ABSTRACT
Avian influenza (AI) is a disease caused by influenza viruses type A that belong to the Orthomyxoviridae family. AI induces high economic losses in poultry production worldwide. Due to a possible outbreak, a national surveillance program was needed. From April to July 2016, 152 industrial poultry farms were randomly sampled. All samples were analyzed by competitive ELISA for Influenza type A viruses. Suspicious and positive sera were further analyzed by Hemagglutination Inhibition (HI) in order to serotype H5 or H7 low pathogenic avian influenza virus (LPAIV). The farms sampled showed 94.08%, 3.95% and 1.97% of negative, positive and suspicious results, respectively. However, serotyping revealed all positive and suspicious samples were negative to H5/H7 LPAIV. Our results show the absence of AI in the mainland Ecuadorian industrial poultry production.
Subject(s)
Influenza A virus/isolation & purification , Influenza in Birds/epidemiology , Poultry Diseases/epidemiology , Animals , Cross-Sectional Studies , Ecuador/epidemiology , Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay/veterinary , Hemagglutination Inhibition Tests/veterinary , Poultry , Poultry Diseases/virology , Seroepidemiologic StudiesABSTRACT
Stimulating cells by using light is a non-invasive technique that provides flexibility in probing different locations while minimizing unintended effects on the system. We propose a new way to make cells photosensitive without using genetic or chemical manipulation, which alters natural cells, in conjunction with Quantum Dots (QDs). Remote switching of cellular activity by optical QD excitation is demonstrated by integrating QDs with cells: CdTe QD films with prostate cancer (LnCap) cells, and CdSe QD films and probes with cortical neurons. Changes in membrane potential and ionic currents are recorded by using the patch-clamp method. Upon excitation, the ion channels in the cell membrane were activated, resulting in hyperpolarization or depolarization of the cell.
