The study evaluated the patterns of local innate immune response in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) cells of pigs infected with porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV) alone or co-infected with swine influenza virus (SIV).

The use of growth promoters in animal husbandry to increase weight gain and efficiency of feed conversion into muscle has been banned in the European Union since 1988, and under Directive 96/23/EC, surveillance for anabolic steroid hormones is obligatory. The hormones present in animal tissues may be of endogenous origin or may result from illegal administration. Steps have been taken to determine selected steroids in the form of esters in the alternative matrix of animal hair. Their detection in biological material is direct proof of the illegal use of anabolics.

Oestrus resynchronisation (RES, Resynch) programmes for non-pregnant cows allow shortening the period between an unsuccessful insemination and the next attempt on the same cow. The protocol of oestrus RES may be started after ruling out pregnancy by means of ultrasonography carried out 28 days after insemination or after performing a test for pregnancy-specific glycoproteins (PAG) in blood or milk. The Resynch protocol can be based on a double application of prostaglandins, the OvSynch protocol, or hormonal therapy with exogenous sources of progesterone (CIDR intravaginal devices). The efficiency of the method depends on the functional state of the ovaries, the diameter of the corpus luteum, external factors, and the health and maturity of the cows. The present paper constitutes a comparison of research findings concerning the effectiveness of RES programmes.

Introduction: Canine roundworm T. canis and T. leonina infections were investigated in experimentally infected farm mink (Neovison vison) to describe the pattern of pathological lesions in this paratenic host. Material and Methods: Infections in mink developed following ingestion of embryonated eggs of either parasite or mice tissue infected with both parasite species. Results: Comparative analysis of haematoxylin- and eosin-stained slides showed essential differences among the experimental groups. The lesions observed included eosinophil and mononuclear inflammatory infiltrates of the intestinal wall and local lymph nodes, inflammation and haemorrhages in liver tissues, and interstitial inflammation and mineralisation of the kidneys and lungs. Larvae migrating through the minks’ bodies also caused particularly salient enlargement of lymphoid follicles in the spleen and inflammatory infiltrates of mononuclear cells in skeletal and heart muscles. Conclusions: It is assumed that histopathological lesions appeared as a local and general host response to invasive L3 T. canis and T. leonina larvae migrating through the tissues of infected farm mink. Interestingly, mink infected with embryonated eggs had more pronounced lesions than animals infected with tissue larvae. Detailed histopathological examinations of parenchymal organs and striated muscles revealed lesions resembling those observed in other paratenic host species due to toxocarosis.

Avian pathogenicEscherichia coli (APEC) causes serious colibacillosis and significant economic losses. Data on profiles of virulence factors and antibiotic resistances among APEC strains are crucial to the control of infection. In this study, strains were isolated from eastern China, and the prevalence of virulence factors and distribution of antibiotic resistance were determined.

Introduction: The study sought to characterise antimicrobial resistance among coagulase-negative Staphylococcus (CNS) species recovered from broiler chickens and turkeys in Poland including the presence of 12 antimicrobial resistance genes and five classical genes of staphylococcal enterotoxins. Material and Methods: A panel of 11 antimicrobial disks evaluated the phenotypic sensitivity of the tested strains to antibiotics. Five multiplex PCR assays were performed using primer pairs for specific detection of antibiotic resistance genes and staphylococcal enterotoxin A to E genes. Results: Selected antimicrobial agent susceptibility testing revealed 100% of such in in vitro conditions to cefoxitin among strains of Staphylococcus sciuri and S. chromogenes. The blaZ (for ß-lactam) and mecA (for methicillin resistance) genes were in 58.3% and 27.5% of strains, respectively. Among genes resistant to tetracyclines, tetK was most frequent. Fewer (CNS) strains showed genes resistant to macrolides, lincosamides, and florfenicol/chloramphenicol. Multiplex PCR for classical enterotoxins (A-E) detected the see gene in two S. hominis strains, while the seb gene producing enterotoxin B was found in one strain of S. epidermidis. Conclusion: CNS strains of Staphylococcus isolated from poultry were either phenotypically or genotypically multidrug resistant. Testing for the presence of the five classical enterotoxin genes showed that CNS strains, as in the case of S. aureus strains, can be a source of food intoxications.

The Shewanella putrefaciens group are ubiquitous microorganisms recently isolated from different freshwater fish species and causing serious health disorders. The purpose of the study was to characterise isolates of the S. putrefaciens group with special emphasis on elucidating serological diversity and determining putative virulence factors.

Thrombocytes in vertebrates other than mammals, inter alia in fish, are analogues of platelets in mammals. In Osteichthyes, these cells take part in haemostatic processes, including aggregation and release reactions in cases of blood vessel damage, and in the immune response development as well. This paper discusses the development of thrombocytes in Osteichthyes, taking into account the need to make changes to the concept of grouping progenitor cells as suggested in the literature. The following pages present the morphological and cytochemical properties of thrombocytes as well as their defence functions, and also point out differences between thrombocytes in fish and platelets in mammals. The paper further highlights the level of thrombocytes’ immune activity observed in fish and based on an increased proportion of these cells in response to antigenic stimulation, on morphological shifts towards forms characteristic of dendritic cells after antigenic stimulation and on the presence of surface structures and cytokines released through, inter alia, gene expression of TLR receptors, MHC class II protein-coding genes and pro-inflammatory cytokines. The study also points out the need to recognise thrombocytes in Osteichthyes as specialised immune cells conditioning non-specific immune mechanisms and playing an important role in affecting adaptive immune mechanisms.

Riemerella anatipestifer (RA) infections can lead to high mortality in ducklings. Inactivated vaccines against RA are commercially available, but they fail to provide cross-protection against various serotypes. We have previously demonstrated that a subunit vaccine containing recombinant outer membrane protein A (rOmpA) antigen of serotype 2 formulated with CpG oligodeoxynucleotides (ODN) as the adjuvant was able to stimulate both humoral and cellular immunities.

Porcine circovirus type 3 (PCV3) is a newly discovered porcine circovirus. The molecular characteristics and genetic evolution of PCV3 in Xinjiang province, China still being unclear, the aim of the study was their elucidation.