Functional roles of domestic and wild host populations in infectious keratoconjunctivitis (IKC) epidemiology have been extensively discussed claiming a domestic reservoir for the more susceptible wild hosts, however, based on limited data. With the aim to better assess IKC epidemiology in complex host-pathogen alpine systems, the long-term infectious dynamics and molecular epidemiology of Mycop...

OBJECTIVES To conduct on-site assessments of public health implications at key European pet markets. DESIGN Observational study of visitor behaviour at stalls that displayed and sold animals, mainly amphibians and reptiles, to assess potential contamination risk from zoonotic pathogens. We noted initial modes of contact as 'direct' (handling animals) as well as 'indirect' (touching presumed c...

Oropharyngeal tularemia was identified as the cause of a die-off in captured wild prairie dogs at a commercial exotic animal facility in Texas. From this point source, Francisella tularensis-infected prairie dogs were traced to animals distributed to the Czech Republic and to a Texas pet shop. F. tularensis culture isolates were recovered tissue specimens from 63 prairie dogs, including one eac...

We diagnosed leptospirosis in 2 patients exposed to southern flying squirrels imported from the United States to Japan. Patients worked with exotic animals in their company. Leptospira isolates from 1 patient and 5 of 10 squirrels at the company were genetically and serologically identical and were identified as Leptospira kirschneri.

Although controversy surrounds cloning efforts, the cloning of animals to assist efforts to preserve genetic variation in support of endangered species conservation efforts has attracted serious interest. A recent report by Loi et al. describing the cloning of a mouflon (a species of wild sheep) in a domestic sheep surrogate points to potential conservation opportunities and additional challeng...

A classical paradigm in population genetics is that homozygosity or inbreeding affects individual fitness through increased disease susceptibility and mortality, and diminished breeding success. Using data from an insular population of mouflon (Ovis aries) founded by a single pair of individuals, we compare embryo number of ewes with different levels of inbreeding. Contrary to expectations, ewe...

In prey species, vigilance is an important part of the decision making process related to predation risk effects. Therefore, understanding the mechanisms shaping vigilance behavior provides relevant insights on factors influencing individual fitness. We investigated the role of extrinsic and intrinsic factors on vigilance behavior in Mediterranean mouflon (Ovis gmelini musimon×Ovis sp.) in a st...

Cytochromes P450 (CYP) belong to the most important biotransformation enzymes, therefore, their inhibition may lead to serious pharmacological and toxicological consequences. Albendazole (ABZ) is a benzimidazole anthelmintic widely used in human and veterinary medicine. The effects of ABZ on CYP were investigated on the rat (Rattus norvergicus) and mouflon (Ovis musimon) hepatic microsomes. Bes...

density of rhizobium population in faba bean (vicia faba l.) fields of wollo area (asketema, gashana, kotem, major and sekota) northern ethiopia was studied. the highest population of rhizobia was found at major and the least at sekota regions. the native rhizobial strains isolated from the northern parts of the country tolerated a higher salt concentration (5% nacl) than the exotic rhizobial s...