A total of 118 sera were collected during 2016 from two groups of dromedaries from Kebili and Medenine governorates in the south of Tunisia. The aim of this study was to provide the first serological investigation of four emerging vector-borne diseases in two groups of dromedaries in Tunisia. Sera were tested by ELISA and serum neutralisation test to identify West Nile virus (WNV), bluetongue virus (BTV), epizootic haemorrhagic disease virus (EHDV) and Rift Valley fever virus (RVFV). In the first group, the seroprevalence for BTV was 4.6%, while in the second group, it was 25.8% for WNV and 9.7% for BTV. Only serotype 1 was detected for BTV in the two groups. No evidence for circulation of RVF and EHD viruses was revealed. Results indicated that dromedaries can be infected with BTV and WNV, suggesting that this species might play a significant role in the epizootiology of these viral diseases in Tunisia and neighbouring countries.

A convenience sample of sheep and cattle herds around the cities of Harare, Kwekwe and Bulawayo, located in the Highveld region of Zimbabwe, was used to estimate the seroprevalence and sero-incidence of bluetongue virus (BTV) and epizootic haemorrhagic disease virus (EHDV) antibodies. A competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay was used to identify serum antibodies against BTV and EHDV across three rainy seasons. The median sero-prevalence of BTV and EHDV antibodies in cattle was 62% (interquartile range [IQR]: 30–89) and 56% (IQR: 5–77), respectively. In sheep, the median sero-prevalence of BTV and EHDV was 41% (IQR: 19–63) and 0% (IQR: 0–21), respectively. Median sero-incidences of BTV and EHDV antibodies in cattle of 43% (IQR: 22–67) and 27% (IQR: 9–57) respectively were recorded. The median sero-incidence of BTV in sheep was 14% (IQR: 6–23). Based on these preliminary findings, animal health workers in Zimbabwe should continue to monitor the exposure rates of cattle and sheep to BTV and consider the possibility of strains emerging with increased pathogenicity. There are no previous published reports of antibodies against EHDV in Zimbabwe so the possibility of epizootic haemorrhagic disease existing in domestic livestock should now be considered by Zimbabwean animal health officials. Seroconversions to BTV and EHDV occurred predominantly at the end of each rainy season (March and April), which generally corresponds to high numbers of the Culicoides vectors. BTV isolations were made from three individual cows in two of the sentinel herds and all three were identified as serotype 3. This is the first time BTV serotype 3 has been recorded in Zimbabwe, although its presence in neighbouring South Africa is well documented.

The transmission of diseases between livestock and wildlife can be a hindrance to effective disease control. Maintenance hosts and contact rates should be explored to further understand the transmission dynamics at the wildlife-livestock interface. Bovine tuberculosis (BTB) has been shown to have wildlife maintenance hosts and has been confirmed as present in the African buffalo (Syncerus caffer) in the Queen Elizabeth National Park (QENP) in Uganda since the 1960s. The first aim of this study was to explore the spatio-temporal spread of cattle illegally grazing within the QENP recorded by the Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) rangers in a wildlife crime database. Secondly, we aimed to quantify wildlife-livestock interactions and cattle movements, on the border of QENP, using a longitudinal questionnaire completed by 30 livestock owners. From this database, 426 cattle sightings were recorded within QENP in 8 years. Thirteen (3.1%) of these came within a 300 m–4 week space-time window of a buffalo herd, using the recorded GPS data. Livestock owners reported an average of 1.04 (95% CI 0.97–1.11) sightings of Uganda kob, waterbuck, buffalo or warthog per day over a 3-month period, with a rate of 0.22 (95% CI 0.20–0.25) sightings of buffalo per farmer per day. Reports placed 85.3% of the ungulate sightings and 88.0% of the buffalo sightings as further than 50 m away. Ungulate sightings were more likely to be closer to cattle at the homestead (OR 2.0, 95% CI 1.1–3.6) compared with the grazing area. Each cattle herd mixed with an average of five other cattle herds at both the communal grazing and watering points on a daily basis. Although wildlife and cattle regularly shared grazing and watering areas, they seldom came into contact close enough for aerosol transmission. Between species infection transmission is therefore likely to be by indirect or non-respiratory routes, which is suspected to be an infrequent mechanism of transmission of BTB. Occasional cross-species spillover of infection is possible, and the interaction of multiple wildlife species needs further investigation. Controlling the interface between wildlife and cattle in a situation where eradication is not being considered may have little impact on BTB disease control in cattle.

