Awareness of parasitic zoonotic diseases among pet owners in Cairo, Egypt.

Egyptians are becoming more interested in owning and raising pets; however, most of them lack essential awareness about the risk of zoonotic parasites that could be transmitted. The objective of the present investigation was to evaluate the degree of awareness Egyptian pet owners possess concerning zoonotic parasitic diseases, the risk of transmission, and preventative measures. A cross-sectional study was conducted using an e-survey. Among 246 pet owners, 64.2% (158) were females, and 67.9% (167) belonged to the 20-30 age group. The majority, 78.9% (194), were raising cats. Only 13.8% (34) visited the veterinarian regularly, with significantly higher results among dog owners (p < 0.05). Only 31.3% (77) participants were regularly deworming their pets, and 19.9% (49) were giving their pets prophylaxis against ectoparasites, with significantly higher results among those who visited the veterinarian regularly (p < 0.0001) and among dog owners (p < 0.05). Only 54.1% (133) had heard about the term "zoonoses" before, and about 8.9% (22) of participants showed a history of zoonotic parasitic diseases, with significantly higher results among those who allowed their animals to play with other animals of neighbors and friends (p < 0.05). The obtained results concluded that the surveyed group had a relatively good degree of knowledge regarding pets as a source of zoonotic illness; raising pet owners' awareness regarding the importance of routine medical examinations and minimizing the contact of pets with other stray animals is essential.

Histamine-Producing Bacteria and Histamine Induction in Retail Sardine and Mackerel from Fish Markets in Egypt.

This study examined the occurrence of histamine-producing bacteria (HPB) and histamine induction in retail sardine and mackerel in Egypt; and whether the fish vendors play a role in the transmission of HPB. Fish were collected from the fish markets, additionally; hand swab samples were taken from the fish vendors. All samples were cultured on modified Niven's medium (MNM); the positive colonies were subcultured on Violet Red Bile Glucose (VRBG) agar, followed by biochemical identification and histidine decarboxylase (hdc)-gene-PCR of the VRBG-positive isolates. The hdc-gene-positive fish and human isolates were subjected to partial hdc-gene-sequencing and phylogenetic analysis. Production of histamine in the fish muscles was measured by high-performance liquid chromatography. A higher percentage of sardine showed the presence of MNM-positive bacteria (84%) than mackerel (53%). Enterobacteriaceae was the dominant family; the most frequent species were Enterobacter cloacae, Raoultella planticola, Citrobacter freundii, and Enterobacter aerogenes. Higher proportion of the R. planticola isolates were hdc positive as compared with the other species. Only 32% sardine and 17% mackerel of the MNM-positive isolates carried the hdc gene. Fish muscles that contain hdc-positive bacteria exhibit higher levels of histamine (median 86; IQR 80-1112 mg/kg) than those with hdc-negative bacteria (48; 75-223 mg/kg). The level of histamine was significantly higher in sardine (109; 104-1094 mg/kg) than in mackerel (40; 49-106 mg/kg). The 20 fish vendor samples were MNM positive, 2 of them were hdc-gene positive. The close genetic relatedness between the human and fish strains isolated from the same markets suggests a possible bidirectional transmission of the HPB. This warns for the presence of HPB carrying hdc gene in retail sardine and mackerel, which is associated with a relatively high level of histamine. Regular inspection of the fish markets is required, including accurate determination of HPB by using a combination of the MNM culture, hdc-gene PCR, and measurement of histamine level.

Toll-like receptor (TLR)4 signalling induces myeloid differentiation primary response gene (MYD) 88 independent pathway in avian species leading to type I interferon production and antiviral response.

Engagement of toll-like receptor (TLR)4 ligand, lipopolysaccharide (LPS) with TLR4 in mammals activates two downstream intracellular signaling routes; the myeloid differentiation primary response gene (MyD)88 dependent and independent pathways. However, existence of the later pathway leading to production of type I interferons (IFNs) in avian species has been debated due to conflicting observations. The objective of our study was to investigate whether LPS induces type I IFN production in chicken macrophages leading to antiviral response attributable to type I IFN. We found that LPS elicits type I IFN response dominated by IFN-ß production. We also found that reduction in infectious laryngotracheitis virus (ILTV) replication by LPS-mediated antiviral response is attributable to type I IFNs in addition to nitric oxide (NO). Our findings imply that LPS elicits both MyD88 dependent and independent pathways in chicken macrophages consequently eliciting anti-ILTV response attributable to production of both type I IFNs and NO.

