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Fil: Miranda-Miranda, Estefan. Instituto Nacional de Investigaciones Forestales Agrícolas y Pecuarias (INIFAP). Centro Nacional de Investigaciones Disciplinarias en Salud Animal e Inocuidad. Departamento de Artropodología. Morelos. México. Fil: Scarcella, Silvana. Laboratorio de Biología Celular y Molecular. Centro de Investigación Veterinaria de Tandil (CIVETAN), CONICET. UNCPBA. Tandil. República Argentina. Fil: Reynaud, Enrique. Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México. Instituto de Biotecnología. Departamento de Genética del Desarrollo y Fisiología Molecular. Morelos. México. Fil: Narváez-Padilla, Verónica. Universidad Autónoma del Estado de Morelos. Centro de Investigación en Dinámica Celular. Morelos. México. Fil: Neira, Gisela. Universidad Juan Agustín Maza. Centro de Investigación en Parasitología Regional (CIPAR). Mendoza. República Argentina. Fil: Mera y Sierra, Roberto. Universidad Juan Agustín Maza. Centro de Investigación en Parasitología Regional (CIPAR). Mendoza. República Argentina. Fil: Aguilar-Díaz, Hugo. Instituto Nacional de Investigaciones Forestales Agrícolas y Pecuarias (INIFAP). Centro Nacional de Investigaciones Disciplinarias en Salud Animal e Inocuidad. Departamento de Artropodología. Morelos. México. Fil: Cossio-Bayugar, Raquel. Instituto Nacional de Investigaciones Forestales Agrícolas y Pecuarias (INIFAP). Centro Nacional de Investigaciones Disciplinarias en Salud Animal e Inocuidad. Departamento de Artropodología. Morelos. México. Fasciola hepatica anthelmintic resistance may be associated with the catalytic activity of xenobiotic metabolizing enzymes. The gene expression of one of these enzymes, identified as car boxylesterase B (CestB), was previously described as inducible in adult parasites under anthelmintic treatment and exhibited a single nucleotide polymorphism at position 643 that translates into a radical amino acid substitution at position 215 from Glutamic acid to Lysine. Alphafold 3D models of both allelic sequences exhibited a significant affinity pocket rearrangement and different ligand-docking modeling results. Further bioinformatics analysis confirmed that the radical amino acid substitution is located at the ligand affinity site of the enzyme, affecting its affinity to serine hydrolase inhibitors and preferences for ester ligands. A field genotyping survey from parasite samples obtained from two developmental stages isolated from different host species from Argentina and Mexico exhibited a 37% allele distribution for 215E and a 29% allele distribution for 215K as well as a 34% E/K heterozygous distribution. No linkage to host species or geographic origin was found in any of the allele variants.

Fil: Sebastian, Patrick. Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Rafaela, Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria and Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas, CC 22, CP 2300 Rafaela, Santa Fe, Argentina Fil: Mera y Sierra, Roberto. Centro de Investigación en Parasitología Regional (CIPAR), Facultad de Ciencias Veterinarias y Ambientales, Universidad Juan Agustín Maza, Av. Acceso Este, Lateral Sur 2245, CP 5519 Mendoza, Argentina. Laboratorio Mera, Paso de los Andes 416, CP 5500 Mendoza, Argentina Fil: Neira, Gisela. Centro de Investigación en Parasitología Regional (CIPAR), Facultad de Ciencias Veterinarias y Ambientales, Universidad Juan Agustín Maza, Av. Acceso Este, Lateral Sur 2245, CP 5519 Mendoza, Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas, Av. Acceso Este, Lateral Sur 2245, CP 5519 Mendoza, Argentina Fil: Hadid, Jaled. Veterinaria San Ignacio, Champagnat 2038, CP 5501 Godoy Cruz, Mendoza, Argentina Fil: Flores, Fernando. Laboratorio de Ecología de Enfermedades, Instituto de Ciencias Veterinarias del Litoral (ICiVet-Litoral), Universidad Nacional del Litoral and Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas, CP 3080 Esperanza, Santa Fe, Argentina Fil: Nava, Santiago. Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Rafaela, Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria and Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas, CC 22, CP 2300 Rafaela, Santa Fe, Argentina ARTÍCULO PUBLICADO EN REVISTA EXTERNA. In this work, we analyze data that support an epidemiological link between cases of canine monocytic ehrlichiosis (CME) by Ehrlichia canis and the presence of Rhipicephalus sanguineus sensu stricto as vector in an endemic area for this tick in Argentina. In a blood sample of a 1-year-old toy poodle with CME compatible clinical signs, which showed CME typical morulae in monocytes in Giemsa-stained blood smear, DNA of E. canis was detected by PCR. Further, DNA of E. canis was also detected in a female of R. sanguineus s.s. collected on the infected dog. Rhipicephalus sanguineus s.s. is the only member of the R. sanguineus group that prevails in the study area. The results of this study suggest that R. sanguineus s.s. may play a more important role in the transmission of E. canis than it was assumed so far. The epidemiological link between CME cases and R. sanguineus s.s. as vector in temperate areas of Argentina described in this work contrast previous studies which found that R. sanguineus sensu lato "tropical lineage" (which is absent in the study area) is competent to transmit E. canis but not R. sanguineus s.s.

