Molecular identification of Chrysomya albiceps (Diptera: Calliphoridae) in a case of primary cutaneous myiasis in sheep at southern Brazil.

Sheep farming has been growing in Brazil, driven by an expanding consumer market due to greater acceptance of its meat and derivatives. There are several factors that limit sheep production, and one of them is infestation by ectoparasites, which cause stress in animals, weight loss, poor development, low productivity, low quality wool and reduced fertility. Chrysomya albiceps is a species of blowfly belonging to the Calliphoridae family that occurs in neotropical regions, where it causes secondary myiasis. We identified here a rare case of cutaneous myiasis with the presence of tissue lesions caused by C. albiceps in sheep in southern Brazil. We highlight the need to carry out more in-depth studies regarding the biology of these insects, with the aim of proving this atypical behavior for Brazil.

Activity of Oyster Mushrooms, Genus Pleurotus (Agaricomycetes), on Lucilia cuprina (Diptera).

Lucilia cuprina is a vector of important diseases in humans and animals that causes myiasis in sheep, leading to enormous damage to the sheep sector. Chemical products are used to control these flies; however, there are reports of resistance in addition to these products causing toxicity to the environment, humans, and animals, so alternative controls have been studied to reduce these impacts. Pleurotus spp. are basidiomycete fungi and present bioactive compounds with medicinal properties. Due to the potential use of fungi to control Diptera, this study aimed to verify the activity of Pleurotus florida, P. ostreatus, and P. djamor in the control of larvae and adults of L. cuprina, as well as the effects of aqueous extracts of the fungi P. ostreatus, P. djamor, and P. florida on larvae and adults of L. cuprina. The aqueous extract from P. florida was the only one that showed larvicidal activity against L. cuprina, with a half-maximal effective concentration of 11.42 mg/mL. In the test with adult stages, 30 insects were used for each solution concentration, sprinkled with 1 mL of the solution. All aqueous extracts showed adulticidal activity at all concentrations, P. ostreatus showing the best results, with adult mortality ranging from 75.86 to 100%. Our results demonstrated an important larvicidal effect of P. florida and an adulticidal effect of all AE, with emphasis on P. ostreatus.

Nematocidal Effect of Oyster Culinary-Medicinal Mushroom Pleurotus ostreatus (Agaricomycetes) against Haemonchus contortus.

The nematocidal effect of Pleurotus ostreatus (white variety of oyster mushroom) aqueous extract (AE) was evaluated against Haemonchus contortus eggs and infective larvae (L3) in vitro and in artificially infected gerbils (Meriones unguiculatus). The chemical analyses indicated that constituents of AE are tridecanoic, tetradecanoic, linolelaidic, 9,15-octadecadienoic, and oxalic acids. P. ostreatus extract inhibited larval hatching by 100% at the concentration of 2.24 mg/mL and (50% effective concentration) EC50 of 0.73 mg/mL. In the larval development test, AE induced a larvicidal effect at the concentration of 50 mg/mL and EC50 of 17.24 mg/mL. The larval migration test revealed a reduction of 94.7% at a concentration of as low as 4 mg/mL and EC50 of 1.25 mg/mL. No significant effects of treatment with P. ostreatus AE were seen on H. contortus in the gerbil model. Thus, our results demonstrate an important nematocidal in vitro effect of P. ostreatus AE against the parasite H. contortus. However, further investigations are necessary to confirm the anthelmintic potential of P. ostreatus extract in small ruminants.

Increased NTPDase activity in lymphocytes during experimental sepsis.

We investigated in rats induced to sepsis the activity of ectonucleoside triphosphate diphosphohydrolase (NTPDase; CD39; E.C. 3.6.1.5), an enzyme involved in the modulation of immune responses. After 12 hours of surgery, lymphocytes were isolated from blood and NTPDase activity was determined. It was also performed the histology of kidney, liver, and lung. The results demonstrated an increase in the hydrolysis of adenosine-5'-triphosphate (ATP) (P < 0.01), but no changes regarding adenosine-5'-monophosphate (ADP) hydrolysis (P > 0.05). Histological analysis showed several morphological changes in the septic group, such as vascular congestion, necrosis, and infiltration of mononuclear cells. It is known that the intracellular milieu contains much more ATP nucleotides than the extracellular. In this context, the increased ATPasic activity was probably induced as a dynamic response to clean up the elevated ATP levels resulting from cellular death.

Infecção natural por trypanosoma evansi em cães / Natural infection by trypanosoma evansi in dogs

O presente trabalho relata duas infecções naturais por Trypanosoma evansi em cães, que vieram a óbito no município de Uruguaiana, RS. Os animais oriundos da zona rural foram recebidos no hospital veterinário da Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio Grande do Sul (PUCRS), em diferentes datas, apresentando apatia, febre e aumento dos linfonodos submandibulares. No esfregaço sangüíneo, foram identificadas formas flageladas pertencentes à espécie T. evansi. A verificação desses casos serve de alerta aos proprietários de animais e médicos veterinários para a presença da doença na região e salienta a necessidade de maiores investigações na epidemiologia da parasitose e criação de medidas profiláticas que evitem novas infecções.