Short Report: Vaccinia Virus in Humans and Cattle in Southwest Region of São Paulo State, Brazil

A new outbreak of Vaccinia virus was observed in Southwest region of São Paulo State. Brazil. The disease was observed in four small dairy farms with manual milking. Lesions were detected in cattle and in humans previously vaccinated and not vaccinated against smallpox. Although several reports of Vaccinia virus outbreaks have been occuring in Brazil, it was not yet reported in this region. This Outbreak reinforces the Viral circulation in Our country. The disease in persons previously vaccinated and not vaccinated against smallpox reinforces the absence of immunity, the risk to the human health, and the need for more epidemiologic and immunologic studies.

Seroprevalence of bovine leptospirosis in Garanhuns municipal district, Pernambuco State, Brazil

The prevalence of Leptospira interrogans serovars in dairy cattle was determined by analyzing 464 serum samples from cows on 15 properties in Garanhuns municipal district, Pernambuco State, Brazil. A microscopic seroagglutination test including 12 serovars of Leptospira interrogans as antigens was used. Samples with titres 3 100 were considered positive. Two hundred and twenty-one (47.63%) of the samples were positive to one or more serovars. The prevalence of the serovars was hardjo (21.98%), bratislava (15.73%), castellonis(11.64%), tarassovi (10.56%), pyrogenes(1.72%), icterohaemorrhagiae (1.08%), pomona (0.86%), wolffi (0.86%), grippotyphosa (0.86%), djasiman (0.43%), canicola (0.21 %), and copenhageni (0.21 %).

Distribution of antibodies against Neospora caninum, BVDV and BHV-1 among cows in brazilian dairy herds with reproductive disorders.

Neospora caninum, bovine viral diarrhea virus (BVDV) and bovine herpes virus 1 (BHV-1) are worldwide spread pathogens associated with reproductive problems in cattle. The present work aimed to observe the infection pattern of these three pathogens in two dairy herds with distinct reproductive managements from Triângulo Mineiro, Minas Gerais State, Brazil. The herds were not vaccinated against either N. caninum, BVDV or BHV-1. Blood samples were collected and analyzed for presence of specific antibodies, and N. caninum IgG avidity was measured in N. caninum positive samples. In herd 1, 34 out of 174 sampled cows (20%) had antibodies to N. caninum and the seropositivity of BVDV and BHV-1 were 62% and 86%, respectively. Of 69 sampled cows in herd 2. 7 (10%) had antibodies to N. caninum, and 49% and 39% were seropositive to BVDV and BHV-1, respectively. The IgG avidity profiles indicated that N. caninum had been present in both herds for some years and that herd 1 had an ongoing horizontal spread of the parasite. The results indicate that the studied reproductive pathogens were present in the herds and partly may have contributed to their reproductive problems.

Analysis of the risk factors related to the immune humoral anti-Anaplasma marginale in dairy cattle

Anaplasma marginale is the most prevalent pathogen of cattle transmitted by ticks in the world. This study aimed to evaluate the risk factors for anaplasmosis in dairy cattle. Fifty dairy cattle from the herd of Empresa de Pesquisa Agropecuaria do Estado do Rio de Janeiro were selected by proportional stratified sampling. The risk factors evaluated were: physiological state, race pattern, number of lactations, milk production, infestation by Rhipicephalus microplus and animal density. Antibody activity against A. marginale was determined using the indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. The percentual values of seroprevalence for A. marginale were submitted to X2 test, and the level of minimum significance, to keep a factor in the model of logistic regression, was fixated in 5%. It was observed that pregnancy and lactation influenced significantly (p<0.05) in the seropositivity of the animals. Bos indicus animals had 5.21 times more chances of being seropositive than B. taurus animals. Primiparous female had 88% more chances of being seropositive than pluriparous female. Animals with high milk production were 63% more positive than low production animals. When infested by ticks the animals had 39% more chance of being seropositive to A. marginale. Bos indicus animals presented 5.21 times more chance of being seropositive than B. taurus animals. Primiparous females presented 88% more chance of being seropositive than the pluriparous ones. High milk production animals were 63% more positive than the low production ones. When infested by ticks the animals had 39% more chance of being seropositive to A. marginale. High density grazing provided for the animals 3.2 times more chances of being seropositive than low density ones. The herd was classified as erratic to A. marginale, even being placed in a steady enzootic area.

