Cintia Lidiane Guidotti Aguiar

Identificação de Neospora caninum por PCR em cordão umbilical de bezerros recém nascido no Brasil

This study was conducted at a beef cattle breeding farm in the far southern region of Brazil. The birth of a calf with unilateral corneal opacity was immediately reported to the Laboratory of Parasitology, in the Universidade Federal de Pelotas, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil; blood was collected from the cow and calf before colostrum intake. The umbilical cords from this calf and from six other healthy animals were collected. Serological examination, utilizing an indirect fluorescent antibody test, was done using a cut-off point of 1:100. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was also performed using the umbilical cord samples. Serological tests showed that the calf was positive for Neospora caninum at birth, with a titer of 1:1600; a titer of 1:3200 was reported in the dam. PCR, using umbilical cord tissue from the affected animal, was positive for the presence of this parasite, and the molecular identity of the amplified product was confirmed by sequencing. Therefore, the detection of N. caninum DNA in the umbilical cord represents a novel alternative test for the diagnosis of this parasitic infection in newborn calves that are clinically suspected to have neosporosis.

Parâmetros da fase de vida livre de Rhipicephalus sanguineus (Latreille, 1806) (Acari: Ixodidae): adaptado ao clima subtropical

Rhipicephalus sanguineus e considerada a especie de ixodideo mais prevalente no mundo e foi introduzida no meio urbano pelo cao domestico, seu principal hospedeiro. O presente estudo teve por objetivo conhecer o desempenho biologico da fase de vida livre de R. sanguineus, adaptado a regiao Sul do Rio Grande do Sul, por meio da estimativa de parâmetros biologicos, sob condicoes controladas de temperatura (27 ± 1°C) e umidade relativa (> 70,0%). Foram coletadas teleoginas pre e pos-desprendimento dos caes hospedeiros, sendo cada grupo experimental constituido de 200 teleoginas. Verificou-se que a massa media de cada teleogina foi de 170 mg, o periodo de pre-postura de quatro dias, a massa total de ovos de 100 mg, a massa da quenogina de 30 mg e a longevidade larval de 31 dias, com indices de eficacia reprodutiva e nutricional de 61,0 e 74,0%, respectivamente. Quanto a dinâmica de postura, 98,5% foram ovipostos na primeira semana de incubacao e a eclodibilidade foi de 94,5%. A analise dos parâmetros biologicos de R. sanguineus revelou que nao houve diferenca estatistica (p > 0,05) entre as femeas coletadas diretamente do corpo do hospedeiro e aquelas provenientes do ambiente. Os dados biologicos observados em R. sanguineus adaptados as condicoes climaticas do Sul do Rio Grande do Sul sao similares aos de outras regioes do Brasil. Alem disso, as coletas de R. sanguineus para estudos epidemiologicos podem ser realizadas tanto do ambiente quanto do corpo do hospedeiro, devido a similaridade que ambos os grupos apresentam em seus parâmetros biologicos.

Avaliação da eficácia de produtos isoterápicos no controle de Rhipicephalus (Boophilus) microplus

The Rhipicephalus (Boophilus)microplus is responsible for considerable losses in Brazilian cattle. The control of such parasites has been done mainly with the use of acaricides, and the isopathy is an alternative. The objective of this work is to analyze the efficiency of the use of isopathy as an alternative tool to control the cattle tick. We used 18 cows of the European race, kept in extensive livestock system in the municipality of Cangucu, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. The animals were divided into control group (Lot A) and group treated with isopathy (Lot B). Mineral salt was used as a vehicle for the administration of isopathy, Lot A received mineral salt with placebo (sugar) and Lot B received mineral salt with isopathy. The animals were artificially infested with 10 thousan larvae of R. (B.)microplus , and in the days 20, 21 and 22 post-infestation engorged females were counted and collected. The ticks from each batch were randomly divided into nine groups of ten subjects each for analysis of biological parameters and subsequent calculation of the Nutritional Index and the Effectiveness Reproductive Index. For comparison of average engorged females from each group were employed ANOVA and LSD Test. The animals treated with isopathy showed a 53.4% reduction in the average number of ticks when compared with the untreated group (p = 0.001). As for biological standards, there was no statistical difference. It is concluded that the use of isopathy was able to reduce infestation of R. (B.)microplus , showing up as a promising alternative to control this ticks.

Parasitismo de Gallus Gallus (Linnaeus, 1758) por espécies de Phthiraptera em criações coloniais na região sul do Rio Grande Do Sul, Brasil

This study was conducted in order to identify the species of biting lice (order Phthiraptera: Amblycera suborders and Ischnocera) that infest free-range chickens in southern Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. Fifty adult females from 10 farms located in 5 different municipalities were examined for ectoparasites. The chickens were euthanized and then washed with water and detergent for the collection of ectoparasites by filtration using a 150-µm mesh sieve, then separated into pellet and supernatant, which were preserved in ethanol 70% for the screening procedures and identification. A total of 19,437 lice were examined, presenting the following breakdown by species: Menopon gallinae (85.9%), Goniodes dissimilis (6.1%), Lipeurus caponis (3.0%), Goniocotes gallinae (2.5%), Menacanthus pallidus (2.1%) and Menacanthhus stramineus (0.1%). It was found that all the chickens examined were parasitized by one or more species of Phthiraptera, the multiple and moderate level of infestation (101 to 1,000 lice/chicken) being the most frequent. M. gallinae was the most frequent and abundant species (100% of the chickens parasitized and an average of 334.1 lice/chicken). The degree of infestation of chickens varied among the farms, averaging 41.2 to 680 lice/chicken.