Molecular epidemiology of senecavirus A associated with vesicular disease in pigs in Brazil.

Senecavirus A (SV-A) may cause vesicular disease and neonatal mortality in pigs, and was first detected in Brazil in 2015. Samples including tissues and serum from pigs with suspected vesicular diseases were collected from January to August in 2015 from farms in the states of Minas Gerais, Santa Catarina, Goiás and Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, and tested for the presence of SV-A by reverse transcriptase PCR. All samples were negative for foot and mouth disease virus, as well as 13 other infectious agents associated with vesicular diseases in pigs. SV-A was detected by PCR in 65/265 (24.5%) specimens. A 530 base pair fragment sequenced from the VP1 protein coding region indicated a high genetic distance from SV-A in other countries, but a common origin among the Brazilian isolates.

Absence of Bovine leukemia virus (BLV) infection in buffaloes from Amazon and southeast region in Brazil.

Enzootic bovine leucosis is an infectious disease caused by Bovine leukemia virus (BLV) and is well described in bovines. The majority of infected animals are asymptomatic, one to five percent develop lymphoma and from 30 to 50% present a persistent lymphocytosis. The virus occurs naturally in cattle and experimentally in buffaloes, capybaras and rabbits. The occurrence of lymphoma in buffaloes has been attributed to BLV infection by some authors in India and Venezuela, but not confirmed by other studies and little information on natural BLV infection in buffaloes is available. The aim of this study was to evaluate the occurrence of BLV in a sub-sample of buffalo from Amazon and southeast regions in Brazil. Three hundred and fifteen serum samples were negative using commercial AGID and ELISA (ELISA-gp51) which detect anti-BLV glycoprotein gp51 antibodies. The same samples were also evaluated for antibodies to whole virus through a commercial ELISA (ELISA-BLV) in which 77 (24.44%) were found seropositive and two (0.63%) inconclusive. On the other hand, all animals were negative by PCR to BLV targeted to the env and tax genes. These results suggest that ELISA-BLV produces false positive results in buffalo serum (p<0.001). In addition, one buffalo lymphoma sample was negative in both PCR assays used in this study. BLV was not detected in buffaloes from the Amazon basin and the southeast region of Brazil. Serological tests, like ELISA-BLV, usually used for cattle may produce false-positive results for BLV in buffaloes and direct detection tests such as PCR should be chosen in these surveys. The occurrence of lymphoma in buffalo was not associated with BLV infection in the one case analyzed in this work and the etiology and pathogenesis of this disease should be clarified.

Physicochemical characteristics and sensory profile of honey samples from stingless bees (Apidae: Meliponinae) submitted to a dehumidification process

This study was conducted to evaluate the effect of a dehumidification process on the physicochemical and sensory characteristics of stingless-bee honey. Melipona scutellaris and M. quadrifasciata honey samples were submitted to a dehumidification process and to physicochemical (reducing sugars, apparent sucrose, moisture, diastatic activity, hydroxymethylfurfural, ash, pH, acidity, and electric conductivity) and sensory evaluations (fluidity, color, aroma, crystallization,flavor,and acceptability). The results indicated that the dehumidification process does not interfere with honey quality and acceptability.

Este estudo foi conduzido com o objetivo de avaliar o efeito do processo de desumidificação sobre as características físico-químicas e sensoriais do mel das abelhas sem ferrão. Amostras de méis de Melipona scutellaris e M. quadrifasciata foram submetidas ao processo de desumidificação, passando em seguida por avaliações físico-químicas (açúcares redutores, sacarose aparente, umidade, atividade diastásica, hidroximetilfurfural, cinzas, pH, acidez e condutividade elétrica) e sensoriais (fluidez, cor, aroma, cristalização, sabor e aceitabilidade). Os resultados indicaram que o processo de desumidificação não interfere na qualidade e aceitabilidade do mel.

Infestação natural de Anastrepha spp. (Diptera: Tephritidae) em umbu-cajá no Município de Cruz das Almas, Recôncavo Baiano / Natural Infestation of Anastrepha spp. (Diptera: Tephritidae) in Spondias sp. in the Municipality of Cruz das Almas, Recôncavo Baiano, Brazil

Este trabalho teve como objetivo conhecer os índices de infestação natural, o percentual de emergência dos adultos e as espécies de moscas-das-frutas associadas ao umbu-cajá (Spondias sp.) no Recôncavo Baiano. Foram coletadas 49 amostras dos frutos entre os meses de março a julho de 2002, totalizando 4.095 frutos (74,4 kg), dos quais obtiveram-se 30.579 pupários, com emergência de 37,4 por cento de tefritídeos. Anastrepha obliqua (Macquart) (99,59 por cento) foi a espécie dominante, seguida por A. fraterculus (Wied.) (0,24 por cento) e A. sororcula Zucchi (0,17 por cento). O índice de infestação foi de 410,7 pupários por quilograma de frutos e 7,5 pupários por fruto.

The objective of this work was to quantify the natural infestation, pupal survival and fruit fly species associated to fruits of Spondias sp. in the Recôncavo Baiano, State of Bahia, Brazil. From March to July, 2002, 49 samples of fruits were collected with the total of 4,095 fruits and a biomass of 74.4kg. About 30,579 fruit fly puparia were obtained from which 37.4% yielded adults. Anastrepha obliqua (Macquart) (99.6%) was the dominant species, followed by A. fraterculus (Wied.) (0.24%) and A. sororcula Zucchi (0.17%). The infestation index was 410,7 pupae for kilogram of fruits and 7.5 pupae per fruit.