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Glanders is an infectious and contagious bacterial disease of equines. A little is known about its seroprevalence and risk factors in working equines in countries where the disease is endemic. Also, there are no reports on prevalence of the disease in areas where there is a prior evidence of Burkholderia (B.) mallei detection in soil. A cross-sectional study was conducted in selected districts (n = 09) of Punjab province of Pakistan during 2014–2015. A total of 1008 serum samples were screened for detection of antibodies to B. mallei with complement fixation test followed by western blot. The overall seroprevalence was found to be 3.17% (95% CI: 2.25–4.44). The seropositivity was significantly higher from the sampling sites where B. mallei was detected in soil [OR: 10.66 (95% CI: 4.42–31.66), p = 0.00]. Other risk factors significantly associated with animal seropositivity were: age group [OR: 1.78 (95% CI: 4.58–15.56), p = 0.00], location in urban area [OR: 2.99 (95% CI: 1.46–6.51), p = 0.00],body condition [OR: 3.47 (95% CI: 1.64–7.99), p = 0.00], presence of farcy lesion[OR: 7.71 (95% CI: 3.47–19.50), p = 0.00], proximity to water bodies [OR: 7.71 (95% CI: 3.47–19.50), p = 0.00]; domestic animal population [OR: 3.20 (95% CI: 1.24–10.87), p = 0.03] and number of households in sampling area [OR: 4.18 (95%CI: 1.82–11.30), p = 0.00]. The study provides an estimate of prevalence of glanders and a potential link between animal seropositivity and presence of B. mallei in soil. The risk factors identified in this study can be used in surveillance and disease awareness. The high prevalence of disease in draught horses and contact of infected animals with their care-takers in developing countries signify need to initiate progressive control of the disease using one health approach.

Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH), also known as broilers ascites syndrome, is characterized by hypoxia, pulmonary artery pressure, and right heart failure. However, less information is available about the molecular mechanisms of PAH. We evaluated the mediation of calcium-sensing receptor by inducing hypoxia for the possible proliferation of pulmonary artery smooth muscle cells via the G protein pathway. For this purpose, we used an in vitro trial of chicken cell culture and confirmed our results by using immunohistochemistry, immunofluorescence staining, quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction assay, and Western blotting analysis. Our results showed that the mRNA and protein expression levels of calcium-sensing receptor (CaSR) were significantly upregulated in cells when co-incubated with CaCl2. However, the levels of mRNA and protein were obviously decreased when supplemented with blocking agents (NiCl2, 2-APB, and D609). Furthermore, the experimentally induced hypoxia also upregulated the expression of CaSR gene as compared to CaSR gene expression in control cells. Together, these results indicate that hypoxia plays an important role in the expression of CaSR gene in pulmonary artery smooth muscle cells and reveals new targets for the CaSR excited hypothesis to prevent and control PAH in chickens.

Coxiella burnetii causes query (Q) fever, an important zoonotic disease with worldwide significance. The role of environment in the ecology of C. burnetti, and its influence on seroconversion in animals has not been elucidated in Pakistan. We carried out a cross-sectional study in Punjab province to (1) determine the prevalence and distribution of C. burnetii in soil using an ISIIII gene-based real time-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) assay, (2) analyze association between the occurrence of C. burnetii in soil and its predictors i.e. soil characteristics (macro- and micro-nutrients) and several likely risk factors including the seroconversion in small ruminants at places where its genome had or had not been detected, and (3) predict homology and genetic diversity of the identified strains using sequences originated from different hosts worldwide. A total of 2425 soil samples from nine districts of Punjab province were processed. C. burnetii DNA was detected in 47 samples (1.94%, 95% CI: ±0.55) originating from 35 villages of studied districts (7.22%, 95% CI: ±2.30). The highest prevalence was found in Attock (7.11%, 95% CI: ±3.36), followed by Lahore (4.83%, 95% CI: ±3.49), Sahiwal (4.70%, 95% CI: ±2.6), Dera Ghazi Khan (2.33%, 95% CI: ±2.02), Faisalabad (1.35%, 95% CI: ±1.18) and Sheikhupura (0.68%, 95% CI: ±0.94). The odds of detecting bacterial DNA in soil was increased with a unit increase in organic matter [2.511 (95% CI: 1.453-4.340), p=0.001] and sodium [1.013 (95% CI: 1.005-1.022), p=0.001], whereas, calcium [0.984 (95% CI: 0.975-0.994), p=0.002] and potassium [0.994 (95% CI: 0.990-0.999), p=0.011] had protective effect where a unit increase in each analyte decreased odds for its occurrence by 1.0% approximately. Likewise, for categorical variables (risk factors), the odds of detecting C. burnetii were higher at locations >500m away from a main road [1.95 (95% CI: 1.06-3.78), p=0.04]. The enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) revealed an increased prevalence of antibodies in sheep (17.9%, 95% CI: ±5.54) compared with goats (16.4%, 95% CI: ±4.34). When determining the association between soil DNA and C. burnetii antibodies in small ruminants, the odds of detecting these antibodies were significant in sheep at the livestock barns [2.81 (95% CI: 1.20-7.37), p=0.02]. The IS1111 gene-based sequence analysis revealed a clustering of the DNA into two distinct groups with much genetic divergence (0.76-68.70%): the first group that contained sequences from Lahore district clustered with human and buffalo origin isolates, whereas the second group that contained the sequences from the remaining study districts clustered with goat-, rodent- and human-origin isolates. This study provides the first evidence of the presence of C. burnetii in the environment in Punjab province, Pakistan. Future studies are needed to ascertain the bacteria's molecular epidemiology over a wide geographical area, type the isolates, and evaluates the potential risks to human populations, particularly farmers and veterinarians.

