This work was designed to study the infection process of Rickettsia conorii in the salivary glands of experimentally infected Rhipicephalus sanguineus ticks. One hundred six uninfected engorged nymphs were intracelomically inoculated with approximately 2 x 10(3) plaque-forming units of a rickettsial suspension. After the molt, unfed and fed adults were dissected, and the salivary glands were extracted and processed for transmission electron microscopy observation. Three different uninfected control groups were used for (1) evaluating the impact of the inoculation procedure, (2) establishing the feeding period of infected ticks, and (3) ultrastructural characterization of the salivary glands. Overall, 75.5% (80 of 106) of the nymphs inoculated with rickettsiae died during the molt or soon after hatching into adult instars; 50% (12 of 24) of the remaining infected adults showed severe malformations compromising their viability. In apparently healthy specimens, time of engorgement was longer. The contrast with the negative control groups was statistically significant, suggesting that R. conorii exerts a strong negative effect on the vector ticks. The ultrastructural study showed that in the salivary glands of infected ticks, rickettsial growth occurs preferentially in central, peripheral, and interstitial acini cells.

The effect of an oral treatment with the tartrate salt of tylvalosin on the development of proliferative enteropathy in 60 experimentally challenged pigs was studied. Thirty of the pigs were fed a diet medicated with 50 ppm tylvalosin and 30 were fed the unmedicated diet. The treated animals started to receive the medicated feed the day before they were inoculated, and continued to receive it for 14 days. The pigs' bodyweight, feed consumption and clinical signs were evaluated, and they were examined postmortem 20 days after inoculation, and samples of ileum were collected for immunohistochemistry (IHC) for Lawsonia intracellularis. Clinical signs of the disease were more evident in the untreated group than in the treated group. The average daily weight gain, average daily feed consumption and feed conversion efficiency were better in the treated group. The combined length of intestine with lesions was 2847 cm in the untreated group and 183 cm in the treated group. The tylvalosin treatment significantly reduced the level of L intracellularis infection; almost half of the treated pigs were IHC-negative compared with 3.3 per cent of the untreated pigs.

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RESUMO A enteropatia proliferativa suína (EPS), causada pela bactéria Lawsonia intracellularis, causa perdas econômicas importantes mundialmente, devido à diarréia e baixa taxa de crescimento de suínos na recria (forma crônica) e à morte súbita de animais de terminação e reposição (forma aguda

Indirect ELISA for diagnosis of Brucella ovis infection in rams [ELISA indireto ABSTRACTBrucella ovis is a major cause of epididymitis in sexually mature rams, resulting in subfertility, infertility, and economic losses for the sheep industry worldwide. The aim of this study was to develop an indirect ELISA (iELISA) using recombinant proteins, namely rBoP59 and rBP26, as antigens for serological diagnosis of B. ovis infection. The BoP59 and BP26 recombinant proteins were expressed in E. coli and purified by affinity chromatography. Antigenicity was tested by Western blot and iELISA. Standardization of iELISA was performed with 500ng and 1µg BoP59 and rBP26 per well, testing serum from uninfected and experimentally infected rams. rBP26 was effective in distinguishing positive from negative rams. The rBP26 iELISA developed in this study is the first to use a completely purified rBP26 as antigen resulting in high sensitivity (100%) and specificity (90.2%), and an overall accuracy equal to 1.0.

A case of mammary carcinosarcoma is reported in a 13-year-old, mixed breed female cat, which was not spayed and had not received contraceptives. The patient presented extensive and coalescent nodules in all mammary glands. Based on the histological and immunohistochemical findings, the diagnosis of mammary carcinosarcoma was confirmed.Keywords: cat, carcinosarcoma, mammary gland RESUMO Descreve-se um caso de carcinossarcoma mamário em uma gata, sem raça definida, de 13 anos de idade. A gata não era castrada e não recebeu anticoncepcionais. A paciente apresentou extensivos e coalescentes nódulos em todas as glândulas mamárias. Com base nos achados histológicos e imunoistoquímicos, firmou-se o diagnóstico de carcinossarcoma da glândula mamária.

