Iranian Journal of Veterinary Research
Year:2015 | Volume:16 | Issue:1 (50)|Papers Count:21

Leishmaniasis is a neglected public health problem caused by the protozoan species belonging to the genus Leishmania affecting mostly the poor populations of developing countries. The causative organism is transmitted by female sandflies. Cutaneous, mucocutaneous, and visceral clinical manifestations are the most frequent forms of leishmaniasis. Chemotherapy still relies on the use of pentavalent antimonials, amphotericin B, paromomycin, miltefosin and liposomal amphotericin B. However, the application of these drugs is limited due to low efficacy, life-threatening side effects, high toxicity, induction of parasite resistance, length of treatment and high cost. Given the fact that antileishmanial vaccines may not become available in the near future, the search for better drugs should be continued. Natural products may offer an unlimited source of chemical diversity to identify new drug modules.New medicines should be less toxic or non-toxic, safe, more efficient, less expensive and readily available antileishmanial agents, especially for low-income populations. In the present review, special focus is on medicinal plants used against leishmanaiasis. The bioactive phytocompounds present in the plant derivatives including the crude extracts, essential oils, and other useful compounds can be a good source for discovering and producing new antileishmanial medicines.

The aim of the study was to compare the parthenogenetic activation andin vitro fertilization (IVF) of in vitro matured caprine oocytes. A total of 881 cumulus-oocyte complexes (COC’s) were collected from 243 ovaries. Oocytes were matured in TCM-199 medium containing eCG (20 IU/ml), hCG (20 IUmg/ml), oestradiol-17b (1 mg/ml), BSA embryo tested (3 mg/ml) supplemented with 10% fetal bovine serum at 38.5°C and 5% CO2 in an incubator under humidified air for 27 h. Based on cumulus expansion, the maturation rate was 86.86%. Morphological matured oocytes (n=749) were selected, denuded and randomly divided into two groups.Group 1 (n=223)in vitro matured oocytes activated with 5 mm calcium ionophore for 5 min and cultured in mCR2aa medium containing 5 mM DMAP for 4 h. After 4 h of DMAP treatment, the presumptive zygotes were washed and cultured in the embryo culture medium. Group 2 (n=526)in vitro matured oocytes processed for IVF in mTALP using fresh semen of a fertile pure bred adult Sirohi buck andin vitro culture in mCR2aa medium. Development of putative zygotes was observed every 24 h till day 9 post activation or fertilization under inverted phase contrast microscope. The cleavage rate, morula and blastocyst percentage in groups 1 and 2 were 67.36%, 23.07% and 9.23%, and 30.99%, 19.63% and 9.82%, respectively. The results indicated that the cleavage rate was comparatively higher following parthenogenetic activation with ionomycin/6-DMAP than IVF.

The present experiment aimed at increasing orange peel and sugar beet pulp protein content through solid-state fermentation by Trichoderma reeseiand Trichoderma viride. In vitro digestibility and changes in the chemical composition of the fermented products were determined after seven days of fungal cultivation using gas production tests. The cultivation of T. reesei and T. viride on orange peels decreased neutral detergent soluble content (P<0.01) and increased cellulose, hemicellulose and lignin contents (P<0.01).Changes in fiber fractions were found to be more pronounced with T. viride. The cultivation of T. reesei and T. viride on sugar beet pulp increased neutral detergent soluble content (P<0.01) and decreased cellulose and hemicellulose contents (P<0.01). These changes were more pronounced with T. reesei. The cultivation of T. reesei or T. viride on orange peels or sugar beet pulp increased crude protein content (P<0.01) compared with the unfermented materials; however, the increase was more pronounced for orange peels fermented with T. viride when corrected for weight loss (P<0.05). After 24 and 48 h of incubation, significant decreases in cumulative gas production (P<0.01) were observed in fermented sugar beet pulp and orange peels compared with the unfermented materials. Fungal treatment of orange peels and sugar beet pulp reduced the digestibility of in vitro organic matter, metabolizable energy and average fermentation and gas production rates (P<0.01). The data showed that seven days of solid-state fermentation of orange peels and sugar beet pulp by T. reesei or T. viride can increase their crude protein content.

