Reproduction and Productivity in Dairy Cattle after Abortions Both Related and Unrelated to Coxiella burnetii.

C. burnetii is a widespread pathogen, causing abortions and reproductive disorders in ruminants. The study aimed to evaluate animal reproductive capacity and productivity after abortion, related and unrelated to C. burnetii. We compared data about the abortion time, the outcome of the animals after an abortion, further reproduction, and productivity for C. burnetii-positive (n = 148) and C. burnetii-negative (n = 149) aborted dairy cows and heifers. C. burnetii-positive animals had a positive serological response or presence of C. burnetii DNA at the time of abortion. C. burnetii-positive animals had a significantly higher number of lactations at the time of abortion. However, in the other indicators, we observed no significant differences between the groups. Comparing indicators of all the aborted animals, we found that if animals started a new lactation after abortion, they had a significantly lower milk yield, lower fat, protein, and somatic cell counts (SCCs) in milk during the standard lactation for both primiparous and multiparous cows compared to herd averages in each group. Lower SCCs can be due to animals with a high SCC being culled earlier. We found an economic disadvantage to aborting, not only because of the loss of offspring, but also because of the high culling rate and lower productivity in both primiparous and multiparous cows.

Coxiella Burnetii DNA in Milk, Milk Products, and Fermented Dairy Products.

INTRODUCTION: Q fever in dairy cattle has been investigated in Latvia since 2012. In 2015, 10.7% of farms tested positive for the DNA of C. burnetii, its aetiological agent, in bulk tank milk. The presence of C. burnetii DNA and infectious bacteria in dairy products has been assessed in several countries, and because Latvian milk may contain them, parallel assessment in this country is recommended. Accordingly, the present study tested shop and farm retail dairy products from Latvia and included foreign products for comparison. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Investigation was carried out of 187 samples of a diverse range of dairy products from 41 Latvian milk producers. Twenty-six comparable samples pooled from Estonia, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Poland and Spain were also included. The all-countries total number of fermented milk products was 160. Special attention was paid to products that could be more attractive to children because of their added chocolate, cacao, berry and fruit content. DNA was extracted and amplification of C. burnetii IS1111 was performed using a commercial PCR kit. RESULTS: Overall positivity was 60.56%. Domestic products were positive more often (60.96%) than foreign ones (57.69%). Only 26.67% of unpasteurised Latvian cow's milk samples were positive whereas 76.47% of pasteurised equivalents and 63.13% of fermented milk products were. Sweetened and fruit-containing samples were 71.43% positive. CONCLUSION: The shedding of C. burnetii via milk should be monitored and only milk from healthy animals allowed for sale for direct human consumption without pasteurisation. Raw milk quality and the effectiveness of industrial heat treatment and pasteurisation methods in Latvia and other countries should be carefully assessed to ensure adequate consumer health protection.

Co-Occurrence of Free-Living Amoeba and Legionella in Drinking Water Supply Systems.

Background and Objectives: Legionella is one of the most important water-related pathogens. Inside the water supply systems and the biofilms, Legionella interact with other bacteria and free-living amoeba (FLA). Several amoebas may serve as hosts for bacteria in aquatic systems. This study aimed to investigate the co-occurrence of Legionella spp. and FLA in drinking water supply systems. Materials and Methods: A total of 268 water samples were collected from apartment buildings, hotels, and public buildings. Detection of Legionella spp. was performed in accordance with ISO 11731:2017 standard. Three different polymerase chain reaction (PCR) protocols were used to identify FLA. Results: Occurrence of Legionella varied from an average of 12.5% in cold water samples with the most frequent occurrence observed in hot water, in areas receiving untreated groundwater, where 54.0% of the samples were Legionella positive. The occurrence of FLA was significantly higher. On average, 77.2% of samples contained at least one genus of FLA and, depending on the type of sample, the occurrence of FLA could reach 95%. In the samples collected during the study, Legionella was always isolated along with FLA, no samples containing Legionella in the absence of FLA were observed. Conclusions: The data obtained in our study can help to focus on the extensive distribution, close interaction, and long-term persistence of Legionella and FLA. Lack of Legionella risk management plans and control procedures may promote further spread of Legionella in water supply systems. In addition, the high incidence of Legionella-related FLA suggests that traditional monitoring methods may not be sufficient for Legionella control.

Potential risk evaluation for unintended entry of genetically modified plant Propagating material in Europe through import of seeds and animal feed - the experience of Latvia.

Significant attention has been drawn to the adventitious and technically unavoidable presence of genetically modified (GM) organisms in the food and feed imported into the European Union (EU), while the potential presence of GM seeds in material for cultivation is less studied. Here we report a study from an EU member state, Latvia, during years 2017-2018 regarding monitoring for the presence of GM seeds in certified seed and animal feed material. Eighty-two and 28 samples of seeds intended for cultivation were analyzed in 2017 and 2018, respectively. One soybean sample contained MON40-3-2 soybean seeds (0.09 ± 0.01%) and one maize sample contained MON810 maize seeds (0.08 ± 0.01%). In addition, 102 samples of feed imported from outside of the EU or produced locally were also analyzed for the presence of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) and viability of grains. One oilseed rape cake sample contained GT73 (1.04 ± 0.01%) and one soybean cake sample contained MON40-3-2 (<0.045%). One sample of declared MON40-3-2 GM soybean cake was confirmed to be positive, with MON40-3-2 content of 94.78 ± 10.01%. One soybean sample submitted by feed producer and originating from Argentina contained 54.9 ± 1.1% of MON40-3-2 and one rapeseed sample originating from Ukraine contained 5.30 ± 3.95% of GT73. Although only two seed samples contained low levels of GMOs authorized in the EU for food and feed uses, this study reinforced the need to maintain regular monitoring programs that assist farmers in their efforts to comply with the current EU GMO legislation.

DNA extraction from amoebal isolates and genotype determination of Acanthamoeba from tap water in Latvia.

Acanthamoeba are free-living amoebae found in various ecological environments, and they are major microbial predators. Some Acanthamoeba species can cause keratitis, granulomatous amoebic encephalitis, and infections of the organs. This is the first study in Latvia describing Acanthamoeba detection by molecular techniques and genotyping using tap water from different sources. An 18S rRNA gene investigation of the 20 Acanthamoeba isolates suggested that 19 belonged to the hazardous T4 genotype and one sample was T12. The results indicate that tap water in Latvia may be a source of Acanthamoeba that is potentially pathogenic to humans. All obtained sequences were submitted to the GenBank database under the following accession numbers: MG386295-MG386314.