RAT FLEAS SPREAD HEART DAMAGING BACTERIA.

Bacteria that can cause serious heart disease in humans are being spread by rat fleas, sparking concern that the infections could become a bigger problem in humans. Research published in the Journal of Medical Microbiology suggests that brown rats may be carrying the bacteria. Since the early 1990s, more than 20 species of Bartonella bacteria have been discovered. They are considered to be emerging zoonotic pathogens, because they can cause serious illness in humans worldwide from heart disease to infection of the spleen and nervous system. "A new species called Bartonella rochalimae was recently discovered in a patient with an enlarged spleen who had travelled to South America," said Professor Chao-Chin Chang from the National Chung Hsing University in Taiwan. "This event raised concern that it could be a newly emerged zoonotic pathogen. Therefore, we decided to investigate further to understand if rodents living close to human environment could carry this bacteria." Scientists have found that rodents carry several pathogenic species of Bartonella, such as B. elizabethae, which can cause endocarditis and B. grahamii, which was found to cause neuroretinitis in humans. Although scientists are unsure about the main route of transmission, these infections are most likely to be spread by fleas. Ctenophthalmus nobilis, a flea that lives on bank voles, was shown to transmit different species of Bartonella bacteria. These pathogens have also been found in fleas that live on gerbils, cotton rats and brown rats. The scientists analysed bacteria found in Rattus norvegicus in Taiwan. The brown rat is also the most common rat in Europe, When the DNA of the bacteria was analyzed, it was discovered that a strain that is most closely related to B. rochalimae, which has been isolated recently from a human infection in the United States. The researchers took samples from 58 rodents, including 53 brown rats, 2 mice (Mus musculus) and 3 black rats (Rattus rattus). 6 of the rodents were found to be carrying Bartonella bacteria; 5 of these were brown rats. Four of the rodents were carrying B. elizabethae, which can cause heart disease in humans, and one of the black rats was found to be harbouring B. tribocorum. However, the scientists noticed one strain that had not been identified in rodents previously. The strain was finally shown to be close to B. rochalimae. These results raise concerns about the existence of other reservoirs and vectors for this emerging infection. Source; journal of medical microbiology.

Teenager infected with rat-bite fever from her pet rodent .

A 17-year-old woman was infected with the rare, but treatable rat-bite fever, that developed from pet rodents that lived in her bedroom, report the doctors who treated her.Rat-bite fever has been reported in writings dating as far back as 2300 years. It was originally described as a disease of the poor, but these days most cases occur in lab workers or in children with pet rodents.The condition is often goes unrecognized and undiagnosed. Most cases of rat-bite fever involve a bite or scratch from a rodent, but there are several reports of infection without direct bacterial inoculation. The young woman was admitted to hospital with pain in her right hip and lower back that had continued for two days and led to immobility. Over the proceeding two weeks, she had an intermittent fever, nausea and vomiting, and a pink rash on her hands and feet.Her nausea and vomiting improved, but the fever continued, and she had tenderness of a joint in her pelvis, and pain in her right leg. The doctors learnt that the woman had numerous pets including a dog, cat, horse and three pet rats. The rodents lived in her bedroom. One of these rats had died 3 weeks prior to onset of her symptoms.A blood test returned positive for --the most common cause of ratbite fever.The disease can have mortality as high as 13%, if left untreated. Fortunately, the woman underwent 4 weeks of antibiotics. After 5 days, her rash and fever disappeared, and the joint pain in her pelvis improved over the following weeks. She made a full recovery. Story source ; Science daily.

RATS POSE HEALTH THREAT TO MAN AND POULTRY.

Rats can absorb disease agents from their local environment and spread them, according to a University of British Colombia new study. The results also indicate that the threat rats pose to the health of poultry and humans has been underestimated.

Researchers studied the feces of rats caught at an Abbotsford, B.C. poultry farm, and discovered they all carried avian pathogenic E. coli, a bacteria with the ability to cause disease in chickens and potentially humans. More than one quarter of the rats were carrying multidrug resistant strains of the bacteria. 

The findings support lead author Chelsea Himsworth's theory that rats act as a "pathogen sponge," soaking up bacteria from their environment. If rats can absorb pathogenic E. coli, then they could potentially be a source of all sorts of other pathogens that we have not anticipated," said Himsworth, assistant professor in the UBC School of Population and Public Health and leader of the Vancouver Rat Project, a group aiming to address the knowledge gap about the health threats associated with rats. Himsworth was surprised to find that the E. coli strains carried by the farm rats were very similar to those found in chickens, and totally different from E. coli strains found in urban rats. Basically, the rural rat gut looked like the poultry gut, and nothing like the urban rat gut . 

 This latest study follows previous research by Himsworth that found human pathogens, including MRSA (methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus) and C. difficile, in the feces of rats in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside. Rat infestations ought to be taken seriously," said Himsworth. "They need to be tackled with an educated, informed approach in collaboration with scientists and pest control professionals. 

 There should be the development of municipal programs for managing rat infestations and rat-related issues. Story source; University of British Colombia.

New HPAI strain strikes US turkey farm.

. The US is bracing itself for more avian influenza heartache following confirmation of a previously unseen strain of highly pathogenic H7N8 striking a commercial turkey farm in southern Indiana.The outbreak, which has prompted the culling of about 60,000 birds, is different than the one that caused more than 200 outbreaks in US poultry last year, according to the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS).An Indiana State veterinarian confirmed that the strain was unique to Indiana and the nation and isn't related to the strains that struck the upper Midwest last year or to an outbreak last May in a backyard flock in north-eastern Indiana.Indiana is the nation's fourth-largest turkey producer, the third-biggest egg producer, and first in duck production. The state's poultry industry is worth $2.5 billion. story source;CIDRAP

Antiviral favipiravir successfully treats Lassa virus in guinea pigs.

