Identification, geographic distribution and risk factors of Brucella abortus and Brucella melitensis infection in cattle in Algeria

Brucellosis is an infectious disease of several terrestrial and marine animals and humans caused by bacteria of the genus Brucella. This study aimed to identify Brucella species and biovars circulating in cattle and to analyze their geographic distribution across Algeria. Two hundred ninety eight milk and lymph node samples from 161 seropositive cattle of different local and foreign breeds were collected from 97 dairy farms in 56 towns of 13 wilayas (states/ provinces) of the central, eastern, western and southern regions. The samples were cultured on selective media and the obtained isolates were identified using bacteriological and molecular tests. Eighty-five Brucella isolates (72 B. abortus and 13 B. melitensis) were recovered from 63 animals in 37 dairy farms. In total, 71 (83.5 %) B. abortus bv 3, 11 (12.9 %) B. melitensis bv 2, 2 (2.4 %) B. melitensis bv 3 and 1 (1.2 %) unidentified B. abortus biovar were detected. The identification of B. abortus biovar 3 and B. melitensis biovar 2 is a new finding for Algeria and the Maghreb, respectively. B. abortus (84.7 %) was the main etiological agent of brucellosis. B. abortus showed a scattered distribution across Algeria. The fact that 60 % of the seropositive cattle showed no clinical signs, but 36 % were culture positive is an alarming observation. These data will rise awareness for the current epidemiological situation of bovine brucellosis in Algeria. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first representative countrywide bacteriological investigation of Brucella species and biovars in cattle across Algeria, which is a developing country where resources might be limited and the working conditions might not be very friendly.

Human brucellosis in Maghreb: existence of a lineage related to socio-historical connections with Europe

Despite control/eradication programs, brucellosis, major worldwide zoonosis due to the Brucella genus, is endemic in Northern Africa and remains a major public health problem in the Maghreb region (Algeria/Morocco/Tunisia). Brucella melitensis biovar 3 is mostly involved in human infections and infects mainly small ruminants. Human and animal brucellosis occurrence in the Maghreb seems still underestimated and its epidemiological situation remains hazy. This study summarizes official data, regarding Brucella melitensis infections in Algeria, from 1989 to 2012, with the purpose to provide appropriate insights concerning the epidemiological situation of human and small ruminant brucellosis in Maghreb. Algeria and Europe are closely linked for historical and economical reasons. These historical connections raise the question of their possible impact on the genetic variability of Brucella strains circulating in the Maghreb. Other purpose of this study was to assess the genetic diversity among Maghreb B. melitensis biovar 3 strains, and to investigate their possible epidemiological relationship with European strains, especially with French strains. A total of 90 B. melitensis biovar 3 Maghreb strains isolated over a 25 year-period (1989-2014), mainly from humans, were analysed by MLVA-16. The obtained results were compared with genotypes of European B. melitensis biovar 3 strains. Molecular assays showed that Algerian strains were mainly distributed into two distinct clusters, one Algerian cluster related to European sub-cluster. These results led to suggest the existence of a lineage resulting from socio-historical connections between Algeria and Europe that might have evolved distinctly from the Maghreb autochthonous group. This study provides insights regarding the epidemiological situation of human brucellosis in the Maghreb and is the first molecular investigation regarding B. melitensis biovar 3 strains circulating in the Maghreb.

Gender differences in the sensitivity to negative stimuli: cross-modal affective priming study

BACKGROUND

There is evidence showing that men and women differ with regard to the processing of emotional information. However, the mechanisms behind these differences are not fully understood.

METHOD

The sample comprised of 275 (167 female) right-handed, healthy participants, recruited from the community. We employed a customized affective priming task, which consisted of three subtests, differing in the modality of the prime (face, written word, and sound). The targets were always written words of either positive or negative valence. The priming effect was measured as reaction time facilitation in conditions where both prime and target were emotional (of the same positive or negative valence) compared with conditions where the emotional targets were preceded by neutral primes.

RESULTS

The priming effect was observed across all three modalities, with an interaction of gender by valence: the priming effect in the emotionally negative condition in male participants was stronger compared with females. This was accounted for by the differential priming effect within the female group where priming was significantly smaller in the emotionally negative conditions compared with the positive conditions. The male participants revealed a comparable priming effect across both the emotionally negative and positive conditions.

CONCLUSION

Reduced priming in negative conditions in women may reflect interference processes due to greater sensitivity to negative valence of stimuli. This in turn could underlie the gender-related differences in susceptibility to emotional disorders.