Detecting Loci under Recent Positive Selection in Dairy and Beef Cattle by Combining Different Genome-Wide Scan Methods

As the methodologies available for the detection of positive selection from genomic data vary in terms of assumptions and execution, weak correlations are expected among them. However, if there is any given signal that is consistently supported across different methodologies, it is strong evidence that the locus has been under past selection. In this paper, a straightforward frequentist approach based on the Stouffer Method to combine P-values across different tests for evidence of recent positive selection in common variations, as well as strategies for extracting biological information from the detected signals, were described and applied to high density single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) data generated from dairy and beef cattle (taurine and indicine). The ancestral Bovinae allele state of over 440,000 SNP is also reported. Using this combination of methods, highly significant (P<3.17×10-7) population-specific sweeps pointing out to candidate genes and pathways that may be involved in beef and dairy production were identified. The most significant signal was found in the Cornichon homolog 3 gene (CNIH3) in Brown Swiss (P = 3.82×10-12), and may be involved in the regulation of pre-ovulatory luteinizing hormone surge. Other putative pathways under selection are the glucolysis/gluconeogenesis, transcription machinery and chemokine/cytokine activity in Angus; calpain-calpastatin system and ribosome biogenesis in Brown Swiss; and gangliosides deposition in milk fat globules in Gyr. The composite method, combined with the strategies applied to retrieve functional information, may be a useful tool for surveying genome-wide selective sweeps and providing insights in to the source of selection.

Risk factors for anaplasmosis in dairy cows during the peripartum

Anaplasma marginale is endemic in tropical and subtropical areas around the world. Some studies have suggested that cows during peripartum may present a transient immunosuppression state and development of clinical signs of anaplasmosis. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between some risk factors and the seroprevalence of A. marginale in dairy cows during peripartum in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The risk factors analyzed in association with the prevalence of antibodies against A. marginale in dairy cows were calving season, reproductive experience, breed standard, tick infestations, stocking density, and milk yield. The antibodies against A. marginale were tested in indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays. A primary screening using a 2 x k contingency table of the exposed variables with the outcomes was performed. All variables for which p < 0.20 were included in a fixed effects log regression. The risk factors investigated to anaplasmosis were calving (OR 2.61, IC 1.08-7.63), breed standard (OR 3.83, IC 0.08-0.28), reproductive experience (OR 33.7, IC 2.14-5.16), milk yield (OR 3.9, IC 2.24-7.03), Rhipicephalus microplus infestations (OR 10.3, IC 0.05-0.17), and stocking density (OR 22.3, IC 0.05-0.17). Low titers of antibodies against A. marginale during peripartum had been characterized as a period previous to development of clinical anaplasmosis. Thus, studies on anaplasmosis should consider each farm as an epidemiological unit, where environmental and immunological factors may influence the endemic status of the pathogen.

Condições higiênico-sanitárias e de manejo de rebanhos leiteiros correlacionados à qualidade do leite cru refrigerado

Pós-graduação em Medicina Veterinária - FCAV

Spontaneous poisoning by Hovenia dulcis in dairy cattle in Southwest Parana, Brazil

Livestock poisoning by plants is a frequent occurrence which determines severe losses, such as the fall in the milk and meat production, the cost of expensive treatments, the state of immunosuppression, or even the animal's death. Cattle ingest toxic plants only when there is food shortage, when they cannot select what they eat, or when they ingest food for preference, which is the case of Hovenia dulcis fruits, very rich in sucrose. This plant is widely distributed in the southern and southeastern Brazilian regions. In literature, there are some cases of severe human liver injury associated with a long-term of H. dulcis leaf and fruit tea intake, and only one report regarding spontaneous poisoning of goats caused by this plant ingestion. However, its toxic effects associated with spontaneous ingestion by cattle have never been reported. This paper reports the first case of spontaneous poisoning in cattle by H. dulcis, which occurred in a dairy farm in southwest Paraná, Brazil. Three cattle individuals showed anorexia, ruminal atony, severe diarrhea and neurological tournament, head pressing, blindness, ataxia, and circling. The necropsy of the animals was done, and the remaining alterations were restricted to the digestive system and brain. The clinical signs presented by the animals are characteristic of polioencephalomalacia (PEM), caused by changes in the thiamine metabolism. Furthermore, clinical signs, gross, and microscopic lesions as well as the large amount of the plant throughout the digestive segment led to a diagnosis.

Low genetic diversity of Anaplasma marginale in calves in an endemic area for bovine anaplasmosis in the state of São Paulo, Brazil

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)