Researchers have quantified the contributions of industrialized and developing nations’ historical emissions to global surface temperature rise. Recent findings that nearly two-thirds of total industrial CO2 and CH4 emissions can be traced to 90 major industrial carbon producers have drawn attention to their potential climate responsibilities. Here, we use a simple climate model to quantify the contribution of historical (1880–2010) and recent (1980–2010) emissions traced to these producers to the historical rise in global atmospheric CO2, surface temperature, and sea level. Emissions traced to these 90 carbon producers contributed ∼57% of the observed rise in atmospheric CO2, ∼42–50% of the rise in global mean surface temperature (GMST), and ∼26–32% of global sea level (GSL) rise over the historical period and ∼43% (atmospheric CO2), ∼29–35% (GMST), and ∼11–14% (GSL) since 1980 (based on best-estimate parameters and accounting for uncertainty arising from the lack of data on aerosol forcings traced to producers). Emissions traced to seven investor-owned and seven majority state-owned carbon producers were consistently among the top 20 largest individual company contributors to each global impact across both time periods. This study lays the groundwork for tracing emissions sourced from industrial carbon producers to specific climate impacts and furthers scientific and policy consideration of their historical responsibilities for climate change.

Computing resources donated by volunteers have generated the first superensemble of regional climate model results, in which the Hadley Centre Regional Model, version 3P (HadRM3P), and Hadley Centre Atmosphere Model, version 3P (HadAM3P), were implemented for the western United States at 25-km resolution. Over 136,000 valid and complete 1-yr runs have been generated to date: about 126,000 for 1960–2009 using observed sea surface temperatures (SSTs) and 10,000 for 2030–49 using projected SSTs from a global model simulation. Ensemble members differ in initial conditions, model physics, and (potentially, for future runs) SSTs. This unprecedented confluence of high spatial resolution and large ensemble size allows high signal-to-noise ratio and more robust estimates of uncertainty. This paper describes the experiment, compares model output with observations, shows select results for climate change simulations, and gives examples of the strength of the large ensemble size.

Fil: Fantozzi, María Cecilia. Laboratorio de Ecología de Enfermedades, Instituto de Ciencias Veterinarias del Litoral, Universidad Nacional del Litoral/Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas, Esperanza, Santa Fe, Argentina. Fil: Tarragona, Evelina Luisa. Laboratorio de Parasitología e Inmunología, Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Rafaela, Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA)/Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas, Rafaela, Santa Fe, Argentina. Fil: Dayenoff, Patricio. Cátedra Producción Caprina, Facultad de Ciencias Veterinarias y Ambientales, Universidad Juan Agustín Maza, Mendoza, Argentina. Fil: Cuervo, Pablo Fernando. Laboratorio de Ecología de Enfermedades, Instituto de Ciencias Veterinarias del Litoral, Universidad Nacional del Litoral/Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas, Esperanza, Santa Fe, Argentina. Fil: Mera y Sierra, Roberto. Centro de Investigación en Parasitología Regional (CIPAR), Facultad de Ciencias Veterinarias y Ambientales, Universidad Juan Agustín Maza, Mendoza, Argentina. Fil: Nava, Santiago. Laboratorio de Parasitología e Inmunología, Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Rafaela, Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA)/Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas, Rafaela, Santa Fe, Argentina. ARTÍCULO PUBLICADO EN REVISTA EXTERNA. Adult ticks were collected from goats on September 2012 in the locality of Trintrica (35° 17′ 19″ S - 68° 44′ 6″ W, 1430 m.a.s.l.), Mendoza, Argentina. The specimens were identified as seven females and three males of Amblyomma parvitarsum Neumann, 1901. This record represents the new occurrence of A. parvitarsum in the province of Mendoza, as well as the first report of the parasitism in goats along the geographical range of A. parvitarsum. Sitio de la revista: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S2405939018300170

