Molecular and serological survey of some haemoprotozoan, rickettsial and viral diseases of small ruminants from Al-Madinah Al Munawarah, KSA.

The prevalence of some viral and haemoprotozoan infections in goats and sheep was investigated in the present study. The infections of Anaplasma spp. and Theileria spp. were encountered by PCR and cELISA for the detection of Anaplasma spp. Anaplasma spp. was more prevalent than Theileria spp. with a significant difference (Pvalue<0.05) in both goats and sheep, but, the infection in sheep was more prevalent than goats. Also four viral infections were detected: Rift Valley Fever Virus (RVFV), Bluetongue Virus (BTV), Madina Visna Virus (MVV) and Schmallenberg, (SBV) with an overall prevalence of 56.6%, 40.4%, 36.0%, and 6.8% respectively. The factors related to the infections were also investigated. Detection of the antibodies against examined viruses and Anaplasma spp. indicated the widespread of these infections. So far to our knowledge, this is the first study that estimates the prevalence and distribution of MVV and SBV antibodies in Saudi Arabia. Both RVFV and BTV are widespread in KSA, causing Viremia in 7.2% and 25% respectively of total samples. These findings suggested that parasitic and viral infections are considered as important health risks for sheep and goats. For this reason, the current study introduces invaluable information for different governmental agencies for dealing with infection control meausers.

Molecular and serological survey of some haemoprotozoan, rickettsial and viral diseases of small ruminants from Al- Madinah Al Munawarah, KSA

The prevalence of some viral and haemoprotozoan infections in goats and sheep was investigated in the present study. The infections of Anaplasma spp. and Theileria spp. were encountered by PCR and cELISA for the detection of Anaplasma spp. Anaplasma spp. was more prevalent than Theileria spp. with a significant difference (Pvalue<0.05) in both goats and sheep, but, the infection in sheep was more prevalent than goats. Also four viral infections were detected: Rift Valley Fever Virus (RVFV), Bluetongue Virus (BTV), Madina Visna Virus (MVV) and Schmallenberg, (SBV) with an overall prevalence of 56.6%, 40.4%, 36.0%, and 6.8% respectively. The factors related to the infections were also investigated. Detection of the antibodies against examined viruses and Anaplasma spp. indicated the widespread of these infections. So far to our knowledge, this is the first study that estimates the prevalence and distribution of MVV and SBV antibodies in Saudi Arabia. Both RVFV and BTV are widespread in KSA, causing Viremia in 7.2% and 25% respectively of total samples. These findings suggested that parasitic and viral infections are considered as important health risks for sheep and goats. For this reason, the current study introduces invaluable information for different governmental agencies for dealing with infection control meausers.

Preparation and evaluation of specific polyclonal antibodies to H5N1 subtype of the avian influenza virus in Egypt.

Influenza A virus continue to cause widespread morbidity and mortality. The unprecedented spread of highly pathogenic avian influenza virus subtype H5N1 in Egypt is threatening poultry and public health systems. Effective diagnosis and control management are needed to control the disease. To this end, polyclonal antibodies (PAbs) were developed against the H5N1 avian influenza virus (AIV) and used in an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) to detect the H5 viral antigen. A group of rabbits were immunized with H5N1 vaccine to obtain PAbs as the detector antibody after conjugation with horse radish peroxidase and fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC). The conjugated PAbs proved to be specific for the detection of AIV in field specimens, and results were confirmed using reference antisera obtained from Veterinary Lab in Weybridge. Specimens collected from different governorates of Egypt and tested positive for AIV by haemagglutination test were used to evaluate the produced PAbs. The detection limit of ELISA using the prepared peroxidase conjugated PAbs was 1:100,000, while the limit using fluorescein conjugated PAbs was 1:10,000. Extracts from pharyngeal-tracheal mucus of apparently healthy chickens mixed with H5 AIVs also yielded positive signals in ELISA. Such data suggest that these PAbs are useful in the surveillance and diagnosis of AIV in birds in Egypt.

DNA copy number changes in Schistosoma-associated and non-Schistosoma-associated bladder cancer.

DNA copy number changes were investigated in 69 samples of schistosoma-associated (SA) and non-schistosoma-associated (NSA) squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) and transitional cell carcinoma (TCC) of the bladder by comparative genomic hybridization (CGH). DNA copy number changes were detected in 47 tumors. SA tumors had more changes than NSA tumors (mean, 7 vs. 4), whereas the number of changes in SCC and TCC tumors was similar. SA tumors displayed more gains than losses (1.7:1), whereas NSA tumors showed an equal number of gains and losses. Changes that were observed at similar frequencies in SCC and TCC, irrespective of the schistosomal status, included gains and high-level amplifications at 1q, 8q, and 20q and losses in 9p and 13q. These changes may be involved in a common pathway for bladder tumor development and progression independent of schistosomal status or histological subtype. Losses in 3p and gains at 5p were seen only in SCC (P < 0.01) and losses in 5q were more frequent in SA-SCC than in other tumors (P < 0.05). However, changes that were more frequent in TCC than those in SCC included gains at 17q (P < 0.01) and losses in 4q (P < 0.05) and 6q (P < 0.01). Gains and high-level amplifications at 5p were seen only in SA-SCC (P < 0. 01), whereas gains and high-level amplifications with minimal common overlapping regions at 11q13 were more frequently seen both in SA-SCC and SA-TCC tumors (P < 0.01). In addition to the above mentioned alterations, several other changes were also seen at lower frequencies. The variations in the DNA copy number changes observed in TCC, SCC, SA, and NSA bladder carcinomas suggest that these tumors have different genetic pathways.