Is the European badger a new host for Dirofilaria immitis? The first records in Greece

Dirofilaria immitis is a ubiquitous nematode parasite with zoonotic potential, transmitted by mosquitoes, that causes heartworm disease in various animal species. Dogs are the parasite's typical final host, and wild carnivores represent the parasite's reservoir in nature. Studies on D. immitis infections in wild animals are essential to assess infection pressure for domestic animals, and until now, there has been only one infection case reported in a European badger (Meles meles). The current report describes the first two European badger cases with cardiovascular dirofilariosis in Greece. Two adult male badgers were rescued in Heraklion and Chania, Crete Island, and admitted to "ANIMA -Wildlife Rehabilitation Centre" in Athens. The detailed clinical examination revealed that the first badger suffered from severe broncho-pneumonitis while the second one displayed clinical signs associated with severe brain trauma. Blood samples were taken for haematology and biochemistry analyses during their short hospitalisation period. In addition, different routine diagnostic tests were carried out, including heartworm antigen testing (ELISA) and the modified Knott's test for microfilariae. Both badgers were positive in both tests. The animals died a few hours after their admission and the detailed necropsies followed, revealed the presence of three parasites in each animal's right heart, morphologically identified as adults of D. immitis. These findings add the European badger in the list of additional potential reservoir hosts for D. immitis and highlight the potential role of wildlife for companion animals and human health.

Abstract P5-07-10: Circulating microRNAs as early predictors of relapse in operable breast cancer

Background: Metastasis remains a major threat for patients (pts) with operable breast cancer (BC). Recurrence could arise from a state of tumour dormancy during which there is growth restriction of undetectable micrometastases. The expression of dormancy and metastasis related miRNAs was evaluated in the plasma of pts with operable BC obtained before adjuvant therapy in order to discover novel biomarkers for the prediction of relapse.

Methods: Plasma miR-21, miR-23b, miR-190, miR-200b and miR-200c expression was assessed by qRT-PCR in 133 pts with early BC (non-relapsed, n=84; relapsed, n=49). Expression was classified as high or low according to the median values and was associated with pts' clinicopathological characteristics and clinical outcome.

Results: No correlation was observed between the expression of miRNAs and the clinicopathological characteristics of pts. After a median f-up of 90.5 mo, median Disease Free Interval (DFI) was significantly lower in pts with high compared to low miR-21 [105 mo vs not reached (NR); p=0.001], miR-200c (105.2 mo vs NR; p=0.007), or both miR-21 and miR-200c expression (81.37 mo vs NR; p=0.001). miR-21-high was also associated with decreased median Overall Survival (OS; p=0.041). In multivariate analysis the number of infiltrated axillary lymph nodes (N3 vs N0-N2, HR: 2.86; p= 0.004) and miR-21 expression (high vs low, HR: 2.824; p=0.001) were independent negative prognostic factors for DFI, whereas negative hormone receptor status (HR: 3.062; p=0.024) and miR-21 high (HR: 3.545; p=0.029) independently predicted for worse OS. Moreover, miR-21 expression was higher in pts presenting early relapse (defined as relapse at ≤ 3 yrs) compared to those without relapse at 5 yrs (p=0.032). Furthermore, higher miR-21 (p=0.038), miR-23b (p=0.039), miR-200b (p=0.027) and miR-200c (p<0.001) levels were observed in pts with late relapse (at ≥ 5 yrs) compared to those without relapse.

Conclusions: Differential expression levels of metastasis and/or dormancy related circulating miRNAs are encountered before adjuvant therapy in pts with operable BC presenting subsequent relapse compared to non-relapsed pts. In addition, circulating miRNAs could predict for early or late recurrence years before clinical detection of metastases. These results merit prospective validation in an independent pt cohort.

Citation Format: Agelaki S, Papadaki C, Stratigos M, Spiliotaki M, Markakis G, Mastrostamatis G, Mavroudis D, Ioannis S. Circulating microRNAs as early predictors of relapse in operable breast cancer [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 2017 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium; 2017 Dec 5-9; San Antonio, TX. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2018;78(4 Suppl):Abstract nr P5-07-10.

