An epidemiological study was carried out in order to characterize the bovine tuberculosis situation and to support the planning and implementation of the National Program for the Control and Eradication of Bovine Tuberculosis in the State of Bahia, owing to the importance of the disease in causing economic burdens and its impact on public health. The State was divided into four regions. In each region, properties were randomly chosen and, a pre-established number of animals was also randomly selected; these animals then subjected to the intradermal comparative cervical tuberculin diagnostic test. Animals with inconclusive test results were retested with the same diagnostic procedure within a minimum interval of 60 days. Within each sampled property, a questionnaire was administered to verify possible risk factors for the disease. In the State, the prevalence of infected herds was 1.6% [1.0-2.6] and that of infected animals 0,21% [0,07; 0,60]. In the regions, the prevalence of infected herds and infected animals were, respectively, 2,0% [1,0; 4,2%] and 2,0% [1,0; 4,2%] In conclusion, it is recommended that the State of Bahia implement a surveillance system for the detection of herds with bovine tuberculosis to certifying them in free herds, with special attention to dairy properties, and develop a solid program of health education so that producers test animals for bovine tuberculosis before introducing them into their herds. para caracterizar a situação da enfermidade no estado. O Estado foi estratificado em quatro regiões. Em cada região, propriedades foram sorteadas aleatoriamente e, dentro dessas, escolheu-se de forma também aleatória um número pré-estabelecido de animais, os quais foram submetidos ao teste tuberculínico Cervical Comparativo. Os animais que resultaram inconclusivos foram retestados com o mesmo procedimento diagnóstico em intervalo mínimo de 60 dias. Em cada propriedade amostrada aplicou-se um questionário para se verificar possíveis fatores de risco para a doença. No Estado, a prevalência de focos foi de 1,6% [1,0; 2,6%] e a de animais 0,21% [0,07; 0,60]. Nas regiões, as prevalências de focos e de animais foram, respectivamente de 2,0% [1,0; 4,2%] e 0,08% [0,035; 0,17] (OR= 9,72), ser propriedade mista (OR= 6,66) e tamanho do rebanho ≥ 18 fêmeas ≥ 24 meses (OR= 8,44). Concluindo, recomenda-se que o Estado da Bahia implemente um sistema de vigilância para detecção e saneamento dos focos de tuberculose bovina, com especial atenção para as propriedades produtoras de leite, e que desenvolva uma sólida ação de educação sanitária para que seus produtores passem a testar os animais para tuberculose bovina antes de introduzi-los em seus plantéis. Palavras-chave: Tuberculose bovina. Prevalência. Fatores de risco. Bahia. Brasil.

A cross sectional study was carried out between May and November 2011 to investigate the epidemiological situation of bovine tuberculosis (bTB) in the state of São Paulo, Brazil. The state was divided into seven regions. Three hundred farms from each region, with reproductive activity, were randomly chosen and included as primary sample units. A fixed number of bovine females, older than 2 years of age, were randomly selected and tested, using the comparative cervical tuberculin test. An epidemiological questionnaire based survey was conducted in the selected farms. Our results show that in the state of São Paulo, the apparent prevalence of positive farms was 9% (95% confidence interval, 95% CI = 7.8 -10.5%). The prevalence in the individual regions varied between 3.5% (95% CI = 1.7 -6.8%) and 13.9% (95% CI = 10.2 -18.8%). The apparent prevalence of positive animals in the state was 1.3% (95% CI = 0.9 -1.7%) and varied from 0.3% (95% CI = 0.2 -0.6%) to 2.5% (95% CI = 1.4 -4.5%) in the regions. The risk factors associated with tuberculosis in the state were (i) number of adult females in a herd is ≥ 24 (Odds ratio, OR = 1.91, 95% CI = 1.32 -2.75), (ii) type of farm enterprise (dairy: OR = 2.70, 95% CI = 1.40 -5.21; mixed: OR = 2.03, 95% CI = 1.08 -3.82), (iii) milking process (milking parlor: OR = 4.12, 95% CI = 1.46 -11.64; portable milking machine: OR = 2.94, 95% CI = 1.42 -6.09), and (iv) pasture sharing (OR = 1.58, 95% CI = 1.07 -2.33). The state of São Paulo should implement a structured surveillance system to detect and mitigate the disease. Further, an efficient animal health education program, which encourages the farmers to test replacement animals for bTB prior to introduction in their herds and to avoid pasture sharing with farms of unknown sanitary conditions should also be implemented. ResumoUm estudo transversal foi realizado entre maio e novembro de 2011 para determinar a situação epidemiológica da tuberculose bovina (bTB) no estado de São Paulo, Brasil. O estado foi dividido em sete regiões. Trezentas propriedades com atividade reprodutiva de bovinos de cada região foram aleatoriamente selecionadas e consideradas unidades primárias de amostragem. Um número fixo de fêmeas bovinas com idade superior a dois anos foram aleatoriamente selecionadas e testadas usando o teste cervical comparativo. Um inquérito epidemiológico, utilizando um questionário específico, foi realizado em cada propriedade selecionada. Os nossos resultados indicam que no estado de São Paulo, a prevalência aparente de propriedades positiva foi de 9% (intervalo de confiança de 95%, IC95% = 7,8 -10,5%). A prevalência nas diferentes regiões variou entre 3,5% (IC95% = 1,7 -6,8%) e 13,9% (IC95% = 10,2 -18,8%). A prevalência aparente de animais positivos no estado foi 1,3% (IC95% = 0,9 -1,7%) e variou de 0,3% (IC95% = 0,2 -0,6%) até 2,5% (IC95% = 1,4 -4,5%) nas regiões. Os fatores de risco associados à tuberculose no estado foram (i) número de fêmeas adultas nos rebanhos ≥ 24 (Odds ratio, OR = 1,91, IC95% = 1,32 -2,75), (ii) tip...

