RESUMEN
Ehrlichia spp. are emerging infectious pathogens, especially in the Americas. Although Ehrlichia canis is primarily a parasite of dogs, polymerase chain reaction-confirmed human infections have been reported from Mexico, Venezuela, and Costa Rica. This study reports the presence of E. canis DNA in 13.7% of 205 dogs from urban areas in Peru and of those, five were analyzed for phylogenetic variation using the Tandem Repeat Protein 36 (TRP36) gene. The use of the TRP36 gene for such analysis was validated against 16S rRNA and heat shock protein genes using Shannon's entropy bioinformatic approach. When compared with other E. canis strains previously reported, three unique and novel E. canis strains were detected. In addition, the TRP36 amino acid tandem repeat sequences of the Peruvian strains share close similarity to an E. canis strain detected from four human blood bank samples in Costa Rica. This study reports for the first time domestic dogs infected with E. canis strains closely related to a zoonotic strain, which may be of public health concern as dogs can be chronically infected with this pathogen.
Asunto(s)
Proteínas Bacterianas/genética , Perros/microbiología , Ehrlichia canis/genética , Ehrlichiosis/veterinaria , Secuencias Repetidas en Tándem , Animales , Proteínas Bacterianas/aislamiento & purificación , Biología Computacional , ADN Bacteriano/genética , Enfermedades de los Perros/epidemiología , Enfermedades de los Perros/microbiología , Ehrlichia canis/aislamiento & purificación , Ehrlichiosis/epidemiología , Femenino , Masculino , Perú/epidemiología , Filogenia , Reacción en Cadena de la Polimerasa , ARN Ribosómico 16S/genética , Análisis de Secuencia de ADNRESUMEN
Bartonella species are emerging infectious organisms transmitted by arthropods capable of causing long-lasting infection in mammalian hosts. Among over 30 species described from four continents to date, 15 are known to infect humans, with eight of these capable of infecting dogs as well. B. bacilliformis is the only species described infecting humans in Peru; however, several other Bartonella species were detected in small mammals, bats, ticks, and fleas in that country. The objective of this study was to determine the serological and/or molecular prevalence of Bartonella species in asymptomatic dogs in Peru in order to indirectly evaluate the potential for human exposure to zoonotic Bartonella species. A convenient sample of 219 healthy dogs was obtained from five cities and three villages in Peru. EDTA-blood samples were collected from 205 dogs, whereas serum samples were available from 108 dogs. The EDTA-blood samples were screened by PCR followed by nucleotide sequencing for species identification. Antibodies against B. vinsonii berkhoffii and B. rochalimae were detected by IFA (cut-off of 1â¶64). Bartonella DNA was detected in 21 of the 205 dogs (10%). Fifteen dogs were infected with B. rochalimae, while six dogs were infected with B. v. berkhoffii genotype III. Seropositivity for B. rochalimae was detected in 67 dogs (62%), and for B. v. berkhoffii in 43 (40%) of the 108 dogs. Reciprocal titers ≥1â¶256 for B. rochalimae were detected in 19% of dogs, and for B. v. berkhoffii in 6.5% of dogs. This study identifies for the first time a population of dogs exposed to or infected with zoonotic Bartonella species, suggesting that domestic dogs may be the natural reservoir of these zoonotic organisms. Since dogs are epidemiological sentinels, Peruvian humans may be exposed to infections with B. rochalimae or B. v. berkhoffii.