Potential mediators of in ovo delivered double stranded (ds) RNA-induced innate response against low pathogenic avian influenza virus infection.

BACKGROUND: Toll like receptor (TLR) 3 is a critically important innate pattern recognizing receptor that senses many viral infections. Although, it has been shown that double stranded (ds) RNA can be used for the stimulation of TLR3 signaling pathway in a number of host-viral infection models, it's effectiveness as an antiviral agent against low pathogenic avian influenza virus (LPAIV) needs further investigation. METHODS: In this study, first, we delivered TLR3 ligand, dsRNA, in ovo at embryo day (ED)18 since in ovo route is routinely used for vaccination against poultry viral and parasitic infections and infected with H4N6 LPAIV 24-h post-treatment. A subset of in ovo dsRNA treated and control groups were observed for the expressions of TLR3 and type I interferon (IFN)s, mRNA expression of interleukin (IL)-1ß and macrophage recruitment coinciding with the time of H4N6 LPAIV infection (24 h post-treatment). Additionally, Day 1 chickens were given dsRNA intra-tracheally along with a control group and a subset of chickens were infected with H4N6 LPAIV 24-h post-treatment whereas the rest of the animals were observed for macrophage and type 1 IFN responses coinciding with the time of viral infection. RESULTS: Our results demonstrate that the pre-hatch treatment of eggs with dsRNA reduces H4N6 replication in lungs. Further studies revealed that in ovo delivery of dsRNA increases TLR3 expression, type I IFN production and number of macrophages in addition to mRNA expression of IL-1ß in lung 24-h post-treatment. The same level of induction of innate response was not evident in the spleen. Moreover, we discovered that dsRNA elicits antiviral response against LPAIV correlating with type I IFN activity in macrophages in vitro. Post-hatch, we found no difference in H4N6 LPAIV genome loads between dsRNA treated and control chickens although we observed higher macrophage recruitment and IFN-ß response coinciding with the time of viral infection. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings imply that the TLR3 ligand, dsRNA has antiviral activity in ovo and in vitro but not in chickens post-hatch and dsRNA-mediated innate host response is characterized by macrophage recruitment and expressions of TLR3 and type 1 IFNs.

Occurrence of virulent and antibiotic-resistant Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli in some food products and human stool in Egypt.

AIM: Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) represent a severe public health issue worldwide, causing life-threatening diseases in the human gastrointestinal tract. This study aimed to determine the occurrence of virulent and antibiotic-resistant STEC in retail meat and milk products and human stool samples and to characterize the genes encoding for virulence and antibiotic resistance among the identified STEC isolates. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 260 food samples were randomly collected from retail markets in different localities of El Giza Governorate, Egypt. 50 stool specimens were obtained from children that had diarrhea at Embaba Fever Hospital. All collected samples were initially subjected to bacteriological examination and serotyping, and then subsequently, the isolates were exposed to polymerase chain reaction application and sequencing for the identification of the virulence-related genes. Finally, the virulent STEC isolates were tested for antibiotic susceptibility. RESULTS: Serotyping of the 76 biochemically identified isolates showed that 18 were STEC with a predominance of non-O157 (16) while 2 O157:K-serotype was detected only in one food and one human isolate. Molecular identification of the virulence genes illustrated that the minced meat showed the highest prevalence of STEC (8%) as compared to the other food products. In the humans, the O157 was the only serotype that expresses the Shiga toxin-associated gene (eaeA). Antibiotic susceptibility test displayed that 13 of the 17 food and human isolates (76.47%) were resistant to cephalothin (KF30). 9 of the 13 cephalothin-resistant isolates harbor the ß lactamase (blaTEM )-resistant gene. All isolates were sensitive to chloramphenicol, ciprofloxacin, amikacin, and gentamicin. DNA sequencing and phylogenetic analysis of the stx2-positive minced meat isolate revealed a high genetic relatedness with beef minced meat from the USA and Australia. CONCLUSION: This study showed the predominance of non-O157 among the identified isolates. Minced meat showed the highest prevalence of STEC as compared to the other food products, and this work illustrates the necessity to consider the food products as a potential source of the non-O157 STEC serotypes. DNA sequencing and phylogenetic analysis revealed a high genetic relatedness with beef minced meat from the USA and Australia. This highlights the high probability of worldwide spread of such serotypes, signifying the importance of the one world concept.