Identification of rotavirus A strains in small ruminants: first detection of G8P[1] genotypes in sheep in Turkey

Therapeutic Effect of Herbal-Based Drug on Severe Sepsis in Calves: An Innovative Immunomodulatory and antiinflammatory Strategy in Herd Medicine

Septicemia is a significant threat to newborn calves, often due to inadequate colostrum intake in the first day of life. The study aimed to assess the effects of a newly developed herbal formulation on septicemia induced by Escherichia coli strain O111:H8. Ten Holstein-Friesian calves aged 8-10 days were divided into two groups. Experimental septicemia was induced for all calves (n=10). The treatment group (n=5) received a herbal formulation containing extracts from Rosa canina, Urtica dioica, Tanacetum vulgare, selenium, flavonoids, and carotenes, in addition to antibiotics. The control group (n=5) received a placebo (5% dextrose) along with antibiotics for five days. The animals were monitored for 14 days. Blood samples were analyzed for cytokines, cardiac enzymes, renal function, and total antioxidant capacity before and after treatment. The treatment group had non-significantly higher CD4+ counts compared to the control. The serum level of IL-6 increased after treatment, with a considerable difference between the groups at 72 h (p=0.0014). The herbal formulation positively impacted renal and cardiac function evidenced by decreased cardiac troponin I levels and increased total antioxidant capacity (TAC). Lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) levels changed significantly over time (p<0.05), with a positive correlation between ECG changes and peak LDH levels (p<0.05). The increased cytokines beside ameliorative effects on heart and kidney functions suggest that the herbal drug may possess immunomodulatory and anti-inflammatory properties that aid in managing the inflammatory response during sepsis. These findings support the use of this herbal-based drug as an adjunctive treatment in veterinary practices for managing septicemia in calves.

Isoleucine Enhanced the Function of the Small Intestinal Mucosal Barrier in Weaned Piglets to Alleviate Rotavirus Infection

BACKGROUND

Rotavirus (RV) is a major cause of diarrhea in young children and animals, especially piglets, leading to substantial economic losses in the global pig industry. Isoleucine (Ile), a branched-chain amino acid, plays an important role in regulating nutrient metabolism and has been shown to improve diarrhea. This study aimed to evaluate the effects of Ile supplementation on the mucosal immune barrier of the small intestine in RV-infected weaned piglets.

METHODS

Forty-eight 21-day-old weaned piglets were randomly divided into three dietary treatments (each treatment was subdivided into two groups, eight replicates per group), with 0%, 0.5%, or 1% Ile added for 15 days, and then, one group from each treatment was challenged with RV.

RESULTS

The results showed that 1% Ile added to the diet promoted the healthy development of the intestinal mucosa. Ile could restore the reduced villus height in the ileum and the goblet cell number in the duodenum and ileum to normal levels, improving the intestinal epithelial tight junctions in RV-infected piglets. Additionally, Ile increased the activity of lipase, amylase, and sucrase, as well as superoxide dismutase (SOD) and glutathione (GSH), along with the expression of SIgA, DEFβ1, and DEFβ2 in parts of the small intestine.

CONCLUSIONS

The addition of Ile to the diet mitigated the effects of RV infection on intestinal morphology and mucosal barrier function, as well as the physiological functions of weaned piglets, and improved the antioxidant and immune functions of the piglets to some extent. These findings offer valuable insights, contributing to a deeper understanding of the role of Ile in supporting intestinal health.

Microbial Risks Caused by Livestock Excrement: Current Research Status and Prospects

Livestock excrement is a major pollutant yielded from husbandry and it has been constantly imported into various related environments. Livestock excrement comprises a variety of microorganisms including certain units with health risks and these microorganisms are transferred synchronically during the management and utilization processes of livestock excrement. The livestock excrement microbiome is extensively affecting the microbiome of humans and the relevant environments and it could be altered by related environmental factors as well. The zoonotic microorganisms, extremely zoonotic pathogens, and antibiotic-resistant microorganisms are posing threats to human health and environmental safety. In this review, we highlight the main feature of the microbiome of livestock excrement and elucidate the composition and structure of the repertoire of microbes, how these microbes transfer from different spots, and they then affect the microbiomes of related habitants as a whole. Overall, the environmental problems caused by the microbiome of livestock excrement and the potential risks it may cause are summarized from the microbial perspective and the strategies for prediction, prevention, and management are discussed so as to provide a reference for further studies regarding potential microbial risks of livestock excrement microbes.