Asunto(s)
Infecciones por Bartonella/veterinaria , Bartonella/aislamiento & purificación , Portador Sano/veterinaria , Enfermedades de los Perros/epidemiología , Enfermedades de los Perros/microbiología , Animales , Anticuerpos Antibacterianos/sangre , Enfermedades Asintomáticas , Bartonella/clasificación , Bartonella/genética , Infecciones por Bartonella/epidemiología , Infecciones por Bartonella/microbiología , Portador Sano/epidemiología , Portador Sano/microbiología , Estudios Transversales , ADN Bacteriano/sangre , ADN Bacteriano/química , ADN Bacteriano/genética , Perros , Femenino , Técnica del Anticuerpo Fluorescente Indirecta , Masculino , Datos de Secuencia Molecular , Perú/epidemiología , Reacción en Cadena de la Polimerasa , Prevalencia , Análisis de Secuencia de ADNRESUMEN
BACKGROUND: Cystic Echinococosis (CE) is a zoonotic disease caused by larval stage Echinococcus granulosus. We determined the effects of high dose of Oxfendazole (OXF), combination Oxfendazole/Praziquantel (PZQ), and combination Albendazole (ABZ)/Praziquantel against CE in sheep. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: A randomized placebo-controlled trial was carried out on 118 randomly selected ewes. They were randomly assigned to one of the following groups: 1) placebo; 2) OXF 60 mg/Kg of body weight (BW) weekly for four weeks; 3) ABZ 30 mg/Kg BW + PZQ 40 mg/Kg BW weekly for 6 weeks, and 4) OXF 30 mg/Kg BW+ PZQ 40 mg/Kg BW biweekly for 3 administrations (6 weeks). Percent protoscolex (PSC) viability was evaluated using a 0.1% aqueous eosin vital stain for each cyst. "Noninfective" sheep were those that had no viable PSCs; "low-medium infective" were those that had 1% to 60% PSC viability; and "high infective" were those with more than 60% PSC viability. We evaluated 92 of the 118 sheep. ABZ/PZQ led the lowest PSC viability for lung cysts (12.7%), while OXF/PZQ did so for liver cysts (13.5%). The percentage of either "noninfective" or "low-medium infective" sheep was 90%, 93.8% and 88.9% for OXF, ABZ/PZQ and OXF/PZQ group as compared to 50% "noninfective" or "low-medium infective" for placebo. After performing all necropsies, CE prevalence in the flock of sheep was 95.7% (88/92) with a total number of 1094 cysts (12.4 cysts/animal). On average, the two-drug-combination groups resulted pulmonary cysts that were 6 mm smaller and hepatic cysts that were 4.2 mm smaller than placebo (p<0.05). CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: We demonstrate that Oxfendazole at 60 mg, combination Oxfendazole/Praziquantel and combination Albendazole/Praziquantel are successful schemas that can be added to control measures in animals and merits further study for the treatment of animal CE. Further investigations on different schedules of monotherapy or combined chemotherapy are needed, as well as studies to evaluate the safety and efficacy of Oxfendazole in humans.
Asunto(s)
Albendazol/uso terapéutico , Antihelmínticos/uso terapéutico , Bencimidazoles/uso terapéutico , Equinococosis/veterinaria , Echinococcus granulosus/aislamiento & purificación , Praziquantel/uso terapéutico , Enfermedades de las Ovejas/tratamiento farmacológico , Animales , Bencimidazoles/administración & dosificación , Quimioterapia Combinada , Equinococosis/tratamiento farmacológico , Equinococosis/parasitología , Echinococcus granulosus/efectos de los fármacos , Enfermedades de las Ovejas/parasitología , Análisis de Supervivencia , Resultado del TratamientoRESUMEN
Cystic echinococosis (CE) is a public health problem caused by Echinococcus granulosus. We aimed to determine the efficacy of nitazoxanide (NTZ) and oxfendazole (OXF) against CE in naturally infected sheep. A total of 151 ewes were assigned to the following groups: 15 mg/kg of NTZ weekly for five weeks (NTZ5); two rounds of 15 mg/ kg of NTZ a day for five days (NTZ5x2) two weeks apart; 30 mg/kg of OXF a week for 11 weeks (OXF11); 30 mg/kg of OXF plus 15 mg/kg of NTZ a week for 11 weeks (OXF/NTZ); and the control group. OXF11 and OXF/NTZ decreased the number of fertile cysts, increased the number of degenerated cysts, and were more efficacious (49.6-61.2%) against lung cysts and liver cysts (91.8-100%) than any other treatment group. OXF might be an additional strategy for control programs and an optional treatment of human CE after it is licensed.