Isolation and determination of Vibrio spp. pathogen from hemorrhagic disease in Sciaenops ocellatus in cage culture

In this study, 18 strains of Vibrio bacteria were identified from 27 samples of Red drum fish (Sciaenops ocellatus) suffering from the haemorrhagic disease from cage culture in Vietnam. The bacterial strains were identified with the 16S rRNA sequencing method and checked for morphological, physiological, and biochemical characteristics by using the API 20E KIT. Twelve strains of V. alginolyticus, three strains of V. fluvialis, and three strains of V. orientalis were recorded. All Vibrio strains have gene similarities with those on the gene bank ranging from 98 to 100%. The biochemical characteristics of these 18 isolates were similar. These bacteria are susceptible to tetracycline and doxycycline and entirely resistant to ampicillin, amoxicillin, and erythromycin.

Parents' knowledge of neonatal transitory conditions and their expectations of the midwife

Introduction The neonatal period is the period of the child's adaptation to life outside the mother's body. The child has to adapt to the changes taking place in its body. After delivery, the new-born baby is assessed according to the Apgar scale. Objective of the study The objective of the study was to assess the parents' knowledge of the transitory conditions of neonates and to identify their expectations towards medical personnel. Material and methods 248 women participated in the study. Inhabitants of large cities accounted for 64.5% of the respondents and 16.2% of the respondents were inhabitants of rural areas. Women aged over 35 accounted for 46.8% of patients, 19.3% were patients between the ages of 26 and 30. Patients between the ages of 30 and 35 also accounted for 19.3%. Patients under 25 years of age accounted for 14.6%. The Bioethics Committee approved the project. Statistical analysis was performed with the use of the Statistica computer program. Results 81% of women displayed knowledge about the duration of the neonatal period. 62% of the respondents knew the effect of vitamin K in preventing the occurrence of haemorrhagic disease in the neonate. Half of the women prefer to feed on demand. A big problem among women in childbed is the lack of access to a psychologist. Conclusions Parents cannot recognize transitory conditions in a neonate. Antenatal education of future mothers influences their pro-health behaviour. Parents source their knowledge from their family, friends, guides and books.

The first reported cases of elephant endotheliotropic herpesvirus infectious haemorrhagic disease in Malaysia: case report

Background Elephant endotheliotropic herpesvirus haemorrhagic disease (EEHV HD) is the leading cause of death in captive Asian elephant calves in Asia, North America, and Europe with a mortality rate of ~ 65% in calves that are under human care. Although EEHV HD was first found in elephant camps, more recently it was identified in wild populations which poses a greater threat to the elephant population. Deaths due to EEHV HD have been seen in wild elephants, but the in-situ prevalence and mortality rate is unknown. We report the first EEHV HD cases in Malaysia from 3 wild born endangered Bornean elephant calves from Sabah with known typical clinical signs. Case presentation The first calf died within 24 h of the onset of clinical signs; the second calf died within 12 h of the onset of clinical signs. The third calf succumbed within 72 h. Necropsies revealed that all 3 calves had similar presentations of EEHV HD but in the third calf with less severity. We conducted conventional polymerase chain reaction (cPCR) assays and found EEHV DNA at all 7 loci in the 3 calves; it was identified as EEHV1A, the virus type that has been found in most other reported cases. Conclusion Typical EEHV HD clinical signs and the molecular confirmation of EEHV by cPCR and sequencing point to EEHV as the cause of death. Further genetic investigation of the strain is in progress.

African Swine Fever Virus (ASFV): Biology, Genomics and Genotypes Circulating in Sub-Saharan Africa

African swine fever (ASF) is a highly infectious and fatal haemorrhagic disease of pigs that is caused by a complex DNA virus of the genus Asfivirus and Asfarviridae African suids family. The disease is among the most devastating pig diseases worldwide including Africa. Although the disease was first reported in the 19th century, it has continued to spread in Africa and other parts of the world. Globally, the rising demand for pork and concomitant increase in transboundary movements of pigs and pork products is likely to increase the risk of transmission and spread of ASF and pose a major challenge to the pig industry. Different genotypes of the ASF virus (ASFV) with varying virulence have been associated with different outbreaks in several countries in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) and worldwide, and understanding genotype circulation will be important for ASF prevention and control strategies. ASFV genotypes unique to Africa have also been reported in SSA. This review briefly recounts the biology, genomics and genotyping of ASFV and provides an account of the different genotypes circulating in SSA. The review also highlights prevention, control and progress on vaccine development and identifies gaps in knowledge of ASFV genotype circulation in SSA that need to be addressed.

