Epidemiological distribution of respiratory viral pathogens in marketable vaccinated broiler chickens in five governorates in the Nile Delta, Egypt, from January 2022 to October 2022.

Background and Aim: Respiratory viral infections significantly negatively impact animal welfare and have significant financial implications in the poultry industry. This study aimed to determine the frequency of the most economically relevant respiratory viruses that circulated in Egyptian chicken flocks in 2022. Materials and Methods: Chickens from 359 broiler flocks in five different Egyptian governorates in the Nile Delta (Beheira, Gharbia, Giza, Monufiya, and Qalyoubia) at marketing time (33-38 days of age) were used in this study. Combined oropharyngeal and cloacal swabs and tissue samples were collected from clinically diseased or freshly dead birds suffering from respiratory disease. Avian influenza (AI)-H5, AI-H9, Newcastle disease (ND), and infectious bronchitis virus (IBV) were analyzed by reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction. Results: Of the 359 flocks examined, 293 tested positive, whereas 66 were completely negative for the four viruses evaluated, with the highest positive results in Beheira. Out of 293 positive flocks, 211 were positive for a single virus, with Beheira having the highest rate, followed by Qalyoubia, Giza, and Monufiya. ND virus (NDV) was found to be the highest across all governorates, followed by IBV, AI-H9, and AI-H5. A double infection was detected in 73 flocks with either H9 or ND, or both H9 and IB could coinfect each other. The most common viral coinfections were H9 + IB, ND + IB, and ND + H9. Giza had the highest prevalence of ND + H9, H9 + IB, and ND + IB coinfection in the governorates, followed by Monufiya and Beheira. Only six out of 359 flocks were tribally infected with ND + H9 + IB in Giza, Monufiya, and Beheira governorates. On the basis of the number of flocks and the month of the year, July had the lowest number of flocks (23), while September and October had the highest number (48 flocks). Positive flock numbers were highest in October and lowest in January. Conclusion: From January to October 2022, prevalent respiratory viral infections (H5N1, NDV, H9N2, and IBV) were detected in broiler chickens across the Delta area governorate, according to the findings of the present study. In addition, IBV and H9, either alone or in combination, significantly contributed to the respiratory infection observed in broiler chickens. Regardless of the type and origin of the vaccine used, it is not possible to protect broiler chickens from the development of the infection and the subsequent dissemination of the virus into the poultry environment. In the presence of face-infectious field virus mutations, poultry vaccinations must be regularly reviewed and updated, and poultry farms must take further biosecurity measures.

Investigation of aspergillosis outbreak in young ducklings: Unraveling the role of hatcheries in Aspergillus fumigatus transmission.

Objective: Aspergillosis is a disease that affects several species of birds and causes substantial losses in the poultry business. The purpose of the investigation was to identify the pathogen responsible for a respiratory outbreak among juvenile ducklings. Materials and Methods: An epidemic of Aspergillosis infected a total of 800 Muscovy ducks that were being reared in El-Beheira Governorate. Tissue samples were obtained to isolate suspected fungi from diseased birds and the hatchery environment. In addition, identification and molecular characterization were performed on the obtained fungal isolates. Results: Affected birds displayed acute respiratory manifestations such as difficulty breathing, gasping for air, nasal discharge, and a mortality rate of up to 28.1%. Postmortem examination revealed bronchitis, tracheitis, congested lungs, air sacculitis, severe multifocal granulomatous pneumonia, a congested, enlarged liver, and a congested kidney with nephritis. Mycological examination revealed seven Aspergillus (A.) spp. isolates from ducklings and six from hatcheries. Isolate colonial morphology and microscopical examination were as follows: A. fumigatus, A. niger, Syncephalastrum racemosum, and four untypable isolates. These isolates were further identified by polymerase chain reaction (PCR), and the internal transcribed spacers (ITSs) gene was detected. Four representative isolates were submitted for sequencing and further phylogenetic analysis. The source of duckling infection might be linked to the hatchery environment due to the observed similarity of isolates from both affected birds and the hatchery, as evidenced by phylogenetic analysis. Conclusion: Our findings demonstrated the significance of appropriate hatchery control in preventing infection in young ducklings. Furthermore, the use of molecular identification techniques would be helpful for tracing the source of infection and rapid diagnosis of Aspergillus in the field.

