%; ermB 5.56% and 3.7%; and ermC 0% and 1.85%.Virulence-associated determinants were detected in this research, which typically include efaA, gelE, asa1, ace, cylA, esp and hyl; however, the latter three were not detected. High proportions of the isolates carried the efaA, gelE, asa1, and ace genes. Respectively for E. faecalis and E. faecium their detection was efaA 98.1% and 85.2%; gelE 98.1% and 87%; asa1 92.6% and 87%; and ace 87% and 85.2%. This is the first study on the potential disease risk and antimicrobial-resistant characteristics of E. faecalis and E. faecium isolates in giant panda oral cavities. The results of this study show that the antimicrobial resistance rate of Enterococcus spp. isolated from the oral cavity of captive pandas is very high, and thus needs to be monitored.

This study investigated the eggs of Polish-bred edible snails of the Cornu genus as a food and aimed to determine the presence of microorganisms in them of the Salmonella and Listeria genera and ascertain the number of coagulase-positive staphylococci. Raw material, semi-finished products, and the final product were collected during the production cycle. Testing for the presence of Salmonella spp. and Listeria spp. and measuring of the pathogenic staphylococci contamination level were carried out in accordance with ISO standards. Commercial biochemical tests were used for species identification of bacteria of the Enterobacteriaceae family and Staphylococcus genus. An API kit and a PCR protocol were utilised for species confirmation of the microorganisms of the Listeria genus. Neither Salmonella nor coagulase-positive staphylococci were found in any of the studied material. Bacteria of the Listeria genus were found in samples taken at every stage of production; however L. monocytogenes was confirmed in samples of the final product. The absence of Salmonella spp. and Staphylococcus aureus in samples of the final product indicates that the required hygiene standard was maintained in the production process of edible snail eggs. Nevertheless, the presence of L. monocytogenes in eggs of common garden snails may pose a potential risk to consumer health.

Diagnosis of acute kidney injury (AKI) in horses is difficult at the subclinical stage, due to nonspecific clinical signs. The aim of this study was to evaluate the concentrations of selected serum and urinary biomarkers in healthy horses, horses at risk of AKI, and those with clinical AKI. Thirty healthy horses, 30 horses at risk of AKI and 11 horses with clinical AKI and azotaemia were included in the study. Serum and urinary neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin (NGAL) and cystatin C were measured using commercially available enzyme immunoassay tests. The median and (in parentheses) first and third quartile concentrations of selected biomarkers in healthy horses, horses at risk of AKI and horses with AKI were respectively as follows: serum cystatin C – 0.25 (0.19–0.37), 0.23 (0.15–0.37) and 0.61 (0.37–1.13) mg/L; serum NGAL – 50.5 (38.8–58.8), 51.1 (40.4–66.9) and 98.1 (59.4–128.2) ng/mL; urinary NGAL – 20.7 (17.9–24.5), 32.3 (32.7–55.8) and 36.6 (26.8–89.9) ng/mL; and urinary cystatin C – 0.1 (0.07–0.13), 0.13 (0.1–0.2) and 0.34 (0.22–0.37) mg/L. There were significant differences in the concentration of all biomarkers between the healthy and AKI-affected horses. Horses with AKI all had biomarker concentrations higher than the healthy horses. None of the biomarkers made azotaemia recognisable in all affected horses. The obtained results indicate the need to create a serum and urinary biomarker panel to detect AKI.

Foot rot in small ruminants is highly contagious, causes severe lameness, and impairs fertility and wool and meat production. It is usually treated with parenteral antibiotics, with attendant antibiotic resistance risk, and with bactericidal footbaths, potentially harmful to humans and the environment. An alternative treatment in sheep is proposed based on repeated topical ozonated ointment application. Its effectiveness and safety were evaluated by estimation of acute-phase response, biochemical indicators of organic damage, and antioxidant/oxidant balance (AOB). The study was conducted on ten sheep with Egerton scale 2–3 lesions. Ozone application was repeated every day for seven days. Blood was drawn first (T0) after foot cleaning and before ozonation, then (T1) seven days after the first ozone application, and finally (T2) four days after the last application. High clinical effectiveness was observed, with total recovery by 28 days from the start of treatment. A significant increase in antiradical activity was noted on the basis of a 2,2ʹ-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulphonic acid) assay from 1.16 ± 0.04 μmolTe/mL at T0 to 1.23 ± 0.03 μmolTe/mL at T1, with a slight decrease in oxidative stress. Calculated on the basis of antiradical capacity, AOB was higher at T1 (130 ± 19%) and decreased to 110 ± 16% at T2. Calculated on the basis of reducing power, it was 169 ± 22% at T1 and 131 ± 17% at T2. These results indicated that the AOB is efficient enough to prevent oxidative organ injury and the applied doses of ozone are safe for animals.

Abruptly weaned crossbred steer calves (N = 271) were used in a randomized, blinded 2-arm clinical trial to assess the impact of a long-acting non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug on bovine herpesvirus type 1, bovine respiratory syncytial virus, parainfluenza virus type 3, and coronavirus titers and health outcomes when administered concurrently with a modified live respiratory vaccine upon arrival at a feedlot. Treatment groups included a control (saline; n = 135) and an experimental group (injectable meloxicam; n = 136). Viral antibody titers and body weight were measured on arrival, day 7, and day 21, along with a final weight on day 45. Body weight and antibody titers for all viruses increased over time (P < 0.001); however, there were no differences by treatment group or a significant group × time interaction when evaluated using repeated measures analysis of variance. Interestingly, the use of meloxicam was associated with increased treatment risk (P < 0.05). In conclusion, the administration of meloxicam may adversely affect health; however, a decreased vaccine response is likely not a contributing factor.