Trypanosoma cruzi co-infections with other vector borne diseases are frequent in dogs from the pacific coast of Ecuador.

Dogs are a reservoir for Chagas disease, caused by Trypanosoma cruzi (T. cruzi), and other companion vector-borne diseases, including ehrlichiosis (Ehrlichia canis and Ehrlichia ewingii), anaplasmosis (Anaplasma phagocytophilum and Anaplasma platys), dirofilariasis (Dirofilaria immitis) and Lyme disease (Borrelia burgdorferi). This study has two key objectives: 1) to determine seroreactivity against T. cruzi in dogs from the town of Colón, in Portoviejo city, in the central coast of Ecuador; and 2) to establish the coinfection frequency of other companion vector-borne diseases in dogs positive for T. cruzi. Antibodies against T. cruzi were detected using two enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays. Diagnostic consensus between ELISA tests was established using the Cohen's Kappa coefficient. Other haemoparasitic diseases were detected using the IDEXX SNAP® 4Dx® kit in dogs previously diagnosed as T. cruzi-seropositive. From 84 dogs sampled, 57.14% (48/84) tested positive for T. cruzi. Co-infection analysis of 25 dogs positive for T. cruzi revealed antibodies also against Ehrlichia spp. (48%), Anaplasma spp. (28%), and Dirofilaria immitis (12%). These results provide a novel perspective regarding the status of these pathogens which co-infect dogs in Colón. Since all these pathogens are zoonotic, our findings should warn regional health authorities to implement sanitary programs, to better prevent and control vectors associated to these pathogens. On the other hand, human and veterinarian doctors, should consider that patients with a cardiac infection condition could be suffering co-infections with two or more vector transmitted pathogens.

Evaluation of Equine Infectious Anemia Virus by the Indirect Enzyme-linked Immunosorbent Assay EIA-LAB as Screening Tools in Mexico.

Equine infectious anemia is a worldwide distributed disease that affects the Equide family. Commercial effective vaccine is not available, for that reason control of the disease depends on diagnostic tools. To improve the efficiency of the diagnostic program in Cuba, LABIOFAM Group, developed an indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), ELISA kit, to complement the diagnostic system that currently uses the agar gel immunodiffusion (AGID) kit. The ELISA AIE-LAB Kit was evaluated in a Mexican context, compared with the gold standard test Agar gel immunodiffusion, AGID AIE-LABIOFAM, and commercial AGID kit. The analytical sensitivity was determined using serial dilutions twofold of the positive control serum to establish the range of detected antibodies in relation to the cutoff value of the plate (OD 0.300). A precision study was carried out to evaluate repeatability, intermediate precision, and reproducibility by estimating the standard deviation and coefficient of variation. The precision results were satisfactory and the values of the coefficient of variation were considered adequate to guarantee an excellent consistency of the ELISA AIE-LAB. The diagnostic performance of the ELISA AIE-LAB involved the evaluation of specificity, sensitivity, and concordance in comparison with both AGID tests. The diagnostic sensitivity was 100% and the specificity 97.6%, with a very good degree of concordance (Kappa = 0.9). The results suggest that the ELISA AIE-LAB test could be used in Mexico as a diagnostic system for the detection of specific antibodies against the equine infectious anemia virus, as per current international norms.

Cannabinoids CB2 Receptors, One New Promising Drug Target for Chronic and Degenerative Pain Conditions in Equine Veterinary Patients.

Osteoarticular equine disease is a common cause of malady; in general, its therapy is supported on steroids and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatories. Nevertheless, many side effects may develop when these drugs are administered. Nowadays, the use of new alternatives for this pathology attention is demanded; in that sense, cannabinoid CB2 agonists may represent a novel alternative. Cannabinoid belongs to a group of molecules known by their psychoactive properties; they are synthetized by the Cannabis sativa plant, better known as marijuana. The aim of this study was to contribute to understand the pharmacology of cannabinoid CB2 receptors and its potential utilization on equine veterinary patients with a chronic degenerative painful condition. In animals, two main receptors for cannabinoids are recognized, the cannabinoid receptor type 1 and the cannabinoid receptor type 2. Once they are activated, both receptors exert a wide range of physiological responses, as nociception modulation. Recently, it has been proposed the use of synthetic cannabinoid type 2 receptor agonists; those receptors looks to confer antinociceptive properties but without the undesired psychoactive side effects; for that reason, veterinary patients, whit chronical degenerative diseases as osteoarthritis may alleviate one of the most common symptom, the pain, which in some cases for several reasons, as patient individualities, or side effects produced for more conventional treatments cannot be attended in the best way.

Phenotypic-genotypic resistance in Salmonella spp. isolated from cattle carcasses from the north central zone of the State of Mexico.

