zoonotic diseases

Leptospirosis is a zoonotic and neglected waterborne disease caused by the pathogenic helical spirochetes. Early diagnosis of leptospirosis remains challenging due to non-specific symptoms and the limited availability of rapid point-of-care diagnostic tests. Herein, we present a case where a patient suspected of having COVID-19 was diagnosed with leptospirosis using metagenomic next-generation sequencing (mNGS). This case highlights the potential of mNGS to diagnose leptospirosis in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic...

Listeriosis is a zoonotic disease caused by Listeria monocytogenes and Listeria ivanovii. The genus Listeria currently includes 27 recognized species and is found throughout the environment. The number of systematic studies on antimicrobial resistance in L. monocytogenes isolates from domestic farms using antimicrobial substances is limited. Importantly, dairy ruminant farms are reservoir of hypervirulent lineage I L. monocytogenes isolates, previously associated with human clinical cases. Considering that the classes of antibiotics used in food-producing domestic animals are frequently the same or closely related to those used in human medicine, studies about the impact of antibiotic use on the acquisition of antibiotic resistance in Listeria spp...

Acute Undifferentiated Febrile Illness (AUFI) presents a clinical challenge, often characterized by sudden fever, non-specific symptoms, and potential life-threatening implications. This review highlights the global prevalence, types, challenges, and implications of AUFI, especially in tropical and subtropical regions where infectious diseases thrive. It delves into the difficulties in diagnosis, prevalence rates, regional variations, and potential causes, ranging from bacterial and viral infections to zoonotic diseases...

Hepatitis E virus (HEV) is an emerging zoonotic pathogen that exhibits great host diversity. The primary means of transmission of the virus in low- and middle-income countries is contaminated water, often due to a lack of access to proper sanitation, which leads to faecal contamination of water sources. Environmental surveillance is an important tool that can be used to monitor virus circulation and as an early warning system for outbreaks. This study was conducted to determine the prevalence and genetic diversity of HEV in wastewater, surface water (rivers and standpipe/ablution water), and effluent from a piggery in South Africa...

Zoonotic diseases are major public health concerns and undeniable threats to human health. Among Zoonotic diseases, zoonotic viruses and prions are much more difficult to eradicate, as they result in higher infections and mortality rates. Several investigations have shown curcumin, the active ingredient of turmeric, to have wide spectrum properties such as anti-microbial, anti-vascular, anti-inflammatory, anti-tumor, anti-neoplastic, anti-oxidant, and immune system modulator properties. In the present study, we performed a comprehensive review of existing in silico, in vitro, and in vivo evidence on the antiviral (54 important zoonotic viruses) and anti-prion properties of curcumin and curcuminoids in PubMed, Google Scholar, Science Direct, Scopus, and Web of Science databases...

Nipah virus (NiV) is a highly lethal zoonotic virus with a potential large-scale outbreak, which poses a great threat to world health and security. In order to explore more potential factors associated with NiV, a proximity labeling method was applied to investigate the F, G, and host protein interactions systematically. We screened 1996 and 1524 high-confidence host proteins that interacted with the NiV fusion (F) glycoprotein and attachment (G) glycoprotein in HEK293T cells by proximity labeling technology, and 863 of them interacted with both F and G...

Chagas disease (CD) is a vector-borne Neglected Zoonotic Disease (NZD) caused by a flagellate protozoan, Trypanosoma cruzi , that affects various mammalian species across America, including humans and domestic animals. However, due to an increase in population movements and new routes of transmission, T. cruzi infection is presently considered a worldwide health concern, no longer restricted to endemic countries. Dogs play a major role in the domestic cycle by acting very efficiently as reservoirs and allowing the perpetuation of parasite transmission in endemic areas...

Pig farming is a crucial sector in global animal husbandry. The weight and body dimension data of pigs reflect their growth and development status, serving as vital metrics for assessing their progress. Presently, pig weight and body dimensions are predominantly measured manually, which poses challenges such as difficulties in herding, stress responses in pigs, and the control of zoonotic diseases. To address these issues, this study proposes a non-contact weight estimation and body measurement model based on point cloud data from pig backs...

Small mammals, such as rodents and shrews, are natural reservoir hosts of zoonotic diseases, including parasitic protozoa. To assess the risk of rodent-borne parasitic protozoa in the Republic of Korea (ROK), this study investigated the status of parasitic protozoa, namely Trypanosoma , Babesia , and Theileria , in small mammals. In total, 331 blood samples from small mammals were analyzed for parasites using PCR and sequenced. Samples were positive for Trypanosoma grosi (23.9%; n = 79) and Babesia microti (10%; n = 33) but not Theileria ...