Effect of Home-Based Intervention on Hospital Readmission and Quality of Life in Middle-Aged Patients with Severe Congestive Heart Failure: A 12-Month Follow Up Study

Objective: Home care surveillance has been shown to reduce hospital readmission and improve functional status and quality of life of elderly patients with mild to moderate or severe congestive heart failure and in younger patients candidates for transplantation. The present study aimed to investigate the effect of home-based intervention on hospital readmission and quality of life of middle-aged patients with severe congestive heart failure. Methods: Thirty-three patients aged 50–75 (mean age 65.4±6.7) with class III and IV congestive heart failure were included in this observational, community-based study. Intervention consisted of intensive home surveillance of patients, including frequent home visits associated with laboratory tests and telephone contacts to implement standard therapy, treat early symptoms and provide psychological support. Results: Admissions for cardiovascular reasons decreased from 2.143±1.11 for the year before the initiation of the study to 1.25±1 after its completion ( P=0.0005). Quality of life improved, as showed by a decrease of the mean score of the Minnesota Living with Heart Failure Questionnaire from 2.68±0.034 to 2.33±0.032 ( P=0.0001). Conclusion: Intensive home care of middle-aged patients with severe heart failure results in improved quality of life and a decrease in hospital readmission rates.

Loss of reproductive parasitism following transfer of male-killing Wolbachia to Drosophila melanogaster and Drosophila simulans

Wolbachia manipulate insect host biology through a variety of means that result in increased production of infected females, enhancing its own transmission. A Wolbachia strain (wInn) naturally infecting Drosophila innubila induces male killing, while native strains of D. melanogaster and D. simulans usually induce cytoplasmic incompatibility (CI). In this study, we transferred wInn to D. melanogaster and D. simulans by embryonic microinjection, expecting conservation of the male-killing phenotype to the novel hosts, which are more suitable for genetic analysis. In contrast to our expectations, there was no effect on offspring sex ratio. Furthermore, no CI was observed in the transinfected flies. Overall, transinfected D. melanogaster lines displayed lower transmission rate and lower densities of Wolbachia than transinfected D. simulans lines, in which established infections were transmitted with near-perfect fidelity. In D. simulans, strain wInn had no effect on fecundity and egg-to-adult development. Surprisingly, one of the two transinfected lines tested showed increased longevity. We discuss our results in the context of host-symbiont co-evolution and the potential of symbionts to invade novel host species.

Evaluation of primary and secondary treated and disinfected wastewater irrigation of tomato and cucumber plants under greenhouse conditions, regarding growth and safety considerations

Tomato and cucumber seedlings were distributed into 10 groups (five for each plant) of 15 plants each. The plants were irrigated for 10 weeks with primary treated wastewater (group A), secondary treated wastewater (group B), chlorinated secondary treated wastewater (group C), a fertilizer dilution (group F), and tap water (group M). All precautions were taken to secure that there was no direct contact between the wastewater and the edible portions of the crops. During this period and on a weekly basis, the height and number of leaves was monitored, while, at the end, the dry weight of leaves, stems, and roots for each plant of each group was measured. Based on these growth parameters, both types of plant in groups A and F recorded the most significant development compared to the other three groups. The plants irrigated with tap water recorded the smallest development, in every case. Plants in groups B and C were similar, with a slight (but not significant) superiority for the plants irrigated with secondary treated wastewater, probably as a result of some phytotoxic effects of residual chloride in the chlorinated wastewater. The presence of nutrients and specifically nitrogen in the various solutions explains the differences satisfactorily. The vegetables grown on the plants of each group were harvested, and their surface tissue analyzed for total coliforms (TC) and enterococci (EC). Tomatoes grown on the plants of groups A and B recorded the highest values for TC, with 505 and 490 cfu/g, respectively, whereas, for cucumbers, those values were 342 and 450 cfu/g, respectively. Enterococci were detected on the surface of harvested vegetables from groups A and B, but the small number of cases and their random character cannot support any strong relations between the used wastewater and their presence. The TC values in group C were very low, far lower than those if group F. No EC were found in either group C or group F. These primary results suggested that irrigation with appropriate disinfected wastewater, even of such high-risk cultivations of vegetables eaten raw, should not be discarded completely as unsafe, but be reconsidered and studied further. However, the use of undisinfected wastewater in such greenhouse cultivations, where all safety precautions have been taken to prevent any contact of the fruits with the soil or the wastewater, does not prove to be 100% safe.

