Trypanosomiasis is caused by a pathogenic protozoan of the genus Trypanosoma, being Trypanosoma vivax the most important agent for cattle. The aim of the present study was to demonstrate the expansion of T. vivax infection in different mesoregions of Minas Gerais, Brazil, and describe the clinicopathological findings of trypanosomiasis in cattle. The diagnosis was based on visualization of the parasite in blood smears and DNA detection of T. vivax in the blood of live cows and tissues of necropsied animals by the polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Thirty suspected herds were tested, of which 11 were positive for T. vivax. The most frequent clinical signs were anemia, apathy, drop in milk production, weight loss, reproductive disorders, and nervous signs. Concomitant diseases, such as malignant edema, pneumonia and increased cases of mastitis were associated with T. vivax infection. Three cows were necropsied and the most significant findings were low body condition score, pale mucous and spleen with white pulp hyperplasia. The results demonstrated the expansion of T. vivax infection in Minas Gerais, that PCR-associated blood smears are promising for diagnosis, and that other diseases often occur concomitantly to T. vivax infection in regions with trypanosomiasis in cattle.
Anemia ; Animals ; Apathy ; Brazil ; Cattle ; Diagnosis ; DNA ; Edema ; Female ; Hyperplasia ; Mastitis ; Milk ; Parasites ; Parasitic Diseases ; Pneumonia ; Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Ruminants ; Spleen ; Trypanosoma vivax ; Trypanosoma ; Trypanosomiasis ; Weight Loss

Bovine mastitis (BM) has resulted in enormous economic loss in the dairy industry and coagulase-negative staphylococci (CNS) have caused subclinical BM. Although VITEK 2 GP ID card (VITEK 2) has been used for CNS identification, the probability of identification varies. The rpoB sequence typing (RSTing) method has been used for molecular diagnosis and epidemiology of bacterial infections. In this study, we undertook RSTing of CNS and compared the results with those of VITEK2 and 16S rRNA gene sequencing. As compared VITEK2, the molecular-based methods were more reliable for species identification; moreover, RSTing provided more molecular epidemiological information than that from 16S rRNA gene sequencing.
Animals ; Bacterial Infections ; Cattle ; Diagnosis ; Epidemiology ; Female ; Genes, rRNA ; Mastitis, Bovine ; Methods

This study was aimed to disclose the prevalence rate of tick-borne pathogens from ticks collected from cattle and wild animals in Tanzania in 2012. Ticks were collected from slaughtered cattle and dead wild animals from November 5 to December 23, 2012 and identified. PCR for detecting Anaplasmataceae, Piroplamidae, Rickettsiaceae, Borrelia spp., and Coxiella spp. were done. Among those tested, Rickettsiaceae, Piroplasmidae, and Anaplasmataceae, were detected in ticks from the 2 regions. Rickettsiaceae represented the major tick-borne pathogens of the 2 regions. Ticks from animals in Maswa were associated with a higher pathogen detection rate compared to that in ticks from Iringa. In addition, a higher pathogen detection rate was observed in ticks infesting cattle than in ticks infesting wild animals. All examined ticks of the genus Amblyomma were infected with diverse pathogens. Ticks of the genera Rhipicephalus and Hyalomma were infected with 1 or 2 pathogens. Collectively, this study provides important information regarding differences in pathogen status among various regions, hosts, and tick species in Tanzania. Results in this study will affect the programs to prevent tick-borne diseases (TBD) of humans and livestock in Tanzania.
Anaplasmataceae ; Animals ; Animals, Wild ; Borrelia ; Cattle ; Coxiella ; Humans ; Livestock ; Piroplasmida ; Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Prevalence ; Rhipicephalus ; Rickettsiaceae ; Tanzania ; Tick-Borne Diseases ; Ticks

Arthropod-borne viruses (Arboviruses) are transmitted by arthropods such as Culicoides biting midges and cause abortion, stillbirth, and congenital malformation in ruminants, apparently leading to economic losses to farmers. To monitor the distribution of Culicoides and to determine their relationship with different environmental conditions (temperature, humidity, wind speed, and altitude of the farms) on 5 cattle farms, Culicoides were collected during summer season (May-September) in 2016 and 2017, and analyzed for identification of species and detection of arboviruses. About 35% of the Culicoides were collected in July and the collection rate increased with increase in temperature and humidity. The higher altitude where the farms were located, the more Culicoides were collected on inside than outside. In antigen test of Culicoides against 5 arboviruses, only Chuzan virus (CHUV) (2.63%) was detected in 2016. The Akabane virus (AKAV), CHUV, Ibaraki virus and Bovine ephemeral fever virus (BEFV) had a positive rate of less than 1.8% in 2017. In antigen test of bovine whole blood, AKAV (12.96%) and BEFV (0.96%) were positive in only one of the farms. As a result of serum neutralization test, antibodies against AKAV were generally measured in all the farms. These results suggest that vaccination before the season in which the Culicoides are active is probably best to prevent arbovirus infections.
Agriculture ; Altitude ; Animals ; Antibodies ; Arbovirus Infections ; Arboviruses ; Arthropods ; Cattle ; Ceratopogonidae ; Ephemeral Fever Virus, Bovine ; Farmers ; Humidity ; Jeollabuk-do ; Korea ; Neutralization Tests ; Palyam Virus ; Ruminants ; Seasons ; Stillbirth ; Vaccination ; Wind