Spotted fever group rickettsioses are a group of tick-borne zoonotic diseases caused by intracellular bacteria of the genus Rickettsia. The diseases are widely reported amongst international travellers returning from most sub-Saharan Africa with fever, yet their importance in local populations largely remains unknown. Although this has started to change and recently there have been increasing reports of the diseases in livestock, ticks and humans in Kenya, they have not been investigated in wildlife. We examined the presence, prevalence and species of Rickettsia present in wildlife in two regions of Kenya with a unique human–wildlife–livestock interface. For this purpose, 79 wild animals in Laikipia County and 73 in Maasai Mara National Reserve were sampled. DNA extracted from blood was tested using the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) to amplify the intergenic spacer rpmE-tRNAfMet and the citrate synthase-encoding gene gltA. Rickettsial DNA was detected in 2 of the 79 (2.5%) animals in Laikipia and 4 of the 73 (5.5%) in Maasai Mara. The PCR-positive amplicons of the gltA gene were sequenced to determine the detected Rickettsia species. This revealed Rickettsia sibirica in a Topi (Damaliscus lunatus ssp. jimela). This is the first report of spotted fever group rickettsioses in wildlife and the first to report R. sibirica in Kenya. The finding demonstrates the potential role of wild animals in the circulation of the diseases.

Bovine tuberculosis, caused by Mycobacterium bovis, is a zoonotic disease causing approximately 6% of total human deaths. Its economic losses are not only a reduction of 10-20% in milk production and weight, but also infertility and condemnation of meat. Many serological tests are applied for detection of tuberculosis. ELISA test has the highest sensitivity and specificity than the other serological tests for the diagnosis of tuberculosis. Several forms of new technology were brought into the diagnostic approach to mycobacterial infection. The aim of this work was to detect bovine tuberculosis by application of different serological tests. Tuberculin skin test was applied on 2650 cattle, only 63(2.4%) were positive. Forty eight (76.2%) of the slaughtered positive animals showed visible lesions (VL) while the other 15 (23.8%) had non-visible lesions (NVL). The bacteriological examination of the 63 samples revealed isolation of M. bovis from 47 processed samples (74.6%). The results of the immunoassay test have detected 27 out of the tuberculin positive cattle, while the ELISA has detected 34 out of the positive reactor cattle. It was concluded that immunoassay and ELISA tests act as complementary tests for tuberculin skin test especially in anergic cattle.

Dietary fat and oil is important for many body processes. The present investigation was carried out to determine the concentrations of organochlorine pesticides in butter, olive and corn oil. A total of 125 samples (75 butter, 25 each of olive oil and corn oil) were collected from El Minia Governorate, Egypt. Levels of these compounds were determined by gas chromatography with electron capture detector (GC-ECD). The results indicated that 30.4%(38/125), 24.8%(31/125), 21.6%(27/125), 21.6%(27/125), 16.8%(21/125), 14.4%(18/125), 14.4%(18/125), 12.8%(16/125), 9.6%(12/125), 8.8%(11/125), 8%(10/125), 1.6%(2/125) and 0.8%(1/125) of the examined samples were contaminated with Heptachlor, Endrin, Aldrin, Dichlorodiphenyldichloroethylene(p,p'-DDE), Dichlorodiphenyldichloroethane(p,p'-DDD), Gamma hexachlorocyclohexane(Gamma HCH), Heptachlor epoxide, Dieldrin, Endosulfan, methoxychlor, Alpha hexachlorocyclohexane(Alpha HCH), Delta hexachlorocyclohexane(Delta HCH) and Gamma Chlordane, respectively. None of the examined samples revealed the presence of Dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (p,p'-DDT) and 11 samples contained organochlorine residues above European Union maximum residue limits (EU MRL)

