|
* * * * * * * * * *
1. West river veterinarians continuing to test for bovine trich [SD]
Associated Press
Rapid City Journal
February 15, 2016
Veterinarians across western South Dakota are continuing to test herds for a reproductive disease that causes cows to abort their young, though officials say no new cases have been reported over the past month.
The most recent cases of bovine trichomoniasis - or trich - were discovered in January in a pair of herds in Dewey County. Late last year, vets found trich in two Oglala Lakota county cattle herds and one herd operating in Corson and Ziebach counties, said Mendel Miller, South Dakota's assistant state veterinarian.
Miller said he doesn't expect an outbreak like one that hit western South Dakota in 2005, but the five occurrences are a jump from zero cases last year and just one the previous year.
The disease poses no risk for humans, as it affects only a cow's reproductive system, but its occurrence can quickly cut into a rancher's bottom line.
"We have lots of testing going on," Miller said. "Neighbor herds, contact herds are testing and looking for it."
********
|
|
2. Zika Virus: Are Horses at Risk?
By J. Scott Weese, DVM, DVSc, Dipl. ACVIM
TheHorse.com
February 16, 2016
Q. I've heard a lot about Zika virus in the news. Does Zika virus affect horses? If so, what are the signs of disease?
A. There's currently no evidence that Zika virus can infect horses. Zika-which is a mosquito-borne virus related to West Nile virus and dengue fever- has only been found in nature in humans and nonhuman primates.
It's possible that horses could be exposed if they live in areas where infected Aedes egyptii or Aedes albopictus mosquitoes are present; however, exposure doesn't necessarily mean disease. For example, a horse could be exposed to a person with chickenpox but wouldn't get sick because the chickenpox virus is unable to infect horses. As far as we know, Zika virus is the same, but this hasn't received any research of which I'm aware.
While we can't yet say there's no risk, it's reasonable to assume that the likelihood of Zika virus infecting horses and causing serious disease is low. Now that Zika virus has emerged in areas where horses are common, there researchers will hopefully study whether this virus can infect horses.
Full text:
********
|
|
3. When foot-and-mouth disease stopped the UK in its tracks
By Claire Bates
BBC News Magazine
February 17, 2016
Fifteen years ago foot-and-mouth disease led to the culling of millions of animals and the UK losing billions of pounds. Could it happen again?
Officially, there were 2,000 cases of foot-and-mouth in the 2001 UK outbreak. But that doesn't do justice to the horrendous toll of the disease.
Each of those cases meant a farm having all of its livestock killed and burned. By the time the last case was confirmed at Whygill Head Farm in Appleby, Cumbria, on 30 September 2001, more than six million sheep, cattle and pigs had been slaughtered.
The first case to be discovered was at an abattoir in Essex in February 2001. Cases were discovered in Devon, Northumberland and North Wales in the first week, and the first mass slaughter was held to try and contain the virus. But by the second week further cases were confirmed in Cornwall and Scotland.
The culling policy saw not just the animals on the affected farm killed, but also all the animals in the surrounding area. Exclusion zones made travel in some areas almost impossible and tourism nose-dived. Despite these measures the epidemic continued.
Full text:
********
|
|
4. New cause for Lyme disease complicates already murky diagnosis
By Melinda Wenner Moyer
Nature
February 16, 2016
Tick-borne Lyme disease in the U.S. has long been thought to be caused by a single microbe, a spiral-shaped bacterium called Borrelia burgdorferi. Last week this notion was challenged when a team led by scientists at the Mayo Clinic discovered that Lyme could be caused, albeit rarely, by a different bacterial species that may incite more serious symptoms ranging from vomiting to neurological issues.
Scientists working in the contentious field of Lyme disagree, however, as to what this information means for public health and if these findings are truly the first of their kind. For years, they say, research has pointed to the notion that the spirochete that causes Lyme disease in the U.S. is more heterogeneous than many have acknowledged.
In the new study, recently published in The Lancet Infectious Diseases, Mayo Clinic pathologist and laboratory doctor Bobbi Pritt and her colleagues tested more than 100,500 clinical specimens, such as blood, cerebrospinal fluid and tissue, collected from U.S. patients with suspected Lyme disease between 2003 and 2014. Using a special molecular biology technique called PCR that can identify genetic differences among bacterial strains, they found that six of the samples-collected from patients between 2012 and 2014 in Wisconsin, Minnesota and North Dakota-contained DNA suggestive of a new species. They isolated some of these live bacteria and analyzed parts of their genetic sequence, confirming that the microbe has, in fact, never been documented before. The researchers propose to name the new species Borrelia mayonii.
Full text:
********
|
|
5. First confirmed human infection of zoonotic parasite reported in Vietnam
Nguyen VVC, et al. Clin Infect Dis. 2016;doi:10.1093/cid/ciw052
Healio
February 15, 2016
Researchers have reported the first laboratory-confirmed case of Trypanosoma evansi infection in a Vietnamese woman with no deficiencies. They linked transmission of the parasite with bovid exposure.
"Over half of Vietnam's population resides in rural areas, and most participate in small-scale animal production, which likely facilitates the transfer of pathogens from animals into humans," the researchers wrote. "T. evansi is associated with acute disease in camels and horses and chronic disease in cattle and buffalo, and can be found in South America, North Africa, the Middle East, South and Southeast Asia."
There have been four probable cases of T. evansi infection reported worldwide that lacked molecular parasite speciation. One previous case was reported in India in 2005 with molecular confirmation, although the patient had a deficiency of Apolipoprotein L1 (APOL1), a serum component with trypanocidal activity.
The present case, a previously healthy Vietnamese woman aged 38 years with no APOL1 deficiency, first presented to a health care facility with 18 days of fever, headache and arthralgia. She had no history of travel to any regions where T. evansi has been observed. Although initially treated for malaria, microscopic examination of blood samples revealed unicellular flagellate protozoa with the morphology of Trypanosoma. The patient received a treatment reported to have trypanocidal activity for 7 days, but returned with symptoms 6 weeks after discharge and subsequently treated with a first-line anti-trypanosomal treatment and eventually recovered with no complications.
********
|
|
5. First confirmed human infection of zoonotic parasite reported in Vietnam
Nguyen VVC, et al. Clin Infect Dis. 2016;doi:10.1093/cid/ciw052
Healio
February 15, 2016
Researchers have reported the first laboratory-confirmed case of Trypanosoma evansi infection in a Vietnamese woman with no deficiencies. They linked transmission of the parasite with bovid exposure.
"Over half of Vietnam's population resides in rural areas, and most participate in small-scale animal production, which likely facilitates the transfer of pathogens from animals into humans," the researchers wrote. "T. evansi is associated with acute disease in camels and horses and chronic disease in cattle and buffalo, and can be found in South America, North Africa, the Middle East, South and Southeast Asia."
There have been four probable cases of T. evansi infection reported worldwide that lacked molecular parasite speciation. One previous case was reported in India in 2005 with molecular confirmation, although the patient had a deficiency of Apolipoprotein L1 (APOL1), a serum component with trypanocidal activity.
The present case, a previously healthy Vietnamese woman aged 38 years with no APOL1 deficiency, first presented to a health care facility with 18 days of fever, headache and arthralgia. She had no history of travel to any regions where T. evansi has been observed. Although initially treated for malaria, microscopic examination of blood samples revealed unicellular flagellate protozoa with the morphology of Trypanosoma. The patient received a treatment reported to have trypanocidal activity for 7 days, but returned with symptoms 6 weeks after discharge and subsequently treated with a first-line anti-trypanosomal treatment and eventually recovered with no complications.
********
|
|
