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Background: Abortion is a serious problem for sheep flocks and it is responsible for considerable economic losses. The epidemiological situation of abortion causing agents in sheep is poorly documented in Tunisia. This study aims to investigate the status of three abortion causing agents (Brucella spp, Toxoplasma gondii, and Coxiella burnetii) among organized flocks in Tunisia., Results: A total of 793 sample blood collected from twenty-six flocks in seven governorates in Tunisia, were tested by indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (i-ELISA) for antibodies against three abortion causing agents (Brucella spp, Toxoplasma gondii, and Coxiella burnetii). Risk factors for individual-level seroprevalence were analyzed using a logistic regression model. Results revealed that 19.7%, 17.2%, and 16.1% of the tested sera were positive for toxoplasmosis, Q fever, and brucellosis, respectively. Mixed infection was found in all the flocks with 3 to 5 responsible abortive agents simultaneously. Logistic regression showed that the management practices (control of new introduction, common grazing and watering point, workers exchange, presence of lambing box on the farm) and the history of infertility and the presence of abortion in neighboring flocks were likely to increase the probability of being infected by the three abortive agents., Conclusions: Evidence of the positive relationship between seroprevalence of abortion causing agents and several risk factors, suggests further investigations to better understand the etiology of infectious abortions in flocks to develop an applicable preventive and control program., (© 2023. The Author(s).)

Rift Valley fever (RVF) has been reported in the sub-Saharan region of Africa, Egypt and Arabian Peninsula - Yemen and Saudi Arabia, over the past 20 years and is a threat to both the animal and human populations in Tunisia. Tunisia is considered as a high-risk country for the introduction of RVF due to the informal movements of diseased animals already reported in the neighboring countries. The objective of this study was to assess the status of RVF in small ruminants and camels in Tunisia. A risk-based serological survey was conducted to evaluate the presence of RVF based on spatial qualitative risk analysis (SQRA). Samples were collected from small ruminants (sheep and goats) (n = 1,114), and camels (n = 173) samples, belonging to 18 breeders in 14 governorates between November 2017 and January 2018. Samples were tested using an RVF specific multispecies competitive ELISA. Out of the 1,287 samples tested for the presence of RVF IgG antibodies by ELISA, only one positive sample 0.07% (1/1 287) was detected but not confirmed with the virus neutralization test (VNT) used for confirmation. So far, no RVF outbreaks have been reported in Tunisia and our study confirmed the absence of RVF in livestock up to January 2018. Further investigations are needed to confirm the RVF-free status of Tunisia today., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflict of interest., (© 2021 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.)

Rabies is one of the most important zoonosis in Tunisia. In the last 6 years, a dramatic increase in the number of cases in animals had raised concern about the transmission dynamics of rabies and the effectiveness of established control measures. For a better understanding of the epidemiological features of rabies in Tunisia, data on animal and human rabies cases and post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) protocol, for the period from 2012 to 2018, were analysed to describe the spatial and the temporal distributions of the disease and to guide targeted rabies control measures. Thus, the analysed data have shown that 2,642 animal and 25 human rabies cases were recorded between 2012 and 2018; only few case numbers were reported in wildlife. Time-related distribution showed that the incidence of dog rabies increases over the period of study, from 24,8/100,000 dog population in 2012 to 35,2/100,000 dog population in 2018. Dog seems to be the main reservoir of rabies as it accounted for more than 59% of the animal confirmed cases and the source for more than 80% of the human confirmed cases. Geographical distribution of animal rabies cases revealed the presence of clusters in the North and the Center of Tunisia; only a little number of animal cases were reported in the South. In contrast, the overall human rabies incidence was 0.03 per 100,000 population, during the period of the study. We have found that the incidence of human rabies increases by 13.6% from 2012 to 2015 and drops steadily by 23.41% over the second period (2015 to 2018). A high number of PEP was recorded during the 7-year period, with an average of 360 PEP per 100,000 inhabitants per year. Spatial analysis revealed the presence of clusters of PEP in the Northern and Central governorates. The present study pointed out the need to review the control strategy of rabies in Tunisia and conduct further studies on dog population to provide the basis for a new and efficacious policy of interventions and control program for rabies., (© 2021 The Authors Veterinary Medicine and Science Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

Introduction: Apposition grafting is a method of choice for reconstruction of the anterior maxillary. The purpose of this work was to evaluate the success rate, the degree of bone resorption and the osteointegration of these grafts., Material and Methods: We reviewed retrospectively 36 cases of pre-maxillary bone apposition in patients operated from 1998 to 2002. Autografts were used for all patients. The harvesting site was parietal for 24 patients, intraoral for 8 and iliac for 4., Results: There was two graft failures. The success rate was 94.5%. Partial resorption with effect on implantation was noted in 3 patients. Eighty implants were inserted successfully in 234 grafted sites with on average 2.4 implants per graft. Three implants were removed. Implant survival was 96.2%., Discussion: This study demonstrated that the premaxillary apposition technique using autologous grafts provides sufficient bone volume to enable optimal implant insertion and stability.

Objectives: We assessed the reliability of maxillary bone grafting and implant stability, comparing our results with reports in the literature., Material and Methods: This retrospective series included 44 patients who underwent maxillary sinus bone grafting between 1998 and 2002. An analogous graft was used for 31 patients and a combination autologous-bone substitute graft for 13. One hundred twelve dental implants were positioned at the grafting site (2.5 implants per graft). We assessed recipient site morbidity, bone graft integration and stability, and stability of the implants., Results: Bone grafting was successful in 97.8% of patients. There was one failure. Two of the 112 implants failed., Discussion: Our results are comparable with those in the literature. This study demonstrated the reliability of maxillary bone grafting with equivalent results using autologous bone and combination autologous bone-bone substitute.