Tularemia is an endemic zoonotic disease in many parts of the world including Asia. A cross-sectional study was conducted to determine genome-based prevalence of Francisella tularensis (Ft) in soil, assess an association between its occurrence in soil and likely predictors i.e., macro and micro-nutrients and several categorical variables, and determine seroconversion in small and large ruminants. The study included a total of 2,280 soil samples representing 456 villages in eight districts of the Punjab Province of Pakistan followed by an analysis of serum antibodies in 707 ruminants. The genome of Ft was detected in 3.25% (n = 74, 95% CI: 2.60–4.06) of soil samples. Soluble salts (OR: 1.276, 95% CI: 1.043–1.562, p = 0.015), Ni (OR: 2.910, 95%CI: 0.795–10.644, p = 0.106), Mn (OR:0.733, 95% CI:0.565–0.951, p = 0.019), Zn (OR: 4.922, 95% CI:0.929–26.064, p = 0.061) and nutrients clustered together as PC-1 (OR: 4.76, 95% CI: 2.37–9.54, p = 0.000) and PC-3 (OR: 0.357, 95% CI: 0.640, p = 0.001) were found to have a positive association for the presence of Ft in soil. The odds of occurrence of Ft DNA in soil were higher at locations close to a water source, including canals, streams or drains, [χ2 = 6.7, OR = 1.19, 95% CI:1.05–3.09, p = 0.004] as well as places where animals were present [χ2 = 4.09, OR = 2.06, 95% CI: 1.05–4.05, p = 0.02]. The seroconversion was detected in 6.22% (n = 44, 95% CI: 4.67–8.25) of domestic animals. An occurrence of Ft over a wide geographical region indicates its expansion to enzootic range, and demonstrates the need for further investigation among potential disease reservoirs and at-risk populations, such as farmers and veterinarians.

Fasciolosis is an important plant borne trematode zoonosis in ruminants caused by the Fasciola hepatica and Fasciola gigentica, It is classified as a neglected tropical disease and found in more than 50 countries especially where sheep and cattle are reared. Fasciolosis is a serious animal health problems in many rural and urban areas of world, causing significant financial losses due to decrease in production and viscera condemnation in animals. Accurate diagnosis of fasciolosis is always remained a challenging task for the field practitioners. There is no comprehensive summary on the occurrence and distribution of the infection at international level. Therefore, we intended to provide a complete overview on the prevalence and epidemiology of fasciolosis in farm animals from a global prospective. It includes to map the global distribution of fasciolosis in different areas of the world to identify the endemic regions which may be a source of potential disease outbreak. The financial liability related to fasciolosis on the livestock production has also been addressed. For this purpose, the published data during 2000-2015 (15 years) on fasciolosis was reviewed and collected by electronic literature search of four databases including Google, PubMed, Science Direct, and Web of Science. Data presented are contemplated to enhance our current understanding of the parasite's geographical distribution, host range, and economic losses. Information provided would be useful for the application of more effective control strategies against fasciolosis in different geo-economics regions of the world.