In Brazil, rabies surveillance is based on monitoring domestic and wild animals, although the most prevalent lineage of the rabies virus (RABV) currently diagnosed in Brazil is associated with bats, particularly non-haematophagous bats. Disease control is based on the mass vaccination of dogs and cats. We used data collected by the passive surveillance system of the city of Campinas from 2011 to 2015, to describe the temporal and geographic distributions of the bat specimens and RABV and discuss the current rabies surveillance with the advent of the declaration of canine and feline rabies-free areas in Brazil. We described the species, locations and health statuses of the collected bat specimens. Moreover, all samples were submitted for RABV diagnosis. Then, we performed a time series decomposition for each bat family. Additionally, we determined the spatiotemporal relative risk for RABV infection using the ratio of the kernel-smoothed estimates of spatiotemporal densities of RABV-positive and RABV-negative bats. From the 2537 bat specimens, the most numerous family was Molossidae (72%), followed by Vespertilionidae (14%) and Phyllostomidae (13%). The bat families behaved differently in terms of seasonal and spatial patterns. The distribution of bats varied geographically in the urban environment, with Molossidae and Phyllostomidae being observed downtown and Vespertilionidae being observed in peripheral zones. Concurrently, a significant relative risk of RABV infection was observed downtown for Vespertilionidae and in peripheral zones for Molossidae. No RABV-positive sample clusters were observed. As a result of the official declaration of RABV-free areas in southern Brazil, mass dog and cat vaccinations are expected to halt in the near future. This stoppage would make most dog and cat populations susceptible to other RABV lineages, such as those maintained by non-haematophagous bats. In this scenario, all information available on bats and RABV distribution in urban areas is essential. Currently, few studies have been conducted. Some local health authorities, such as that in Campinas, are spontaneously basing their surveillance efforts on bat rabies, which is the alternative in reality scenario of increased susceptibility to bat-associated RABV that is developing in Brazil.

SUMMARYFeral pigeons (Columbia livia) live in close contact with humans and other animals. They can transmit potentially pathogenic and zoonotic agents. The objective of this study was to isolate and detect strains of diarrheagenic Escherichia coli and Campylobacter jejuni of urban feral pigeons from an area of Lima, Peru. Fresh dropping samples from urban parks were collected for microbiological isolation of E. coli strains in selective agar, and Campylobacter by filtration method. Molecular identification of diarrheagenic pathotypes of E.coli and Campylobacter jejuni was performed by PCR. Twenty-two parks were sampled and 16 colonies of Campylobacter spp. were isolated. The 100% of isolates were identified as Campylobacter jejuni. Furthermore, 102 colonies of E. coliwere isolated and the 5.88% resulted as Enteropathogenic (EPEC) type and 0.98% as Shiga toxin-producing E. coli (STEC). The urban feral pigeons of Lima in Peru can act as a reservoir or carriers of zoonotic potentially pathogenic enteric agents.

