No abstract

Infections of poultry with virulent strains of avian paramyxovirus 1 (APMV-1), also known as Newcastle disease viruses (NDVs), cause Newcastle disease (ND). This highly contagious disease affects poultry and many other species of birds worldwide. In countries where the disease is prevalent, constant monitoring and characterization of isolates causing outbreaks are necessary. In this study, we report the results of pathogenicity testing and phylogenetic analyses of seven NDVs isolated from several regions of Peru between 2004 and 2015. Six viruses had intracerebral pathogenicity indices (ICPIs) of between 1.75 and 1.88, corresponding to a velogenic pathotype. The remaining virus had an ICPI of 0.00, corresponding to a lentogenic pathotype. These results were consistent with amino acid sequences at the fusion protein (F) cleavage site. All velogenic isolates had the polybasic amino acid sequence RRQKR↓F at the F cleavage site. Phylogenetic analyses of complete F gene sequences showed that all isolates are classified in class II of APMV-1. The velogenic viruses are classified in genotype XII, while the lentogenic virus is classified in genotype II, closely related to the LaSota vaccine strain. Moreover, tree topology, bootstrap values, and genetic distances observed within genotype XII resulted in the identification of novel subgenotypes XIIa (in South America) and XIIb (in China) and possibly two clades within genotype XIIa. All velogenic Peruvian viruses belonged to subgenotype XIIa. Overall, our results confirm the presence of genotype XII in Peru and suggest that it is the prevalent genotype currently circulating in our country. The phylogenetic characterization of these isolates helps to characterize the evolution of NDV and may help with the development of vaccines specific to our regional necessities.

The vicuña (Vicugna vicugna) is a wild South American camelid (SAC) that inhabits the highlands of South America between 3200 and 4700 m above sea level, and is distributed in the following five countries: Peru, Bolivia, Chile, Argentina and ecuador (Marín and others 2007, Wheeler and hoces 1997). Peru holds the greatest vicuña population with 61.4 per cent of the world's population. Vicuñas are of great economic importance because they produce the finest animal fibre in the world (Wheeler and hoces 1997, Sahley and others 2007). Several parasitic diseases have been reported in SACs. Some of them are caused by external parasites such as mites (Ballweber 2009). Currently, three types of mange mites have been reported in the SAC: sarcoptic, psoroptic and chorioptic. Sarcoptic mange is a common parasitic skin disease caused by the mite Sarcoptes scabiei (Geurden and others 2003, Mellanby 1947). This ectoparasite has a cosmopolitan distribution and can infect a variety of mammals including human beings, domestic and wild animals (Fain 1968, 1978, Pence and Ueckermann 2002). This study reports the presence of natural sarcoptic mange infestation in a vicuña population from Peru. The study was conducted on a vicuña population from the National Reserve 'Pampas Galeras' localised in the department of Ayacucho, Peru, at 4000 m above sea level (W 74°30′; S 14°41′). The habitat of the vicuñas has an area of 6500 hectares, but the area of the National Reserve is estimated at about 60,000 hectares which includes several rural communities (SeRNANP 2012). During vicuña shearing season (June 2012), a total of 955 vicuñas (adults, young and crias), were captured by the community people, an event commonly known as the 'chaku'. Only 200 adult vicuñas were assigned to this study by the permission of the steering committee for the reserve. Twenty-four out of 200 vicuñas (>1-yearold) were found with skin lesions that were consistent with mange, characterised at various sites (ventral abdomen, inguinal region and limbs) by alopecia, erythema, thick crusts and fissured skin (Figs 1 and 2). The affected animals had pruritus and were in poor body condition. Skin scrapings were collected from all clinically affected animals and were preserved in labelled vials with 70 per cent ethanol (one to two weeks) before being soaked in 10 per cent potassium hydroxide

Here, we report the first complete sequence and biological characterization of a Newcastle disease virus (NDV) isolated from a peacock in South America (NDV/peacock/Peru/2011). This isolate, classified as genotype XII in class II, highlights the need for increased surveillance of noncommercial avian species.

Reportamos por primera vez la presencia del nematodo, Serratospiculum tendo Nitzsch, 1819, parasitando los sacos aéreos de un halcón peregrino (Falco peregrinus Tunstall, 1771). Seis nematodos (2 machos y 4 hembras) fueron colectados e identificados como S. tendo. El hallazgo de este nematodo constituye el primer registro en el Perú.