Effect of different vaccination programs on production parameters, carcass, leg bones, and digestive system characteristics of broilers.

The purpose of the present study was to compare the effects of two commercial vaccination programs using Prevexxion or Vaxxitek vaccines on production parameters, carcass weight and composition, and selected anatomical characteristics of Ross 308 broiler chickens. During the rearing period of broiler chickens, body weights were determined at 1, 10, 35, and 42 d of age, and feed intake and mortality of birds were recorded each day. On d 42 of the rearing period, 20 chickens were selected for dissection, 10 birds from each group. After slaughtering, the weight of the eviscerated carcass and the proportion of carcass elements, the lengths and diameters of individual intestinal segments, the weight of selected internal organs, and the dimensions of the femur and tibia were determined. The Prevexxion vaccination program had a positive significant effect on eviscerated carcass yield, dressing percentage, breast meat, wing and carcass remains content, as well as duodenum length, proventriculus content of slaughter weight and smallest breadth of the corpus of tibia bone. Broiler chickens treated with Prevexxion vaccines had higher European Production Index. The results indicate that Prevexxion vaccines have a more favorable effect on the production performance and slaughter characteristics of Ross 308 broiler chickens than with the use of Vaxxitek vaccines.

Low frequency of itraconazole resistance found among Aspergillus fumigatus originating from poultry farms in Southwest Poland.

AIM: The aim of this study was to investigate the collection of avian Aspergillus fumigatus isolates for the presence of triazole resistance. MATERIAL AND METHOD: The study was performed on 60 A. fumigatus isolates cultured from lung tissue samples from chicken (25), geese (17), turkeys (13) and ducks (5). The samples were obtained from 40 different farms located in the Southwest Poland and were collected in the period of September 2015 to November 2016. The EUCAST microdilution method, with the use of three concentrations of itraconazole (ITR) (1, 0.5, and 0.25mg/L), was used to screen the susceptibility of all isolates. Additionally, the selected 20 isolates were tested with eleven concentrations ranging 0.015-16mg/L of ITR, voriconazole, posaconazole and isavuconazole. RESULTS: Most tested isolates (59/60) were susceptible to ITR (MIC≤0.5mg/L). One isolate showed elevated MIC for ITR (16mg/L), as well as voriconazole (4mg/L), izavuconazole (4mg/L), and posaconazole (0.5mg/L). This isolate was identified on the basis of DNA analysis as A. fumigatus carrying TR34/L98H mutation. All of the ITR-susceptible isolates under study were also susceptible to other triazoles. CONCLUSION: Obtained results indicated a low frequency (1.6%) of A. fumigatus resistant to triazoles among avian isolates from the Southwest regions of Poland.

Serum concentration of interleukin 10, anti-mannan Candida antibodies and the fungal colonization of the gastrointestinal tract in patients with ulcerative colitis.

PURPOSE: There is evidence for the immunomodulation disorders in the response to intestinal flora in inflammatory bowel disease, however, the role of yeasts in the aetiopathogenesis of ulcerative colitis has not been fully clarified. The aim of this study was to assess the serum concentration of interleukin 10 (IL-10), serum levels of anti-mannan Candida antibodies and fungal colonization of the lower part of the gastrointestinal tract in accordance with the clinical course of ulcerative colitis. MATERIAL/METHODS: In 42 consecutive patients with ulcerative colitis serum concentration of IL-10 and anti-mannan Candida antibodies serum levels were measured with ELISA and the quantitative and qualitative fungal cultures of stool samples were performed. RESULTS: In 20 patients IL-10 serum concentration was below the test sensitivity and in 11 patients it ranged between 0.78 and 9.43 (mean 3.38 +/- 2.8) pg/mL. Anti-mannan Candida antibodies were detected in 8 subjects (19.04%). Stool cultures revealed significant fungal colonization in 3 (8.33%) patients with the predominance of Candida albicans. In comparison with mild/moderate UC, IL-10 serum concentration was not higher in patients with severe course of the disease. CONCLUSIONS: The results of our study show that IL-10 serum concentration correlates neither with the disease activity nor with the levels of anti-mannan Candida antibodies and the fungal colonization of the gastrointestinal tract in ulcerative colitis. It seems that IL-10 serum concentration cannot be a universal marker for the assessment of ulcerative colitis activity. Moreover, anti-mannan Candida antibodies and significant fungal colonization are present in the minority of patients with ulcerative colitis suggesting that yeasts have minor, if any, influence on the clinical course of the disease.

[The influence of ozone therapy on endothelial damage markers in patients with atherosclerosis of lower extremities]. / Wplyw ozonoterapii na wskazniki uszkodzenia sródblonka naczyniowego u chorych na miazdzyce zarostowa.

The aim of study was to evaluate the influence of the treatment with oxygen-ozone mixture on the blood plasma antigen concentration of tissue plasminogen activator (t-PA) and von Willebrand factor (vWF) in patients suffering from atherosclerotic disease of lower extremities. The study was performed in the group of 28 (M/F 22/6) patients means aged 64.1 years with atherosclerotic diseases of lower extremities, in whom 2 weeks therapy with oxygen-ozone mixture was used. The control group consisted of 30 healthy volunteers in mean age 51.0 years. In the blood plasma obtained from the patients before and after treatment with oxygen-ozone mixture and from the control group determinations of t-PA and vWF antigen using ELISA were done. Both parameters were significantly increased in the patients before the treatment in comparison to the healthy controls. The treatment with oxygen-ozone therapy caused in patients slight statistically not significant raise of t-PA and vWF antigen showing the endothelial stimulation but not the destruction of vascular endothelium.

The Interhospital Interpreter Project.

My family immigrated to Canada when I was a child. Soon after we arrived, I became ill with acute appendicitis. For days, I lay in pain while my parents searched desperately for a physician. But in the small Ontario town where we had moved, there were no cultural interpreters. My parents faced not just a language barrier, but the barrier of a lack of knowledge of the health care system. They were unaware that an ill person could seek treatment in the emergency department of a general hospital. My parents finally found someone who could help, and I was treated just hours before my appendix would have ruptured. I will never forget those days of pain and fear.

[The role of mechanically purified city sewers in the spread of antibiotic-resistant bacteria of the Enterobacteriaceae family]. / Udzial mechanicznie oczyszczonych miejskich scieków w rozprzestrzenianiu opornych na antybiotyki paleczek z rodziny Enterobacteriaceae.

The aim of this study was to evaluate a degree of contribution of mechanically cleansed municipal sewage in a spread in on environment of bacteria of Enterobacteriaceae family with special regard to antibiotic resistant strains. High number of bacteria of Enterobacteriaceae family was found in 1 ml of sewage and the number of antibiotic-resistant bacteria was 0.5-50 X 10(3)/ml. Among the strains tested the resistance to more than one antibiotics was encountered. 78.3% of strains transferred antibiotic resistance to E. coli recipient strain, what indicate a participation of potentially pathogenic bacteria from Enterobacteriaceae family in a spread of antibiotic resistance in a environment.