RESUMO
The aim of the present study was to determine the presence of Borrelia burgdorferi antibodies in horses from the metropolitan area of Monterrey, Nuevo León, México. Blood serum was obtained from a total of 100 horses residing at different counties in the area. From each animal data was obtained on age, sex, county of residence, presence of ectoparasites and clinical signs. All sera samples were analyzed by indirect immunofluoresence and the sera that resulted positive to this test was analyzed by Western blot. The serological test yielded 34 positive sera at 1:64 dilution, and from them 6 were positive at 1:128 dilution, 3 at 1:256, and only one at 1:512. Confirmation of the infection by Western blot was obtained only in the sample positive at the 1:512 dilution. These results shown a low frequency of seropositivity to B. burgdorferi of the horses in the area, confirming previous studies indicating that in northeast Mexico Lyme disease is present in different animal species.
Assuntos
Anticorpos Antibacterianos/sangue , Borrelia burgdorferi/imunologia , Doenças dos Cavalos/diagnóstico , Doença de Lyme/veterinária , Animais , Vetores Aracnídeos/microbiologia , Mordeduras e Picadas/complicações , Mordeduras e Picadas/microbiologia , Western Blotting , Feminino , Técnica Indireta de Fluorescência para Anticorpo , Doenças dos Cavalos/epidemiologia , Doenças dos Cavalos/transmissão , Cavalos/imunologia , Cavalos/parasitologia , Ixodes/microbiologia , Doença de Lyme/diagnóstico , Doença de Lyme/epidemiologia , Doença de Lyme/transmissão , Masculino , México/epidemiologia , Infestações por Carrapato/veterináriaRESUMO
Clostridium chauvoei and C. septicum have similar characteristics as far as results from biochemical methods and gas chromatography (GC) are concerned. A total of 267 samples collected from sick or dead animals in the fields from Northeast Mexico, were bacteriologically analysed and differentiated by the GC technique. From these strains, 16 belong to the group of C. chauvoei/C. septicum. Studies on the effect of toxin on cell cultures of the lines EBL, 3T3, BHK21-BSR/PK5/88, CHO-K1 and MDCK were performed. The objective was to obtain further data for identification, as the results from GC do not allow exact differentiation between C. chauvoei and C. septicum species. The results were obtained in tests with BHK21-BSR/PK5/88 cells as this had proved to be the most sensitive cell line, closely followed by 3T3 and CHO-K1 cells. MDCK cells were of little sensitivity. Results of the cytotoxin test of the 16 strains were reproducible and suggested a differentiation between C. chauvoei and C. septicum other than indicated by GC. The cytotoxin test is a highly specific system that provides also an additional method to distinguish between C. chauvoei and C. septicum strains.