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Resumen del trabajo presentado a la 12th Conference of the European Wildlife Disease Association (EWDA), celebrada en Berlin (Alemania) del 27 al 31 de agosto de 2016.
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In wildlife disease management there are few diseases for which vaccination is a viable option. The human vaccine BCG has been used for the control of bovine tuberculosis in badgers since 2010 and is expected to increase. Understanding... more
In wildlife disease management there are few diseases for which vaccination is a viable option. The human vaccine BCG has been used for the control of bovine tuberculosis in badgers since 2010 and is expected to increase. Understanding the long-term effects of repeated vaccination campaigns on disease prevalence is vital, but modelling thus far has generally assumed that a vaccine provides perfect protection to a proportion of the population, and that animals exposed to a repeated vaccination have a second independent chance of becoming protected. We held a workshop with experts in the field to obtain consensus over the main pathways for partial protection in the badger, and then simulated these using an established model. The available data supported the possibility that some individuals receive no benefit from the BCG vaccine, others may result in a delayed disease progression and in the remaining animals, vaccine protected the individual from any onward transmission. Simulating these pathways using different levels of overall efficacy demonstrated that partial protection leads to a reduced effect of vaccination, but in all of the identified scenarios it was still possible to eradicate disease in an isolated population with no disease introduction. We also identify those potential vaccination failures that require further investigation to determine which of our proposed pathways is the more likely.
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Research Interests: Microbiology, Biology, Norwegian, Medicine, Norway, and 15 moreMycobacterium tuberculosis, Goat, Animals, Goats, Cattle, HERD, Antibody, Pig, Animal Diseases, Sensitivity and Specificity, P, Enzyme Linked Immunosorbent Assay, Corynebacterium Pseudotuberculosis, Biochemistry and cell biology, and Paratuberculosis
Livestock farming, specifically of cattle and buffalo, is crucial to Nepal’s economy, with more than 66% of the population involved in agriculture and animal husbandry. Animal tuberculosis (TB) caused byMycobacterium bovisis a chronic... more
Livestock farming, specifically of cattle and buffalo, is crucial to Nepal’s economy, with more than 66% of the population involved in agriculture and animal husbandry. Animal tuberculosis (TB) caused byMycobacterium bovisis a chronic disease that affects these animals and results in economic losses due to reduced milk and meat productivity, fertility and mortality.M. bovisalso infects humans, non-human primates, goats and other mammals, and can afflict both cattle and buffalo.Our study is a part of routine surveillance of prevalent diseases, includingM. bovis, in cattle and buffalo. We collected blood samples (n=400, 100 samples from each district) from selected eastern districts of Nepal. We used a Rapid Bovine TB Test Kit to test these samples for presence ofM. bovis.Of the 400 samples collected, 74 animals (18.75%) tested positive forM. bovis, with the majority of positive samples coming from cattle (n=71, 17.75%) and only three from buffalo (<1%). Among the screened breeds o...
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Tuberculosis (TB) is a contagious chronic disease due to infection with Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex (MTC) bacteria. Monitoring of wildlife, especially potential reservoirs, is important for detecting changes in disease occurrence... more
Tuberculosis (TB) is a contagious chronic disease due to infection with Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex (MTC) bacteria. Monitoring of wildlife, especially potential reservoirs, is important for detecting changes in disease occurrence and assessing the impact of interventions. Here, we examined whether wild boar (Sus scrofa) may contribute to the re-emergence of TB in Asturias (10,604 km2), northern Spain. Although this province was declared free of TB in cattle in November 2021, MTC bacteria remain prevalent in several “hotspots,” with the European badger (Meles meles) suggested as a TB potential wild reservoir. Drawing on data from the Spanish National Bovine Tuberculosis Eradication Program and the Government of the Principality of Asturias covering the period 2014–2020, we analyzed the prevalence of TB in cattle and wild boar in this region. In hotspots (592 km2), we also investigated the ranging behavior and habitat use of five cows that belonged to farms with a history of TB...
