Trapping Triatominae Bugs Using Mice-Baited Traps along the Peninsula of Baja California, Mexico.

During an exploratory fieldtrip along the peninsula of Baja California, Mexico, we used mice-baited traps in search of Triatominae, the vectors of Chagas disease. A total of 433 traps were set in five localities following a latitude gradient along the peninsula. Triatominae were caught in rocky ecotopes in two localities. The specimens were identified as Paratriatoma hirsuta in the first locality, and Dipetalogaster maxima in the second, in accordance with the reported distributions of these species. The overall trap success was 3.1%, with an average of 1.3 bugs per positive trap. In the site with most bugs collected, trap success was 26.8%. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first time that mice-baited traps have been used in this geographic area to collect Triatominae bugs. This short report confirms the usefulness of this trapping system when standardized protocols are needed.

Genetic Analysis of Chelonid Herpesvirus 5 in Marine Turtles from Baja California Peninsula.

The Chelonid herpesvirus 5 (ChHV5) is the primary etiological agent associated with fibropapillomatosis (FP), a neoplastic disease in marine turtles. In this study, we report for the first time ChHV5 in marine turtles and a leech from Baja California Peninsula. Eighty-seven black, olive or loggerhead turtle species, one FP tumor and five leeches were analyzed. The tumor sample from an olive, a skin sample from a black and a leech resulted positive of ChHV5 for conventional PCR. Two viral variants were identified and grouped within the Eastern Pacific phylogenetic group, suggesting a possible flow of the virus in this region.

Genome-Wide SNP Signal Intensity Scanning Revealed Genes Differentiating Cows with Ovarian Pathologies from Healthy Cows.

Hypoplasia and ovarian cysts are the most common ovarian pathologies in cattle. In this genome-wide study we analyzed the signal intensity of 648,315 Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms (SNPs) and identified 1338 genes differentiating cows with ovarian pathologies from healthy cows. The sample consisted of six cows presenting an ovarian pathology and six healthy cows. SNP signal intensities were measured with a genotyping process using the Axiom Genome-Wide BOS 1 SNPchip. Statistical tests for equality of variance and mean were applied to SNP intensities, and significance p-values were obtained. A Benjamini-Hochberg multiple testing correction reveled significant SNPs. Corresponding genes were identified using the Bovine Genome UMD 3.1 annotation. Principal Components Analysis (PCA) confirmed differentiation. An analysis of Copy Number Variations (CNVs), obtained from signal intensities, revealed no evidence of association between ovarian pathologies and CNVs. In addition, a haplotype frequency analysis showed no association with ovarian pathologies. Results show that SNP signal intensity, which captures not only information for base-pair genotypes elucidation, but the amount of fluorescence nucleotide synthetization produced in an enzymatic reaction, is a rich source of information that, by itself or in combination with base-pair genotypes, might be used to implement differentiation, prediction and diagnostic procedures, increasing the scope of applications for Genotyping Microarrays.

Evaluation of two in-house immunoenzymatic tests to serodiagnose subclinical paratuberculisis in a sheep flock in Mexicali valley, Mexico.

Paratuberculosis (PTB) or Johne's disease is a common ruminant infectious disease caused by Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis (MAP). In this study, two MAP antigens were compared for their diagnostic utility to detect subclinical PTB in a sheep flock in Mexicali, Mexico. Sheep (n = 31) without clinical signs but positive on a direct fecal-polymerase chain reaction were tested with two preabsorbed in-house enzyme linked immunosorbent assays (ELISAs) using: (1) an ethanol-extracted surface lipid antigen (EVELISA) and (2) a protoplasmic antigen (ELISA-PPA). Sensitivities of the EVELISA and ELISA-PPA were 84% (95% CI; 66-95%) and 29% (95% CI; 14-48%), respectively. The EVELISA test could be a fast and effective way to identify subclinical ovine PTB for severely affected flocks.