Demographic and Ecological Survey of Dog Population in Aba, Abia State, Nigeria

Dog ecology is essential in understanding the distribution, structure, and population density of dogs and pattern of dog ownership in any given area. A cross-sectional study was designed to study dog ecology in Aba, Abia state, Nigeria, from April to June 2013. The study revealed that the 500 households surveyed possessed 5,823 individuals and 747 dogs, giving a dog to human ratio of 1 : 7.8; hence dog population in Aba was estimated to be 68,121. About 495/747 (66.3%) of the dogs were exotic and 465/747 (62.2%) were males. A total of 319/500 (63.8%) of the households had fences that restrained dog movement and there was no incidence of dog bite in 447/500 (89.4%) of the households surveyed. There were statistical associations between vaccination against antirabies and breeds of dogs (χ2=79.8, df=2, P<0.005). Exotic breed (adjusted OR=0.39; CI=0.23–0.65) and local breed of dogs (adjusted OR=0.08; CI=0.04–0.14) had less odds of being vaccinated as compared to crossbreed of dogs. About 126 dogs (2.5 dogs per street) were estimated from street counts survey. The relative high dog to human ratio and low vaccination coverage of owned dogs population pose public health concerns requiring adequate public health education and proper antirabies vaccination coverage of dogs in the study area.

Culturable Aerobic and Facultative Anaerobic Intestinal Bacterial Flora of Black Cobra (Naja naja karachiensis) in Southern Pakistan

Using morphological analysis and biochemical testing, here for the first time, we determined the culturable gut bacterial flora (aerobes and facultative anaerobes) in the venomous Black Cobra (Naja naja karachiensis) from South Asia. The findings revealed that these snakes inhabit potentially pathogenic bacteria including Serratia marcescens, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Shewanella putrefaciens, Aeromonas hydrophila, Salmonella sp., Moraxella sp., Bacillus sp., Ochrobactrum anthropi, and Providencia rettgeri. These findings are of concern, as injury from snake bite can result in wound infections and tissue necrosis leading to sepsis/necrotizing fasciitis and/or expose consumers of snake meat/medicine in the community to infections.

Malignancy Associated MicroRNA Expression Changes in Canine Mammary Cancer of Different Malignancies

MicroRNA has been suspected to be generally involved in carcinogenesis since their first description. A first study supported this assumption for canine mammary tumors when miRNA expression was compared to normal gland. The present study extends these results by comparing the expression of 16 microRNA (miRNA) and 4 small nucleolar RNA (snoRNA) in tumors of different malignancy, for example, adenomas, nonmetastasizing and metastasizing carcinomas as well as lymph node metastases, with each other and with normal mammary gland. All neoplastic tissues differed in their miR-210 expression levels from normal gland. While metastatic cells differed in their expression of mir-29b, miR-101, mir-125a, miR-143, and miR-145 from primary tumors, the comparison of miRNA expression in primary tumors of different malignancy failed to reveal significant differences except for a significant downregulation of mir-125a in metastasizing carcinomas when compared to adenomas.

Seroprevalence of Bluetongue Virus in Dairy Herds with Reproductive Problems in Sudan

The objectives of this cross-sectional study were to determine the seroprevalence of blue tongue virus (BTV) and assess potential risk factors associated with BTV infection in dairy cattle with reproductive problems in Sudan. Serum samples were collected from a total of 784 animals from 37 herds and tested for antibodies against BTV using cELISA. A total of 663 out of 784 (84.57%) sera tested proved positive for BTV antibodies in all farms tested in Khartoum and Gazira States. The prevalence of antibodies was high in both areas being 94.32% in Gazira State and 76.62% in Khartoum State. BTV antibodies prevalence were significantly higher (P<0.000) in older animals than in younger ones. These rates were also significantly higher in the rainy season (P<0.000) and in Gazira State compared to Khartoum State. Sex also showed significant (P<0.000) differences in the seroprevalence, whereby females (74.7%) had higher level than males (9.8%). However, no significant (P>0.09) variations for BTV seroprevalence were observed between breeds. The BTV antibodies prevalence in infertility cases (86.6%) was not significantly different from that found in abortion (74.3%) or neonatal death (66.7%) cases. The high seroprevalence of BTV recorded herein calls for control strategy to be implemented.