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Tuberculosis (TB) vaccination could be used as a key part of integrated strategies for the disease’s control if an effective and safe vaccine under field conditions is obtained. Recent studies in Spain have evaluated the protective... more
Tuberculosis (TB) vaccination could be used as a key part of integrated strategies for the disease’s control if an effective and safe vaccine under field conditions is obtained. Recent studies in Spain have evaluated the protective efficacy of two oral vaccines against experimental challenge with live intra-bronchial Mycobacterium bovis in captive badgers: the live-attenuated M. bovis BCG vaccine (Danish strain) and a heat-inactivated M. bovis (HIMB) vaccine. With the objective of increasing the knowledge of the cellular development progress of infection and generating further tools to discriminate between mild and severe TB lesions between and within animals, the immunopathology of tuberculous lesions was studied to characterize the local immune response (cell type profile) within lung granulomas from control (non-vaccinated), BCG vaccinated and HIMB-vaccinated experimentally infected badgers with M. bovis. Four immunohistochemical protocols, for the specific detection of macrophag...
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Tuberculosis (TB) is a zoonotic mycobacterial infection with great importance in human health, animal production, and wildlife conservation. Although an ambitious eradication programme in cattle has been implemented for decades, TB-free... more
Tuberculosis (TB) is a zoonotic mycobacterial infection with great importance in human health, animal production, and wildlife conservation. Although an ambitious eradication programme in cattle has been implemented for decades, TB-free status has not yet been achieved in most of Spain, where animal TB persists in a multi-host system of domestic and wild hosts, including the red deer (Cervus elaphus). However, information on long time series and trends of TB prevalence in wildlife is scarce. The diagnosis of TB in wild red deer is often based on gross pathology and bacteriological culture confirmation, although recently serological assays have been developed to detect anti- Mycobacterium tuberculosis Complex (MTC) antibodies. Particularly, protein complex P22 has demonstrated to yield good specificity and sensitivity in the serological diagnosis of MTC for red deer, as well as cattle, goats, sheep, pigs, wild boar, and European badger. Thus, the objective of the present study was to compare the performance of the P22-ELISA with TB-compatible lesion detection, as well as to assess the potential application of each technique for determining spatiotemporal trends and risk factors of MTC infection in wild red deer from low and high TB prevalence areas of Spain over the last two decades. We tested 5095 sera from 13 wild populations by indirect ELISA using P22 as antigen. Mean seroprevalence (13.22%, CI95: 12.32-14.18) was compared with the prevalence of macroscopic TB-compatible lesions (6.94%, CI95: 6.18-7.79). The results evidenced a poor agreement between both techniques (K < 0.3), although generalized TB-lesions and anti-P22 antibodies showed a positive association (χ² = 9.054, P = 0.004). Consequently, TB-lesion based prevalence and seroprevalence cannot be considered as equivalent for TB surveillance in red deer. Regarding the spatiotemporal trend of TB in red deer in Spain, we observed a North-South gradient of TB occurrence [North: 1.23% (CI95: 0.77-1.97) of TB-lesions and 12.55% (CI95: 10.91-14.41) of P22-ELISA; Centre: 7.10% (CI95: 6.04-8.33) and 8.74% (CI95: 7.57-10.08); South: 21.04% (CI95:17.81-24.69) and 23.09% (CI95: 19.73-26.84), respectively]. Overall, there was a stability over time, with higher prevalence in adults belonging to densely populated sites. We conclude that the P22-ELISA alone is not sufficiently reliable for TB surveillance in red deer at large spatiotemporal scales. Instead, we recommend combining gross pathology and P22-ELISA.
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Trabajo presentado al: 37th International Society for Animal Genetics Conference (ISAG). Abstract book, P216, pp.121.Lleida, Spain, 7-12 Julio 2019.
