N.V. Patil

Pathology and diagnosis of Mycobacterium bovis in naturally infected dromedary camels (Camelus dromedarius) in India

The present study investigated the pathological features of tuberculosis (TB) caused by Mycobacterium bovis and its diagnosis in naturally infected dromedary camels from an organized farm in India. During the period of the 5-year study, a total of 18 (19.56xa0%) camels out of 92 examined showed gross lesions compatible with TB at post-mortem. The clinical signs and pathological lesions in these camels were studied, and the efficacy of different diagnostic tests was also assessed. On the basis of occurrence and distribution of gross TB lesions, the infected camels revealed two different lesional patterns as pulmonary (nu2009=u200915) and disseminated (nu2009=u20093) form. The histopathology of affected organs revealed typical granulomatous lesions wherein the giant cells and acid-fast bacilli were occasionally observed in pulmonary form whereas they frequently observed in disseminated form. The single intradermal tuberculin test (SIDT) detected TB in 10 (55.55xa0%) whereas the Ziehl-Neelsen (ZN) stain and IS6110 PCR from tissue lesions detected 13 (72.22xa0%) and 18 (100xa0%) of the infected camels, respectively. The study suggests that pulmonary form of the TB is more common in camels indicating respiratory route as the major source of exposure in camel herds. Moreover, very low sensitivity of SIDT was observed which highlights the difficulty for confirmation of TB in live camels.

Soil legacy data rescue via GlobalSoilMap and other international and national initiatives

Legacy soil data have been produced over 70 years in nearly all countries of the world. Unfortunately, data, information and knowledge are still currently fragmented and at risk of getting lost if they remain in a paper format. To process this legacy data into consistent, spatially explicit and continuous global soil information, data are being rescued and compiled into databases. Thousands of soil survey reports and maps have been scanned and made available online. The soil profile data reported by these data sources have been captured and compiled into databases. The total number of soil profiles rescued in the selected countries is about 800,000. Currently, data for 117, 000 profiles are compiled and harmonized according to GlobalSoilMap specifications in a world level database (WoSIS). The results presented at the country level are likely to be an underestimate. The majority of soil data is still not rescued and this effort should be pursued. The data have been used to produce soil property maps. We discuss the pro and cons of top-down and bottom-up approaches to produce such maps and we stress their complementarity. We give examples of success stories. The first global soil property maps using rescued data were produced by a top-down approach and were released at a limited resolution of 1km in 2014, followed by an update at a resolution of 250m in 2017. By the end of 2020, we aim to deliver the first worldwide product that fully meets the GlobalSoilMap specifications.

Pathological and diagnostic investigations of abortions and neonatal mortality associated with natural infection of Brucella abortus in dromedary camels

Brucellosis is a significant zoonotic disease that is emerging or reemerging in many parts of the world. This study was carried out to diagnose and investigate the pathological lesions associated with Brucella abortus in the fetuses and placenta of naturally infected dromedary camels. For diagnosis, the blood samples from infected dams were subjected to Rose Bengal Plate Test (RBPT) and blood PCR. The placental and fetal lung tissue samples were subjected to pathological examination and PCR. Nine cases of abortions and one case of early neonatal mortality was reported in the infected camels. The hematological parameters in infected dams revealed anemia and leukocytosis. The important pathological lesions in the infected fetuses were subcutaneous edema, moderate amount of serohemorrhagic fluid in the body cavities, interstitial pneumonia, degenerative changes in the liver, severe congestion with mononuclear infiltration in the kidney, and congestion in other visceral organs. The placentas were thickened, edematous, and showed necrosis along with mononuclear infiltration in histopathology. The RBPT and PCR for placental and fetal lung tissues detected all ten cases positive for B. abortus infection. However, blood PCR was positive only in two pregnant camels. The findings of the study indicated that B. abortus infection in pregnant dromedary camels causes necrotizing placentitis and fetal pneumonia resulting into abortion during mid to last trimester of pregnancy. The RBPT was found to play an important role in early serological diagnosis, whereas PCR was useful in confirmatory diagnosis of brucellosis from placental and fetal lung tissue samples.

Eimeria leuckarti from dromedariescamel calves

The current work reports E. leukarti from camel calves of a farm in Bikaner, India and makes some notes on the sporulation process, apart from the unsporulated oocyst morphology. Two out of the 34 faecal samples of camel calves under 2 years of age had unsporulated oocysts of E. leuckarti, which were recovered by sedimentation. Noteworthy, in the morphological study the identification of an enlarged region in the inner layer of the oocyst wall, always in the opposite end of the micropyle. The sporulation time recorded in the present study was 19 days at 37°C. Unexpectedly, some oocysts do not sporulate even after 30 days in appropriate conditions of sporulation at room temperature even when kept in petri dishes under aeration.

Vertical transmission of Trypanosoma evansi in dromedary camels and studies on fetal pathology, diagnosis and treatment.

In the present study, a total of 14 (73.68%) cases of abortions and two (100%) cases of still births were detected positive for Trypanosoma evansi infection by wet and dry blood smear examination and fetal tissue PCR in camels of an organized farm. The abortions in infected dams were recorded from 8 to 11.5 month of gestation, however majority occurred during 9th to 10th month. The important laboratorial findings in infected dams were anemia, hypoglycemia, hyperproteinemia and leukocytosis. At necropsy the T. evansi infected aborted and still born fetuses showed subcutaneous edema, presence of moderate amount of dark red hemolysed blood in thoracic and abdominal cavity, bronchopneumonia, hepatic necrosis and acute congestion in all vital organs. Microscopically, there was severe congestion, thickening of bronchial and alveolar wall and mononuclear infiltration in the fetal lung, necrotic and degenerative changes in the liver, nephritis along with severe congestion and tubular necrosis in the kidneys and necrotic and degenerative changes and congestion of capillaries in the brain. The T. evansi DNA was detected by PCR from blood, lung, spleen, liver, kidney and brain of all the infected aborted and still born fetuses. The results of the study indicated that T. evansi can cross placental barrier and cause pathological events in the fetus resulting into abortion or still birth in pregnant camels.

Cloning and phylogenetic analysis of Interleukin-6 (IL-6) and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) from Indian dromedaries (Camelus dromedarius)

The cDNAs of two proinflammatory cytokines viz., IL-6 and TNF-α from dromedarian camels were amplified by PCR using bactrian camel sequences and subsequently cloned for sequence analysis. Relationship based on amino acid revealed that dromedarian camel IL-6 shared 99.5% identity both at nucleotide and amino acid level with bactrian camel IL-6 and in case of TNF-α, the identity of dromedarian camel was 99.4% and 99.1% at nucleotide and amino acid level, respectively with that of bactrian camel. Phylogenetic analysis based on their amino acid sequences indicated the close relationship in these cytokine genes between dromedarian camel and other members of camelids.