Assessing the introduction risk of vector-borne animal diseases for the Netherlands using MINTRISK: A Model for INTegrated RISK assessment

To evaluate and compare the risk of emerging vector-borne diseases (VBDs), a Model for INTegrated RISK assessment, MINTRISK, was developed to assess the introduction risk of VBDs for new regions in an objective, transparent and repeatable manner. MINTRISK is a web-based calculation tool, that provides semi-quantitative risk scores that can be used for prioritization purposes. Input into MINTRISK is entered by answering questions regarding entry, transmission, establishment, spread, persistence and impact of a selected VBD. Answers can be chosen from qualitative answer categories with accompanying quantitative explanation to ensure consistent answering. The quantitative information is subsequently used as input for the model calculations to estimate the risk for each individual step in the model and for the summarizing output values (rate of introduction; epidemic size; overall risk). The risk assessor can indicate his uncertainty on each answer, and this is accounted for by Monte Carlo simulation. MINTRISK was used to assess the risk of four VBDs (African horse sickness, epizootic haemorrhagic disease, Rift Valley fever, and West Nile fever) for the Netherlands with the aim to prioritise these diseases for preparedness. Results indicated that the overall risk estimate was very high for all evaluated diseases but epizootic haemorrhagic disease. Uncertainty intervals were, however, wide limiting the options for ranking of the diseases. Risk profiles of the VBDs differed. Whereas all diseases were estimated to have a very high economic impact once introduced, the estimated introduction rates differed from low for Rift Valley fever and epizootic haemorrhagic disease to moderate for African horse sickness and very high for West Nile fever. Entry of infected mosquitoes on board of aircraft was deemed the most likely route of introduction for West Nile fever into the Netherlands, followed by entry of infected migratory birds.

Development of a Novel Loop Mediated Isothermal Amplification Assay (LAMP) for the Rapid Detection of Epizootic Haemorrhagic Disease Virus

Epizootic haemorragic disease (EHD) is an important disease of white-tailed deer and can cause a bluetongue-like illness in cattle. A definitive diagnosis of EHD relies on molecular assays such as real-time RT-qPCR or conventional PCR. Reverse transcription loop-mediated isothermal amplification (RT-LAMP) is a cost-effective, specific, and sensitive technique that provides an alternative to RT-qPCR. We designed two sets of specific primers targeting segment-9 of the EHD virus genome to enable the detection of western and eastern topotypes, and evaluated their performance in singleplex and multiplex formats using cell culture isolates (n = 43), field specimens (n = 20), and a proficiency panel (n = 10). The limit of detection of the eastern and western RT-LAMP assays was estimated as ~24.36 CT and as ~29.37 CT in relation to real-time RT-qPCR, respectively, indicating a greater sensitivity of the western topotype singleplex RT-LAMP. The sensitivity of the western topotype RT-LAMP assay, relative to the RT-qPCR assay, was 72.2%, indicating that it could be theoretically used to detect viraemic cervines and bovines. For the first time, an RT-LAMP assay was developed for the rapid detection of the EHD virus that could be used as either a field test or high throughput screening tool in established laboratories to control the spread of EHD.

First detected case of rabbit Haemorrhagic disease virus 2 (RHDV2) in the Irish hare (Lepus timidus hibernicus)

Background Rabbit haemorrhagic disease virus (RHDV) is a Lagovirus, a subgroup of the family Caliciviridae. RHDV2 is a variant first described in France in 2010, and has since spread globally. It has been reported in several Lagomorph species (rabbits, hares, and their relatives) as well as other mammals including voles and shrews. The disease has raised international concerns for its potential impact on population abundance trajectories, particularly as 25% of Lagomorphs are currently Red-Listed by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN). The Irish hare (Lepus timidus hibernicus) is a subspecies of the mountain hare, L. timidus, and is endemic to Ireland, making it an Evolutionarily Significant Unit of intrinsic value. Case presentation The first case of RHDV2 was detected in a wild Irish hare in July 2019. The individual exhibited atypical neurological behaviour (running in circles) prior to death. On necropsy, pink tinged foam was seen in the trachea and congestion was noted in the lungs, but there was no evidence of haemorrhages in any other organ. Both the liver and spleen were tested by reverse transcription real time qPCR confirming high levels of RHDV2 RNA. Histopathology confirmed multifocal necrotising hepatitis. Conclusion The Irish hare is susceptible to RHDV2 infection. Further investigation is warranted to explore the clinical, epidemiological, and population biology implications.