RESUMO
This is the first report of the presence of Ixodes ricinus on beef cattle in Israel. Up to now, in the Middle East this tick was considered to be confined to Turkey and northern Iran. In the present study, tick samples collected from field-grazing beef cattle in western Galilee (northern Israel) were first examined morphologically for species-specific taxonomical features and then by molecular characterization. Ticks identified morphologically as I. ricinus were then examined by PCR with four different molecular markers: 12S rRNA, 16S rRNA, COX1 and cytochrome B. The PCR products were sequenced and compared with annotated I. ricinus sequences in GenBank™ and the analyzed sequences from the collected samples shared 98-99% identity with reported I. ricinus sequences. In contrast, sequences from the collected ticks shared identity of 91% or less with annotated sequences from other Ixodes species. Multiple alignments and neighbor-joining analyses performed for each of the four markers reinforced the results obtained from pairwise alignments. These findings demonstrated for the first time the presence in Israel of the tick species I. ricinus - with results confirmed by a combination of morphological examination and molecular analyses.
Assuntos
Ixodes/classificação , Ixodes/fisiologia , Animais , Bovinos , Citocromos b/genética , Complexo IV da Cadeia de Transporte de Elétrons/genética , Israel , Ixodes/anatomia & histologia , Ixodes/genética , Filogenia , Reação em Cadeia da Polimerase , RNA Ribossômico/genética , RNA Ribossômico 16S/genética , Alinhamento de Sequência , Especificidade da EspécieRESUMO
Classical swine fever (CSF) re-emerged in Israel in February 2009 after an absence of 62 years. The outbreak occurred on a domestic pig farm in northern Israel and affected domestic pigs and wild boar. On the basis of phylogenetic analysis of a 190 base pair fragment of the E2 glycoprotein gene, the Israeli CSF virus strain belonged to genotype 2.1 and was genetically most similar to a Chinese CSF virus strain.
Assuntos
Vírus da Febre Suína Clássica/genética , Peste Suína Clássica/epidemiologia , Surtos de Doenças/veterinária , Animais , Peste Suína Clássica/virologia , DNA Viral/genética , Israel/epidemiologia , Epidemiologia Molecular , Filogenia , Reação em Cadeia da Polimerase Via Transcriptase Reversa/veterinária , SuínosRESUMO
Reported here is an outbreak of 21 cases of Q fever that were diagnosed during 5 months in the spring and summer of 2001 at Rambam Medical Center, Haifa, Israel. An epidemiological investigation and a case-control study were conducted to identify risk factors associated with acquisition of the disease in this outbreak. Patients were more likely than controls to live in Krayot (a large suburb of Haifa) (76.2% vs. 41.5%; p=0.005), to have more contact with animals (usually pets) (66.7% vs. 26.9%; p=0.007), and to consume more unpasteurized dairy products (23.8% vs. 0%; p=0.01). The Krayot suburb is an entirely urban area, but several livestock facilities are located in its close vicinity, and some of them have been reported to harbor Q fever. Although the patients did not recall having had direct contact with farm animals, the results suggest the presence of livestock facilities in such close proximity to a residential area may cause urban outbreaks of Q fever.