We report a case of air sac nematode ( Serratospiculum tendo) infection in an adult male Austral Peregrine Falcon ( Falco peregrinus cassini) admitted to a rehabilitation center in Mendoza Province, Argentina, in September 2017. This case of air sac nematodes reported in an Argentine raptor is only the second report of S. tendo in South America. We recommend examination of all raptors, especially those falcon species that include insects in their diet and inhabit open lands and those in rehabilitation centers or kept for falconry, education, or captive breeding. Fecal analysis and microscopic examination of oral swabs for evidence of parasites are simple noninvasive diagnostic procedures that allow easy detection of these parasites under field and captive circumstances.

Fil: Fantozzi, María Cecilia. Laboratorio de Ecología de Enfermedades, Instituto de Ciencias Veterinarias del Litoral, Universidad Nacional del Litoral / Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas, Esperanza, Santa Fe, Argentina Fil:Linares, María Cielo. Instituto de Biología y Medicina Experimental/Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires, Argentina. Fil: Cuervo, Pablo Fernando. Laboratorio de Ecología de Enfermedades, Instituto de Ciencias Veterinarias del Litoral, Universidad Nacional del Litoral / Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas, Esperanza, Santa Fe, Argentina Fil: Vittaz, Diego. Centro de Investigación en Parasitología Regional (CIPAR), Facultad de Ciencias Veterinarias y Ambientales. Universidad Juan Agustín Maza, Mendoza, Argentina Fil: Mera y Sierra, Roberto. Centro de Investigación en Parasitología Regional (CIPAR), Universidad J.A. Maza, Guaymallén, Argentina. ARTÍCULO PUBLICADO EN REVISTA EXTERNA. El conocimiento de las especies de ectoparásitos presentes en los animales de compañía tiene implicancias tanto en medicina veterinaria como en salud humana, ya que varios agentes tienen la potencialidad de transmitirse del animal al humano y viceversa. Se revisaron 466 garrapatas remitidas al Centro de Investigación en Parasitología Regional (CIPaR) durante los años 2010 y 2013, recolectadas en 217 perros de zonas urbanas de la provincia de Mendoza. El 83,5% (n=385) fueron identificadas como Rhipicephalus sanguineus sensu lato (84 machos y 199 hembras – relación 1:2,37 –, 65 ninfas y 37 larvas), mientras que el 16,5% (n=76) fue identificado como Amblyomma tigrinum (10 machos y 61 hembras – relación 1:6,1 –, y cinco ejemplares adultos en mal estado, imposibilitando su sexado). Adicionalmente, cinco ejemplares adultos sólo se identificaron como pertenecientes al género Amblyomma, ya que por encontrarse ingurgitados no se pudo realizar la determinación de especie. Éste registro es un importante aporte al conocimiento de las especies de garrapatas presentes en perros (Canis familiaris) en la provincia de Mendoza. Sitio de la revista: https://bibliotecavirtual.unl.edu.ar/publicaciones/index.php/FAVEveterinaria/article/view/7437

