Treatment of Brucellosis in Guinea Pigs via a Combination of Engineered Novel pH-Responsive Curcumin Niosome Hydrogel and Doxycycline-Loaded Chitosan-Sodium Alginate Nanoparticles: an In Vitro and In Vivo Study.

Brucellosis is a common zoonotic infection, particularly in the developing world. The recommended treatment regimens for brucellosis involve the use of two medications such as doxycycline and curcumin in order to avoid relapses and prolonged use of these drugs. Doxycycline has excellent activity in the acidic phagolysosomal environment, while curcumin modulates the immune system function and macrophage activity. Due to the intracellular existence of Brucellae and the different anti-immune mechanisms of Brucella, the treatment of Brucella infection faces many limitations. The design of nanosystems is a promising treatment approach for brucellosis. The objective of this study was to design and evaluate the efficacy of in situ pH-responsive curcumin-loaded niosome hydrogel and doxycycline-loaded chitosan-sodium alginate nanoparticles as chemotherapeutic agents against brucellosis. The prepared formulae showed a spherical nano shape with a slow drug release pattern and small particle size. The prepared formulae were evaluated in vivo using Guinea pigs experimentally infected with Brucella melitensis biovar3. The prepared formula combination gave a significant high reduction rate of Brucella spleen viable count compared with that of untreated controls at p < 0.05. The results showed that the treatment schemes were not fully successful in eliminating Brucella infection in Guinea pigs; however, they significantly (p < 0.05) reduced the viable Brucella count in a shorter time and sub-therapeutic doses. Collectively the novel prepared formulae could be a successful therapy for the effective treatment of brucellosis infection at the recommended therapeutic doses. Graphical abstract.

Thymol efficacy against coccidiosis in pigeon (Columba livia domestica).

Investigation of thymol efficacy to control pigeon coccidiosis was performed using in-vitro and in-vivo studies. The in-vitro experiment was conducted by treatment of unsporulated oocysts of Eimeria species of pigeon by five concentrations (0.625-10%) from either thymol, eucalyptus essential oil or amprolium anticoccidial drug and incubation for 72 h. The in-vitro study revealed that thymol concentrations ≥1.25 % caused significant deformity on sporulated and unsporulated oocysts compared to the other two products. Eucalyptus oil was active at both 5 and 10 % concentrations on unsporulated oocysts but showed non-significant changes on sporulated ones at all tested concentration. Meanwhile, in-vivo testing of thymol was conducted using 45 squabs which were equally divided into three groups; untreated uninfected (UU) negative control, untreated infected (UI) positive control and thymol treated (TT). TT group received 40 mg/kg BWt thymol in feed for 15 days. At day five post thymol supplementation, the UI and TT groups were orally infected by 25 × 103sporulated oocysts of pigeon Eimeria labbeana. The in-vivo study showed that thymol minimized the adverse effect of Eimeria infection in pigeon as observed by less severity of clinical signs, low oocysts count and improvement of body weight when compared with untreated infected birds. In addition, the biochemical parameters including liver and kidney functions tests proved thymol safety in pigeon. Moreover, thymol showed excellent antioxidant activity that was estimated by significantly lower value of malondialdehyde in TT than UI groups. The histopathological findings of TT group showed intact intestinal villi with mild sloughed epithelium, degenerated coccidian developmental stages and massive infiltrations of mononuclear cells in lamina propria. In conclusion, thymol can be safely used to control pigeon coccidiosis as a natural effective compound.

The current prevalence and diversity of cystic echinococcosis in slaughtered animals in Egypt.

Cystic echinococcosis is a potential zoonotic helminthic disease affect a broad spectrum of mammals including humans worldwide. The economic impact of the disease interestingly requires updated gathering information on the prevalence in slaughtered animals. Accordingly, in the current study, 573 camels, 4300 sheep, and 1235 pigs were surveyed in four Egyptian municipal abattoirs. Among those, 62 (10.82%) camels, 33 (0.77%) sheep and 3 (0.24%) pigs had cystic echinococcosis in lungs, livers and spleen. The diversity of cysts revealed that positive-cystic echinococcosis animals from all species were detected in El-Basatin abattoir. In El-Monieb abattoir, sheep only were infected. In El-Waraa and Beni-Suef abattoirs, cysts were seen in camels only. Infected animals included both sexes. In camels, lungs were the most affected organs, while in sheep, livers were the most abundant. In pigs, hydatid cysts were detected only in lungs. Moreover, camel cysts were mostly large-sized (diameter > 10 cm) with smaller cysts are also recorded. In sheep, small-, moderately- and large-sized cysts were equally present. Cysts in pigs were large-sized. Camels showed a higher percentage of fertile cysts (46.77%; 29/62) followed by sheep (21.21%; 7/33). Calcified/degenerated cysts were less in camels (38.71%; 24/62) than in sheep (75.76%). Non-viable cysts were the less frequent in both species (14.52% in camels and 3.03% in sheep). All cysts recovered from pigs were fertile. In Egypt, governmental agencies and veterinary authorities are asked to potentially eradicate stray dogs (the main definitive host) and towards the proper hygienic disposal of infected offal in abattoirs to minimize the prevalence of cystic echinococcosis.

Molecular diagnosis of Eimeria stiedae in hepatic tissue of experimentally infected rabbits.

The early detection of Eimeria stiedae in the hepatic tissue of experimentally infected rabbits was investigated using molecular assay. Forty 6-week-old male New Zealand rabbits were divided into two groups. Group A (30 animals) was infected with 2.5 × 10(4) sporulated oocysts of E. stiedae per animal on Day 0 and Group B (10 animals) was used as the uninfected controls. Three animals from Group A and one from Group B were sacrificed at 0, 3, 6, 9, 12, 15, 18, 21, 24 and 27 days post infection (PI). Gross and microscopic post-mortem findings were recorded. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) of the E. stiedae internal transcribed spacer 1 genomic region was conducted on blood, liver tissue, and feces from the Group A experimentally infected animals. Macroscopically, the liver showed irregular yellowish white nodules pathognomonic to E. stiedae infection beginning on Day 15 PI. Hepatomegaly and ascites were obvious from Day 21-24 PI. The presence of different E. stiedae schizonts and gametocytes in the histopathological sections of the biliary epithelium were evident on Day 15 PI. The E. stiedae PCR was first positive in liver tissues on Day 12 and in fecal samples on Day 18 PI, but the blood samples were negative. In conclusion, the PCR can be used for early diagnosis and control of E. stiedae schizonts before shedding of the oocysts in feces.