Roles of traditional medicine and traditional healers for rabies prevention and potential impacts on post-exposure prophylaxis: A literature review.

INTRODUCTION: Globally, traditional medicine is widely used to treat a variety of injuries and illnesses, including dog bites, and exposures that are risky for rabies. However, efficacy of most traditional remedies used for rabies prevention or treatment has not been demonstrated in controlled trials or proven in community-based surveys. METHODS: Six databases were searched including the terms rabies, traditional treatment, traditional remedy, traditional therapy, traditional medicine, and medicinal treatment to review traditional remedies used in the prevention and treatment of rabies. In addition, published literature of rabies transmission dynamics was used to estimate statistical likelihood of dog bite victims developing rabies to provide clarity as to why traditional healers have a high apparent success rate when preventing death from rabies in victims bitten by suspected rabid dogs. RESULTS: Literature review yielded 50 articles, including three controlled experiments, that described use of traditional remedies for rabies prevention and treatment. Traditional remedies for rabies ranged from plant- or animal-based products to spiritual rituals; however, only a few controlled mice trials were conducted, and none of these trials demonstrated efficacy in preventing or treating rabies. Risk of dying from rabies after a bite from a dog with unknown rabies status is low, 1.90% (0.05%-29.60%). Therefore, traditional healers had a 98.10% (70.40%-99.95%) apparent success rate in preventing death from suspected rabid dog bites despite inefficaciousness of herbal remedies. CONCLUSION: There was no universal plant species or route of administration that was consistently used for rabies prevention or treatment across countries. No traditional remedy was efficacious in the prevention or treatment of rabies in randomized controlled experiments. Understanding the cultural context under which traditional remedies are used may facilitate collaboration of traditional healers with the modern medical system to ensure timely and appropriate use of proven therapies for prevention and clinical management of rabies.

[Multiple erythema annulare centrifugum associated with knee monoarthritis revealing Capnocytophagacanimorsus infection]. / Erythème annulaire centrifuge multiple et monoarthrite révélateurs d'une infection à Capnocytophaga canimorsus.

INTRODUCTION: Capnocytophagacanimorsus (C. canimorsus), a commensal Gram-negative bacillus found in the oral cavity of dogs and cats, is pathogenic for humans, with the most common clinical manifestations being septicemia, meningitis and endocarditis. Herein we report a case of CC bacteremia manifesting as multiple plaques of erythema annulare centrifugum associated with monoarthritis of the knee. PATIENTS AND METHODS: A 66-year-old man consulted for a skin rash and monoarthritis of the right knee with fever following an insect bite on his right hallux. Cutaneous examination revealed numerous erythematous annular plaques on the trunk and limbs with centrifugal extension. Analysis of synovial fluid from the right knee showed an inflammatory liquid with a sterile bacteriological culture and PCR was negative for Borrelia. C. canimorsus bacteria were isolated from blood cultures. 16S RNA PCR performed on the synovial fluid was positive for the same organism. The patient's history revealed that his hallux wound had been licked by his dog. DISCUSSION: C. canimorsus most frequently affects immunosuppressed subjects. Cutaneous signs are seen in half of all cases, most frequently presenting as cellulitis, pathological livedo or thrombotic purpura. We report herein a case of CC bacteremia in an immunocompetent patient manifesting as multiple plaques of erythema annulare centrifugum, an unusual sign, and monoarthritis of one knee.

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus in resident animals of a long-term care facility.

UNLABELLED: Animals provide benefits to elderly and chronically ill people by decreasing loneliness, increasing social interactions, and improving mental health. As a result, many hospitals and long-term care facilities allow family pets to visit ill or convalescing patients or support animal-assisted therapy programs. These include programs that have resident animals in long-term care facilities. Despite the benefits, there are concerns about disease transmission between pets and patients. Antibiotic-resistant bacteria, such as methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), are a recognized problem in healthcare settings leading to refractory infections and potentially life-threatening illnesses. MRSA has been isolated from numerous animal species, yet few studies are available on the carriage of this pathogen in animals residing in long-term care facilities. Our objective was to characterize MRSA carriage among resident animals in a long-term care facility. METHODS: To document MRSA colonization, nasal swabs from 12 resident animals (one dogs and 11 cats) of a long-term care facility were collected weekly for 8 weeks. Staphylococcus isolates were characterized by antimicrobial susceptibility and MRSA isolates were further characterized by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE). PFGE isolate patterns were compared with an existing database of MRSA isolate patterns at the Minnesota Department of Health. RESULTS: Two of 11 cats were colonized with MRSA. MRSA was recovered from five of eight weekly samples in one cat and two of eight weekly samples in the other cat. All isolates were classified as USA100 (healthcare-associated strains). DISCUSSION: Long-term care resident animals may acquire MRSA. Clonally related strains were identified over the 8-week sampling period. It is unclear if pets serve as an on-going source of infection to their human companions in long-term care facilities.

The occurrence and antimicrobial susceptibility of salmonellae isolated from commercially available canine raw food diets in three Canadian cities.