Wolbachia transfer from Drosophila melanogaster into D. simulans: Host effect and cytoplasmic incompatibility relationships

Wolbachia are maternally transmitted endocellular bacteria causing a reproductive incompatibility called cytoplasmic incompatibility (CI) in several arthropod species, including Drosophila. CI results in embryonic mortality in incompatible crosses. The only bacterial strain known to infect Drosophila melanogaster (wDm) was transferred from a D. melanogaster isofemale line into uninfected D. simulans isofemale lines by embryo microinjections. Males from the resulting transinfected lines induce >98% embryonic mortality when crossed with uninfected D. simulans females. In contrast, males from the donor D. melanogaster line induce only 18-32% CI on average when crossed with uninfected D. melanogaster females. Transinfected D. simulans lines do not differ from the D. melanogaster donor line in the Wolbachia load found in the embryo or in the total bacterial load of young males. However, >80% of cysts are infected by Wolbachia in the testes of young transinfected males, whereas only 8% of cysts are infected in young males from the D. melanogaster donor isofemale line. This difference might be caused by physiological differences between hosts, but it might also involve tissue-specific control of Wolbachia density by D. melanogaster. The wDm-transinfected D. simulans lines are unidirectionally incompatible with strains infected by the non-CI expressor Wolbachia strains wKi, wMau, or wAu, and they are bidirectionally incompatible with strains infected by the CI-expressor Wolbachia strains wHa or wNo. However, wDm-infected males do not induce CI toward females infected by the CI-expressor strain wRi, which is found in D. simulans continental populations, while wRi-infected males induce partial CI toward wDm-infected females. This peculiar asymmetrical pattern could reflect an ongoing divergence between the CI mechanisms of wRi and wDm. It would also confirm other results indicating that the factor responsible for CI induction in males is distinct from the factor responsible for CI rescue in females.

Wolbachia infection and cytoplasmic incompatibility in Drosophila species

Forty-one stocks from 30 Drosophila species were surveyed for Wolbachia infection using PCR technology. D. sechellia and two strains of D. auraria were found to be infected and were tested for the expression of cytoplasmic incompatibility, along with D. ananassae and D. melanogaster strains, which are already known to be infected. D. ananassae and D. melanogaster show levels of incompatibility up to 25%, while D. auraria and D. sechellia exhibit levels of egg mortality approximately 60%. A dot-blot assay using the dnaA sequence as probe was developed to assess the infection levels in individual males that were used in incompatibility crosses. A positive correlation between bacterial density and cytoplasmic incompatibility was observed. The stocks examined can be clustered into at least two groups, depending on the levels of infection relative to the degree of cytoplasmic incompatibility exhibited. One group, containing D. simulans Hawaii, D. sechellia, and D. auraria, exhibits high levels of cytoplasmic incompatibility relative to levels of infection; all the other species and D. simulans Riverside exhibit significantly lower levels of cytoplasmic incompatibility relative to levels of infection. These data show that, in addition to bacterial density, bacterial and/ or host factors also affect the expression of cytoplasmic incompatibility.

Salmonellosis associated with homemade ice cream. An outbreak report and summary of outbreaks in the United States in 1966 to 1976

During the period 1966 to 1976, 22 outbreaks with 292 individual cases of salmonellosis associated with the consumption of homemade ice cream were reported to the Center for Disease Control. Salmonella typhimurium accounted for 45% of the outbreaks. The source of eggs used was known in 13 outbreaks, and all were ungraded farm- or home-produced eggs, a potential source of salmonellae. In 11 outbreaks, the method of preparation was known, and in all, the ice-cream custard had not been cooked before freezing.