Simulations from a regional climate model (RCM) as part of a superensemble experiment were compared with observations of surface meteorological variables over the western United States. The RCM is the Hadley Centre Regional Climate Model, version 3, with improved physics parameterizations (HadRM3P) run at 25-km resolution and nested within the Hadley Centre Atmosphere Model, version 3 (HadAM3P). Overall, the means of seasonal temperature were well represented in the simulations; 95% of grid points were within 2.7°, 2.4°, and 3.6°C of observations in winter, spring, and summer, respectively. The model was too warm over most of the domain in summer except central California and southern Nevada. HadRM3P produced more extreme temperatures than observed. The overall magnitude and spatial pattern of precipitation were well characterized, though HadRM3P exaggerated the orographic enhancement along the coastal mountains, Cascade Range, and Sierra Nevada. HadRM3P produced warm/dry northwest, cool/wet southwest U.S. patterns associated with El Niño. However, there were notable differences, including the locations of the transition from warm (dry) to cool (wet) in the anomaly fields when compared with observations, though there was disagreement among observations. HadRM3P simulated the observed spatial pattern of mean annual temperature more faithfully than any of the RCM–GCM pairings in the North American Regional Climate Change Assessment Program (NARCCAP). Errors in mean annual precipitation from HadRM3P fell within the range of errors of the NARCCAP models. Last, this paper provided examples of the size of an ensemble required to detect changes at the local level and demonstrated the effect of parameter perturbation on regional precipitation.

Understanding and acting on the link between weather and meningitis in the Sahel could help improve vaccine distribution and save lives. People living there know that meningitis epidemics occur in the dry season and end after the start of the rainy season. Integrating and analyzing newly available epidemiological and meteorological data quantified this relationship, showing that that the risk of meningitis epidemics climbed from a background level of 2% to a maximum risk of 25% during the dry season. These data also suggested that, of all meteorological variables, relative humidity has the strongest correlation to cases of meningitis. Weather acts alongside a complex set of environmental, social, and economic drivers, and a complementary investigation of local and regional knowledge, attitudes, and practices suggested several additional interventions to manage meningitis. These include improved awareness of early meningitis symptoms and vaccinations for farmworkers who migrate seasonally. An economic survey showed that the cost of a single case of meningitis is 3 times the average annual household income, underscoring the need for improved vaccination strategy. Using these insights, meteorologists and public health workers developed a tool to guide vaccination decisions. Iterative development allowed a multinational team of public health officials to use the tool while guiding its refinement and directed research toward maximum practical use. That meant focusing on predicting areas where high humidity would naturally end epidemics so vaccines could be moved elsewhere. Using this tool and this approach could have prevented an estimated 24,000 cases of meningitis over a 3-yr period.

Fil: Mera y Sierra, Roberto. Centro de Investigación en Parasitología Regional (CIPAR), Universidad J.A. Maza, Guaymallén, Argentina. Fil: Neira, Gisela. Centro de Investigación en Parasitología Regional, Facultad de Ciencias Veterinarias y Ambientales, Universidad Juan Agustín Maza, Mendoza, Argentina. Fil: Cargnelutti, Diego. Instituto de Medicina y Biología Experimental de Cuyo (IMBECU), CCT Mendoza, CONICET, Mendoza, Argentina. Visceral leishmaniasis (VL), caused by Leishmania infantum (syn. chagasi), is expanding at an alarming rate in Argentina. In Argentina, VL was first diagnosed in the Northeastern province of Misiones in May 2006,1 with previous reports recording this infection in the neighboring Paraguay much earlier. Since its first diagnosis in Argentina, thousands of cases in dogs and over 100 cases (many fatal) in humans have been diagnosed in several regions of the north and northeastern provinces of Argentina (Figure 1).2,3 The disease has traveled over 1000 km, and so has its vectors and main reservoir, the domestic dog. The vectors described for VL in Argentina, Lutzomyia longipalpis and Migonemya migonei, have also been detected in the provinces of Catamarca, Santa Fe´, and Co´rdoba, where to date no case of infections in humans or canines has been described. Dogs, whether expensive ones destined for breeding or those of migrant harvest workers, wander freely through the country, and thus facilitate easy transport of these parasites from one region to another; however, the intention to root out the paradigm exotic disease is still firmly attached in the minds and hearts of health professionals, from both human and veterinary fields. Sitio de la revista: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1684118216300421