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The present work investigated the prevalence, spatial distribution, and temporal distribution of tuberculosis (TB) in free-ranging Eurasian badgers (Meles meles) and cattle in Asturias (Atlantic Spain) during a 13-year follow-up. The... more
The present work investigated the prevalence, spatial distribution, and temporal distribution of tuberculosis (TB) in free-ranging Eurasian badgers (Meles meles) and cattle in Asturias (Atlantic Spain) during a 13-year follow-up. The study objective was to assess the role of badgers as a TB reservoir for cattle and other sympatric wild species in the region. Between 2008 and 2020, 673 badgers (98 trapped and 575 killed in road traffic accidents) in Asturias were necropsied, and their tissue samples were cultured for the Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex (MTC) isolation. Serum samples were tested in an in-house indirect P22 ELISA to detect antibodies against the MTC. In parallel, data on MTC isolation and single intradermal tuberculin test results were extracted for cattle that were tested and culled as part of the Spanish National Program for the Eradication of Bovine TB. A total of 27/639 badgers (4.23%) were positive for MTC based on bacterial isolation, while 160/673 badgers (23...
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Animal tuberculosis (TB) is a multi-host disease caused by members of the Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex (MTC). Due to its impact on economy, sanitary standards of milk and meat industry, public health and conservation, TB control is... more
Animal tuberculosis (TB) is a multi-host disease caused by members of the Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex (MTC). Due to its impact on economy, sanitary standards of milk and meat industry, public health and conservation, TB control is an actively ongoing research subject. Several wildlife species are involved in the maintenance and transmission of TB, so that new approaches to wildlife TB diagnosis have gained relevance in recent years. Diagnosis is a paramount step for screening, epidemiological investigation, as well as for ensuring the success of control strategies such as vaccination trials. This is the first review that systematically addresses data available for the diagnosis of TB in wildlife following the Preferred Reporting Items of Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. The article also gives an overview of the factors related to host, environment, sampling, and diagnostic techniques which can affect test performance. After three screenings, 124 artic...
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Research Interests: Biology, Virology, Medicine, Tuberculosis, Efficacy, and 5 moreVaccination, Badger, Meles, Mycobacterium bovis, and BCG vaccine
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RHDVb has become the dominant RHDV on the Iberian Peninsula. A better understanding of its pathogenicity is required to aid control measures. Thus, the clinical course, humoral immune response, viraemia and kinetics of RHDV-N11 (a Spanish... more
RHDVb has become the dominant RHDV on the Iberian Peninsula. A better understanding of its pathogenicity is required to aid control measures. Thus, the clinical course, humoral immune response, viraemia and kinetics of RHDV-N11 (a Spanish RHDVb isolate) infection in different tissues at both viral RNA and protein levels were studied in experimentally infected young and adult rabbits. The case fatality rate differed between the two age groups, with 21% of kits succumbing while no deaths were observed in adults. Fever and viremia were strongly associated with death, which occurred 48 h post infection (PI) too fast for an effective humoral immune response to be mounted. A significant effect on the number of viral RNA copies with regard to the variables age, tissue and time PI (p < 0.0001 in all cases) was detected. Histological lesions in infected rabbits were consistently more frequent and severe in liver and spleen and additionally intestine in kits, these tissues containing the h...
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Vaccination with Bacillus Calmette–Guérin (BCG) constituted a major advance in the prevention of human tuberculosis (TB) in the beginning of the past century. BCG has also a clear potential for use in animals and, in particular, in the... more
Vaccination with Bacillus Calmette–Guérin (BCG) constituted a major advance in the prevention of human tuberculosis (TB) in the beginning of the past century. BCG has also a clear potential for use in animals and, in particular, in the main domestic species subjected to TB control programs, cattle. Nowadays, the use of BCG vaccination against TB in cattle is not permitted by European Union legislation because BCG can induce a cellular immune response producing diagnostic interference in the eradication programs based on tuberculin single and comparative intradermal tests imposed worldwide. In this review, we recall the history of TB vaccination as well as different vaccine trials and the response to vaccination in both domestic and wild animals. Promising potential inactivated vaccines are also reviewed. Research studies are mainly focused to improve vaccine efficacy, and at the same time to ensure its easy administration, safety and stability in the environment. Great challenges re...