Bovine tuberculosis is a chronic contagious disease responsible for major agricultural economic losses. Abattoir monitoring and trace-back systems are an appropriate method to control bovine tuberculosis, particularly in beef cattle. In the present study, a trace-back system was applied to bovine tuberculosis cases in Korean native Hanwoo beef cattle. Bovine tuberculosis was detected in three index beef cattle during abattoir monitoring in Jeonbuk Province, Korea, and the original herds were traced back from each index cow. All cattle in each original herd were subjected to tuberculin skin test. The positive rates in the tuberculin skin test were 64.6% (62 of 96), 4.8% (2 of 42), and 8.1% (3 of 37) at farms A, B, and C, respectively. On post-mortem examination of 56 tuberculin-positive cattle, 62% had granulomatous lesions, and Mycobacterium bovis was cultured from 40 (71.4%) of the cattle. Molecular typing by spoligotyping and the mycobacterial interspersed repetitive unit-variable-number tandem repeat assay revealed the genotype of the M. bovis strains from the index cattle were same as the M. bovis genotype in each original herd. The results suggest that tracing back from index cattle to the original herd is an effective method to control bovine tuberculosis in beef cattle.
Abattoirs ; Agriculture ; Animals ; Autopsy ; Cattle ; Disease Outbreaks ; Genotype ; Jeollabuk-do ; Korea ; Methods ; Molecular Typing ; Mycobacterium bovis ; Red Meat ; Skin Tests ; Tandem Repeat Sequences ; Tuberculin ; Tuberculosis, Bovine

Herpesvirus infections in Cervidae are a serious threat affecting some deer species worldwide. In our attempt to identify malignant catarrhal fever-associated herpesviruses in deer herds, ten gammaherpesviral DNA fragments were identified in five species of deer in herds in China by using a pan-herpesvirus polymerase chain reaction assay targeting viral DNA polymerase. Notably, in sambar (Rusa unicolor), a novel gamma-2 herpesvirus was identified that showed a close relationship with fallow deer lymphotropic herpesvirus (LHV), while the other fragments were phylogenetically grouped together with Elk-LHV. Determination of whether these viruses have any clinical implication in these deer species should be undertaken urgently.
Animals ; Cattle ; China ; Deer ; DNA ; DNA, Viral ; Herpesviridae Infections ; Herpesviridae ; Malignant Catarrh ; Polymerase Chain Reaction

Staphylococcus aureus is one of the major pathogens causing bovine mastitis and foodborne diseases associated with dairy products. To determine the genetic relationships between human and bovine or bovine isolates of S. aureus, various molecular methods have been used. Previously we developed an rpoB sequence typing (RSTing) method for molecular differentiation of S. aureus isolates and identification of RpoB-related antibiotic resistance. In this study, we performed spa typing and RSTing with 84 isolates from mastitic cows (22 farms, 72 cows, and 84 udders) and developed a molecular prophage typing (mPPTing) method for molecular epidemiological analysis of bovine mastitis. To compare the results, human isolates from patients (n = 14) and GenBank (n = 166) were used for real and in silico RSTing and mPPTing, respectively. Based on the results, RST10-2 and RST4-1 were the most common rpoB sequence types (RSTs) in cows and humans, respectively, and most isolates from cows and humans clearly differed. Antibiotic resistance-related RSTs were not detected in the cow isolates. A single dominant prophage type and gradual evolution through prophage acquisition were apparent in most of the tested farms. Thus, RSTing and mPPTing are informative, simple, and economic methods for molecular epidemiological analysis of S. aureus infections.
Agriculture ; Animals ; Cattle ; Computer Simulation ; Dairy Products ; Databases, Nucleic Acid ; Drug Resistance, Microbial ; Female ; Foodborne Diseases ; Humans ; Mastitis, Bovine ; Methods ; Molecular Epidemiology ; Prophages ; Staphylococcus aureus ; Staphylococcus