Protective Efficacy of Inactivated H9N2 Vaccine in Turkey Poults under Both Experimental and Field Conditions.

Low pathogenic avian influenza (LPAI) H9N2 virus is one of the major poultry pathogens associated with severe economic losses in the poultry industry (broiler, layers, breeders, and grandparents' flocks), especially in endemic regions including the Middle East, North Africa, and Asian countries. This work is an attempt to evaluate the efficacy of whole inactivated H9N2 vaccine (MEFLUVACTM H9) in turkey poults kept under laboratory and commercial farm conditions. Here, 10,000 white turkey poults (1-day old) free from maternally derived immunity against H9N2 virus were divided into four groups; G1 involved 10 vaccinated birds kept under biosafety level-3 (BLS-3) as a laboratory vaccinated and challenged group, while G2 had 9970 vaccinated turkeys raised on a commercial farm. Ten of those birds were moved to BLS-3 for daily cloacal and tracheal swabbing to check for the absence of any life-threating disease, before conducting analyses. G3 (10 birds) served as a non-vaccinated challenged control under BSL-3 conditions, while G4 (10 birds) was used as a non-vaccinated and non-challenged control under BSL-3 conditions. Sera were collected on days 7-, 14-, 21-, and 28-post-vaccinations to monitor the humoral immune response using a hemagglutination-inhibition (HI) test. At these same intervals, cloacal and tracheal swabs were also checked for any viral infection. The challenge was conducted 28 days post-vaccination (PV) using AI-H9N2 in BSL-3 by intranasal inoculation of 6-log10 embryo infective dose50 (EID50). At 3-, 6-, and 10-days post-challenge, oropharyngeal swabs were taken from challenged birds to quantify viral shedding by quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). The results of this study showed that vaccinated groups (G1/2) developed HI titers of 1.38, 4.38, 5.88, and 7.25 log2 in G1 vs. 1.2, 3.8, 4.9 and 6.2 log2 in G2 when measured at 7-, 14-, 21- and 28-days PV, respectively, while undetectable levels were recorded in non-vaccinated groups (G3/4). Birds in G3 showed 90% clinical sickness vs. 10% and 20% in G1/2, respectively, over a 10-day monitoring period following challenge. Vaccinated birds showed a significant reduction in virus shedding in terms of the number of shedders, amount of shed virus and shedding interval over the non-vaccinated challenged birds. Regarding mortality, all groups did not show any mortality, which confirms that the circulating H9N2 virus still has low pathogenicity and cannot cause mortality. However, the virus may cause up to 90% clinical sickness in non-vaccinated birds vs. 10% and 20% in laboratory- and farm-vaccinated birds, respectively, highlighting the role of the vaccine in limiting clinical sickness cases. In conclusion, under the current trial circumstances, MEFLUVACTM-H9 provided protective seroconversion titers, significant clinical sickness protection and significant reduction in virus shedding either in laboratory- or farm-vaccinated groups after a single vaccine dose.

Noncomplicated Excision of a Mobile Pedunculated Septal Hemangioma of the Left Ventricle.

BACKGROUND Cardiac tumors are quite rare, and differential diagnosis of them is challenging. CASE REPORT A young lady with a history of palpitations, dyspnea, and fatigue was proven by transthoracic echocardiography and cardiac magnetic resonance imaging to have a mobile left ventricular mass with rounded contour attached to the mid-part of the interventricular septum. The mass was approached via a posterior inter-atrial approach to avoid left ventriculotomy and provide adequate exposure to completely excise the tumor and control its pedicle with minimal cardiac trauma. Histological examination of the mass was diagnostic of capillary and sinusoidal hemangioma. CONCLUSIONS Complete excision of cardiac hemangioma is recommended once it is diagnosed, for histopathologic diagnosis and because of the possibility of serious complications.

Use of allicin as feed additive to enhance vaccination capacity of Clostridium perfringens toxoid in rabbits.