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In autumn 2011, a disease outbreak caused by Spanish goat encephalitis virus (SGEV) was reported in a herd of goats from Asturias (north-western Spain), expanding the known geographic distribution of tick-borne encephalitis in Europe. The... more
In autumn 2011, a disease outbreak caused by Spanish goat encephalitis virus (SGEV) was reported in a herd of goats from Asturias (north-western Spain), expanding the known geographic distribution of tick-borne encephalitis in Europe. The virus was classified as a new subtype (subspecies) within the Louping-ill virus species of the mammalian tick-borne flavivirus group. The aims of the present study were to describe the pathology in goats naturally infected with SGEV, as well as discuss the pathogenesis of the disease in that outbreak. A total of 22/85 (25.88%) goats (20 adults and 2 kids) died between October 2011 and June 2012, showing neurological clinical signs. Over three years, the mortality rate in the herd reached 100%. Neuropathological lesions caused by SGEV were severe and widespread throughout the central nervous system but were more severe and numerous in the proximal cervical spinal cord, medulla oblongata, pons and cerebellar cortex. They consisted of neuron necrosis,...
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Although louping ill affects mainly sheep, a 2011 outbreak in northern Spain occurred among goats. Histopathologic lesions and molecular genetics identifi ed a new strain of louping ill virus, 94 % identical to the strain from Britain.... more
Although louping ill affects mainly sheep, a 2011 outbreak in northern Spain occurred among goats. Histopathologic lesions and molecular genetics identifi ed a new strain of louping ill virus, 94 % identical to the strain from Britain. Surveillance is needed to minimize risk to domestic and wildlife species and humans. Louping ill is a zoonotic disease caused by a neurotropic, single-stranded, 40 to 50–nm RNA virus, which has been classified in the family Flaviviridae, genus Flavivirus. Louping ill virus belongs to a subgroup antigenically related to viruses known as the tick-borne encephalitis viruses (TBEVs) of Europe (1). These viruses are medically considered to be the most common flaviviruses in Europe and Asia (2). Among them, the TBEVs, which infect thousands of humans per year (3), are related to louping ill
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Research Interests: Comparative, Fallow deer, Deer, Female, Animals, and 15 moreMale, Polymerase Chain Reaction, Gastroenteritis, Jejunum, Cattle, Prevalence, Intestines, Veterinary Sciences, Granuloma, Langerhans cells, Bacterial Infection, Ileum, Paratuberculosis, Lymph nodes, and Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis (MAP)
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ABSTRACT We report the case of a &amp;#39;Bermeya&amp;#39; goat herd of 70 animals from Asturias, suspected of being infected with a tick-borne encephalitis virus.
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ABSTRACT Introduction. Three flaviviruses are responsible for cases of encephalitis in domestic bovids in Europe: louping ill virus (LIV), Spanish sheep encephalomyelitis virus (SSEV) and Greek goat encephalitis virus. Only SSEV had been... more
ABSTRACT Introduction. Three flaviviruses are responsible for cases of encephalitis in domestic bovids in Europe: louping ill virus (LIV), Spanish sheep encephalomyelitis virus (SSEV) and Greek goat encephalitis virus. Only SSEV had been reported in Spain until an outbreak of LIV was recently reported in goats from “Principado de Asturias” in northwestern Spain, but never a case of encephalitis caused by a flavivirus had been reported in a European wild bovid. Methods. Two Cantabrian chamois (Rupicapra pyrenaica parva) from Principado de Asturias – one fell down a cliff and the other presented severe clinical nervous signs – were tested by the haemagglutination inhibition assay (HAI) for louping ill virus antibodies. Additionally, tissue samples from different organs including the brain were preserved in 10% buffered formalin and processed routinely. Results. Sera from the two chamois were positive by HAI. Histopathologically, one showed severe necrosis of Purkinje cells and neurons in the cerebellum, the only brain part analyzed. The other animal presented necrosis of Purkinje cells in the cerebellum while the hypothalamus and midbrain showed lymphocytic perivascular cuffs, neuronal degeneration and gliosis. Lesions were more severe in the medulla oblongata. Conclusions. Clinical, serological and histological results point to LIV as the causal agent of encephalitis in the Cantabrian chamois. This would show that LIV may be more widespread in Asturias region than previously thought. Implications for conservation of Cantabrian chamois cannot be ruled out but need to be the focus of future research.
