Equine infectious anemia prevalence in feral donkeys from Northeast Brazil.

Equine infectious anemia virus (EIAV) is an important cause of morbidity and mortality throughout the world. Although the virus infects all members of the Equidae the vast majority of studies have been conducted in horses (Equus caballus) with comparatively little information available for other equid species. Brazil has one of the most abundant donkey (E. asinus) populations of any nation although the economic importance of these animals is declining as transportation becomes increasingly mechanized. As a result, considerable numbers of donkeys especially in the Northeast of the country have been released and allowed pursue an almost feral existence. Consequently, this large and growing population constitutes a significant risk as a reservoir for the maintenance and transmission of important equine infectious diseases such as glanders and equine arteritis virus in addition to EIAV. This study examines the prevalence of EIA in a semi-wild donkey population from Mossoró city, in Northeast Brazil, using AGID followed by cELISA, rgp90 ELISA and immunoblot (IB). Serum samples were collected from 367 donkeys without obvious EIA clinical signs. Subsequent testing revealed seropositive rates of 1.6% (6/367) in officially approved AGID tests, 3.3% (12/367) in cELISA and 14.4% (53/367) in the rgp90 ELISA. However, 88.7% (47/53) of the rgp90 ELISA positive samples were almost certainly false reactions because they failed to react with two or more antigens in IB. Consequently, the rpg90 ELISA has a similar sensitivity to AGID with donkey serum samples. Such high false positive rates have not been observed previously with serum samples from horses. Another highly significant finding is that 56.9% (33/58) of the donkey serum samples tested in IB had reactivity to EIAV p26 only. Although this could result from recent infection with the virus, it has been found that in some equids p26 only reactivity persists for extensive periods of time suggesting exposure to antigens possessing cross-reactive determinants or EIAV strains with envelope glycoproteins that are different from any that have been previously characterized and so undetectable by current IB techniques.

Occurrence of Pseudocowpox virus associated to Bovine viral diarrhea virus-1, Brazilian Amazon.

In 2011, an outbreak of severe vesicular disease occurred in the state of Pará, Amazon region. Besides proliferative or verrucous lesions, cattle showed atypical clinical signs such as diarrhea and leading to death. The animals were submitted to clinical, pathological and molecular diagnosis, and laboratory tests have confirmed the presence of Pseudocowpox virus (PCPV), a Parapoxvirus genus member, and have also found Bovine viral diarrhea virus-1 (BVDV-1), probably causing persistent infection. The results of molecular diagnostics, followed by sequencing data demonstrated the circulation of both viruses (PCPV and BVDV-1) in an area previously affected by another poxvirus, as Vaccinia virus.The cocirculation between PCPV and BVDV-1 indicates a major concern for animal health because the clinical presentation can be a severe disease. This is the first detection of PCPV in the Brazilian Amazon.

Multicentric lymphoma in buffaloes in the Amazon region, Brazil.

BACKGROUND: The presence of lymphoma in buffaloes was first reported in India in the 1960s. The disease is similar to Enzootic Bovine Leucosis (EBL) caused by Bovine leukemia virus (BLV) in cattle; however, according to our results and those of other studies, the etiology of these lymphomas in buffalo do not appear to be associated with BLV. The objectives of this study are to describe four cases of the disease in buffaloes belonging to the same herd in the Amazon region of Brazil and to perform a clinical-anatomopathological, immunohistochemical, and etiological study of the lymphomas. RESULTS: Over a period of ten years, four buffaloes were observed presenting progressive weight loss, swelling of peripheral lymph nodes, and nodules in the subcutaneous tissue. Upon necropsy, whitish-colored tumor masses were observed in the form of nodules in the subcutaneous tissue, along with miliary nodules on the serosal surfaces of abdominal and thoracic organs and tumors in lymph nodes and other organs. Neoplastic lymphocyte proliferation was observed through histopathology. An immunohistochemical study revealed that the neoplasias were formed by proliferation of predominantly B lymphocytes. The presence of BLV genome was not detected in the lymphomas when using the real-time PCR technique, nor was it detected through immunohistochemical staining using monoclonal antibodies against two viral proteins. Bovine herpesvirus 6 was not detected in the tumors. However, Bovine immunodeficiency virus (BIV) was detected in samples of lymphoma and in the lymph nodes and kidneys of one of the animals. CONCLUSIONS: The occurrence of lymphoma in buffaloes is reported for the first time in Brazil and is characterized by B-cell multicentric lymphoma. The etiology of the disease does not appear to be associated with BLV; however, the detection of BIV in samples of lymphoma from one sick animal deserves further study, considering the oncogenic potential of this virus.

Molecular assays reveal the presence of Theileria spp. and Babesia spp. in Asian water buffaloes (Bubalus bubalis, Linnaeus, 1758) in the Amazon region of Brazil.

