Intestinal impaction by Parascaris equorum in Caspian miniature horse in Kerman, Iran

Caspian miniature horses are extremely rare and have barely survived. The large roundworm of horses, Parascaris equorum, is an important cosmopolitan nematode parasite of foals. Two Caspian miniature horses (3 and 5 years old) from one herd with clinical sings of colic were referred to hospital of Veterinary Medicine Faculty of Kerman University, from July 2008 to March 2009. Fecal samples were taken from each horse and examined with the Cornell-McMaster dilution technique. Parascaris eggs were observed, counted, and the eggs per gram feces were calculated. At necropsy, the carcasses were cachexic, and there were massive burden of P. equorum in the small intestine.     

Association between serum copper concentration and the risk of bovine leptospirosis

Leptospirosis is a zoonotic disease found in nearly all parts of the world. This disease is exacerbated by a weakened immune system. Copper is an important component of the immune system. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of copper deficiency on leptospirosis occurrence. A total of 260 serum samples were randomly collected from eight industrial and semi-industrial dairy farms from center and southeast of Iran. Microscopic agglutination test to check leptospirosis was performed. Serum copper level was analyzed using an atomic absorption spectrometer. Fifty-eight serum samples had detectable antibodies against at least one serovar of Leptospira interrogans at a dilution of ≥1:100, and among the positive cows, 55 samples were copper deficient. In contrast, there were 202 serologically negative subjects, 29 of these samples had copper deficiency. Copper deficiency can weaken immunity and thus exacerbate the incidence of leptospirosis.     

In vitro anti-leishmanial activity of methanolic extracts of Calendula officinalis flowers,Datura stramonium seeds,and Salvia officinalis leaves

AIM： The anti-leishmanial activity of methanolic extracts of Calendula officinalis flowers, Datura stramonium seeds, and Salvia officina- lis leaves against extracellular （promastigote） and intracellular （amastigote） forms of Leishmania major were evaluated in this study. METHOD： In the first stage, promastigote forms of L. major, were treated with different doses of the plant extracts in a 96-well tis- sue-culture microplate and IC50 values for each extract were measured with colorimetric MTT assay. In the second stage, macrophage cells were infected with L. major promastigotes. Infected macrophages were treated with plant extracts. Then the macrophages were stained with Gimsa and the number of infected macrophages and amastigotes were counted with a light microscope. RESULTS： The results indicated that the plant extracts inhibited the growth of promastigotes and amastigotes of L. major. Inhibi- tory concentrations （ICs0） for promastigote assay were 108.19, 155.15, and 184.32 μg-mL ^-1 for C. officinalis flowers, D. stramo- nium seeds and S. officinalis, respectively. The extracts also reduced the number of amastigotes in macrophage cells from 264 for control group to 88, 97, and 102 for test groups. Although the anti-leishmanial activity of the extracts were not comparable with the standard drug, miltefosine; but they showed significant efficiency in reducing the number of amastigotes in macrophages, in com- parison with the control group （P 〈 0.001）. These plant extracts had lower toxicity compared with miltefosine. CONCLUSION： This study demonstrates the potential efficacy of the methanolic extracts of C. officinalis flowers, D. stramonium seeds, and S. officinalis leaves to control of cutaneous leishmaniasis.     

Detection of leptospiral antibodies by microscopic agglutination test in north-east of Iran

Objective

To detect leptospiral antibodies by microscopic agglutination test (MAT) in north-east of Iran.

Methods

This study was conducted to evaluate prevalence of human leptospiral infections by MAT, using six current reference strains of Leptospira interrogans in north-east of Iran. A total of 285 serum samples were collected from three north-east provinces of Iran, from December, 2009 to June, 2010.

Results

Antibodies were detected at least against one serovar of Leptospira interrogans in 45 sera (15.79 %) among 285 samples at a dilution 1:100 or greater. Positive titers against more than one serovar were detected in 24 sera of the positive samples. Therefore, there were 75 positive reactions against different serovar of Leptospira interrogans. Positive titers were recorded against serovar icterohaemorrhagiae (31 samples), hardjo (26 samples), grippotyphosa (7 samples), pomona (5 samples), canicola (4 samples) and ballum (2 sample).

Conclusions

In present study the most prevalent (Leptospira icterohaemorrhagiae) and the least prevalent (Leptospira ballum) serovar are different from previous studies. Maybe, species and prevalence of serovars change during the time in one area and between regions.     

Subclinical copper poisoning in asymptomatic people in residential area near copper smelting complex

ObjectiveDuring an outbreak of industrial chronic copper poisoning at least 10 000 sheep died in Kerman, Iran in 2009. Therefore present study was carried out to evaluate the prevalence of subclinical copper toxicosis in asymptomatic people in residential area near copper smelting complex.MethodsA total of 120 serum samples were collected from randomly selected individuals during June to December, 2011.ResultsThe data obtained revealed that serum levels of AST, ALT and ALP were significantly increased in 7.50%, 4.16% and 5.84% of cases respectively. Results showed that serum levels of copper and ceruloplasmin were significantly increased in 4.16% and 5% of cases as well.ConclusionsFindings of the study revealed that health hazards increased with closeness to the copper mine and smelting complex.     

First report on methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus of Spa type T037, Sequence type 239, SCCmec type III/IIIA in Malaysia

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) from Malaysia were shown to possess staphylococcal cassette chromosome mec (SCCmec)-III and IIIA. Spa sequencing and multi-locus sequence typing (MLST) documented t037 and ST 239 (CC8) for 83.3% of the isolates. This confirms observations in several other Far Eastern countries and corroborates the epidemicity of this clone.     

Frequency of anti-Coxiella burnetii antibodies in cattle with reproductive disorders

In this serological study, Q fever was detected in dairy cattle with reproductive problems. A total of 161 sera (74 samples from 9 dairy cattle with reproductive problems and 87 sera from 10 apparently healthy cattle herds) were collected randomly. The CHEKIT Q fever ELISA kit (IDEXX) was used to identify specific antibodies against Coxiella burnetii in dairy cattle. The results showed that 51.35% of dairy cattle with reproductive problems and 10.3% cattle without problems were positive (P?<?0.05). This first serosurvey suggests coxiellosis is an important cause in cattle with reproductive problems, and the disease may cause abortion and other reproductive problems in cattle.