Development of environmental, safe and protective vaccines against infectious pathogens remains a challenge. In consequence of its high morbidity and mortality rates canine distemper is one of the most important diseases of young dogs. The object of the present study is to develop a selected method for preparation of an inactivated canine distemper vaccine. This method involved exposure of the virus to different concentrations of binary ethyleneimine (BEI), beta propiolactone (ßPL) and hydrogen peroxide (H2O2). Complete virus inactivation was obtained with BEI (0.003M) for 6 hours, ßPL (1/5000) for 4 hours and H2O2 at a concentration of 3% rapidly inactivated a Vero cell adapted canine distemper virus strain within 3 h of exposure without affecting its antigenicity or immunogenicity. The safety, immunogenicity and potency induced in four groups of puppies were evaluated using the three prepared experimental batches of inactivated canine distemper vaccine. These results revealed that no residual infectious virus was detected in H2O2 inactivated CD vaccine that proved to be safe and effective when compared with the same virus harvest that inactivated with the classical inactivating agents as BEI and βPL. Thus, an alternative inactivation method, such as H2O2 is able to maintain the integrity of the virus protein may be essential for improving the potency of inactivated canine distemper virus vaccine produced sufficient of antibodies which measured by serum neutralization test (SNT) and was protected when challenged with virulent CD virus strain. These findings reinforce the idea that H2O2 can replace BEI and βPL as inactivating agents for canine distemper virus to reduce time and cost of inactivation process.

Ice cream is a delicious dairy product commonly consumed during summer in all age groups. Due to its composition, it can harbor many potent pathogens. Most ice creams become contaminated with microbes during production, transit, and preservation. Such contaminated food product can be responsible for food borne infections in children, elderly people and immune-suppressed patients. Therefore, the study was conducted to evaluate the microbiological quality of street-vended ice creams sold in different areas of Alexandria city, Egypt. One hundred street vended ice cream samples (50 packed and 50 unpacked) randomly collected samples and analyzed for total bacterial count, Enterobacteriaceae count, coliform count, enterococci count and Staphylococcus aureus. The results revealed that the mean value of total viable count, Enterobacteriaceae count, Coliform count, Enterococci count and Staphylococcus aureus in packed and unpacked ice cream samples were 1.9x103±0.3x103, 1.0x106±0.8x106; 2.1x103±0.8x103, 1.9x104±0.8x104; 1.6x103± 0.6x103, 0.8x104±0.6x104; 1.3x103±0.05x103, 7.4x104±5.5x104 and 9.1x102±2.6x102, 0.8x104±0.4x104cfu/ml, respectively. Enterobacter aerogenes, Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae and Citrobacter sp. could be isolated and identified from the examined packed and unpacked ice cream samples. Serological identification of E.coli showed that the O111: K58: B4 is the most serotype of E.coli isolated from unpacked ice cream samples while O128: K67: B12 is the most prevalent E.coli serotype isolated from packed ice cream samples. It is recommended to launch awareness programs to minimize the contamination of ice cream products.

The objectives of the present study were to validate ultra-sonographic examination (US) as a reliable diagnostic tool for endometritis, as well as to determine the effects of intrauterine infusion (IU) of benzathine cephapirin plus systemic PGF2α as a treatment protocol of endometritis in dairy cows. 260 Holstein cows were included in this study. The affected cows were examined rectally and US. The cows were divided according to the diagnostic method and treatment protocol into 3 groups. Group1: rectally diagnosed and received systemic PGF2α. Group2: diagnosed rectally and received IU benzathine cephapirin plus systemic PGF2α. Group3: diagnosed US and received IU benzathine cephapirin plus systemic PGF2α. Good reproductive indices were recorded for cows examined US and treated with combination of IU benzathine cephapirin plus systemic PGF2α. A highly significant positive correlations were observed between days in milking (DIM) and most of tested reproductive indices. Meanwhile, Daily milk yield was negatively correlated with all tested reproductive parameters. In conclusion, transrectal US could be used as a reliable method for early diagnosis of endometritis. In addition, using a combination of IU application of benzathine cephapirin plus systemic PGF2α was superior treatment protocol in endometritis in comparison with PGF2α.

A total of 247 intestinal samples from freshly dead broiler and layer chickens were collected from 150 farms in Giza, Sharkia, Qalubia, El-Behera, Daqahlia and Cairo governorates in different seasons. These samples showed different degrees of intestinal lesions from apparently normal to sever necrosis with ulcerations. Clostridium perfringens was isolated from 138 samples with incidence of 55.9%. The incidence of NE was higher in spring and summer than winter and autumn. According to polymerase chain reaction and intradermal injection of guinea pig all isolates were Clostridium perfringens type A. In vitro antibiotic sensitivity tests made for 15 isolates and most of the examined isolates were highly sensitive to amoxicillin, ampicillin, florfenicol, penicillin and metronidazole. Three isolates showed resistance to most of antibiotics were used. Effect of piperazine salt on antibiotic resistance of C. perfringens isolate was studied in this work.