Molecular characterization of picobirnaviruses in small ruminants with diarrhea in Turkey

Picobirnaviruses (PBVs), detected in a wide range of host species, are viruses of which limited information is available about their pathogenic potential, ecology, or evolutionary characteristics. In this study, a molecular analysis of segment 2 encoding the PBV RNA-dependent RNA-polymerase (RdRp) in small ruminants with diarrhea in Turkey was undertaken. A total of 66 fecal samples or gut contents from diarrheic small ruminants including 55 sheep and 11 goats were screened. Four samples (6.06%), obtained from sheep in different farms, yielded the expected amplicon size for the genogroup I RdRp gene fragment, whereas no positivity was detected for genogroup II PBVs. Phylogenetic analysis revealed high levels of genetic diversity among the genogroup I PBVs. Additionally, all PBV infected sheep were also positive for rotavirus A. This study, reporting the presence of the PBVs in sheep Turkey for the first time, contributes to the molecular characterization and epidemiology of PBVs.

Literature Review: Coinfection in Young Ruminant Livestock-Cryptosporidium spp. and Its Companions

The protozoan Cryptosporidium parvum is one of the major causative pathogens of diarrhoea in young ruminants; therefore, it causes economic losses and impairs animal welfare. Besides C. parvum, there are many other non-infectious and infectious factors, such as rotavirus, Escherichia coli, and Giardia duodenalis, which may lead to diarrhoeic disease in young livestock. Often, more than one infectious agent is detected in affected animals. Little is known about the interactions bet-ween simultaneously occurring pathogens and their potential effects on the course of disease. In this review, a brief overview about pathogens associated with diarrhoea in young ruminants is presented. Furthermore, information about coinfections involving Cryptosporidium is provided.

Cross-sectional study and genotyping of rotavirus-A infections in ruminants in Kuwait

Background

Group A rotaviruses (RVA) are zoonotic pathogens responsible for acute enteritis in human and neonatal ruminants. This research aimed to determine the prevalence of RVA in ruminants (cattle, sheep, and goats) and investigate the circulating RVA genotypes in these animals in Kuwait. We conducted a cross-sectional study to detect RVA in ruminants, using an immunochromatography test (IC), direct sandwich ELISA test, and real-time RT-PCR (RT-qPCR) assay using fecal samples.

Results

A total of 400 cattle, 334 sheep, and 222 goats were examined. The prevalence of RVA was 5.3, 1.2, and 2.3%, respectively, using IC. The ELISA test detected RVA from 4.3% of cattle, 0.9% of sheep, and 1.8% of goats. There was a significant association between the occurrence of diarrhea and the presence of RVA in bovine fecal samples (p-value = 0.0022), while no statistical association between diarrhea and the presence of RVA in fecal samples of sheep and goats was observed (p-value = 0.7250; p-value = 0.4499, respectively). Twenty-three of the IC-positive samples (17 from cattle, two from sheep, and four from goats) were tested using a RT-qPCR RVA detection assay targeting the NSP3 gene. The results showed that 21 of 23 IC-positive samples tested positive by RT-qPCR. Detection of RVA genotypes revealed that G10P[11] was the predominant strain in cattle (58.8%), followed by G8P[1] (11.7%). One sheep sample was genotyped as G8P[1]. In addition, G6P[1] and G6P[14] were detected in goat samples.

Conclusion

The present study revealed that the IC was more sensitive in detecting RVA antigen in fecal samples than the ELISA test. A higher occurrence of RVA infection was observed in cattle than in sheep and goats. This study suggests that RVA might be a risk factor of diarrhea in bovine calves less than 2 weeks old. This research also demonstrates the circulation of RVA in sheep and goat populations in Kuwait. Finally, the G10P[11] RVA genotype was the most prevalent genotype identified from cattle samples.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12917-021-02944-4.

Seasonal and Age-Associated Pathogen Distribution in Newborn Calves with Diarrhea Admitted to ICU