Approximately 50% of buffalo herds in Brazil are located in Pará state in northern Brazil. There are several properties where cattle and buffalo live and graze together, and thus, buffalo pathogens may threaten the health of cattle and vice versa. Therefore, knowledge of infectious agents of buffalo is essential for maintaining healthy livestock. Clinical disease caused by Theileria and Babesia parasites in the Asian water buffalo is not common, although these animals may act as reservoir hosts, and the detection of these hemoparasites in buffaloes is as important as it is in cattle. Studies of the infection of buffaloes by hemoparasites in Brazil are scarce. The objective of the present study was to investigate the occurrence of Piroplasmida parasites in Asian water buffaloes in the state of Pará in the Amazon region of Brazil using nested PCR assays and phylogenetic analysis. The 18S rRNA gene and ITS complete region were amplified from DNA extracted from blood samples collected from 308 apparently healthy buffaloes bred on six properties in the state of Pará, Brazil. The prevalence of positive buffalo samples was 4.2% (13/308) for Theileria spp., 3.6% (11/308) for Babesia bovis and 1% (3/308) for Babesia bigemina. Animals infected with Theileria were detected in 50% (3/6) of the assessed properties. Phylogenetic analyses indicated that the Theileria species detected in this study were closely related to Theileria buffeli, Theileria orientalis and Theileria sinensis. To our knowledge, this is the first report of Theileria in Asian water buffaloes in the Americas. The majority of Theileria-positive buffaloes (11/13) belong to a property that has a history of animals presenting lymphoproliferative disease of unknown etiology. Therefore, the present research suggests that this disorder can be associated with Theileria infection in this property. Our results provide new insights on the distribution and biological aspects of hemoparasites transmissible from buffaloes to cattle.

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.

Reemergence of vaccinia virus during Zoonotic outbreak, Pará State, Brazil.

In 2010, vaccinia virus caused an outbreak of bovine vaccinia that affected dairy cattle and rural workers in Pará State, Brazil. Genetic analyses identified the virus as distinct from BeAn58058 vaccinia virus (identified in 1960s) and from smallpox vaccine virus strains. These findings suggest spread of autochthonous group 1 vaccinia virus in this region.

Surto de encefalomielite equina Leste na Ilha de Marajó, Pará / Eastern equine encephalitis on Marajó Island, Pará state, Brazil

Nove casos de encefalomielite equina foram estudados na Ilha de Marajó, estado do Pará, Brasil. Os equinos apresentavam dificuldade em se manter em estação, andavam em círculo, tinham acentuada depressão, pálpebras cerradas, paralisia da língua, tremores musculares, bruxismo, anorexia e desidratação. Alguns apresentavam diminuição dos reflexos auricular, palpebral, de ameaça, diminuição do tônus da língua e taquicardia. Posição de auto-auscultação foi observada com frequência. Os animais muitas vezes eram encontrados apoiados em troncos e cercas para se manterem em estação. À necropsia verificou-se hemorragia das leptomeninges e da medula, alguns apresentaram ainda aderência das leptomeninges. À histopatologia verificou-se encefalite difusa que afetava principalmente a substância cinzenta, com meningite e coroidite. Foi observada perivasculite mononuclear. Em dois equinos identificou-se o vírus da encefalomielite equina Leste pela reação de Semi-Nested transcrição reversa de polimerase em cadeia (Semi-Nested RT-PCR).

Nine cases of equine encephalomyelitis on Marajó Island, state of Pará, Brazil, were studied. The affected horses had difficulty to stand, walked in circles, with marked depression, closed eyelids, tongue paralysis, muscle tremors, bruxism, anorexia and dehydration. Some had their ear and eyelid reflexes diminished, decreased tongue tone and tachycardia; laid down frequently they kept their head on the chest. Often they were seen resting their head on tree trunks or fences. At necropsy, hemorrhages of the meninges and spinal cord, and in some animals also adhesion of the meninges were found. Histologically there was diffuse encephalitis affecting mainly the gray matter, with meningitis and choroiditis. Presence of perivascular cuffs consisting of mononuclear inflammatory cells was observed. From two horses the Eastern equine encephalitis virus was identified by semi-nested reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (semi-nested RT-PCR).

Multifocal cutaneous ORF virus infection in goats in the Amazon region, Brazil.

Orf virus is the etiological agent of contagious ecthyma, a severe exanthematic disease that affects small ruminants. Orf virus is zoonosis that is associated with occupational contact with infected animals in human disease. Clinically, contagious ecthyma is characterized by the appearance of vesicles, pustules, ulcers, and papillomatous proliferative lesions on the skin of the lips and nostrils. Here we describe a case of lethal cutaneous multifocal Orf virus infection in goats in the Amazon region of Brazil. Exanthematic lesions were collected and epidemiological and clinical data were obtained. Orf virus was detected using PCR amplification of the whole B2L, VIR, and VEGF open reading frame. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that this virus clustered together with the Orf virus samples isolated during classical contagious ecthyma. The present work is the first to report a severe proliferative Orf virus case in South America.