The gene encoding the entire Babesia equi merozoite antigen 1 (EMA-1) was inserted into a baculovirus transfer vector, and a recombinant virus expressing EMA-1 was isolated. The expressed EMA-1 was transported to the surface of infected insect cells, as judged by an indirect fluorescent-antibody test (IFAT). The expressed EMA-1 was also secreted into the supernatant of a cell culture infected w...

A longitudinal study of different parameters of the immune responses to Toxoplasma gondii was performed with sera of AIDS patients taken during and after clinically important Toxoplasma infections. Follow-up of patients lasted for 9 months on an average. The titres of the specific IgG and IgM antibodies were measured by an indirect fluorescent antibody test (IFAT), and the appearance of circula...

More than 900 real-time ultrasound images from ribeye muscles across the 11th to 13th ribs of live beef animals were collected over the period of four years. Fat has acoustic properties appreciably different from those of other soft tissues, causing the transmitted ultrasound to be reflected from the interfaces between fat and muscle. As fat deposits (and hence marbling) increase, the speckle c...

Infectious salmon anaemia virus (ISAV) is a pathogen of consequence to farmed Atlantic salmon, Salmo salar L. ISA control centres on active surveillance for early detection by reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), indirect fluorescent antibody assay (IFAT) and virus isolation. Because diagnostic test performance varies among populations and laboratories, the Office Internati...

This experiment studied congenital transmission in sheep experimentally infected with oocysts of Toxoplasma gondii and reinfected at one of three stages of pregnancy. Twenty ewes were experimentally infected with T. gondii strain ME49 (day 0). After the T. gondii infection became chronic (IFAT≤512), the ewes were allocated with rams for coverage. After the diagnosis of pregnancy, these ewes wer...

Understanding the role of disease in population regulation is important to the conservation of wildlife. We evaluated the prevalence of Toxoplasma gondii exposure and Sarcocystis spp. infection in 46 road-killed and accidentally trapper-killed fisher (Martes pennanti) carcasses collected and stored at -20 C by the Pennsylvania Game Commission from February 2002 to October 2008. Blood samples we...

The aim of this study was to assess the use of parasitological, serological and molecular methods for the detection of Leishmania infection in blood of 67 dogs and to investigate the prevalence of canine leishmaniasis (CanL) in Kairouan (central Tunisia), an area known to be of reduced endemicity and has not been studied since 1973. Veterinarians clinically examined all dogs, and the titer of a...

The vectorial competence of the tick Rhipicephalus sanguineus is discussed in relation to the epidemiology of canine visceral leishmaniasis, taking into account its strict association with dogs and the low indices of natural infection presented by its known vector, the phlebotomine sand fly Lutzomyia longipalpis. In order to evaluate natural infection by Leishmania chagasi and the infectivity o...

Leishmaniasis is one of the most important neglected zoonosis and remains endemic in at least 88 developing countries in the world. In addition, anthropogenic environmental changes in urban areas are leading to its emergency world wide. Zoonotic leishmaniasis control might only be achieved by an integrated approach targeting both the human host and the animal reservoirs, which in certain sylvat...

Equine piroplasmoses are enzootic parasitic diseases distributed worldwide with high incidence in tropical and subtropical regions. In Spain, there is insufficient epidemiological data about equine piroplasmoses. The main aim of the present study was therefore to estimate the prevalence of Theileria equi and Babesia caballi in five regions and obtain information about the risk factors. This stu...