The present study was conducted to detect the occurrence, serotype, genotype, phylogenetic relationship and antimicrobial resistance pattern of STEC from healthy goats of West Bengal, India. From the 125 faecal samples collected from healthy goats, 245 isolates were identified as Escherichia coli. The E. coli harbouring any gene for Shiga toxins (stx1/stx2) was detected in 36 (14.7%) of the 245 E. coli isolates. These STEC strains belonged to 22 different serogroups (O2, O5, O20, O21, O22, O25, O41, O44, O45, O60, O71, O76, O84, O85, O87, O91, O103, O112, O113, O120, O156, and O158) and three were untypeable. The stx1 and stx2 was detected in 26 (72.2%) and 21 (58.3%) of Shiga toxin producing-E. coli (STEC) isolates, respectively. Further, E. coli harbouring eaeA only (Enteropathogenic E. coli) and ehxA was detected in 22 (61.1%) and 28 (77.7%) isolates, respectively. Whereas the saa was present in 8 (22.2%) E. coli isolates. The subtyping of the 26 E. coli strains possessing stx1 showed that 73.% (19.26) of these isolates were positive for stx1C subtype. Of the 21 isolates with the stx2 gene, 42.8% (9.21) were positive for stx2C, and 38.1% (8.21) were positive for stx2d gene. The phylogenetic analysis of STEC strains after RAPD reveals eight major clusters. However, no serogroup specific cluster was observed. Resistance was observed most frequently to erythromycin (80.5%), amikacin (52.7%), cephalothin (50%), kanamycin (41.6%), neomycin (36.1%) and gentamycin (36.1%) and less frequently to norfloxacin (2.7%), enrofloxacin (2.7%), and ciprofloxacin (2.7%). Multidrug resistance was observed in eleven STEC isolates.

The present study aimed at detection and species-level identification of the Malassezia yeasts in domestic animals and aquatic birds by polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP). Samples were collected using tape strips and swabs from 471 animals including 97 horses, 102 cattle, 105 sheep, 20 camels, 60 dogs, 30 cats, 1 hamster, 1 squirrel, 50 aquatic birds and 5 turkeys. Tape-strip samples were examined by direct microscopy. All samples were inoculated on modified Leeming and Notman agar medium. DNA extracted from the yeast colonies was amplified by PCR using primers specific for 26S rDNA. RFLP of the PCR products was performed using Hin6I enzyme, and PCR and RFLP products were visualized by agarose gel electrophoresis. Malassezia yeasts were detected at the following frequencies: 15.46% in horses, 12.74% in cattle, 12.38% in sheep, 28.33% in dogs, 26.66% in cats and 26% in aquatic birds. Eighty colonies of 6 species were isolated: Malassezia globosa 41.25%, Malassezia furfur 22.5%, Malassezia restricta 15%, Malassezia sympodialis 15%, Malassezia pachydermatis 5% and Malassezia slooffiae 1.25%. Therefore different lipophilic Malassezia species are found in a wide diversity of animals and aquatic birds. PCR-RFLP is a suitable technique for identification of different Malassezia species.

This study was designed to compare the effectiveness of different activation treatments for activation of in vitro matured oocytes and their developmental potency in mCR2aa medium so as to obtain maximum number of embryos. A total of 1090 cumulus oocyte complexes (COC’s) were collected from 480 ovaries. In vitro matured oocytes were randomly divided into four groups. Group 1 in vitro matured oocytes (n=226) were exposed to 7% ethanol for 5 min followed by treatment with 2.0 mM DMAP for 4 h in mCR2aa medium. Group 2 in vitro matured oocytes (n=294) were exposed to 7% ethanol for 5 min followed by treatment with 10 mg/ml CHX for 4 h in mCR2aa medium. Group 3 in vitro matured oocytes (n=325) were exposed to 7% ethanol for 5 min followed by treatment with 2.0 mM DMAP and 10 mg/ml CHX for 4 h in mCR2aa medium. Group 4 in vitro matured oocytes (n=108) were cultured for 4 h without any chemical treatment in mCR2aa medium (control). The cleavage rate in groups 1, 2, 3 and 4 was 54.42%, 44.55%, 51.69% and 0.00%, respectively. The percentage of morula and blastocyst production in group 1, group 2 and group 3 was 26.01%, 29.77% and 29.76% and 2.43%, 1.52% and 1.78%, respectively. These results suggest that the activation of in vitro matured oocytes by 7% ethanol for 5 min followed by treatment with 2.0 mM DMAP for 4 h in mCR2aa is most favorable for parthenogenetic caprine embryos production.

