Tuberculosis is a chronic infection caused by strains of the Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex and occurs in both animal and human populations. The death of a tapir showing purulent material and a hard mass in the lungs at necropsy raised suspicion of a potential disease caused by mycobacteria species in a Brazilian zoo. Later, two other tapirs with similar signs died and were further investigated. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) from bronco-alveolar lavages was performed, and both animals tested positive for the RD(Rio) strain of M. tuberculosis, which is a recently discovered Latin American-Mediterranean sublineage and the main cause of human tuberculosis in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. To investigate the possibility of human infection and the source of transmission, all 50 zoo employees underwent tuberculin skin testing; four were reactive, but radiographic exams and direct sample staining did not suggest tuberculosis. Thus, direct human to animal transmission was not proven. However, the presence of RD(Rio) M. tuberculosis in tapirs highlights the lack of attention to diseases that human beings may transmit to wildlife.
Leishmaniases are zoonotic diseases caused by protozoa of the genus Leishmania. The disease has two clinical manifestations described in humans: visceral (VL) and cutaneous (CL) leishmaniasis. In Brazil, there has been an expansion of human VL. The participation of the dog as a reservoir of Leishmania infantum, the agent of VL, is important for the epidemiology of the disease since canine cases generally precede human cases. The present study aimed to evaluate the occurrence of Leishmania spp. infection in dogs in the municipality of Ji-Paraná by PCR assays using blood samples. Leishmania DNA was detected in two of the 105 studied dogs. The PCR products were sequenced and confirmed that the two samples (1.90%) correspond to L. infantum. The dogs had allochthonous history. Therefore, the positive results found here should serve as a warning to public health agencies. This is because Ji-Paraná is the third municipality to register cases of canine leishmaniasis (CanL) in Rondônia state. Thus, reinforcing the importance of expanding studies on the epidemiology and surveillance of VL in the region.
A infecção de bovinos por micobactérias,causada principalmente pelo Mycobacteriumbovis, tem grande importância devido às enormesperdas econômicas e os riscos à saúde pública relacionadosao seu elevado potencial zoonótico. Oobjetivo deste trabalho foi testar um protocolo dedetecção molecular das subespécies do ComplexoMycobacterium tuberculosis (CMT) a partir de culturabacteriana. Amostras de órgãos de cinco bovinossuspeitos para a infecção foram submetidasao cultivo bacteriano e à PCR para a pesquisa deMycobacterium sp. O DNA bacteriano foi extraídodas colônias formadas para a realização de PCRcom sete pares de primers: 16S rRNA, Rv0577,IS1561, Rv1510, Rv1970, Rv3877/8 e Rv3120. Areação foi positiva para todos os animais e os resultadosmostraram que o perfil da PCR foi adequadopara identificar M. bovis, estabelecendo especificidadede detecção, enquanto a cultura determinaapenas o gênero Mycobacterium. Esse diagnósticomais específico, sensível e rápido oferece vantagenspara o controle e erradicação da tuberculosebovina no Brasil, em particular no diagnóstico postmortemda doença, e contribui com a avaliação desuas implicações na saúde do homem, pelo consumode alimentos contaminados e por ser um perigo ocupacional em frigoríficos e fazendas.
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