Influence of Albizia lebbeck Saponin and Its Fractions on In Vitro Gas Production Kinetics, Rumen Methanogenesis, and Rumen Fermentation Characteristics

The present study was undertaken to investigate the effect of crude seed powder (CSP) and gross saponins extract (GSE) of seeds of Albizia lebbeck on antimicrobial activity by taking two Gram-positive (Staphylococcus aureus and Bacillus cereus), two Gram-negative (Escherichia coli and Salmonella Typhi) bacteria, and two fungi species (Aspergillus niger and Candida butyric) were taken at 25, 50, 100, 250, and 500 µg levels using agar well diffusion method. Zone of inhibition was increased with increasing of concentration of CSP and saponins which indicates that Gram-negative bacteria (E. coli), Gram-positive bacteria (B. cereus), and A. niger were significantly susceptible to inhibition. Another experiment was conducted to study the effect of GSE and saponins fraction A and B of A. lebbeck supplementation at 6% on DM basis on methane production and other rumen fermentation parameters using in vitro gas production test, by taking three different type diets, that is, high fiber diet (D1, 60R : 40C), medium fiber diet (D2, 50R : 50C), and low fiber diet (D3, 40R : 60C). Significant (P≤0.05) increase was seen in IVDMD, methane production; however ammonia nitrogen concentration decreased as compared to control. The methane production was reduced in a range between 12 and 49% by saponin supplemented diets except in case of GSE in D2. Sap A showed the highest methane reduction per 200 mg of truly digested substrate (TDS) than other treatment groups. Results in relation with quantification of methanogens and protozoa by qPCR indicated the decreasing trend with saponins of A. lebbek in comparison with control except total methanogen quantified using mcr-A based primer.

Expression and Regulation of Facilitative Glucose Transporters in Equine Insulin-Sensitive Tissue: From Physiology to Pathology

Glucose uptake is the rate-limiting step in glucose utilization in mammalians and is tightly regulated by a family of specialized proteins, called the facilitated glucose transporters (GLUTs/SLC2). GLUT4, the major isoform in insulin-responsive tissue, translocates from an intracellular pool to the cell surface and as such determines insulin-stimulated glucose uptake. However, despite intensive research over 50 years, the insulin-dependent and -independent pathways that mediate GLUT4 translocation are not fully elucidated in any species. Insulin resistance (IR) is one of the hallmarks of equine metabolic syndrome and is the most common metabolic predisposition for laminitis in horses. IR is characterized by the impaired ability of insulin to stimulate glucose disposal into insulin-sensitive tissues. Similar to other species, the functional capability of the insulin-responsive GLUTs is impaired in muscle and adipose tissue during IR in horses. However, the molecular mechanisms of altered glucose transport remain elusive in all species, and there is still much to learn about the physiological and pathophysiological functions of the GLUT family members, especially in regard to class III. Since GLUTs are key regulators of whole-body glucose homeostasis, they have received considerable attention as potential therapeutic targets to treat metabolic disorders in human and equine patients.

Do Handling and Transport Stress Influence Adrenocortical Response in the Tortoises (Testudo hermanni)?

The goal of this study was to analyze circulating cortisol levels from tortoises (Testudo hermanni) to establish reference intervals and to develop guidelines for the interpretation of the effect of handling and transport stress. Blood samples were obtained from the caudal venous from 23 healthy juvenile tortoises (9 males and 14 females), aged 8–20 years, in basal condition, four weeks prior to and four weeks following handling and short transportation. The study was carried out on the experimental group: 10 tortoises, 4 males and 6 females, and on a control group: 13 tortoises, 5 males and 8 females. Compared to basal values, circulating cortisol concentrations was higher after handling and transport (+286%; P<0.001), with an increase of +246% (P<0.001) in males, +236% (P<0.005) in females, +370% (P<0.005) in subjects aged 8–12 years, and +240% (P<0.001) in subjects aged 13–20 years. These observations support the hypotheses that cortisol may act to mediate the effects of handling and transport stress in this species and that four weeks following handling and transport were insufficient to restore their homeostasis.