The present study assessed the efficacy of Clostridium perfringens (C. perfringens) toxoid and/or allicin - as feed additive - in rabbits for preventing or minimizing the severity of infection with locally isolated strain of C. perfringens type A. Serum biochemical, immunological and pathological investigations were also done. One hundred rabbits of 6 weeks of age were divided into five equal groups (G1-G5). G1 were kept as normal control. G2 was allocated for C. perfringens type A infection. G3 was vaccinated with C. perfringens toxoid at zero time and then with a booster dose at the 3rd week of the experimental period. G4 was treated with allicin 20% added to the ration (200mg/kg ration) all over the experimental period. G5 was vaccinated with C. perfringens toxoid at the zero time then with a booster dose at the 3rd week of the experiment period, and treated with allicin 20% from the zero time till the end of the experiment. At the 4th week, G2, G3, G4 and G5 were challenged orally (5 ml) and subcutaneously (2 ml) with 24h cooked meat broth containing 1 × 10(7) colony-forming units/ml of C. perfringens type A strain. Blood and tissue samples were collected from all groups po st-vaccination then post-challenge for biochemical analysis, serum neutralization test and histopathological examinations. Results revealed that rabbits treated with both allicin and toxoid vaccine demonstrated high level of antitoxin titre post-challenge, improved liver and kidney functions, and reduced morbidity and mortality rates and the severity of histopathological changes associated with challenge of rabbits with C. perfringens type A strain. In conclusion, vaccination of rabbits with C. perfringens toxoid combined with allicin 20% gave better protection, enhanced immune response and had no adverse effects on the general health conditions against C. perfringens type A infection compared to rabbits vaccinated with C. perfringens toxoid only.

A comparison between plasmapheresis and intravenous immunoglobulin in children with Guillain-Barré syndrome in Upper Egypt.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of our study is to assess the clinico-electrophysiological profile of children with Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) in Upper Egypt and to compare the efficacy of plasmapheresis versus other treatment modalities. PATIENTS AND METHODS: This was a retrospective study of children from January 2010 to October 2014 diagnosed as GBS. It included 62 cases. RESULTS: Acute inflammatory demyelinating polyradiculoneuropathy (AIDP) was the most prevalent type of GBS in our locality. As regards the treatment, 32 cases received plasmapheresis while 30 patients received intravenous immunoglobulin. We found a significant decrease in the duration of hospitalization and a significant increase in the number of children with complete recovery in cases treated with plasmapheresis. CONCLUSION: GBS is not uncommon in children of Upper Egypt, with AIDP the most prevalent type. Plasmapheresis is the best treatment modalities for GBS as it reduces the duration of hospital stay and hastens the recovery of those children.

Comparative study between the effect of nitazoxanide and paromomycine in treatment of cryptosporidiosis in hospitalized children.

Ninety children infected with Cryptosporidium parvum attending Al-Azhar University Teaching Hospital (Assuit) were chosen (60 males & 30 females) with age range from 6 months to ten years. The patients were divided into two groups of 45 patients for each (G1 & G2). All patients suffered from chronic diarrhea for more than fifteen days. Cross-matched 45 children suffering from chronic diarrhea were used as a control group (G3). Stool samples were collected and examined for detection of Cryptosporidium oocysts using Sheather's sugar and Modified Ziehl-Nelseen stain techniques. The first group (G1) received Nitazoxanide (100 mg and 200 mg every 12 hours for 3 days for children aged 6 months to 3 years and chil dren aged 4 to 10 years respectively), G2 received Paromomycin (25 mg/kg/day for 2 weeks). Third group received placebo. Significant improvement and shortening of the duration of diarrhea occur in G1; of 45 patients received Nitazoxanide 39 cases showed complete clinical and laboratory cure (86.6%), 5 cases showed clinical improvement with reduction in the number of oocysts and 1 case showed no cure. In G2 of 45 cases received Paromomycin 31 cases showed complete cure (68.8%), 8 cases showed clinical improvement with reduction of oocysts number and 6 cases were not cured. Nitazoxanide proved highly effective than Paromomycin in cryptosporidiosis.