This study was conducted to determine in vitro crude protein degradation (IVDP) parameters and effective crude protein degradability (EPD) of various feeds using the modified in vitro gas production (GP) technique. Feed samples were alfalfa hay, soybean meal, soybean, rapeseed meal, sunflower meal and fish meal. Rumen fluid was collected before the morning feeding from four rumen fistulated lambs (49.4±3.5 kg, body weight). Approximately 90 ml of buffered rumen fluid (BRF), 400 mg of feed samples and carbohydrates (maltose, xylose and starch) at four concentrations (100, 200, 300, and 400 mg) were added to screw-cap bottles. Gas production (ml) and ammonia nitrogen concentration (mg) in each bottle were measured at 4, 8, 12, 16, 24, and 30 h post incubation and IVDP was calculated via estimated intercept of linear regression between GP (as main variable, X) and ammonia nitrogen (as dependent variable, Y) using the linear regression procedure. Feed, time and feed ´ time interaction had significant effect on IVDP (P<0.001). Estimated EPD values at the outflow rate of 0.06/h for alfalfa hay, soybean meal, soybean, rapeseed meal, sunflower meal and fish meal were 0.56, 0.77, 0.59, 0.45, 0.50 and 0.38, respectively.

The study was undertaken to compare the efficacy of an estradiol-17b + CIDR based protocol with the conventional ovsynch+CIDR based protocol for synchrony of wave emergence and ovulation in Murrah buffalos. In group I (n=25), on day 0 (beginning of experiment), buffaloes were administered a CIDR device (1.38 g P4) and concurrently received 1.5 mg E-17  b. On day 9, the CIDR was removed and a prostaglandin (PG) F2a analogue (500 mg) was administered. On day 11, buffaloes were administered a gonadotropin releasing hormone (GnRH) analogue (20 mg) and inseminated twice at 12 h and 24 h following GnRH injections. Group II (n=25) protocol was based on an ovsynch regimen plus CIDR for 7 days followed by double insemination at induced estrus. Group III (n=10) served as control and was not given any hormone on day 0 of the protocol. In groups I, II and III, the duration of new follicular wave emergences were observed on days 4.22±0.12, 3.12±0.33 and 5.14±0.42, respectively. In group I, synchrony of wave emergence was more and the diameter of pre-ovulatory follicles was larger (P<0.05) compared to groups II and III. The first service conception rate (FSCR) was higher (P<0.05) in group I while ovulation rates were not different between groups I and II. In conclusion, more synchrony of wave emergence, larger diameter of dominant follicles and higher first service conception rate was observed following the E-17 b + CIDR based protocol in buffalos.

Using probiotics can control pathogens by a variety of mechanisms. Probiotics can promote growth performance and have, therefore, become increasingly important in the aquaculture industry. Convict Cichlid belongs to the family of Cichlidae and is known for its rapid development in laboratory conditions and is suitable for behavioral examinations. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of Saccharomyces cerevisiae on growth performance, survival rate and body composition of Convict Cichlids (Amatitlania nigrofasciata). One hundred sixty eight Convict Cichlids (mean weight: 2.1±0.12 g and mean length: 2.2±0.05 cm) were fed by commercial diets with different concentrations of S. cerevisiae (0, 0.5%, 1%, 2%). At the end of the experiment, survival rate and growth indices were measured. Based on the results, growth performance significantly increased with probiotic, S. cerevisiae, specially, at the 2% probiotic level of concentration. In the present study, the best FCR (feed conversion rate), SGR (specific growth rate), CF (condition factor) and BWG (body weight gain) values were observed in a 2% concentration of S. cerevisiae. The results suggest that this yeast could improve feed utilization in this fish species.

