Parasitic pneumonia caused by Paragonimus spp. in a wild Royal Bengal Tiger, Mysuru, South India.

Parasitic pneumonia induced by genus Paragonimus involves many species, which affects both humans and animals and it is a food borne zoonotic disease. In this report, we have described the gross and histopathological findings of Paragonimus fluke infection in lungs of tiger. The postmortem examination of sub adult male wild tiger (Panthera tigris tigris) died in captivity was conducted, earlier which was rescued by Forest Department, Mysuru, Karnataka, India. External examination of carcass revealed pale oral and conjunctival mucous membranes with sunken eye balls. During necropsy, moderate congestion, consolidation and numerous transparent to dark encysted lesions were found in the parenchyma of all lobes of lungs visible grossly on pleural surface. Lungs were hemorrhagic with necrotic foci around the cysts. The incision of encysted lesions revealed the presence of flukes (2-3 in numbers) in each cyst with brownish exudate. The lung tissues with lesions were collected in 10% formalin and haematoxylin and eosin staining was done for histopathological evaluation. The flukes were identified as Paragonimus spp. based on the morphology and micrometry. The histopathological examination revealed presence of longitudinal sections of flukes in bronchial lumen (in pair) with tegument and tegumental spines surrounded by connective tissue capsule as cystic encapsulation and numerous eggs in adjacent lung parenchyma. Necrosis and moderate fibrosis of lung parenchyma with infiltration of polymorphonuclear and mononuclear inflammatory cells were observed around fluke as well as eggs. The squamous cell metaplasia of lining bronchial epithelium and atelectasis of alveoli were also prominently seen.

Lactobacillus plantarum MYS6 Ameliorates Fumonisin B1-Induced Hepatorenal Damage in Broilers.

Fumonisin B1 (FB1), a mycotoxin produced by Fusarium species is a predominant Group 2B carcinogen occurring in maize and maize-based poultry feeds. It is shown to be nephrotoxic, hepatotoxic, neurotoxic, and immunosuppressing in animals. In this study, we report the ameliorating effects of a probiotic strain, Lactobacillus plantarum MYS6 on FB1-induced toxicity and oxidative damage in broilers. A 6-week dietary experiment consisting of 48 broilers was performed in six treatment groups. Probiotic treatment (109 cells/mL) involved pre-colonization of broilers with L. plantarum MYS6 while co-administration treatment involved supplementation of probiotic and FB1-contaminated diet (200 mg/Kg feed) simultaneously. At the end of the treatment period, growth performance, hematology, serum biochemistry, and markers of oxidative stress in serum and tissue homogenates were evaluated in all the broilers. The histopathological changes in hepatic and renal tissues were further studied. The results demonstrated that administration of L. plantarum MYS6 efficiently improved the feed intake, body weight and feed conversion ratio in broilers. It mitigated the altered levels of hematological indices such as complete blood count, hemoglobin, and hematocrit. Serum parameters such as serum glutamic oxaloacetic transaminase, serum glutamic pyruvic transaminase, creatinine, cholesterol, triglycerides, and albumin were significantly restored after administering the probiotic in FB1-intoxicated broilers. Additionally, L. plantarum MYS6 alleviated the levels of oxidative stress markers in serum and tissue homogenate of liver. The histopathological data of liver and kidney further substantiated the overall protection offered by L. plantarum MYS6 against FB1-induced cellular toxicity and organ damage in broilers. Our results indicated that co-administration of probiotic along with the toxin had better effect in detoxification compared to its pre-colonization in broilers. Collectively, our study signifies the protective role of L. plantarum MYS6 in ameliorating the FB1-induced toxicity in the vital organs and subsequent oxidative stress in broilers. The probiotic L. plantarum MYS6 can further be formulated into a functional feed owing to its anti-fumonisin attributes and role in mitigating FB1-induced hepatorenal damage.

Seasonal prevalence of blood parasitic diseases in crossbred cattle of Mysore and its surrounding districts of Karnataka.