Johne's disease (JD) is a chronic, debilitating disease of ruminants including cows, and is caused by Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis (MAP). MAP is not only important in animal husbandry, but also in public health as it is associated with the onset of Crohn's disease, a chronic inflammatory bowel disease in humans. JD, like other mycobacterial diseases including tuberculosis, is classified into different stages based on the progression of infection. In addition, development of diagnostic assays that can distinguish between subclinical and clinical stages of JD is essential to control mycobacterial infection by providing an effective treatment. For the development of novel diagnostic methods of JD, it is important to investigate and understand the mRNA expression of the various immune markers in individuals at each stage of infection. In this study, we measured the levels of Th1-type chemokines, CXCR3, CCL4, CCL5, CXCL9, CXCL10, and CXCL11 in MAP-infected bovine blood by interferon (IFN)-γ release assay (IGRA) using IFN-γ as an alternative biomarker. The association of mRNA expression patterns of these chemokines with the MAP infection stages was analyzed and IFN-γ, CCL5, and CXCL10 were found to be significantly upregulated compared to IFN-γ, the biomarker used in IGRA. Our results further indicate that IFN-γ levels significantly increased in individuals with MAP-specific antibody, and CCL5 and CXCL10 levels significantly increased in those with MAP DNA. In particular, CCL5 was significantly upregulated in individuals, in which both MAP-specific antibody and MAP DNA were detected, but the expression of CXCL10 was specifically elevated in MAP DNA-detected individuals without MAP-specific antibody.
Animal Husbandry ; Animals ; Biomarkers ; Cattle* ; Chemokines* ; Crohn Disease ; DNA ; Gene Expression* ; Humans ; Inflammatory Bowel Diseases ; Interferons ; Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis ; Mycobacterium avium* ; Mycobacterium* ; Paratuberculosis ; Public Health ; RNA, Messenger ; Ruminants ; Transcriptome* ; Tuberculosis

Objective: To understand the etiological characteristics and drug susceptibility of Mycobacterium thermoresistibile and Mycobacterium elephantis isolated from a cow with mastitis and provide evidence for the prevention and control of infectious mastitis in cows. Methods: The milk sample was collected from a cow with mastitis, which was pretreated with 4% NaOH and inoculated with L-J medium for Mycobacterium isolation. The positive cultures were initially identified by acid-fast staining and multi-loci PCR, then Mycobacterium species was identified by the multiple loci sequence analysis (MLSA) with 16S rRNA, hsp65, ITS and SodA genes. The drug sensitivity of the isolates to 27 antibiotics was tested by alamar blue assay. Results: Two anti-acid stain positive strains were isolated from the milk of a cow with mastitis, which were identified as non-tuberculosis mycobacterium by multi-loci PCR, and multi-loci nucleic acid sequence analysis indicated that one strain was Mycobacterium thermoresistibile and another one was Mycobacterium elephantis. The results of the drug susceptibility test showed that the two strains were resistant to most antibiotics, including rifampicin and isoniazid, but they were sensitive to amikacin, moxifloxacin, levofloxacin, ethambutol, streptomycin, tobramycin, ciprofloxacin and linezolid. Conclusions:Mycobacterium thermoresistibile and Mycobacterium elephantis were isolated in a cow with mastitis and the drug susceptibility spectrum of the pathogens were unique. The results of the study can be used as reference for the prevention and control the infection in cows.
Animals ; Anti-Bacterial Agents/pharmacology* ; Antitubercular Agents/pharmacology* ; Cattle ; Drug Resistance, Bacterial ; Female ; Humans ; Mastitis, Bovine/microbiology* ; Microbial Sensitivity Tests ; Milk/microbiology* ; Mycobacterium/isolation & purification* ; Mycobacterium Infections/veterinary* ; Mycobacterium tuberculosis/drug effects* ; Nontuberculous Mycobacteria/isolation & purification* ; Polymerase Chain Reaction ; RNA, Ribosomal, 16S/genetics*

Tick-borne pathogens can cause serious problems in grazing cattle. However, little information is available on tick-mediated diseases in cattle grazing on mountains. Thus, this study aimed to understand the potential problems related to tick-borne diseases in grazing cattle through the investigation of prevalent tick-transmitted infections, and their associated hematological changes, in terms of season and grazing type in Korean indigenous cattle (=Hanwoo). Hanwoo cattle from 3 regions of the Republic of Korea (=Korea) were either maintained indoors or placed on grassy mountains from spring to fall of 2014 and 2015. Cattle that grazed in mountainous areas showed a greater prevalence of tick-borne infections with an increased Theileria orientalis infection rate (54.7%) compared to that in non-grazing cattle (16.3%) (P < 0.001). Accordingly, the red blood cell (RBC) count and hematocrit (HCT) values of grazing cattle were significantly lower than those of non-grazing cattle throughout the season (P < 0.05). Moreover, RBC, hemoglobin (Hb), and HCT of T. orientalis-positive group were significantly lower than those of T. orientalis-negative group (P < 0.05). T. orientalis is a widespread tick-borne pathogen in Korea. Grazing of cattle in mountainous areas is closely associated with an increase in T. orientalis infection (RR=3.4, P < 0.001), and with consequent decreases in RBC count and HCT. Thus, these findings suggest that the Hanwoo cattle in mountainous areas of Korea are at a high risk of infection by T. orientalis, which can lead to hematological alterations. This study highlights the necessity of preventive strategies that target T. orientalis infection.
Animals ; Cattle* ; Erythrocytes ; Hematocrit ; Korea ; Prevalence ; Republic of Korea ; Seasons ; Theileria* ; Tick-Borne Diseases