Published data on the effects of ruminal bolus on the number of ovulatory follicles in ewes does not exist. The present study determined the effects of a ruminal bolus on trace element status, follicular dynamics and reproductive performance in ewes. Eighty Afshari cycling ewes were synchronized during breeding season using CIDR for 14 days and assigned to 4 groups (n=20); group 1 received a single Ferrobloc bolus four weeks prior to CIDR insertion following 400 IU eCG on CIDR removal, group 2 received two boluses four weeks prior to CIDR insertion following 400 IU eCG on CIDR removal, group 3 received only 400 IU eCG on CIDR removal and group 4 (control) received no bolus and no eCG. Transrectal ultrasonography was done to monitor the ovarian follicles on the day of CIDR removal and a day later. Results showed that boluses increased the status of copper, selenium and iodine on mating day and days 90 to 100 of gestation. Ruminal bolus did not significantly increase the number of different classes of ovarian follicles in ewes fed a diet meeting all trace mineral requirements. All ewes eventually became pregnant with 1 or 2 boluses but the multiple births rate (80%) was higher (P<0.05) after 2 boluses compared to the other groups.

Mastitis is a one of the major diseases of dairy animals. Staphylococcus aureus is the most common microorganism associated with this dairy scourge. Cure rates of mastitis associated with this pathogen are appallingly low. Biofilm is an important virulence factor and immunogenic structure of S. aureus that makes it resistant to phagocytosis and antibiotics. Reports on the efficacy of vaccine prepared from a biofilm producing S. aureus are infrequent. The present study was designed to evaluate the role of a bacterin-toxoid prepared from a strong biofilm producing S. aureus in effective immunization of rabbits. The strong biofilm producing S. aureus selected from 64 isolates of staphylococci was used to prepare bacterin-toxoid and aluminum hydroxide gel was added as an adjuvant. The vaccine was evaluated in rabbits by challenge protection assay and humoral immune response. The mortality rates in control and vaccinated groups were 80% and 10% at day 7 post challenge and 100% and 20% at day 15 post challenge, respectively. Serum antibody titer (GMT) was significantly higher (294.0) in vaccinated group as compared to control group of rabbits (2.63) at day 45. The results showed that the vaccine has significantly elicited humoral immune response in rabbit and developed protective efficacy against new infections.

Currently, somatic cell count (SCC) and bacterial culture are considered as the gold standard of detecting subclinical Mastitis. Mastitis leads to proliferation of lymphocytes in the supramammary lymph nodes and subsequent enlargement of ipsilateral lymph node. Ultrasonography can be used to survey these changes. A portable ultrasound machine with a 2-5 MHz convex transducer was used to identify the supramammary lymph node size in 35 cows in a herd with chronic Staphylococcus aureus mastitis. After premilking udder preparation, a California mastitis test (CMT) was performed and individual milk samples were taken from each quarter for bacterial culture and somatic cell count (SCC) in accordance with NMC recommendations. The mean length (range 5.77-12.90 cm) and width (range 2.07-7.41 cm) of the lymph node were 9.2 and 4.03 cm, respectively. There was a positive correlation between lymph node size (length and depth) and culture of milk samples on ipsilateral quarters. Also, there was a significant difference correlation between CMT or mean log SCC of each side and size of supramammary lymph node in the same side. This study showed significant changes in supramammary lymph node dimensions in mastitis cases, so ultrasonography of this lymph node is probably a useful method for mastitis detection, especially in situations that test on milk is impossible.

The present work aimed at studying growth pattern and carcass traits in pearl grey guinea fowl fed on dietary Neem (Azadirachta indica) leaf powder (NLP) over a period of 12 weeks. Day old guinea fowl keets (n=120) were randomly assigned to four treatment groups, each with 3 replicates. The first treatment was designated as control (T0) in which no supplement was added to the feed, while in treatments T1, T2 and T3, NLP was provided as 1, 2 and 3 g per kg of feed, respectively. The results revealed a significant increase in body weight at 12 weeks; 1229.7 for T1, 1249.8 for T2, and 1266.2 g T3 compared to 1220.0 g for the control group (P<0.05). The results also showed that the supplementation of NLP significantly increased feed intake (P≤0.05) which might be due to the hypoglycaemic activity of Neem. A significant increase was also found in the feed conversion ratio (FCR) of the treated groups over the control, showing that feeding NLP to the treated groups has lowered their residual feed efficiency. The results of the study demonstrate the beneficial effects of supplementing NLP on body weight gain and dressed yield in the treated groups in guinea fowl. NLP is, therefore, suggested to be used as a feed supplement in guinea fowl for higher profitability.