The present study report the seasonal prevalence of blood parasitic diseases in cross bred cattle in Mysore and its surrounding districts of Karnataka such as Mandya, Chamaraj Nagar and Kodagu. The study was undertaken for a period of 2 years from August 2013 to July 2015. A total of 1655 blood samples were collected from clinically suspected cattle for blood parasitic diseases with clinical symptoms of anorexia, high fever, anaemia, salivation, enlargement of superficial lymphnodes, haemoglobinuria and sudden drop in milk yield. The blood samples were examined by giemsa's staining technique. Of the 1655 blood samples screened, 673 (40.22%) blood samples were found positive for blood parasites. Amid 673 positive samples, 609 (90.49%), 19 (2.82%) and 45 (6.68%) were found positive for Theileria annulata, Babesia bigemina and Anaplasma marginale respectively. The season wise prevalence revealed that, the highest prevalence was observed in summer months (March-June) (43.17%) followed by rainy (July-October) (39.53%) and winter season (November-February) (39.35%). Further, the month wise prevalence showed highest in August (77.64%) (Rainy month) followed by November (38.23%) and January (35.93%). During August-2013 to July 2014 and between August-2014 and July 2015, the highest was found in the month of May (85%) followed by July (70%) and April (69.81%). Theileriosis was most prevalent in summer (92.73%) followed by rainy (90.95%) and winter season (87.61%). Babesiosis was most prevalent in winter season (5.04%) followed by rainy (1.8%) and summer season (1.7%) whereas, Anaplasmosis was most prevalent in rainy season (7.23%) followed by winter (6.88%) and summer season (5.55%) during two years of study period.

Cobboldia elephantis (Cobbold, 1866) larval infestation in an Indian elephant (Elephas maximus).

In the present study, post-mortem was conducted on a female elephant aged about 37 years died at Rajeev Gandhi National Park, Hunsur, Mathigoodu Elephant Camp, Karnataka state. The animal suffered with diarrhoea, anorexia, dehydration and was unable to walk for about one week before death and was treated with antibiotics and fluid therapy for three days. The post-mortem examination revealed that, the gastric mucosa was severely congested, hyperaemic and numerous stomach bots attached to the mucosa. The bots were recovered from the gastric mucosa and processed for species identification. The posterior spiracles of the bots showed three longitudinal parallel slits in each spiracle, the abdominal segments had a row of belt like triangular shaped spines and the anterior end had two powerful oral hooks with cephalo-pharyngeal skeleton. Based on the above said morphological characters, the bots were identified as Cobboldia elephantis. This seems to be the first report of C. elephantis in free range wild elephant from Karnataka state.

Serosurveillance of foot and mouth disease in Karnataka state, India: a 3 years study.

A prospective serological investigation was conducted to determine the prevalence and distribution of foot-and-mouth disease (FMD), as well as to monitor the effectiveness of the FMD control programme (FMD-CP) through vaccination in Karnataka, India. Random serum samples were collected every year between May and August before the start of vaccination in 2011, and subsequently following two phases of vaccination in 2012 and 2013. Infection status (seroprevalence) was inferred by subjecting the sera to indirect r3AB3 non-structural protein-ELISA, using kits developed by the Project Directorate on FMD, India. The seromonitoring of FMD-CP was carried out by detecting antibodies deemed to be protective in the pre- and post-vaccinal sera, using liquid-phase blocking-ELISA for structural proteins. The results revealed significant decrease in seroprevalence from 58 to 21 %, providing more definitive data supporting our earlier findings obtained through clinical observations (Hegde et al. in Virusdisease 25:504-509, 2014), and detecting active infection in some of the populations which were considered to be free based on passive surveillance. On the other hand, after four rounds of vaccination, a gradual and significant increase from 4.5 to 59 % of animals carrying antibody levels deemed to be protective was observed against all the three serotypes. The findings of this study could be useful for further strategizing to strengthen the ongoing FMD-CP in Karnataka State, India.