The West African monsoon (WAM) is a vital source of rainfall for the African Sahel. In addition to the agricultural benefit of its rains, it benefits public health because bacterial meningitis outbreaks end with the monsoon onset. Outbreaks occur between December and May, a period of low humidity. Knowledge of the onset of high humidity could aid in predicting where the outbreaks will cease. Therefore, this study investigates the variability of atmospheric moisture during the spring over West Africa, characterizing the sources of moisture, as well as circulation patterns and relative influences of tropical and midlatitude systems. A conceptual model of the evolution of the premonsoon period is presented.The meridional and temporal variability of surface moisture during the spring is modulated by multiscale interactions, as illustrated for the period from mid-April to early May 2009. As westward-propagating, synoptic disturbances move across West Africa, a corresponding peak occurs in the surface relative humidity. With the passage of each disturbance a new and more humid regime is established. Filtered anomalies of outgoing longwave radiation (OLR) indicate that Kelvin waves, equatorial Rossby waves, and possibly the MJO contributed to the initiation and intensification of the synoptic disturbances. During the last of the disturbances, whose passage raised the relative humidity above 40%, a critical threshold for meningitis, an extratropical cyclone also contributed to moisture influx over the Sahel. Analysis of the period 2000–09 shows the relative influences of synoptic and subseasonal circulations on the onset of high relative humidity over the Sahel during the spring.

Anthelmintic resistance in livestock parasites is currently a worldwide problem.Fasciola hepatica is a cosmopolitan parasite which causes considerable loss in sheep and cattle production systems all over the world. Chemotherapy is currently the main tool available for its control. The intensive use of triclabendazole, the drug of choice for more than 20 years, has resulted in the development of resistant strains. The therapeutic options are adulticides such as closantel (salicylanilide anthelmintic that binds extensively to plasma albumin) to treat chronic fascioliasis in sheep, and cattle. In the present work, an Egg Hatch Assay (EHA) and morphometric studies were used to evaluate in vivo the ovicidal activity and morphology F. hepatica eggs, recovered from closantel treated sheep collected at different time intervals post treatment.Statistically significant differences (p < 0.0001) were observed in egg morphometry between the control and the treated groups in all the parameters studied. Eggs recovered from treated animals tend to be narrower and longer. Significant differences were found in the embryonation and hatching of eggs between 36 h post treatment (32, 5%) vs. approximately 85% in control, 12 h and 24 h post treatment. Our results confirm that closantel affects in vivo the normal development of the eggs.As one of the first effects, this drug affects the performance of the trematode's reproductive physiology. Even though closantel treated animals may still eliminate eggs in the first days post treatment, these are not viable. Fil: Solana, María Victoria. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Tandil. Centro de Investigación Veterinaria de Tandil. Universidad Nacional del Centro de la Provincia de Buenos Aires. Centro de Investigación Veterinaria de Tandil. Provincia de Buenos Aires. Gobernación. Comision de Investigaciones Científicas. Centro de Investigación Veterinaria de Tandil; Argentina Fil: Mera y Sierra, Roberto. Universidad "Juan Agustín Maza". Facultad de Ciencias Veterinarias y Ambientales. Centro de Investigación en Parasitología Regional; Argentina Fil: Scarcella, Silvana Andrea. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Tandil. Centro de Investigación Veterinaria de Tandil. Universidad Nacional del Centro de la Provincia de Buenos Aires. Centro de Investigación Veterinaria de Tandil. Provincia de Buenos Aires. Gobernación. Comision de Investigaciones Científicas. Centro de Investigación Veterinaria de Tandil; Argentina Fil: Neira, Gisela Natalia. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Universidad "Juan Agustín Maza". Facultad de Ciencias Veterinarias y Ambientales. Centro de Investigación en Parasitología Regional; Argentina Fil: Solana, Hugo Daniel. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Tandil. Centro de Investigación Veterinaria de Tandil. Universidad Nacional del Centro de la Provincia de Buenos Aires. Centro de Investigación Veterinaria de Tandil. Provincia de Buenos Aires. Gobernación. Comision de Investigaciones Científicas. Centro de Investigación Veterinaria de Tandil; Argentina

