We compared clinicopathologic findings in dogs with Bartonella infection to Bartonella spp. negative dogs suspected of a vector-borne disease. Cases (n=47) and controls (n=93) were selected on the basis of positive or negative enrichment culture PCR results, respectively. Signalment, clinicopathologic findings and treatments were extracted from medical records. DNA sequencing identified Bartonella henselae (n=28, 59.6%), Bartonella vinsonii subsp. berkhoffii (n=20, 42.6%), Bartonella koehlerae (n=3, 6.4%), Bartonella volans-like (n=3, 6.4%) and Bartonella bovis (n=1, 2.1%). There were no significant differences in age, breed, size, sex or neuter status between cases and controls. Dogs infected with Bartonella sp. often had a history of weight loss [OR=2.82; 95% CI: 1.08-7.56] and were hypoglobulinemic [OR=4.26; 95% CI: 1.31-14.41]. With the exception of weight loss and hypoglobulinemia, clinicopathologic abnormalities in Bartonella-infected dogs in this study were similar to dogs suspected of other vector-borne infections.

Foodborne salmonellosis is one of the most important bacterial zoonotic diseases worldwide. Salmonella Typhimurium is the serovar most frequently isolated from persistently infected slaughter pigs in Europe. Salmonella Typhimurium pathogenesis is host species specific. In addition, differences in in vitro behaviour of Salmonella Typhimurium strains have also been described, which may be reflected by a different course of infection within a host species. We compared the course of a Salmonella Typhimurium infection in pigs, using two Salmonella Typhimurium strains that were able to interfere with MHC II expression on porcine macrophages to a different extent in vitro. After experimental inoculation, blood and faecal samples from all pigs were collected at regular time points. At 40 days post inoculation (pi), animals were euthanized and tissue samples were bacteriologically analysed. The proportion of serologically positive piglets at 33 days pi was significantly higher in pigs that were inoculated with the strain that did not downregulate MHC II expression in vitro. Furthermore, this strain was less frequently shed and isolated in lower numbers from tonsils and ileocaecal lymph nodes than the strain that was able to markedly downregulate MHC II expression in vitro. We thus found that the delayed onset of seroconversion after oral inoculation of piglets with a particular Salmonella Typhimurium strain coincided with higher faecal shedding and increased persistence. Strain specific differences in Salmonella pathogenesis might thus have repercussions on the serological detection of Salmonella Typhimurium infections in pigs.

The transmission of CAEV from male goats has not been well studied and the target cells that support viral replication are not well characterized. Epididymal epithelial cells (EECs) are important and play a key role in the fertility and motility of spermatozoa. During their transit, spermatozoa incorporate several EEC-produced proteins into their plasma membranes to stabilize them and prevent premature acrosomal reaction. This intimate interaction between spermatozoa and EECs may increase the likelihood of the infection of semen with CAEV if epididymal tissue is productively infected and sheds the virus into the duct. The aim of this study was to examine whether goat EECs are susceptible to CAEV infection in tissue culture. Cells were isolated from epididymides obtained from goats that were sampled from a certified-CAEV-free herd. Cultured cells were then inoculated with a molecularly-cloned isolate of CAEV (CAEV-pBSCA). Inoculated cells developed cytopathic effects (CPE), showing numerous multinucleated giant cells (MGC) in cell-culture monolayers. Expression of CAEV proteins was detected by immunofluorescence using an anti-p28, Gag-specific antibody. The culture medium of inoculated cells was shown to contain high titers (10(6) tissue culture infectious doses 50 per ml (TCID50/ml)) of infectious, cytopathic virus when assayed using indicator goat synovial membrane (GSM) cells. Our findings clearly demonstrate that cells of the buck genital tract are targets of CAEV and are thus a potential reservoir that sheds infectious CAEV into the semen of infected animals. These data suggest the use of sperm from CAEV-free goat males for artificial insemination in genetic selection programs to minimize CAEV dissemination.

Cutaneous lesions of feline sporotrichosis show high fungal load and are associated with severe disease and elevated zoonotic potential. The present study describes the histopathology and fungal load of the lesions in different clinical presentations of feline sporotrichosis. Cats with sporotrichosis were separated into groups L1, L2 and L3 (lesions in one, two and three or more locations, respectively) and subjected to skin biopsies for histopathology. Eighty-six cats were included in the study. Lesions were suppurative granulomatous in 84 cases and poorly formed granulomas were predominant. The well-formed granulomas were associated with group L1. The high fungal load was predominant in group L3 and in poorly formed granuloma cases and did not occur in well-formed granulomas cases. The good general condition was associated with low fungal load. These findings suggest that the fungal load control in animals with more localized lesions and well-organized response is linked with the improvement in the outcome of infected cats.

M cells play a pivotal role in the induction of immune responses within the mucosa-associated lymphoid tissues. As such, they are frequently studied for the development of mucosal vaccines. Unfortunately, the lack of a universal M cell marker hampers the progress in this field since researchers need species- and tissue-specific markers in order to isolate, identify or target M cells. Depicting the most appropriate M cell marker for the species and tissue under investigation might, however, be complicated by the numerous publications on this topic, often mentioning both positive and negative results for the tested marker. Therefore, this review gives an overview of the specific M cell markers in man and various domestic and laboratory animals. In addition, current state-of-the-art as regards the use of M cell models and markers in mucosal vaccine development is discussed.