Salmonella is a public and animal health problem due to the generation of strains multiresistant to antimicrobial products. The objective of this study was to determine prevalence and antimicrobial phenotypic and genotypic resistance of Salmonella spp. isolated from beef cattle carcasses killed in slaughterhouses of the north central zone of the State of Mexico. Sampling was carried out according to the European Directive 2001/471/EC; isolation and identification of the strain was carried out according to the Mexican Official Standard NOM-114-SSA1-1994; resistance was established by CMI according to the National Committees for Clinical Laboratory Standards (NCLS) and multiplex PCR according to Ahmed et al. (Journal of Applied Microbiology 106:402-409, 2009) with PSE-1, tetG, qnrS, FloR, STR, and sul1 oligonucleotides. Twenty-seven strains of Salmonella spp. were obtained from 327 samples (prevalence of 0.083); 19 strains (70 %) were resistant to 10 µg/ml of ampicillin, 15 of these (79 %) had the PSE-1 gene; 22 strains (84 %) were resistant to 30 µg/ml streptomycin, 14 of these (63.6 %) had the STR gene. Genes PSE-1 and STR were factors in the presence of resistance, the rest of the genes (tetG, qnrS, FloR, and sul1) were not factors of resistance in the studied strains.

Resistencia antibiótica de genotipos de cepas de Salmonella spp de cerdos sacrificados en rastros del Estado de México / Antibiotic resistance of Salmonella spp strain genotypes isolated from pigs slaughtered at abattoirs in the Estado de Mexico

Multiresistant Salmonella serovar Typhimurium strains are a worldwide problem in animal and human health. The aim of this study was to determine the frequency of some Salmonella spp resistance genes (cmlA/tetR, PSE-1, TEM, Sip B/C) in strains isolated from pigs slaughtered at abattoirs in the Estado de Mexico. Of 87 analyzed strains 22 (25.28%) had phenotypical resistance to chloramphenicol (30 μg), 15 (17.24%) to ampicillin (10 μg) and 54 (62.07%) to sulfamethoxazole (60 μg). The phenotypical and genotypical relation of the 87 strains was: of the 22 chloramphenicol resistant strains only 14 (63.63%) expressed the cmlA/tetR resistance gene, and of the 65 strains non-resistant to chloramphenicol only 36 (55.38%) expressed the cmlA/tetR resistance gene. Regarding the 15 ampicillin resistant strains only 2 (13.33%) were carriers of the PSE-1 gene and 7 (46.66%) presented the TEM gene; both genes confer genotypical ampicillin resistance. Of 72 non-resistant ampicillin strains, 11 (15.27%) carried the TEM gene which confers ampicillin resistance. Two Salmonella strains (2.28%) belonged to phagotype DT104. Strains not showing phenotypical resistance but carrying resistance genes have not been exposed to selection by competition, although they possess the mechanism to express such resistance.

La aparición de cepas multirresistentes de Salmonella Typhimurium es un problema mundial, tanto en salud animal como en salud pública. El objetivo del presente trabajo fue determinar la frecuencia de algunos genes de resistencia (cmlA/tetR, PSE-1, TEM, Sip B/C) en cepas de Salmonella spp aisladas de cerdos en rastros del Estado de México. De las 87 cepas analizadas, 22/87 (25.28%) mostraron resistencia al cloranfenicol (30 μg), 15/87 (17.24%) a la ampicilina (10 μg) y 54/87 (62.07%) fueron resistentes al sulfametoxazol (60 μg). La relación fenotípica y genotípica de las 87 cepas analizadas fue: de las 22 cepas que presentaron resistencia fenotípica al cloranfenicol, sólo 14/22 (63.63%) expresaron el gen de resistencia cmlA/tetR, y de las 65 cepas que manifestaron sensibilidad al cloranfenicol, 36/65 (55.38%) expresaron el gen de resistencia cmlA/tetR. De las 15 cepas que expresaron resistencia a la ampicilina, sólo 2/15 (13.33%) mostraron el gen PSE-1, y 7/15 (46.66%) presentaron el gen TEM, ambos genes confieren resistencia genotípica a la ampicilina. De las 72 cepas que manifestaron sensibilidad a la ampicilina, 11 (15.27%) mostraron el gen TEM, el cual da resistencia a la ampicilina. De las 87 cepas de Salmonella sólo 2/87 (2.28%) expresaron el fagotipo DT104. Las cepas que son portadoras de genes de resistencia, pero no la manifiestan fenotípicamente, no han sido expuestas a una selección por competencia, por lo tanto, no expresan la resistencia fenotípica, pero cuentan con el mecanismo necesario para expresarla.