Dingoes at the Doorstep: Home Range Sizes and Activity Patterns of Dingoes and Other Wild Dogs around Urban Areas of North-Eastern Australia

Top-predators around the world are becoming increasingly intertwined with humans, sometimes causing conflict and increasing safety risks in urban areas. In Australia, dingoes and dingo � domestic dog hybrids are common in many urban areas, and pose a variety of human health and safety risks. However, data on urban dingo ecology is scant. We GPS-collared 37 dingoes in north-eastern Australia and continuously monitored them each 30 min for 11–394 days. Most dingoes were nocturnal, with an overall mean home range size of 17.47 km2. Overall mean daily distance travelled was 6.86 km/day. At all times dingoes were within 1000 m of houses and buildings. Home ranges appeared to be constrained to patches of suitable vegetation fragments within and around human habitation. These data can be used to reallocate dingo management effort towards mitigating actual conflicts between humans and dingoes in urban areas.

Leishmaniose visceral canina em cães atendidos em hospital veterinário particular do Distrito Federal, Brasil

Dissertação (mestrado)—Universidade de Brasília, Faculdade de Medicina, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Medicina Tropical, 2016.

The international formulary. a formulary handbook for the dispensary and manufacture of domestic remedies on every variety and for the treatment of diseases of the horse, cattle, sheep, swine, cat and dog, poultry and birds /

Includes indexes.

Exploring the social behaviour of domestic dogs (Canis familiaris) in a public off-leash dog park

The growing popularity of dog parks has created an opportunity to learn more about interactions between companion dogs. Dog-dog behaviour in a public off-leash dog park was described and analyzed using a motivationally-neutral approach. I observed focal dogs from park entry for 400 s and constructed activity time budgets (percentages of time spent with dogs, humans, etc.); rates of socially-relevant dog behaviours (e.g., snout-muzzle contact, physical contact) were also calculated. On average, focal dogs spent 50% of their time alone, nearly 40% with other dogs and 11% in other activities; time with dogs decreased and time alone increased over the first six minutes. Some behaviours were very frequent (i.e., more than 90% of focal dogs initiated and received snout-muzzle contact to the anogenital and head areas, while others were rare (i.e., 9% and 12% of focal dogs initiated and received lunge approaches, respectively). Dog density and focal dog age, sex, neuter status, and size were found to influence some behavioural variables. Future studies should continue to investigate the diverse range of canid behaviours and factors that influence social behaviours in dog park settings.

Occurrence and molecular characterization of Cryptosporidium spp. isolated from domestic animals in a rural area surrounding Atlantic dry forest fragments in Teodoro Sampaio municipality, State of São Paulo, Brazil

The aim of this study was to assess the occurrence of Cryptosporidium in domestic animals in rural properties surrounding rain forest fragments within the municipality of Teodoro Sampaio, southeastern Brazil. Conventional sucrose flotation method followed by molecular characterization of the parasites by sequencing PCR products amplified from SSU rRNA gene were used. Stool samples were collected from domestic animals raised as pets and livestock in all rural properties surrounding three forest fragments. Samples from cattle (197), equine (63), pigs (25), sheep (11), and dogs (28) were collected from 98 rural properties. The frequency of occurrence of Cryptosporidium within each animal species was 3.0% (6/197) among cattle and 10.7% (3/28) among dogs. Cryptosporidium was not detected in stool samples from equine, sheep, and pigs. All sequences obtained from the six samples of calves showed molecular identity with Cryptosporidium andersoni while all sequences from dog samples were similar to C. canis. The frequency of occurrence of Cryptosporidium in these domestic animal species was low. The absence of C. parvum in the present study suggests that the zoonotic cycle of cryptosporidiosis may not be relevant in the region studied. The presence of Cryptosporidium species seldom described in humans may be, otherwise, important for the wild fauna as these animals are a source of infection and dissemination of this protozoan to other animal species. The impact and magnitude of infection by C. andersoni in wild ruminants and C. canis in wild canids have to be assessed in future studies to better understand the actual importance of these species in this region.