Calf mortality constitutes a substantial loss for agriculture economy-based countries and is also a significant herd problem in developed countries. However, the occurrence and frequency of responsible gastro-intestinal (GI) pathogens in severe newborn diarrhea is still not well known. We aimed to determine the seasonal and age-associated pathogen distribution of severe diarrhea in newborn calves admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) of Erciyes University animal hospital over a year. Fecal samples were collected during the ICU admissions, and specimens were subjected to a diarrheal pathogen screening panel that included bovine coronavirus (BCoV), Cryptosporidium spp., ETEC K99+, and bovine rotavirus, using RT-PCR and conventional PCR methods. Further isolation experiments were performed with permissive cell cultures and bacterial enrichment methods to identify the clinical importance of infectious pathogen shedding in the ICU. Among the hospitalized calves aged less than 45 days old, the majority of calves originated from small farms (85.9%). The pathogen that most frequently occurred was Cryptosporidium spp. (61.5%) followed by rotavirus (56.4%). The frequency of animal admission to ICU and GI pathogen identification was higher during the winter season (44.9%) when compared to other seasons. Most calves included in the study were 1-6 days old (44.9%). Lastly, co-infection with rotavirus and Cryptosporidium spp. occurred more frequently than other dual or multi-infection events. This study was the first to define severe diarrhea-causing GI pathogens from ICU admitted newborn calves in Turkey.

Genomic Analysis of an Indian G8P[1] Caprine Rotavirus-A Strain Revealing Artiodactyl and DS-1-Like Human Multispecies Reassortment

The surveillance studies for the presence of caprine rotavirus A (RVA) are limited in India, and the data for the whole-genome analysis of the caprine RVA is not available. This study describes the whole-genome-based analysis of a caprine rotavirus A strain, RVA/Goat-wt/IND/K-98/2015, from a goat kid in India. The genomic analysis revealed that the caprine RVA strain K-98, possess artiodactyl-like and DS-1 human-like genome constellation G8P[1]-I2-R2-C2-M2-A3-N2-T6-E2-H3. The three structural genes (VP2, VP4, and VP7) were close to caprine host having nucleotide-based identity range between 97.5 and 98.9%. Apart from them, other gene segments showed similarity with either bovine or human like genes, ultimately pointing toward a common evolutionary origin having an artiodactyl-type backbone of strain K-98. Phylogenetically, the various genes of the current study isolate also clustered inside clades comprising Human-Bovine-Caprine isolates from worldwide. The current findings add to the knowledge on caprine rotaviruses and might play a substantial role in designing future vaccines or different alternative strategies combating such infections having public health significance. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report on the whole-genome characterization of a caprine RVA G8P[1] strain from India. Concerning the complex nature of the K-98 genome, whole-genome analyses of more numbers of RVA strains from different parts of the country are needed to comprehend the genomic nature and genetic diversity among caprine RVA.

Co-Infection of Bovine Papular Stomatitis Virus, Rotavirus and Cryptosporidium Spp. in a Calf

Concurrent occurence of bovine papular stomatitis, rotavirus infection and cryptosporidiosis was diagnosed postmortem in a 7-days-old calf from a farm containing 65 calves of different ages. Multifocal papular stomatitis and rumenitis were present on necropsy. While polymerase chain reaction analysis revealed rotavirus and papular stomatitis virus infections; bovine viral diarrhea, foot and mouth disease, bovine papilloma virus and coronavirus could not be detected. Overall; concurrent co-infection with bovine papular stomatitis virus, rotavirus and cryptosporidium spp. was reported for the first time.

Molecular characterization of canine coronaviruses: an enteric and pantropic approach

Canine coronavirus (CCoV) generally causes an infection with high morbidity and low mortality in dogs. In recent years, studies on coronaviruses have gained a momentum due to coronavirus outbreaks. Mutations in coronaviruses can result in deadly diseases in new hosts (such as SARS-CoV-2) or cause changes in organ-tissue affinity, as occurred with feline infectious peritonitis virus, exacerbating their pathogenesis. In recent studies on different types of CCoV, the pantropic strains characterized by hypervirulent and multi-systemic infections are believed to be emerging, in contrast to classical enteric coronavirus infections. In this study, we investigated emerging hypervirulent and multi-systemic CCoV strains using molecular and bioinformatic analysis, and examined differences between enteric and pantropic CCoV strains at the phylogenetic level. RT-PCR was performed with specific primers to identify the coronavirus M (membrane) and S (spike) genes, and samples were then subjected to DNA sequencing. In phylogenetic analysis, four out of 26 samples were classified as CCoV-1. The remaining 22 samples were all classified as CCoV-2a. In the CCoV-2a group, six samples were in branches close to enteric strains, and 16 samples were in the branches close to pantropic strains. Enteric and pantropic strains were compared by molecular genotyping of CCoV in dogs. Phylogenetic analysis of hypervirulent pantropic strains was carried out at the amino acid and nucleotide sequence levels. CCoV was found to be divergent from the original strain. This implies that some CCoV strains have become pantropic strains that cause multisystemic infections, and they should not be ruled out as the cause of severe diarrhea and multisystemic infections.