Genetic Characterization of Infectious Bursal Disease Viruses Associated with Gumboro Outbreaks in Commercial Broilers from Asyut Province, Egypt

Ten infectious bursal disease virus (IBDV) field strains were isolated from 15 broiler flocks located in various parts of Asyut, Egypt. Seven strains were subjected to comparative sequencing and phylogenetic analyses to help provide optimal control program for protection against IBDV infection. Sequence analysis of a 530 bp hypervariable region in the VP2 gene revealed that the rate of identity and homology was around 95.6~99.1%. Sequence characterization revealed the 7 strains identified as vvIBDV with the four amino acids residues typical of vvIBDV (242I, 256I, 294I, 299S). The BURSA-VAC vaccine was the nearest vaccine in sequence similarity to the local examined IBDV strains followed by CEVACIBDL then Bursine plus and Nobilis Gumboro indicating its probable success in the face of incoming outbreaks when using these vaccines. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that the presence of three clusters for the examined strains and are grouped with reference very virulent IBDVs of European and Asian origin (Japanese and Hong Kong) strains suggesting the different ancestors of our isolates. The antigenic index showed a number of changes on the major and minor hydrophilic antigenic peaks of the virus surface structures indicating a new genetic evolution of the surface structure epitopes that may lead to vaccination failure and reemergence of the disease.

A Serological Survey of Akabane Virus Infection in Cattle in Sudan

A cross-sectional survey was carried out in ten states in Sudan to determine seroprevalence and to assess risk factors associated with Akabane virus (AKAV) infection in dairy herds. Serum samples were collected from a total of 361 dairy cattle and tested for antibodies against AKAV using ELISA. The prevalence rates of AKAV antibodies in cattle varied between 69.6% in Khartoum state and 3.3% in Sennar State with an overall prevalence rate of 29.4%. The prevalence rates of AKAV antibodies were significantly associated with breed being high in crossbred (39.9%; P<0.001); female sex (33%; P<0.001), and animals in the age group of 2-3 years old (45.3%; P<0.001). Akabane virus antibodies prevalence was also highly associated with locality (P<0.001); season being high in winter season (58.1%; P<0.001); and animals raised under intensive management system (37%; P<0.001). Among 68 cases suffering from reproductive (abortion and infertility) problems the prevalence rate of AKAV antibodies in animals with infertility problem (76.2%; P<0.03) was significantly higher than in animals with abortion (48.9%). The study revealed that AKAV infection is highly prevalent in dairy cattle in Sudan and this calls for control strategy to be implemented.

Efficacy of Cefpodoxime with Clavulanic Acid in the Treatment of Recurrent Pyoderma in Dogs

In the present study on recurrent pyoderma, dogs with a history of more than three episodes of skin infections in a period of one year were selected. The associated conditions and (or) underlying factors revealed upon thorough investigation were demodicosis, Malassezia dermatitis, flea infestation, hypothyroidism, keratinization disorder (seborrhea), combination of Malassezia dermatitis and tick infestation, and a combination of scabies and tick infestation. Therapy was given with cefpodoxime with clavulanic acid along with appropriate simultaneous medication for the underlying associated conditions. In all the cases response to therapy was excellent. Improvement was noticed by 9 to 19 days and 17 to 21 days in recurrent superficial and deep pyoderma, respectively. In one dog, relapse occurred by 45 days due to the associated condition of hypothyroidism which was confirmed through laboratory findings. Cefpodoxime with clavulanic acid proved to be an effective, safe, and convenient antibiotic for the treatment of recurrent pyoderma in dogs without any side effects.