Hippocampal neural stem/progenitor cells (hipp-NS/PCs) of the adult mammalian brain are important sources of neuronal and gial cell production. In this study, the main goal is to investigate the plasticity of these cells in neuronal/astroglial differentiations. To this end, the differentiation of the hipp-NS/PCs isolated from 3-month-old Wistar rats was investigated in response to the embryonic cerebrospinal fluid (E-CSF) including E13.5, E17-CSF and the adult cerebrospinal fluid (A-CSF), all extracted from rats. CSF samples were selected based on their effects on cell behavioral parameters. Primary cell culture was performed in the presence of either normal or high levels of KCL in a culture medium. High levels of KCL cause cell depolarization, and thus the activation of quiescent NSCs. Results from immunocytochemistry (ICC) and semi-quantitative RT-PCR (sRT-PCR) techniques showed that in ECSF- treated groups, neuronal differentiation increased (E17>E13.5). In contrast, A-CSF decreased and increased neuronal and astroglial differentiations, respectively. Cell survivability and/or proliferation (S/P), evaluated by an MTT assay, increased by E13.5 CSF, but decreased by both E17 CSF and A-CSF. Based on the results, it is finally concluded that adult rat hippocampal proliferative cells are not restricted progenitors but rather show high plasticity in neuronal/astroglial differentiation according to the effects of CSF samples. In addition, using high concentrations of KCL in the primary cell culture led to an increase in the number of NSCs, which in turn resulted in the increase in neuronal or astroglial differentiations after CSF treatment.

The present work was conducted to compare the occurrence of Escherichia coli possessing virulence and ESBL genes in backyard and farmed poultry. Three hundred and sixty samples from the poultry kept in backyard system and 120 samples from the farmed birds were collected from West Bengal, India. Among the E. coli isolates of backyard poultry (O2, O10, O25, O55, O60, O106, UT), none of them possessed any of the Shiga toxin genes and eight E. coli isolates (8.272; 2.9%) harboured eaeA gene alone. Whereas among the E. coli isolated from the farmed poultry (O17, O20, O22, O102, O114, O119, rough, UT), four isolates (4.78, 5.1%) harboured stx1/stx2 gene and 11 isolates (11.78, 14.1%) possessed eaeA gene. None of the E. coli isolates from the backyard poultry harboured any studied ESBL gene. Whereas 29.4% of E. coli isolates from the farmed poultry were found to possess the ESBL genes.

The present investigation was conducted to study the effects of experimental Clostridium perfringens type D enterotoxaemia in teddy goats. Clinical signs started to appear after 30 min of experimental infection like anorexia, diarrhea, dehydration, frothing and dyspnea. Gross lesions consisted of severe congestion in tissues of varying intensity with enlarged mesenteric lymph nodes while histological examination revealed edema of lungs, kidney, and lymph nodes and to some extent in brain along with hemorrhages in lungs and intestines. Clostridium perfringens type D carrying alpha and epsilon toxin genes were amplified with amplicon size about 247 bp and 665 bp, respectively. Human erythrocytes showed the highest hemolysis, 68%, followed by mice, 57%, against culture supernatants. The percentage of hemolysis was significantly higher at 37oC as compared to 25oC except for rabbit and dog.

In this study, the role of local injection of butyric acid (BA) with autogenous omental graft was evaluated in healing of experimental Achilles tendon injury in rabbits. Nine adult male New Zealand rabbits were anesthetized and a partial thickness tenotomy was created on both hindlimbs. In treated group, omental graft was secured in place using BA soaked polygalactin 910 suture. In control group, the graft was sutured without BA. Butyric acid and normal saline were injected daily to treatment and control groups for three days, respectively. Based on the findings, on day 15 after injury, the tendon sections showed that healing rate in BA treated group was higher than that in control group. Furthermore, at days 28 and 45, comparison between BA treated and control groups demonstrated that BA increased the healing rate but with no significance. In summary, results of this study show that application of BA with autogenous omental graft can improve healing process of damaged Achilles tendon.

