ABSTRACT
The epidemiology of foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) in North Africa is complicated by the co-circulation of endemic FMD viruses (FMDV), as well as sporadic incursions of exotic viral strains from the Middle East and Sub-Saharan Africa. This report describes the molecular characterization of SAT 2 FMD viruses that have caused widespread field outbreaks of FMD in Egypt during February and March 2012. Phylogenetic analysis showed that viruses from these outbreaks fell into two distinct lineages within the SAT 2 topotype VII, which were distinct from a contemporary SAT 2 lineage of the same toptype from Libya. These were the first FMD outbreaks due to this serotype in Egypt since 1950 and required the development of a tailored real-time reverse-transcription PCR assay that can be used in the laboratory to distinguish FMD viruses of these lineages from other endemic FMD viruses that might be present in North Africa. These data highlight the ease by which FMDV can cross international boundaries and emphasize the importance of deploying systems to continuously monitor the global epidemiology of this disease.
Subject(s)
Foot-and-Mouth Disease Virus/isolation & purification , Foot-and-Mouth Disease/epidemiology , Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction/veterinary , Amino Acid Sequence , Animals , Communicable Diseases, Emerging/epidemiology , Communicable Diseases, Emerging/veterinary , Communicable Diseases, Emerging/virology , Disease Outbreaks/veterinary , Egypt/epidemiology , Foot-and-Mouth Disease/virology , Foot-and-Mouth Disease Virus/classification , Foot-and-Mouth Disease Virus/genetics , Molecular Epidemiology , Molecular Sequence Data , Phylogeny , Sentinel Surveillance/veterinary , Sequence Homology, Amino Acid , SerotypingABSTRACT
A total of one hundred and seventy two rats were trapped from different localities, Rattus norvegicus and Rattus r. alexandrinus. The overall infection-rate was 54% (93 out 172 rats). The infection rates of identified parasites were 28% cestodes (23.8% Hymenolepis diminuta and 7% Cysticercus fasciolaris), 8% Acanthocephala species (Moniliformis moniliformis) and 7% nematodes (Strongyloides species). On the other hand, 40.7% were infected with protozoa (22.7% Cryptosporidium parvum, 20.3% C. muris, 8% Giardia lamblia and 12.8% Entamoeba cysts).
Subject(s)
Animals, Wild/parasitology , Disease Reservoirs , Helminthiasis/parasitology , Muridae/parasitology , Protozoan Infections/parasitology , Animals , Egypt , Eukaryota/isolation & purification , Helminthiasis/transmission , Helminths/isolation & purification , Protozoan Infections/transmission , Rats , Rodent Diseases/parasitologyABSTRACT
Subclinical infections of bovine babesiosis, caused primarily by Babesia bigemina or Babesia bovis are a challenge to current diagnostic methods. In this study, the development and evaluation of a PCR test for sensitive and specific detection of B. bigemina or B. bovis is described. The target selected for amplification is part of the apocytochrome b gene, conserved in both Babesia spp. and located on the linear approximately 6.0 kb extra chromosomal DNA. The test was evaluated to detect the parasites over a period of 5 (B. bigemina) and 10 months (B. bovis) post infection in experimentally infected cattle. Analysis of DNA extracted from blood samples drawn from the experimental cattle in a blind study revealed an overall sensitivity of 85 and 64% for B. bovis and B. bigemina respectively, while the specificity was 97% for B. bovis and 91% for B. bigemina. The test results were compared with the recently developed ribosomal DNA-based polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test and to the complement fixation test for both Babesia spp. The extra chromosomal DNA-based test was 20% more sensitive than that of ribosomal DNA-based tests. This test may be a more desirable alternative to the currently used, complement fixation test.
Subject(s)
Babesia bovis/isolation & purification , Babesia/isolation & purification , Babesiosis/diagnosis , Carrier State/veterinary , Cattle Diseases/diagnosis , DNA, Protozoan/genetics , Extrachromosomal Inheritance/genetics , Parasitemia/veterinary , Polymerase Chain Reaction , Animals , Apoproteins/genetics , Babesia/genetics , Babesia bovis/genetics , Babesiosis/parasitology , Carrier State/diagnosis , Cattle , Cattle Diseases/parasitology , Complement Fixation Tests , Cytochrome b Group/genetics , Cytochromes b , DNA, Protozoan/blood , DNA, Ribosomal/blood , DNA, Ribosomal/genetics , Oligonucleotide Probes , Parasitemia/parasitology , Protozoan Proteins/genetics , Sensitivity and Specificity , Sequence Alignment , Single-Blind Method , Species SpecificityABSTRACT
A total of 300 faecal samples obtained from living sheep in Qalubia Governorate, 128 (42.66%) harboured eggs of nematodes. The gastrointestinal nematodes had been differentiated through the infective third stage larvae. Details of the general and differential categories of each were given. The recovered species were Trichostrongylus axei, T. colubriformis, Ostertagia circumcincta, Haemonchus contortus, Bunostomum trigonocephalum and Oesophagostomum venulosum.