BACKGROUND: MPOX (Monkeypox) viral infection, a zoonotic disease previously confined to the African sub-continent, has caught attention worldwide recently due to its resurgence in a new 'avatar' among urban communities. Dermatologists in the U. A. E. started to see patients with fever and a self-limiting pustular necrotic rash that was negative for all other infectious investigations. METHODS: We performed a prospective observational multicenter clinical study of the demographics, skin manifestations, and outcomes of patients presenting with necrotic pustular lesions and/or fever...

The tropical brown dog tick, Rhipicephalus linnaei, is a tick of much medical, veterinary, and zoonotic importance. This tick has a nearly world-wide distribution due to its ability to survive and propagate in kennels and houses. Rhipicephalus linnaei is the vector of Ehrlichia canis, the causative agent of canine monocytic ehrlichiosis, an often debilitating disease of canids and, occasionally, humans. To prevent incursion of E. canis into Australia, dogs entering Australia have been required to have a negative immunofluorescence antibody test for E...

Increased incidence of zoonoses, coupled with veterinarians' occupational exposure, led to this study examining the knowledge of licensed US veterinarians on zoonoses and their disease prevention practices. This online survey supported by the National Association of State Public Health Veterinarians received 466 responses from 36 US states; 67% of the respondents were female, and 72.5% were small animal medicine practitioners. The One Health concept was familiar among 82% of respondents, 51.3% knew of continuing education training on zoonoses, and 68% had attended such a training in the last 5 years...

Objective: In this study we evaluated the utility of Abortus Melitensis Ovis Suis Brucella PCR (AMOS PCR) for the molecular characterization of Brucella species and analyzed the associated risk factors for brucellosis in Central Indian and Meghalayan population. Methods: AMOS PCR was carried out in a total of 160 BSCP-31 PCR-positive DNA samples isolated previously from the blood of Central Indian ( n  = 90) and Meghalayan cohorts ( n  = 70). Clinical and associated risk factors recorded earlier were used to establish strain-specific disease outcomes in study cohorts...

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Background: Brucellosis is the most important public health problem worldwide, and the annual incidence of the disease in humans is 2.1 million. The Brucella genome is highly conserved, with over 90% similarity among species. The aim of this study was to perform species-level identification of Brucella spp. strains isolated from humans diagnosed with brucellosis and to further investigate the phylogenetic relationships using multiple locus variable number of tandem repeats analysis (MLVA)-16 and 16S rRNA sequencing analysis...

BACKGROUND: An accelerated epidemiological transition, spurred by economic development and urbanization, has led to a rapid transformation of the disease spectrum. However, this transition has resulted in a divergent change in the burden of infectious diseases between urban and rural areas. The objective of our study was to evaluate the long-term urban-rural disparities in infectious diseases among children, adolescents, and youths in China, while also examining the specific diseases driving these disparities...

BACKGROUND: Within endemic regions in southern and eastern Germany, Borna disease virus 1 (BoDV-1) causes rare zoonotic spill-over infections in humans, leading to encephalitis with a high case-fatality risk. So far, intra-vitam diagnosis has mainly been based on RT-qPCR from cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and serology, both being associated with diagnostic challenges. Whilst low RNA copy numbers in CSF limit the sensitivity of RT-qPCR from this material, seroconversion often occurs late during the course of the disease...

Alveolar echinococcosis (AE) is a zoonotic parasitic disease caused by the infection of Echinococcus multilocularis ( E. multilocularis ) larvae. Cytotoxic T-lymphocyte antigen 4 (CTLA-4) produces inhibitory signals and induces T cell exhaustion, thereby inhibiting the parasiticidal efficacy of the liver immune system. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to explore how T-cell exhaustion contributes to AE and whether blocking CTLA-4 could reverse T cell exhaustion. Here we discovered that the expression of CTLA-4 was increased in the infiltrating margin around the lesion of the liver from AE patients by using western blot and immunohistochemistry assay...

Wild rhesus macaques are a potential source of zoonotic parasites for humans, and Entamoeba spp. are common intestinal parasites. To investigate the prevalence of Entamoeba in wild rhesus macaques in China and explore the genetic differentiation of the potentially pathogenic species Entamoeba nuttalli, a total of 276 fecal samples from five populations at high altitudes (HAG, 2,800-4,100 m above sea level) and four populations at low altitudes (LAG, 5-1,000 m above sea level) were collected. PCR methods based on the ssrRNA gene were used to detect Entamoeba infection...

BACKGROUND: Alveolar Echinococcosis (AE) is a malignant zoonotic disease caused by Echinococcus multilocularis infection. Considering whether the lesion is accompanied by vascular invasion (VI) is crucial for treatment strategies. A cost-effective and convenient clinical diagnostic method is urgently needed to supplement current techniques. Consequently, we detected soluble CD155 (sCD155) as a potential biomarker for diagnosing VI in hepatic alveolar echinococcosis (HAE). METHODS: Blood samples were from 42 AE patients and 49 healthy controls (HCs)...