Vampire bats became the main reservoir of rabies in Latin America, where the disease remains one of the most important viral zoonoses affecting humans and livestock. In Peru, the most affected livestock are cattle. The official data of 1,729 cases of bovine rabies were evaluated between 2003 and 2017 through a descriptive analysis, decomposition of the time-series and spatio-temporal analyses. Although the cases did not present a defined seasonality, the trend seemed to increase for several years. The bovine rabies cases are more frequent in the inter-Andean valleys than in other regions of the Amazon plains. The highest case density was observed in the regions of Ayacucho, Cuzco and Apurímac, all located in the Andes. It is necessary to review the current national program for the prevention and control of rabies in livestock, incorporating concepts of the ecology of vampire bats, as well as the prediction of the infection waves geographic and temporal spread. These approaches could improve the efficiency of other current prevention measures that have not shown the expected control effects, such as indiscriminate culling of vampire bats.

The vampire bat (Desmodus rotundus) plays a crucial role in the maintenance and transmission of the rabies virus to humans and livestock, impacting public health and economic production. Its importance lies not only in its capacity to transmit the virus but also in its ability to adapt to anthropic changes, as expressed in its wide geographic distribution in Latin America. Deforestation, livestock intensification, and other human activities have reduced the abundance of its wild prey but have also provided new and abundant shelter and foraging resources for the vampire bats. We used radiotelemetry to evaluate relations between topography, feeding site choice, and foraging behavior in southeastern Brazil, where three occupied D. rotundus roosts, out of 11 possible, were systematically monitored throughout a 1-year period once every 2 months. Sixty-two vampire bats were captured; biometric data were collected and 44 radiotransmitters were installed in adult individuals, producing telemetry data that were recorded in VHF receptors installed in the farms. Elevation of the roosts was related to the farms attacked by the vampire bats. Understanding the use of the environment and resources by vampire bats is critical to improving rabies control aiming at the reduction of disease impacts. From the perspective of the official veterinary service, telemetry would be ineffective as a rabies surveillance system due to the costs and limitations of the available technology. However, livestock rabies control measures would be greatly improved if ecological characteristics of the vampire bat were considered.

The objectives of the study were to detect and genotype Cryptosporidium spp. and Giardia intestinalis in wastewater samples obtained from five cities with high transit of people in the State of São Paulo, Brazil, and at the entrance of a Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP) in Lima, Peru. Samples were collected and concentrated by centrifugation. The genomic DNA was extracted for molecular characterization by nested PCR for Cryptosporidium and double nested PCR for Giardia, followed by sequencing and phylogenetic analysis. G. intestinalis was found in 63.6 % of the samples, and the human assemblages A and B were identified. Cryptosporidium sp. was found in 36.4 % of the samples, and the species were corresponding to Cryptosporidium hominis, Cryptosporidium cuniculus, and Cryptosporidium muris. Results revealed the presence of human pathogenic Cryptosporidium species and G. intestinalis human pathogenic assemblages. Molecular tools highlight the importance to map the genetic diversity of these parasites, as well as to detect their epidemiological circulation pathway in the environment.

Livestock rabies is endemic in Peru. Hence, its persistence and annual dissemination represent an important economic impact, especially for impoverished farming communities. The disease is mostly transmitted by the hematophagous bat Desmodus rotundus. The present study aimed to adapt an existing predictive model of the occurrence of livestock rabies to Peru, in which the risk of rabies transmission from bats to livestock was estimated using decision-tree models of receptivity and vulnerability. Official rabies surveillance data between 2010 and 2015 were used along with possible risk factors, such as livestock biomass, environmental changes, and geomorphological characteristics. Several scenarios were established to evaluate the prediction of the occurrence of livestock rabies cases by determining more than one cut-off point of the receptivity variables. During the study period, the precision of the model was estimated through the sensitivity (39.46%) and specificity (98.64%) by using confusion matrices. Targeting control efforts, especially in districts with a high estimated risk, could represent the prevention of a significant proportion of livestock rabies cases, which would optimize the human and economic resources of the Peruvian surveillance service. However, the quality of data produced by the surveillance should be improved not only to obtain higher model precision but also to allow the adequate planning of control actions.