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Simple Summary: Paratuberculosis is an economically important disease due to its negative effect on animal production. One of the tools for controlling this disease is vaccination. The peripheral humoral and cellular immune responses and animal losses—regardless of reason—depending on whether or not they were vaccinated and their age, were studied for almost two years in a herd of dairy goats. The immune response was greater and more persistent when vaccination took place at an earlier age. Moreover, animals vaccinated at this time showed heterologous protection, as evidenced by a decrease in the number of dead and culled animals compared to those not vaccinated. Based on the cellular immune response, no cross-reactivity was observed when an intradermal skin test for tuberculosis diagnosis was employed. Vaccination could be considered as an effective method for paratuberculosis control, although controversial, with a need for investigation in some aspects. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of vaccination, depending on the age of the animals, on their immune response, the reduction of paratuberculosis cases, mortality and culled animals in a commercial dairy herd. Goats from three different ages were immunized with the inactivated Gudair® vaccine. Peripheral antibody and IFN-γ output were evaluated for 21 months post-vaccination (mpv) and intradermal skin tests (IDSTs) for tuberculosis, with avian- and bovine-purified protein derivatives (PPD), were carried out at 6 and at 18 mpv to evaluate the humoral and cellular immune peripheral responses, respectively. The number of dead or culled animals, regardless of the reason, was also monitored and the causes of death determined by pathological examination. A significant increase in the production of IFN-γ was observed in all the vaccinated groups when the blood samples were stimulated with avian PPD, from 3 mpv to 18 mpv, and with bovine PPD, between 3 and 21 mpv. Moreover, serum antibody levels increased between 3 and 21 mpv in all vaccinated groups. The highest levels were found in animals vaccinated at 5 months, and the lowest in adult individuals. No positive reactants to tuberculosis were found by intradermal skin test. No animal losses associated with clinical paratuberculosis were detected in any of the groups. The number of total culled animals was significantly lower in the vaccinated than in the unvaccinated groups, especially on 1.5-month-old vaccinated kids. These results suggest that vaccination of paratuberculosis, especially in young animals, could induce heterologous protection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: Facial eczema (FE) is a secondary photosensitization disease of farm ruminants caused by the sporidesmin A, present in the spores of the saprophytic fungus Pithomyces chartarum. This study communicates an outbreak of ovine FE in Asturias (Spain) and characterizes the local immune response that may contribute to liver damage promoting cholestasis and progression towards fibrosis and cirrhosis. Animals showed clinical signs of photosensitivity and lower gain of weight, loss of wool and crusting in the head for at least 6 months after the FE outbreak. Some sheep presented acute lesions characterized by subcutaneous edema in the head, cholestasis and nephrosis with macrophages and neutrophils present in areas of canalicular cholestasis. In chronic cases, alopecia and crusting, hepatic atrophy with regenerative nodules, fibrosis and gallstones were seen. The surviving parenchyma persisted with a jigsaw pattern characteristic of biliary cirrhosis. Concentric and eccentric myointimal proliferation was found in arteries near damaged bile ducts, where macrophages and lymphocytes were also observed. Facial eczema (FE) is a secondary photosensitization disease of farm ruminants caused by the sporidesmin A, produced in the spores of the saprophytic fungus Pithomyces chartarum. This study communicates an outbreak of ovine FE in Asturias (Spain) and characterizes the serum biochemical pattern and the immune response that may contribute to liver damage, favoring cholestasis and the progression to fibrosis and cirrhosis. Animals showed clinical signs of photosensitivity, with decrease of daily weight gain and loss of wool and crusting for at least 6 months after the FE outbreak. Serum activity of γ-glutamyltransferase and alkaline phosphatase were significantly increased in sheep with skin lesions. In the acute phase, edematous skin lesions in the head, hepatocytic and canalicular cholestasis in centrilobular regions, presence of neutrophils in small clumps surrounding deposits of bile pigment, ductular proliferation, as well as cholemic nephrosis, were observed. Macrophages, stained positively for MAC387, were found in areas of canalicular cholestasis. In the chronic phase, areas of alopecia and crusting were seen in the head, and the liver was atrophic with large regeneration nodules and gallstones. Fibrosis around dilated bile ducts, "typical" and "atypical" ductular reaction and an inflammatory infiltrate composed of lymphocytes and pigmented macrophages, with iron deposits and lipofuscin, were found. The surviving parenchyma persisted with a jigsaw pattern characteristic of biliary cirrhosis. Concentric and eccentric myointimal proliferation was found in arteries near damaged bile ducts. In cirrhotic livers, stellated cells, ductular reaction, ectatic bile ducts and presence of M2 macrophages and lymphocytes, were observed in areas of bile ductular reaction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: Paratuberculosis (PTB) is a chronic debilitating disease caused by Mycobacterium avium subspecies paratuberculosis (Map) that affects ruminants worldwide. Many aspects related to the pathogenesis of this disease are still unknown, including the inflammatory acute-phase response developed during the course of the infection. To clarify this, serum levels of haptoglobin and serum amyloid A, two positive acute-phase proteins, were evaluated in a total of 190 cows, among which 59 were healthy control animals and 131 cows were diagnosed post-mortem with different types of lesion associated with Map-infection. The results reflect a significant increase of these proteins' levels in the infected animals and, more specifically, in those animals with types of lesion characterized by a low bacterial load and with predominance of a cell-mediated immune response. This suggests that these molecules would play a certain role in the pathogenesis of the PTB and a possible utility as biomarkers of different stages of the disease. In this study, the concentrations of two acute-phase proteins (APPs), haptoglobin (Hp) and serum amyloid A (SAA), were quantitatively assessed in serum samples from cattle naturally infected with paratuberculosis (PTB). APP profiles were compared across 190 animals classified according to the different pathological forms associated with infection: uninfected (n = 59), with focal lesions (n = 73), multifocal lesions (n = 19), and diffuse paucibacillary (n = 11) and diffuse multibacillary lesions (n = 28). Our results showed a significant increase in both APPs in infected animals compared to the control group, with differences depending on the type of lesion. Hp and SAA levels were increased significantly in all infected animals, except in cows with diffuse multibacillary lesions that showed similar values to non-infected animals. The expression pattern of both APPs was similar and negatively correlated with the antibody levels against PTB. These results indicate that the release of Hp and SAA is related to the presence of PTB lesions associated with a high cell-mediated immune response and a lower bacterial load, suggesting that the pro-inflammatory cytokines that are associated with these forms are the main stimulus for their synthesis. These molecules could show some potential to be used as putative biomarkers of PTB infection, particularly for the identification of subclinical animals showing pathological forms related to latency or resistance to the development of advanced lesions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: Domestic and wild lagomorphs, especially rabbits and hares, are important from an economic, ecological and public health point of view. Both rabbits and hares are susceptible to a wide variety of pathological disorders, so that the knowledge of the different risk factors, causes of death or disease and prevalence rates is relevant from a health, economic and welfare perspective. Despite the accumulation of information on lagomorph medicine and pathology, comprehensive published compilations of diagnostic cases in rabbits and hares are scarce. Between 2000 and 2018, 325 lagomorphs (rabbits and hares) from northern Spain were necropsied. A wide variety of conditions were identified. The health problems most frequently diagnosed were related to parasitic conditions (n = 65; 24.34%), bacterial diseases (n = 56; 20.97%), nutritional and metabolic disorders (n = 48; 17.97%), viral infections (n = 31; 11.61%), miscellaneous causes (n = 31; 11.61%), neoplasms (n = 12; 4.49%), toxicoses (n = 11; 4.11%), trauma-related injuries (n = 9; 3.37%) and finally, congenital diseases (n = 4; 1.49%). The species, sex, age and time of the year were predisposing factors in many of the conditions identified. The frequency of presentation and main pathological findings of these disorders were consistent with the most important lagomorph diseases reported in other European countries and other referenced studies. In this study we determined the causes of mortality and disease in a total of 325 lagomorphs (rabbits and hares) in northern Spain between 2000 and 2018. Risk factors such as the species, age, sex, time of year and origin were also considered. Clinical signs, gross and histopathological findings and ancillary test results were the basis for the final diagnoses that were reviewed to classify and identify the different disorders. A total of 26 different conditions were identified. A single cause of death or illness was detected in 267 animals. They were grouped into parasitic conditions (n= 65; 24.34%) represented by encephalitozoonosis, hepatic coccidiosis, hepatoperitoneal cysticercosis, intestinal coccidiosis, parasitic gastritis and cutaneous ectoparasitosis; bacterial diseases (n = 56; 20.97%) including pseudotuberculosis, blue breast, skin abscesses, tularemia, pneumonic pasteurellosis and staphylococcal infections; nutritional and metabolic diseases (n = 48; 17.97%) with epizootic rabbit enteropathy, hepatic steatosis and pregnancy toxemia as prominent diseases; viral infections (n= 31; 11.61%) comprising rabbit hemorrhagic disease and myxomatosis and miscellaneous causes (n = 31; 11.61%) where rabbit enteritis complex, renal conditions (nephrosis), heat stroke, and arterial bone metaplasia were included; neoplasms (n = 12; 4.49%) represented by uterine adenocarcinoma, mammary adenocarcinoma, cutaneous fibroma, intestinal lymphoma and hepatic cholangiocarcinoma; toxicoses (n = 11; 4.11%); trauma-related injuries (n = 9; 3.37%) and finally congenital diseases (n = 4; 1.49%). In 58 animals of the study, some of these conditions were presented jointly. We discuss the detection frequency, possible causes or associated factors of the different pathologies as well as the importance of the different variables considered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]