A male adult crocodile (Crocodylus niloticus) was diagnosed with systemic yeast infection. Histologically, there were extensive areas of necrosis in the lung, which were associated with a diffuse severe lympho-plasmo-histiocytic inflammatory infiltrate, with numerous multinucleated giant cells, and myriads of intralesional pseudo-hyphae and yeast like organisms within distended foveolae. Necrotic foci were also observed in the mucosa of the digestive tract, trachea, tunica intima of arteries, liver, and heart, with a marked inflammatory lympho-histiocytic infiltrate, with large numbers of epithelioid macrophages and giant cells, and intralesional and intravascular pseudo-hyphae and yeast-like organisms. Oval yeast structures with 4 to 6 μm in diameter and 5 to 8 μm thick paralleled-wall pseudo-hyphae were observed in PAS or GMS stained sections. PCR with DNA template extracted from paraffin embedded tissues amplified the D1/D2 domains of the large subunit rRNA gene, which was sequenced and found to be identical to sequences of a new species, isolated from rotting wood in Brazil, of the genus Spencermartinsiella, which its closest relative is Spencermartinsiella cellulosicola.

O potencial zoonótico de bactérias multirresistentes é uma preocupação global e os animais de companhia têm sido implicados na disseminação de bactérias resistentes; assim, é importante a vigilância, pois já existem relatos de transmissão destas bactérias do cão para o homem e vice-versa. Um cão, sem raça definida e de cinco anos de idade, foi atendido na cidade de Botucatu, São Paulo, Brasil, apresentando urolitíase obstrutiva de estruvita recorrente há um ano e meio. Na urocultura do animal foi isolada uma estirpe de Staphylococcus spp. multirresistente; o tratamento com vancomicina possibilitou acura clínica. A estirpe de Staphylococcus spp. isolada foi identificada molecularmente como S. pseudintermedius e nela foi identificada a presença do gene mecA, o principal responsável por S. pseuidintermedius resistente à meticilina (MRSP), e que é frequentemente resistente à múltiplos antimicrobianos. As hipóteses para este caso clínico são a transmissão do homem para o animal, pois o tutor era um médico intensivista, ou que a própria bactéria fazia parte da microbiota do animal e, devido a outros fatores como estresse e doença urinária obstrutiva, abriu-se uma porta de entrada para a infecção pelo S. pseudintermedius. Mais estudos são necessários para a elucidação da transmissão de bactérias multirresistentes entre animais de companhia e o ser humano.

Among the diseases that affect equines, viral diseases play an important role from a health and economic point of view, especially influenza, viral arteritis, herpes infections and vesicular stomatitis. In the Brazilian literature, there is little or no account of the occurrence of infectious diseases in donkeys. Given the importance of donkeys in different activities and the lack of information on infections that may occur in these animals, the aim of this study was to determine the frequency of anti-equine herpesvirus (EHV), anti-equine arteritis virus (EAV), anti-vesicular stomatitis, and anti-equine influenza (H3N8) antibodies in the serum of 85 donkeys bred in some regions of the state of Sao Paulo. We found the following antibody frequencies: 50.6% (43/85) antibodies against influenza virus subtype H3N8, 47% (40/85) anti-EHV, and 20% (17/85) anti-EAV. The donkeys were not seropositive for vesicular stomatitis. The results suggested that the agents EHV, EAV, and equine influenza subtype H3N8 circulate among donkeys in some regions of the state of Sao Paulo, Brazil, reinforcing the importance of establishing a routine diagnosis and epidemiological study of this species.

Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Escola de Veterinária, Departamento de Medicina Veterinária Preventiva, Laboratório de Bacteriologia AplicadaSusceptibility pattern of 45 Campylobacter spp.isolates – 16 C. jejuni, eight C. coli, and 21 C. fetus isolated from different animal species in Brazil – to twelve antimicrobial agents was determined. All Campylobacter spp. isolates were susceptible to gentamicin, sulfadiazine, and sulfamethoxazole. C. jejuni and C. coli were also sensitive to chloramphenicol, whereas all C. fetus strains were susceptible to kanamycin. Cefoperazone showed the highest percentage of resistance among C. jejuni (68.75%), followed by nalidixic acid (31.25%), ampicillin (37.50%), tetracycline (37.50%), erythromycin (12.50%), and kanamycin (6.25%). Likewise, cefoperazone exhibited the highest percentage of resistance among C. coli (75.00%), followed by nalidixic acid (50.00%), tetracycline (50.00%), erythromycin (37.50%), ampicillin (12.50%), and kanamycin (12.50%). Among C. fetus strains, nalidixic acid showed the highest resistance rate (85.71%), followed by cefoperazone (71.43%), tetracycline (42.86%), ampicillin (19.05%), chloramphenicol (9.52%), and erythromycin (4.76%). Therefore, it was found that the majority of Campylobacter spp. isolated from animals was sensitive to gentamycin, chloramphenicol, kanamacyn, and sulfonamides; however, a high proportion of the strains showed reduced susceptibility to nalidixic acid, ampicillin, cefoperazone, and tetracycline. Moreover, C. coli and C. fetus isolates showed a high percentage of multidrug resistant strains.

Recent studies have discussed the importance of snakes, going beyond the context of Public Health (snakebites). Promising research demonstrates the utility of snake venom in several fields, including oncology, diagnosis, anticoagulant therapy, and pain treatment. Nevertheless, there are still gaps in the basic knowledge on these animals, specifically regarding the histological characterization of the gastrointestinal tract, which ultimately hinder comparative histology and pathology studies. In this context the present study intends to contribute with the advance of current knowledge on snake histology by describing and analyzing histological samples of the gastrointestinal tracts of Bothrops jararaca and Crotalus durissus. Samples were collected from 12 individuals (six from each species), up to 6 months of age and equally distributed between males and females. Histological slides were prepared from the organs collected and were stained with hematoxylin and eosin, periodic acid-Schiff and alcian blue. The slides were photographed with a high-resolution camera to create a portfolio representative of the histology of the gastrointestinal systems of these animals.

This study aimed at identifying the commonly screened antibiotics during the dairy processing routine in raw-milk receiving points in plants inspected by the official services in the state of Rio Grande do Sul (RS), from January 2014 to February 2015. Among the 36 participating industries, the most commonly screened antibiotics were beta lactams (100%) and tetracyclines (69%). The antibiotics screened at the milk receiving point were chosen because of the practicality and speed in performing the screening (67%), rather than specific knowledge on which antibiotics the milk suppliers used. (22%).

Feeding dogs raw meat diets is an increasingly popular trend, and when contaminated with Salmonella they may present a risk to the health of both animals and humans. The present investigation is a systematic review of literature to assess the frequency of raw meat diets for dogs contaminated with Salmonella and whether dogs consuming these diets can eliminate it in their faeces. A search was made using two databases: “Web of Knowledge” and “PubMed” in January 2015. Only studies related to raw food diets and consumption by dogs were included. Thirteen articles were selected after refining the search. In 11 studies microbiological analysis was conducted for Salmonella in diets containing raw meat, so that in four of these studies Salmonella in the faeces was also analysed. In the analysis of 679 raw meat diets 141 diets (20.76%) were contaminated with Salmonella, in which the serotype most commonly found was S. Typhimurium (24.60%). Of the studies that reported the number of dogs that eliminated Salmonella in faeces after consumption of diets containing raw meat, 141 faecal samples were analysed, of which 73 (51.77%) were contaminated with Salmonella and the serotype most commonly found was S. Newport (72.60%). The available data suggest that the owners who feed their animals with diets containing contaminated raw meat, either commercial or homemade, are exposed to risk of Salmonella contamination, either by the manipulation of food or by handling the dog’s stool.