An insight into the sialotranscriptome of the brown dog tick, Rhipicephalus sanguineus

Background: Rhipicephalus sanguineus, known as the brown dog tick, is a common ectoparasite of domestic dogs and can be found worldwide. R. sanguineus is recognized as the primary vector of the etiological agent of canine monocytic ehrlichiosis and canine babesiosis. Here we present the first description of a R. sanguineus salivary gland transcriptome by the production and analysis of 2,034 expressed sequence tags (EST) from two cDNA libraries, one consctructed using mRNA from dissected salivary glands from female ticks fed for 3-5 days (early to mid library, RsSGL1) and the another from ticks fed for 5 days (mid library, RsSGL2), identifying 1,024 clusters of related sequences. Results: Based on sequence similarities to nine different databases, we identified transcripts of genes that were further categorized according to function. The category of putative housekeeping genes contained similar to 56% of the sequences and had on average 2.49 ESTs per cluster, the secreted protein category contained 26.6% of the ESTs and had 2.47 EST's/clusters, while 15.3% of the ESTs, mostly singletons, were not classifiable, and were annotated as ""unknown function"". The secreted category included genes that coded for lipocalins, proteases inhibitors, disintegrins, metalloproteases, immunomodulatory and antiinflammatory proteins, as Evasins and Da-p36, as well as basic-tail and 18.3 kDa proteins, cement proteins, mucins, defensins and antimicrobial peptides. Comparison of the abundance of ESTs from similar contigs of the two salivary gland cDNA libraries allowed the identification of differentially expressed genes, such as genes coding for Evasins and a thrombin inhibitor, which were over expressed in the RsSGL1 (early to mid library) versus RsSGL2 (mid library), indicating their role in inhibition of inflammation at the tick feeding site from the very beginning of the blood meal. Conversely, sequences related to cement (64P), which function has been correlated with tick attachment, was largely expressed in the mid library. Conclusions: Our survey provided an insight into the R. sanguineus sialotranscriptome, which can assist the discovery of new targets for anti-tick vaccines, as well as help to identify pharmacologically active proteins.

Effects of azadirachtin on Ctenocephalides felis in the dog and the cat

Azadirachtin-containing neem seed extract is a powerful insect growth regulator, a feeding deterrent and repellent with low toxicity. Unfortunately, azadirachtin degrades rapidly in light, excessive heat or alkalinity. Evaluations of azadirachtin on ectoparasites on animals have been scarce. The purpose of this work was to describe the effects of normal and potentiated azadirachtin on Ctenocephalides felis in the dog or cat. Groups of kennelled greyhounds and domestic cats infested with C. felis were sprayed once with azadirachtin containing neem seed extract with or without diethyltoluamide (Deer) and/or citronella. Methanolic extracts with 200, 1000 or 2400 ppm azadirachtin reduced fleas in a dose-dependent manner. Compared with fleas counted on treated dogs just before treatment and untreated infested dogs, 1000-2400 ppm azadirachtin reduced fleas 93-53% for 19 days. However, combined with 500 ppm Deet and 33% w/v citronella, only 500 ppm azadirachtin reduced fleas 95-62% for 20 days. On cats inoculated with 50 fleas 2 days before treatment, the combination reduced fleas and eggs 100% to day 6 and 83-51% from days 7 to 9. On petri dishes, the combination achieved 100% egg mortality up to day 7 and 80% to day 14 and 38-52% to to days 21-28. Deet, with or without neem seed extract or citronella, and citronella, with or without neem, did not reduce fleas significantly. The results show that azadirachtin reduced fleas in a dose-dependent manner in flea-contaminated environments. In cats, the combination killed most fleas within 24 h, providing effective flea control for 7 days. The results suggest that Deet with citronella potentiated the effect of azadirachtin on C. felis. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science B.V.

