Epidemiological study of common diseases and their risk factors in camels in South Punjab, Pakistan.

Bacteriological study of mastitis along with common blood protozoan diseases were studied in dromedary camels in Cholistan, Dera Ismail Khan and Rahim Yar Khan districts in South Punjab, Pakistan. For this purpose 300 camels were sampled randomly at different common grazing and watering point. For study of blood parasites clinically suspected and apparently healthy camels, 150 each, were sampled. An overall prevalence of 15%and 5% was recorded for trypanosomiasis and Anaplasmosis respectively. Trypanosoma evansi was identified with 280 bp product on polymerase chain reaction test. There was significant (P < 0.05) decline in the values of total erythrocyte counts, hemoglobin concentration, packed cell volume, serum total proteins and albumin while erythrocyte sedimentation rate was increased in infected camels as compared to healthy ones. Aspartate aminotransferase, alanine aminotransferase, gamma glutamyltransferase and alkaline phosphatase were also significantly increased in blood protozoan the infected animals. Milk samples for bacteriology were collected from healthy lactating camels (n = 100). Information about different risk factors were gathered on designed performa. Subclinical mastitis on surf field test was recorded in 42% camels while 2% cases of clinical mastitis were recorded. Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus agalactiae, Streptococcus dysgalactiae, Bacillus cereus and. Corynebacterium kutscheri were isolated with characteristic beta and alpha hemolysis patterns. Chi-square analysis showed significant difference as p < 0.05 among various species of bacteria (χ2 = 21.649, P-Value = 0.0001, df = 3). Antibiogram showed Gentamicin, Norfloxacin, Oxytetracycline as most effective therapy for mastitis in camel.

Trematode infections in pregnant ewes can predispose to mastitis during the subsequent lactation period.

Objective was to investigate if trematode infections predispose ewes to mastitis and/or metritis. We used 80 trematode-infected ewes: primigravidae in group P-A and multigravidae in M-A remained untreated, primigravidae in P-B and multigravidae in M-B were drenched with netobimin and multigravidae in M-C were given rafoxanide. We collected faecal samples for parasitological examination, blood samples for ß-hydroxybutyrate concentration measurement and uterine content, teat duct material and milk samples for bacteriological examination. We found significant differences in blood ß-hydroxybutyrate concentrations between M-A, M-B and M-C during pregnancy (P ⩽ 0.002). We did not observe significant differences between groups regarding development of metritis (P>0.83). We found that for M-A, M-B and M-C ewes, respectively, median time to first case of mastitis was 5.75, 21 and 6.75 days after lambing (P = 0.003) and incidence risk of mastitis was 0.308, 0.069 and 0.222 (P = 0.047). We postulate that trematode infections predispose ewes to mastitis; perhaps, increased ß-hydroxybutyrate blood concentrations adversely affect mammary cellular defences. This is the first report associating parasitic infections with mastitis in sheep.

Treatment with gentamicin on a murine model of protothecal mastitis.

The aim of this study was to establish a murine protothecal mastitis model and to evaluate the treatment efficiency of gentamicin. Challenge routes were determined with a pathogenic Prototheca zopfii genotype 2 (P. zopfii) strain. 25 BALB/c mice were inoculated in mammary glands with graded dosages (10(3), 10(4), 10(5), 10(6), 10(7) CFU of P. zopfii) and killed on the 7th day. Another 25 animals were also killed at 1, 3, 5, 7, and 9 days after inoculation of 1 × 10(6) CFU of P. zopfii, the milk somatic cell counts, pathological section of mammary glands, and P. zopfii burden were observed. The antimicrobial activity was tested using disc diffusion test and minimum inhibitory concentrations. Gentamicin was given intramuscularly to analyze the therapeutic effect. The results showed that the best infection route was intra-mammary gland, and the mastitis model was established with 1 × 10(6) CFU of P. zopfii. After infection, the somatic cell counts increased significantly. The pathological reaction mainly consisted of infiltration of inflammatory cells, destruction of acini, accumulation of lymphocyte cells and the severity of the changes was dosage and time-dependent. The P. zopfii burden revealed that P. zopfii continuously replicated. In vitro susceptibility tests indicated that the Prototheca strains were antimicrobial susceptible to gentamicin at concentrations between 0.03 and 4 µg/ml. In vivo therapeutic assay demonstrated that high concentrations of gentamicin (≥20 mg/kg) could inhibit the growth of P. zopfii. We conclude that the murine model of protothecal mastitis was established successfully and gentamicin may be an effective choice for treatment of P. zopfii.

In vitro activity of conventional antifungal drugs and natural essences against the yeast-like alga Prototheca.

BACKGROUND: Two outbreaks of mastitis due to the yeast-like alga Prototheca zopfii recently occurred in dairy herds in Lombardia (Italy) involving 180 and 150 lactating cows, respectively. OBJECTIVES: To determine the in vitro susceptibility of Prototheca isolates to conventional antifungal agents and to essential oils. METHODS: Twenty P. zopfii isolated from milk during these outbreaks, six P. zopfii isolated from fresh water and two Prototheca sp. reference strains were submitted to antifungal susceptibility testing by broth microdilution assay following the CLSI guidelines for yeasts. RESULTS: The tested isolates were shown to be resistant to fluconazole and caspofungin. A wide range of voriconazole MICs was observed. In contrast, amphotericin B, itraconazole and posaconazole appeared active with MICs < or = 1 mg/L. Bergamot and tea tree oils seemed to exert an interesting activity against this yeast-like alga. CONCLUSIONS: Difficulties in treating animals with conventional drugs and the potent in vitro activity of essential oils demonstrated here raise the interest in further investigations on the therapeutic use of these non-conventional natural products.