An investigation was carried out to determine the prevalence and antibiotic resistance of Salmonella serotypes at South Korean duck farms. A total of 7119 samples collected from 72 duck farms in five provinces were examined from 2011 to 2012. The overall prevalence of Salmonella serotypes was 43.4% (69/159) in duck flocks from 65.2% (47/72) of the duck farms. Eighty-five strains were isolated from 69 duck flocks. Three serotypes of Salmonella enterica were identified such as S. Typhimurium (39/85), S. Enteritidis (44/85), and S. London (2/85). The prevalence of Salmonella infection decreased significantly in 3-week-old ducks compared to that in 1-week-old ducks (P<0.05). All isolates except one were resistant to at least one antimicrobial and 27% of the isolates were resistant to 5-16 antimicrobials. Our findings provide baseline information on the degree of Salmonella infection and distribution of Salmonella serotypes in ducks and indicate that ducks should be considered an important source of foodborne pathogens.

The present review aims to provide insight into the complex interactions between the host and Pseudomonas aeruginosa-an opportunistic microbial agent causing skin infections. Heat, humidity and skin pH are among the factors beneficial for the development of this Gram-negative agent. To cause infection, Pseudomonas aeruginosa should first overcome the primary mechanisms of defense including the cell elements and humoral factors of the skin, as well as non-specific responses-phagocytosis, inflammation, acute phase response. All they are analysed with emphasis on the fact that their detailed understanding would help revealing their potential and allow for their efficient control. The microorganism, being more alterable and more flexible than the host, uses stealth strategies and modes of life. The review goes over the arsenal of virulence factors, used by Pseudomonas aeruginosa to attack the host defense mechanisms. The bacterial pathogenic strategies for invasion, resulting in collapse of skin defense are analysed. Several novel therapeutic approached to Pseudomonas aeruginosa skin infections are briefly reviewed.

Visna/Maedi virus (VMV) is a lentivirus that infects cells of the monocyte/macrophage lineage in sheep. Infection with VMV may lead to Visna/Maedi (VM) disease, which causes a multisystemic inflammatory disorder causing pneumonia, encephalitis, mastitis and arthritis. The role of ovine immune response genes in the development of VM disease is not fully understood. In this work, sheep of the Rasa Aragonesa breed were divided into two groups depending on the presence/absence of VM-characteristic clinical lesions in the aforementioned organs and the relative levels of candidate gene expression, including cytokines and innate immunity loci were measured by qPCR in the lung and udder. Sheep with lung lesions showed differential expression in five target genes: CCR5, TLR7, and TLR8 were up regulated and IL2 and TNFα down regulated. TNFα up regulation was detected in the udder.

The haemagglutinin (HA) encoding gene and genes encoding for immunomodulatory proteins i.e., schlafen-like protein, epidermal growth factor and golgi anti apoptotic protein of camelpoxvirus (CMLV) obtained from Indian dromedarian camels were cloned and characterized. In this study, the size of the HA encoding gene obtained from the Indian CMLV is 941bp which is only partial. Sequence analysis of schlafen-like protein gene revealed that CMLV obtained from India shared 99.6% identity with CMLV-Iran and CMLV-Kazakhstan strains both at nucleotide and amino acid level. The size of epidermal growth factor (EGF) gene of Indian CMLV obtained in this study was 418bp, which was due to the addition of one cytosine residue position 132 of EGF gene of Indian CMLV. Sequence analysis revealed that the Golgi anti-apoptotic protein (GAAP) of Indian CMLV shared 99.5% sequence identity both at the nucleotide and amino acid level with CMLV-Kazakhstan. Based on the nucleotide and amino acid sequence identities and phylogenetic analyses of these genes, it is found that CMLV-India is forming a cluster with Kazakhstan and Iranian CMLV isolates.

In general, it is difficult to differentiate infected from vaccinated animals through vaccination with conventional vaccines, thereby impeding the serological surveillance of animal diseases. DIVA (differentiating infected from vaccinated animals) vaccine, originally known as marker vaccine, usually based on the absence of at least one immunogenic protein in the vaccine strain, allows DIVA in conjunction with a diagnostic test that detects antibodies against the antigens lacking in the vaccine strain. Virus-like particles (VLPs), composed of one or more structural proteins but no genomes of native viruses, mimic the organization and conformation of authentic virions but have no ability to self-replicate in cells, potentially yielding safer vaccine candidates. Since VLPs containing either monovalent or multivalent antigen can be produced in compliance with the requirements for serological surveillance, the use of VLP-based vaccines plays a promising role in DIVA vaccination strategies against animal diseases. Here, we critically reviewed VLPs and companion diagnostics with properties of DIVA for veterinary vaccine design, and three different VLPs as promising platforms for DIVA vaccination strategies in animals.