Dioctophyma renale in a dog: Clinical diagnosis and surgical treatment

This Study reports a case of parasitism by the giant kidney worm, Dioctophyma renale, diagnosed in the right kidney of a domestic (log An adult female German Shepherd was attended with clinical history of prostration and hyporexia. The hemogram showed changes compatible with an inflammatory process, for that reason, an abdominal ultrasound was requested. Ultrasound image suggested the presence of D renale in the right kidney The diagnosis was confirmed after urinalysis due to the presence of dioclophymas ova in the urinary sediment. Surgical treatment was made and the animal had an excellent recovery after the nephrectomy was performed Generally. in almost all cases, parasitism by D renale in domestic dogs is a necropsy finding, nevertheless imaging techniques as sonography and laboratorial exams as urinalysis have been proven to be important tools to achieve diagnosis. The purpose of this study is to report a case of parasitism by D renale where diagnosis and treatment were made in time to allow the patient`s recovery (C) 2009 Elsevier B V All rights reserved.

Rhipicephalus sanguineus (Acari: Ixodidae), the brown dog tick, parasitizing humans in Brazil

The objective of this paper is to describe four cases of human parasitism by Rhipicephalus sanguineus (Latrielle) in Brazil. During an investigation regarding the species of ectoparasites of domestic dogs from the metropolitan region of Recife, Pernambuco state, four dog owners were found to be parasitized by ticks. The ticks were collected from these individuals and their dogs. All the ticks were identified as Rhipicephalus sanguineus . These are, to our knowledge, the first four cases of human parasitism by this tick species in Brazil. The possible implications of this finding are discussed here.

Factors associated with Leishmania chagasi infection in domestic dogs from Teresina, State of Piauí, Brazil

INTRODUCTION: Many studies have evaluated risk factors for human visceral leishmaniasis, but few have focused on the infection among dogs. The objective of this study was to assess the association between peridomestic socioeconomic and environmental factors and the presence of dogs seropositive for Leishmania chagasi in the City of Teresina, Brazil. METHODS: This case-control study was based on the results of a routine seroepidemiological survey among domestic dogs carried out in 2007. Serological tests were performed by means of indirect immunofluorescence antibody test. All dwellings in which at least one seropositive dog was detected were considered cases, and controls were a random sample of dwellings in which only seronegative dogs were identified. Associations between variables were expressed as odds ratios (OR) and their respective 95% confidence intervals (95%CI) estimated using multivariate logistic regression. RESULTS: Dwellings with a history of dogs removed by the visceral leishmaniasis control program in the last 12 months had five-fold higher odds of having at least one seropositive dog as compared with dwellings having no history of dog removal (OR = 5.19; 95%CI = 3.20-8.42). Dwellings with cats had 58% increased odds of dog infection as compared with those having no cats (OR = 1.58; 95%CI = 1.01-2.47). CONCLUSIONS: Identification of factors associated with canine visceral leishmaniasis might be used for the delimitation of areas of higher risk for human visceral leishmaniasis, since infection in dogs generally precedes the appearance of human cases.

Risk factors associated with Trypanosoma cruziexposure in domestic dogs from a rural community in Panama

Chagas disease, caused by Trypanosoma cruzi infection, is a zoonosis of humans, wild and domestic mammals, including dogs. In Panama, the main T. cruzi vector is Rhodnius pallescens, a triatomine bug whose main natural habitat is the royal palm, Attalea butyracea. In this paper, we present results from three T. cruzi serological tests (immunochromatographic dipstick, indirect immunofluorescence and ELISA) performed in 51 dogs from 24 houses in Trinidad de Las Minas, western Panama. We found that nine dogs were seropositive (17.6% prevalence). Dogs were 1.6 times more likely to become T. cruziseropositive with each year of age and 11.6 times if royal palms where present in the peridomiciliary area of the dog’s household or its two nearest neighbours. Mouse-baited-adhesive traps were employed to evaluate 12 peridomestic royal palms. All palms were found infested with R. pallescens with an average of 25.50 triatomines captured per palm. Of 35 adult bugs analysed, 88.6% showed protozoa flagellates in their intestinal contents. In addition, dogs were five times more likely to be infected by the presence of an additional domestic animal species in the dog’s peridomiciliary environment. Our results suggest that interventions focused on royal palms might reduce the exposure to T. cruzi infection.