Breast lump as a presentation of a hydatid disease.

Hydatid disease is a lesion caused by larval form of Echinococcus granulosus and is seen endemically in sheep-rearing countries. Humans are intermediate hosts of this organism. The liver is the first filter that stops about 75% of the embryos and the lungs filter another 10%, leaving only 15% to develop into cysts in other organs of the body.

Fasciolosis (liver fluke) of the breast in a male patient: a case report.

Fasciolosis is an uncommon disease in this region, as are parasitic infections of the breast. This report describes a 56-year-old man with a previous history of liver abscess presenting with a painful breast mass. He underwent a mastectomy and is well. The pathological findings revealed chronic granulomatous mastitis with Fasciola spp. ova. The literature on this very rare condition is reviewed.

Cordylobia anthropophaga mastitis mimicking breast cancer: case report.

A case of furuncular myiasis of the breast due to infestation by the larva of Cordylobia anthropophaga in a young lady is presented. Some of the physical presentations of Cordylobia anthropophaga mastitis are similar to those of carcinoma of the breast. High index of suspicion in endemic areas, including patients who had visited such areas, the characteristic intense itching of the affected breast, the use of the magnifying hand lens and subsequent extraction of the offending maggots are the invaluable aids to diagnosis and treatment. The ulcer left on the breast after extraction of the maggot should be biopsied and the associated ill defined mass and skin changes must be seen to resolve completely before carcinoma of the breast can be safely ruled out. The various methods of extraction and the preventive measures are highlighted. Though furuncular myiasis has been reported to involve every part of domestic animals, this is the first reported case in literature involving the human breast.

Breast infection due to Dirofilaria repens: report of two new Italian cases and revision of the literature.

Two new cases of human dirofilariasis, occurred in women aged 46 and 52 years, respectively, both living in Lombardy (Northern Italy) are reported. Dirofilaria repens nematodes were localised in the breast in both cases. In one of them the parasite was accidentally extracted while the patient underwent a fine needle aspirate. The international literature records 30 cases of breast Dirofilariasis. Except in rare cases, the parasite was located subcutaneously in the breast, and nested in a nodule. The clinical diagnoses were consistently wrong, the nodule being diagnosed as a suspected tumor of the breast.

Granulomatous mastitis caused by sparganum. A case report.

BACKGROUND: Sparganosis is not a common disease, and its rarity makes it difficult to distinguish from others. Close examination of fine needle aspiration biopsy (FNAB) samples, however, can aid in histologic examination of the lesion. CASE: A 64-year-old female, born and raised in a rural area in the state of Goiás, Brazil, presented with a relatively mobile and hard lump in the lower inner quadrant of the right breast. It was initially diagnosed as granulomatous mastitis, but cytologic examination of the surgical specimen revealed a sparganum larva, also revealed by anterior FNAB. CONCLUSION: Sparganum should be considered in the differential diagnosis of granulomatous mastitis, especially among Asians living in other countries.

Induction of tissue eosinophilia by platelet-activating factor in Merino sheep.

A study was undertaken on the capacity of platelet-activating factor (PAF) to induce eosinophil accumulation in the mammary glands of non-lactating sheep. Platelet-activating factor induced dose-dependent accumulation of eosinophils in mammary exudates 24 h after infusion. Infection, by intraruminal injection of 20,000 infective Trichostrongylus colubriformis larvae, did not modify the responsiveness of outbred sheep to intramammary infusion of PAF. Mature ewes from high and low responder lines of a flock of sheep, selected on the basis of their responses to vaccination and experimental challenge with T. colubriformis as lambs, did not differ in the magnitude of the eosinophil responses to doses of PAF from 5 x 10(-13) to 5 x 10(-7) mol per gland. Intramammary infusion of an extract from third stage larvae of Haemonchus contortus elicited inflammatory exudates containing five- to ten-fold more eosinophils than that elicited by the highest dose of PAF tested. The experiments indicate that the eosinophil chemotactic agonist PAF can induce tissue eosinophilia in sheep and thus may play a role in directing the accumulation of eosinophils in tissues during disease states such as gastrointestinal parasitism.

Verminous mastitis in a mare caused by a free-living nematode.

Verminous mastitis was the reason for euthanasia of a 22-yr-old Paso Fino mare from Miami, Florida. The etiologic agent was a species of Cephalobus (Rhabditida: Cephalobidae), a genus of soil-inhabiting nematodes that were obviously multiplying in the mammary gland. Only females and larvae were detected in the tissues by histologic section or by teasing the tissue to liberate the worms. At least 12,900 individuals were present per gram of tissue. This is the first case of Cephalobus infecting horses and it indicates that not all histiotropic infections of horses by rhabditoid nematodes are by Halicephalobus deletrix ( = Micronema deletrix).