Favipiravir, an investigational antiviral drug currently being tested in West Africa as a treatment for Ebola virus disease, effectively treated Lassa virus infection in guinea pigs, according to a new study. Lassa fever is endemic to West Africa and affects about 300,000 people annually, killing roughly 5,000. In some parts of Sierra Leone and Liberia, it is believed nearly 15 percent of people admitted to hospitals have Lassa fever, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. No vaccine or licensed treatment exists for Lassa fever, although ribavirin, licensed for hepatitis C treatment, has been used with limited success. In the new study, published Oct. 12, 2015, in Scientific Reports, favipiravir not only effectively treated guinea pigs infected with Lassa virus, it also worked better than ribavirin. Two days after infecting groups of guinea pigs with a lethal dose of Lassa virus, the scientists treated the rodents daily for two weeks with either ribavirin, low doses of favipiravir, or high doses of favipiravir. They also evaluated the effect of high-dose favipiravir in the rodents that began treatment five, seven or nine days after infection. All of the animals that received high-dose favipiravir were completely protected from lethal infection; animals treated seven or nine days after infection had begun showing signs of disease, but their conditions quickly improved when treatment began. Those animals in the low-dose favipiravir group showed mild to moderate signs of disease, but those symptoms resolved after about one week of treatment. The animals treated with ribavirin appeared normal during the treatment phase but developed severe disease shortly after treatment ended. Further testing and human clinical trials are needed to determine if favipiravir, also known as T-705 and Avigan, could effectively treat Lassa virus infection in people. Story source;NIH/National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.

HAND SANITIZER AND ANTIFREEZE CAN HELP PRESERVE DNA.

A few simple products, such as hand sanitizer and antifreeze, can preserve DNA in samples collected by lay people for scientific research, a new University of Florida study shows.This is great news because unlike high-concentration chemicals, such as 95 percent ethanol or pure propylene glycol -- which are expensive and hard to access -- these products are inexpensive and are commonly sold at grocery stores,said Andrea Lucky, an assistant research scientist at the UF Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, and supervisor of Sedonia Steininger, the master's student who led this study. In the study, published in the journal Invertebrate Systematics, Lucky, her collaborator, Jiri Hulcr, assistant professor in the UF/IFAS School of Forest Resources and Conservation and his graduate student, Caroline Storer, checked several products for their ability to preserve the DNA in ambrosia beetles. These beetles are "notorious forest pests," the study says. For example, ambrosia beetles transmit the laurel wilt pathogen to avocado trees and are a major threat to Florida's $100 million-a-year avocado industry.To test the effectiveness of different preservatives, UF/IFAS scientists experimentally preserved 33 ambrosia beetles collected from an avocado tree in ethanol, hand sanitizer, pure propylene glycol and automobile antifreeze and coolant.To check how well the preservatives kept the DNA intact, scientists used polymerase chain reaction to amplify the genetic material. They found that alcohol-based hand sanitizer, and propylene and ethylene glycol-based automobile antifreeze can preserve DNA. Now, there is an easy way for anyone who is interested in preserving insects for a project to get the materials themselves. It also means that professionals can sample more widely, at a lower cost and with fewer concerns about safety. This also offers a big boost for scientists who collect samples in remote locations, where accessing laboratory-grade . Story source;University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences.

How to use alum to reduce odor in poultry house.

A research team is working on how adding alum as an amendment to poultry litter. This reduces ammonia and greenhouse gas concentrations and emissions, specifically carbon dioxide, in poultry houses.
 

 The University of Delaware's Hong Li is part of a research team looking at how alum can reduce green house emissions in poultry. Acid-based chemical compounds, alum and PLT -- another amendment -- that are added to the bedding material in poultry houses prior to the birds entering have proven to be a very effective tool in controlling ammonia emissions.

 In the poultry industry, ammonia build up is a major concern and ammonia concentration is usually high during the growth period .

  Ammonia can do a lot of damage to the animal, especially the respiratory system, and can effect overall animal health and welfare.There is a need to control the ammonia, not only for the animal health but also for the public health implication.

 Adding alum to poultry litter is known to reduce ammonia concentration in poultry houses, its effects on greenhouse gas emissions had been unknown.

 MODE OF ACTION; The carbon dioxide was reduced in two ways.First, because alum is an acidic product, it reduces microbial activity in the litter and reduces the ammonia emissions.

.Ammonia comes from uric acid being broken down by bacteria and enzymes. Once the uric acid is broken down, two products are created -- one is ammonia and one is carbon dioxide..By reducing the bacterial activity, the ammonia concentration and also the carbon dioxide reduce.

 Second: by using acid-based litter amendments in poultry litter, growers can reduce the ventilation rate and reduce fuel used for heating the poultry houses, especially during the winter.

 In the broiler industry, there is a need to control ammonia to improve animal health and welfare. They have to keep the bird comfortable with optimum temperatures.

 However, if you want to have lower ammonia level you have to bring in more fresh air to remove more of the ammonia-laden air. This will result in over ventilation of the house,resulting in more cost to keep the house warm.

 The use of the acid-based litter amendments, will reduce the ventilation rate and the rate of fuel used, which reduces the carbon dioxide emission from the house through the heating process.

 Thus if the microbial activity is reduced and also reduce the heating, there will be lower carbon dioxide emissions.
 Story source; papers from university of Delaware.