Draft genome of the Leptospira interrogans strains, Acegua, RCA, Prea, and Capivara, obtained from wildlife maintenance hosts and infected domestic animals

In the present paper, we announce new draft genomes of four Leptospira interrogans strains named Acegua, RCA, Prea, and Capivara. These strains were isolated in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, from cattle, dog, Brazilian guinea pig, and capybara, respectively.

Changes in expression of BDNF and its receptors TrkB and p75NTR in the hippocampus of a dog model of chronic alcoholism and abstinence

Chronic ethanol consumption can produce learning and memory deficits. Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and its receptors affect the pathogenesis of alcoholism. In this study, we examined the expression of BDNF, tropomyosin receptor kinase B (TrkB) and p75 neurotrophin receptor (p75NTR) in the hippocampus of a dog model of chronic alcoholism and abstinence. Twenty domestic dogs (9-10 months old, 15-20 kg; 10 males and 10 females) were obtained from Harbin Medical University. A stable alcoholism model was established through ad libitum feeding, and anti-alcohol drug treatment (Zhong Yao Jie Jiu Ling, the main ingredient was the stems of watermelon; developed in our laboratory), at low- and high-doses, was carried out. The Zhong Yao Jie Jiu Ling was effective for the alcoholism in dogs. The morphology of hippocampal neurons was evaluated using hematoxylin-eosin staining. The number and morphological features of BDNF, TrkB and p75NTR-positive neurons in the dentate gyrus (DG), and the CA1, CA3 and CA4 regions of the hippocampus were observed using immunohistochemistry. One-way ANOVA was used to determine differences in BDNF, TrkB and p75NTR expression. BDNF, TrkB and p75NTR-positive cells were mainly localized in the granular cell layer of the DG and in the pyramidal cell layer of the CA1, CA3 and CA4 regions (DG>CA1>CA3>CA4). Expression levels of both BDNF and TrkB were decreased in chronic alcoholism, and increased after abstinence. The CA4 region appeared to show the greatest differences. Changes in p75NTR expression were the opposite of those of BDNF and TrkB, with the greatest differences observed in the DG and CA4 regions.

Diabetes mellitus-related morphoquantitative changes in the celiac ganglion neurons of the dog

Diabetes mellitus is the most common endocrine disturbance of domestic carnivores and can cause autonomic neurological disorders, although these are still poorly understood in veterinary medicine. There is little information available on the quantitative adaptation mechanisms of the sympathetic ganglia during diabetes mellitus in domestic mammals. By combining morphometric methods and NADPH-diaphorase staining (as a possible marker for nitric oxide producing neurons), type I diabetes mellitus-related morphoquantitative changes were investigated in the celiac ganglion neurons in dogs. Twelve left celiac ganglia from adult female German shepherd dogs were examined: six ganglia were from non-diabetic and six from diabetic subjects. Consistent hypertrophy of the ganglia was noted in diabetic animals with increase of 55% in length, 53% in width, and 61.5% in thickness. The ordinary microstructure of the ganglia was modified leading to an uneven distribution of the ganglionic units and a more evident distribution of axon fascicles. In contrast to non-diabetic dogs, there was a lack of NADPH-diaphorase perikarial labelling in the celiac ganglion neurons of diabetic animals. The morphometric study showed that both the neuronal and nuclear sizes were significantly larger in diabetic dogs (1.3 and 1.39 times, respectively). The profile density and area fraction of NADPH-diaphorase-reactive celiac ganglion neurons were significantly larger (1.35 and 1.48 times, respectively) in non-diabetic dogs compared to NADPH-diaphorase-non-reactive celiac ganglion neurons in diabetic dogs. Although this study suggests that diabetic neuropathy is associated with neuronal hypertrophy, controversy remains over the possibility of ongoing neuronal loss and the functional interrelationship between them. It is unclear whether neuronal hypertrophy could be a compensation mechanism for a putative neuronal loss during the diabetes mellitus. (C) 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Chemical Composition of Lipids Present in Cat and Dog Oocyte by Matrix-Assisted Desorption Ionization Mass Spectrometry (MALDI- MS)

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)