The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the prevalence and antimicrobial resistance patterns of Salmonella isolated from commercially available canine raw food diets in Canada. A total of 166 commercial frozen raw food diet samples were purchased from randomly selected local pet stores in three Canadian cities for a period of 8 months. All samples were evaluated for the presence of Salmonella, serotyped and tested for antimicrobial susceptibility. There was an overall Salmonella prevalence of 21%; chicken was an ingredient for 67% of the Salmonella-positive diets. Eighteen different Salmonella serotypes were recovered, and resistance was observed to 12 of the 16 antimicrobials tested, with the majority of Ontario isolates exhibiting resistance to ampicillin and Calgary isolates to tetracycline. This study demonstrates the potential risk of raw food diets, especially for immunocompromised individuals, and stresses the need for implementing regulatory guidelines for the production of these diets in order to help control and ideally eliminate the bacterial risks associated with their use and consumption.

Prevalence of Neospora caninum and Toxoplasma gondii in sheep and dogs from Guarapuava farms, Paraná State, Brazil.

Sheep and dog blood samples were collected from nine farms in the county of Guarapuava, Paraná, Brazil. The indirect fluorescent antibody test (IFAT) was used to detect Neospora caninum and Toxoplasma gondii antibodies. Herein, serum samples from 305 sheep were evaluated, being 29 (9.5%) and 157 (51.5%) seropositives to N. caninum and T. gondii, respectively. Seven (29.1%) and five (20.8%) out of 24 dogs were seropositives to N. caninum and T. gondii, respectively. There were no differences among the sheep serology for N. caninum and reproductive problems, management and animal feeding variables, neurological problems and presence of other animals species on the farm (P>or=0.05). The simultaneous frequency of antibodies between N. caninum and T. gondii was 5.2% in the herds. Age, breed, farm size, semi-intensive activity, mineral salt supplementation, water origin, stage of the pregnancy when reproduction problems occurred, neurological problems in lambs, presence of rodents in the food room and pasture cat access were identified as associated factors for the occurrence of toxoplasmosis in sheep (P<0.05). There were no differences among the seropositivity in dogs for N. caninum and T. gondii and breed, age and sex (P>or=0.05). The present work is the first report on serum prevalence of N. caninum in sheep from the state of Paraná, Brazil.

Protection against tick-transmitted Lyme disease in dogs vaccinated with a multiantigenic vaccine.

In an effort to develop a safe and effective vaccine for the prevention of Lyme borreliosis that addresses concerns raised over currently available vaccines, dogs were vaccinated twice with a multiantigenic preparation of Borrelia burgdorferi, strain N40, on days 0 and 20 of the experiment. About 70 and 154 days after the first immunization, dogs were challenged by exposing them to field-collected Ixodes scapularis ticks harboring B. burgdorferi. Vaccinated dogs were completely protected from infection by all criteria utilized to assess infection, developed high-titer anti-B. burgdorferi serum antibodies and growth inhibitory activity which persisted for over 200 days, and did not demonstrate any untoward consequence of vaccination. Serum absorption experiments revealed that borreliacidal and most likely protective antibodies in dogs receiving the multiantigenic preparation were not only elicited against the OspA antigen, but were also produced against additional yet to be determined targets on B. burgdorferi organisms. These data demonstrate that a multiantigenic vaccine is effective in preventing Lyme disease transmitted via the natural vector.

Naturally occurring vertical transmission of Neospora caninum in dogs.

Vertical transmission of Neospora caninum was studied in naturally infected, privately owned dogs, using antibody detection by IFAT to identify infected individuals. Retrospective studies were undertaken in litters from six bitches of the Hamiltonstövare breed, and on litters from seven bitches of other breeds--in both cases following diagnosis of clinical disease in puppies--and prospective studies were carried out on 17 seropositive bitches of other breeds. Puppies were classified as infected if either pre-colostral sera, or serum taken at > or = 5 weeks, had a titre of > or = 1:50 in the IFAT. The frequency of putative congenital transmission was variable; three seropositive dams produced successive litters, each containing seropositive puppies; four other seropositive bitches, which each whelped twice, produced six litters in which all pups were seronegative. Bitches born to seropositive dams themselves produced litters containing seropositive pups. In the retrospective studies, 32/61 (52%) of pups tested born to 13 seropositive dams were themselves seropositive and 22/88 (25%) of all pups born developed clinical signs compatible with a diagnosis of neosporosis. However, in the prospective study, only 4/118 (3%) pups tested from 17 seropositive dams were seropositive and 4/122 (3%) of all pups born developed signs consistent with neosporosis. This difference reflected levels of IFAT titre in the two groups of bitches and overall the proportion of pups seropositive was strongly and positively correlated (r = 0.980, P < 0.05) with bitch IFAT titre. Overall, 80% of pups born to seropositive dams were not infected as determined serologically. This study shows that the frequency of vertical transmission of naturally acquired Neospora infection in dogs is variable, but much too low to sustain infection alone. Post-natal infection must occur to maintain infection at seroprevalence rates reported in dog populations.