The susceptibility of sparrows (Passer domesticus) and strains of mice (Swiss, BALB/c, C-57 and DB-A) to Lawsonia intracellularis infection was studied. Thirty-two sparrows were inoculated with pure culture of L. intracellularis and eleven received sham inoculum. Feces were collected on -1, 7, 14 and 21 days post infection (dpi) for detection of L. intracellularis by PCR. After 21 days, all sparrows were euthanized and the tissues processed for histology and immunohistochemistry (IHC). One hundred sixty mice of four different strains (n=40, per strain) were used. For each mouse strain, 16 animals received mucosa homogenate from a pig infected with L. intracellularis, 16 received pure culture of L. intracellularis and eight animals received sham inoculum. Two control and four inoculated mice from each group were euthanized on 7, 14, 21 and 28 dpi. Sections of intestine were collected for histologic analysis and IHC and pooled feces were collected for L. intracellularis PCR. None of the sparrows had any histologic lesions characteristic of proliferative enteropathy or antigen labeling by IHC. All sparrow fecal samples were negative by PCR. All mice strains studied had histopathological lesions typical of PE and IHC labeling consistent with L. intracellularis infection, especially those animals inoculated with pure culture. The most severe lesions were observed in DB-A and Swiss mice. Fecal shedding was detected in all mice strains, with peak at 14 dpi. We conclude that sparrows do not seem to be relevant in the epidemiology of L. intracellularis. The results showed variations in the lesions among the four mice strains used. C-57 e DB-A) à infecção por L. intracellularis foi testada. Trinta e dois pardais foram inoculados com cultura pura de L. intracellularis e onze receberam placebo. As fezes foram coletadas nos dias -1, 7, 14 e 21 após a infecção (dpi) para a detecção de Lawsonia intracellularis por PCR. Após 21 dias, todos os pardais foram eutanasiados e os tecidos processados para a realização da histologia e imuno-histoquímica (IHQ

Brucellosis, originally known as a Malta fever or undulant fever, is a disease caused by bacteria of the genus Brucella that are host restricted and affect several mammalian species, including humans. It is a zoonosis widely distributed around the world, which causes great economic losses in farm animals due to abortion, the slaughter of infected animals, birth of weak animals, decrease in milk production, and infertility. In humans, brucellosis is a debilitating disease with variable clinical manifestations that can result in death in some cases. Control of brucellosis in animals requires a correct diagnosis, culling of infected animals, and permanent monitoring of brucellosis-free herds. Although a clinical presumptive diagnosis is important, it is subjective, and therefore, laboratorial tests including direct and indirect methods are extremely important for an accurate diagnosis. This review discusses current methods for laboratorial diagnosis of brucellosis using clinical samples, from animals or humans. ResumoA brucelose, originalmente conhecida como febre de Malta ou febre ondulante, é uma doença causada por bactérias do gênero Brucella que possuem preferência quanto ao hospedeiro principal e que acomete diferentes espécies de mamíferos, inclusive o homem. É uma zoonose amplamente distribuída pelo mundo que provoca grandes perdas econômicas advindas de abortamentos e abate de animais infectados, do nascimento de animais fracos, diminuição na produção de leite e infertilidade. No homem provoca doença debilitante com diferentes manifestações clínicas e que pode, em alguns casos, causar a morte. O controle da doença nos animais está diretamente relacionado com um diagnóstico correto, ao sacrifício dos animais infectados e ao constante monitoramento dos rebanhos livres da doença. O diagnóstico clínico, apesar de ser importante para se estabelecer a suspeita inicial da doença, é subjetivo, e desta forma, os testes laboratoriais, que são divididos em exames diretos e exames sorológicos ou indiretos, são extremamente importantes para confirmação da infecção. Diante disso, este trabalho faz uma revisão atualizada sobre os métodos de diagnóstico laboratorial da brucelose a partir de diferentes amostras clínicas, de origem animal ou humana.Palavras-chave: Brucella, bacteriologia, PCR, diagnóstico, sorologia.