The aim of this work was to study the possibility of using a new commercial polyester/cotton fabric to repair large sized umbilical and abdominal hernias in calves and small ruminants. Twenty-four animals (16 calves, 3 buffalo calves, 4 sheep, 1 goat) with umbilical or abdominal hernia were included in this study. The diameter of hernial ring ranged from (12-25) cm. An underlay technique was used for fixation of the prosthetic material that was placed under the visceral peritoneum after omentopexy and was secured to the recipient tissue with interrupted overlapped pattern using polypropylene monofilament suture material. After one year follow up, normal healing without complications in 19 animals was revealed (79.82%). Wound infection and delayed healing were recorded in 3 animals (12.5%) and wound dehiscence and re-herniation were observed in 2 cases (8.3%). In conclusion, our results suggested that commercial polyester/cotton fabric (Damour) represents a new cost effective alternative to commonly used meshes for hernioplasty of large sized hernias with relatively low rate of complications and recurrence in calves and small ruminants.

Although the infection of different animals and non-human primates with other members of Anelloviridae have already been reported there is no report about infection of animals with Torque teno midi virus/Small anellovirs (TTMDV/SAV). The aim of this study was to detect the virus in domestic village chickens. Blood samples were collected from 79 domestic village chickens in Isfahan. Blood samples of five adult laying hens and one cockerel were collected in three consecutive weeks (days 1, 8 and 14) as experimental chickens. Ten eggs were randomly collected from the eggs laid during days 12 to 17 and thin and thick egg whites and yolk samples were collected aseptically. After DNA extraction Nested-PCR was performed using SMAs/SMAr primers. In PCR, 431 bp and 441 bp products were detected. The detected bands were extracted and sequenced. Totally 26 out of 79 (32.9%) of the blood samples were positive for the virus. The frequency of the infection of the different parts of the eggs tested was 76%. For the first time TTMDV/SAV was detected in domestic village chickens which also vertically transmitted to eggs.

Hydronephrosis occurs as a congenital or an acquired condition following obstruction of the urinary tract. In this study, a four month old male Holstein calf with emaciation, growth retardation and a poor dry scruffy hair coat was examined because of remarkable distention of right abdomen. At necropsy, right kidney was hydronephrotic as a very big fluid-filled round pelvis with the presence of multilocular cysts bulged from the cortical surface. With sectioning, more than 10 L of bloody fluid poured out from this sac. Microscopic examination showed severe atrophy of cortical tissue and fibrosis of the medulla. Also, the dilated pelvis was composed of fibrinous exudate and necrosis of epithelium associated with multifocal aggregations of neutrophils and bacterial microcolonies. In a culture and serotyping of isolated bacteria, Salmonella dublin was determined. In conclusion, S. dublin induced pyelonephritis secondary to congenital giant hydronephrosis is the first report in cattle in the world.

A nulliparous non-descript mare was presented with a complaint of dystocia. The mare was recumbent and physical examination revealed that the animal was in shock. There was no straining and foetal forelimbs were visible outside the vulva. The foetus was dead as there was no pedal reflex. Vaginal examination revealed anterior presentation with dorso-sacral position and rigid lateral head deviation. Pre-operatively, the mare was given 5 ml Tetanus toxoid and 3 g Ceftriaxone as intramuscular injection, and 5 ml Dexamethasone in 15 L of 5% Dextrose Normal Saline (DNS) as intravenous (i/v) infusion. As pelvic space was inadequate and the mal posture was not correctable, manual correction or foetotomy could not be attempted and therefore caesarean section was planned. Condition of the animal warranted the use of local anaesthetic infiltration instead of general anesthesia. Post-operative care included intravenous fluids, anti-inflammatory/analgesics and daily antiseptic dressing. The owner reported uneventful recovery. The authors would like to conclude the case as a rare emergency caesarean in equine where the surgery was done with animal in lateral recumbency employing a Marcenac incision under local anaesthesia.