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Here we report the development of a more-sensitive immunoassay for severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) based on an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay using chemiluminescence (CLEIA) to detect the viral nucleocapsid (N) antigen in... more
Here we report the development of a more-sensitive immunoassay for severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) based on an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay using chemiluminescence (CLEIA) to detect the viral nucleocapsid (N) antigen in nasopharyngeal aspirate (NPA) from patients infected with SARS coronavirus (CoV). The CLEIA was established with an optical combination of monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) against SARS CoV N protein prepared from mice immunized with recombinant N protein without cultivating the virus. The capture and detecting MAbs of the CLEIA reacted to the carboxyl-terminal and amino-terminal peptides of the N protein, respectively. The CLEIA was capable of detecting recombinant N protein at 1.56 pg/ml and viral N protein in SARS CoV cell culture lysates at 0.087 of 50% tissue culture infective doses/ml. The CLEIA showed no cross-reactivities to recombinant N proteins of common human CoV (229E, OC43, and NL63) or lysates of cells infected with 229E and OC43. In addition,...
Research Interests: Adolescent, Cell Culture, Clinical Microbiology, Biological Sciences, Humans, and 15 moreFemale, Clinical, Male, Polymerase Chain Reaction, Luminescence, Clinical Sciences, Aged, Middle Aged, Adult, Diagnostic Test, Monoclonal Antibody, High Sensitivity, Enzyme Linked Immunosorbent Assay, Pharynx, and Medical and Health Sciences
Desulfotignum phosphitoxidans is a strictly anaerobic, Gram-negative bacterium that utilizes phosphite as the sole electron source for homoacetogenic CO2 reduction or sulfate reduction. A genomic library of D. phosphitoxidans, constructed... more
Desulfotignum phosphitoxidans is a strictly anaerobic, Gram-negative bacterium that utilizes phosphite as the sole electron source for homoacetogenic CO2 reduction or sulfate reduction. A genomic library of D. phosphitoxidans, constructed using the fosmid vector pJK050, was screened for clones harboring the genes involved in phosphite oxidation via PCR using primers developed based on the amino acid sequences of phosphite-induced proteins. Sequence analysis of two positive clones revealed a putative operon of seven genes predicted to be involved in phosphite oxidation. Four of these genes (ptxD-ptdFCG) were cloned and heterologously expressed in Desulfotignum balticum, a related strain that cannot use phosphite as either an electron donor or as a phosphorus source. The ptxD-ptdFCG gene cluster was sufficient to confer phosphite uptake and oxidation ability to the D. balticum host strain but did not allow use of phosphite as an electron donor for chemolithotrophic growth. Phosphite oxidation activity was measured in cell extracts of D. balticum transconjugants, suggesting that all genes required for phosphite oxidation were cloned. Genes of the phosphite gene cluster were assigned putative functions on the basis of sequence analysis and enzyme assays.
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ABSTRACT This study collects pathological information concerning sarcoptic mange in sympatric red deer, roe deer, chamois, wolf and red fox from Northern Spain, and discusses reported variations in the response from the different species... more
ABSTRACT This study collects pathological information concerning sarcoptic mange in sympatric red deer, roe deer, chamois, wolf and red fox from Northern Spain, and discusses reported variations in the response from the different species against Sarcoptes scabiei. Wolf is the only studied species which shows prevalence of the hypersensitivity (alopecic) response to the detriment of the hyperkeratotic form, usually observed in ungulates and fox. The present work shows the use of immunohistochemistry as a valuable tool for the study and diagnosis of sarcoptic mange in those species whose immune response or stage of infestation limits the number of detectable mites, not an unusual difficulty faced when working with sarcoptic mange in wildlife species.