Common protein sources used in the manufacturing of diets for dogs are derived from by-products, which may have reduced digestibility depending on the source. This study evaluated the effect of the addition of a protease, the papain enzyme, as a supplement to extruded diets on palatability, nutrient digestibility, and fecal production and quality of dogs. A diet was formulated with poultry by-product meal, meat and bone meal, and feather meal as protein sources. This formula was divided into three isonutrient diets: one negative control (NC), without enzymes; treatment one (EZ1) with addition of 855.000UI of papain per kilogram of diet, and treatment two (EZ2) with addition of 2.280.000UI of papain per kilogram of diet, both added before extrusion. The experiment followed a randomized block design, with two blocks of nine animals (three animals per treatment in each block), 18 dogs in total, and six replicates per treatment. Data were submitted to analysis of variance and the means of three treatments were compared by polynomial contrasts (P <0.05). No differences in the coefficients of total tract apparent digestibility of nutrients nor changes in palatability, pH, and fecal production among treatments were found with the addition of different doses of enzyme to the diets (P > 0.05). The fecal score was reduced with increased addition of enzyme (P < 0.05).

Os procedimentos ômicos são uma nova tecnologia que utiliza a genômica, proteômica e metabolômica para avaliar metabólitos dos alimentos. A demanda mundial de pescado tem aumentado progressivamente devido à elevada qualidade de proteínas, minerais e ácidos graxos poli-insaturados, especialmente ômega-3. Todavia, a cadeia produtiva aquícola apresenta limitações como falta de padronização, ausência de conhecimento e transferência de tecnologia para as indústrias. Além disso, torna-se difícil garantir um monitoramento efetivo do pescado em decorrência das limitações dos parâmetros de qualidade atuais e dos métodos analíticos estabelecidos pela legislação nacional. O presente trabalho analisa os fatores limitantes relacionados aos parâmetros químicos, bem como os avanços recentes nos procedimentos analíticos, para determinação da qualidade do pescado. Levando-se em consideração a melhoria no controle de qualidade dessa matriz, os parâmetros de bases voláteis totais (BVT), trimetilamina (TMA), amônia, pH e aminas biogênicas deveriam ser revisados e estabelecidos por categorias de pescado e/ou por tipo de produto à base de pescado. Em contrapartida, parâmetros relacionados à concentração de carbonilas, ácidos graxos livres (AGLs), índice de peróxidos (IP) e malonaldeído (MDA) poderiam ser inseridos na legislação nacional. Simultaneamente, as autoridades oficiais devem levar em consideração metodologias analíticas que apresentem efetividade, praticidade, baixo custo e rapidez, facilitando e aprimorando o controle de qualidade de produtos de pescado e garantindo a saúde dos consumidores. Além disso, técnicas analíticas  para identificação das espécies de peixes devem ser incluídas na legislação brasileira visando evitar substituições ilegais e impactos negativos aos consumidores.

Amphibians are potentially reliable and efficient bioindicators. Existing anuran white blood cell morphology studies are limited, with only a few morphometric studies available. We employed morphometric techniques to characterize leukocytes of selected Neotropical anurans from Brazil and compare our findings with the exotic American Bullfrog (Lithobates catesbeianus), genus Ranidae. We compared blood smears of 28 specimens from six different genera (Hyla, Phyllomedusa, Hypsiboas, Scinax, Physalaemus, and Proceratophrys) with samples from L. catesbeianus. Leukocyte average diameter was calculated by an image analysis software. One-way analyses of variance and Bonferroni tests were used on statistical analyses. Lymphocytes, neutrophils, eosinophils, and basophils were significantly smaller than the reference ranges reported for other amphibian genera, including Lithobathes, whereas monocyte diameters did not differ significantly between genera. This is the first study to evaluate leukocyte morphometrics of Brazilian anuran species. Our findings suggest that geographical separation could possibly influence leukocyte morphometry.