Fascioliasis is widespread in livestock in Argentina. Among activities included in a long-term initiative to ascertain which are the fascioliasis areas of most concern, studies were performed in a recreational farm, including liver fluke infection in different domestic animal species, classification of the lymnaeid vector and verification of natural transmission of fascioliasis by identification of the intramolluscan trematode larval stages found in naturally infected snails. The high prevalences in the domestic animals appeared related to only one lymnaeid species present. Lymnaeid and trematode classification was verified by means of nuclear ribosomal DNA and mitochondrial DNA marker sequencing. Complete sequences of 18S rRNA gene and rDNA ITS-2 and ITS-1, and a fragment of the mtDNA cox1 gene demonstrate that the Argentinian lymnaeid belongs to the species Lymnaea neotropica. Redial larval stages found in a L. neotropica specimen were ascribed to Fasciola hepatica after analysis of the complete ITS-1 sequence. The finding of L. neotropica is the first of this lymnaeid species not only in Argentina but also in Southern Cone countries. The total absence of nucleotide differences between the sequences of specimens from Argentina and the specimens from the Peruvian type locality at the levels of rDNA 18S, ITS-2 and ITS-1, and the only one mutation at the mtDNA cox1 gene suggest a very recent spread. The ecological characteristics of this lymnaeid, living in small, superficial water collections frequented by livestock, suggest that it may be carried from one place to another by remaining in dried mud stuck to the feet of transported animals. The presence of L. neotropica adds pronounced complexity to the transmission and epidemiology of fascioliasis in Argentina, due to the great difficulties in distinguishing, by traditional malacological methods, between the three similar lymnaeid species of the controversial Galba/Fossaria group present in this country: L. viatrix, Galba truncatula and L. neotropica. It also poses a problem with regard to the use, for lymnaeid vector species discrimination, of several molecular techniques which do not show sufficient accuracy, as those relying on the 18S rRNA gene or parts of it, because both L. neotropica and L. viatrix present identical 18S sequence.

Fil: Cuervo, Pablo Fernando. Universidad Juan Agustín Maza, Facultad de Ciencias Veterinarias y Ambientales, Centro de Investigación en Parasitología Regional. Guaymallén, Mendoza, Argentina. Fil: Di Cataldo, Sophia. Universidad Juan Agustín Maza, Facultad de Ciencias Veterinarias y Ambientales, Centro de Investigación en Parasitología Regional. Guaymallén, Mendoza, Argentina. Fil: Fantozzi, María Cecilia.Universidad Juan Agustín Maza, Facultad de Ciencias Veterinarias y Ambientales, Centro de Investigación en Parasitología Regional. Guaymallén, Mendoza, Argentina. Fil: Deis, Erika. Universidad Juan Agustín Maza, Facultad de Ciencias Veterinarias y Ambientales, Centro de Investigación en Parasitología Regional. Guaymallén, Mendoza, Argentina. Fil: Viberti, Gabriela. Instituto Superior del Profesorado San Pedro Nolasco, Universidad del Aconcagua, Mendoza, Argentina. Fil: Mera y Sierra, Roberto. Universidad Juan Agustín Maza, Facultad de Ciencias Veterinarias y Ambientales, Centro de Investigación en Parasitología Regional. Guaymallén, Mendoza, Argentina. Fil: Diaz Isenrath, Gabriela. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Universidad Nacional de Cuyo. Campus Educativo Municipal Malargüe. Malargüe, Mendoza, Argentina. Fil: Artigas, Patricio. Departamento de Parasitología, Facultad de Farmacia, Universidad de Valencia. Av. Vicent Andrés Estellés s/n, 46100 Burjassot, Valencia, Spain. Fil: Peixoto, Raquel. Departamento de Parasitología, Facultad de Farmacia, Universidad de Valencia. Av. Vicent Andrés Estellés s/n, 46100 Burjassot, Valencia, Spain. Fil: Valero, Mará Adela. Departamento de Parasitología, Facultad de Farmacia, Universidad de Valencia. Av. Vicent Andrés Estellés s/n, 46100 Burjassot, Valencia, Spain. Fil: Mas-Coma. Santiago. Departamento de Parasitología, Facultad de Farmacia, Universidad de Valencia. Av. Vicent Andrés Estellés s/n, 46100 Burjassot, Valencia, Spain. ARTÍCULO PUBLICADO EN REVISTA EXTERNA. Fascioliasis has recently been included in the WHO list of Neglected Zoonotic Diseases. Besides being a major veterinary health problem, fascioliasis has large underdeveloping effects on the human communities affected. Though scarcely considered in fascioliasis epidemiology, it is well recognized that both native and introduced wildlife species may play a significant role as reservoirs of the disease. The objectives are to study the morphological characteristics of Fasciola hepatica adults and eggs in a population of Lepus europaeus, to assess liver fluke prevalence, and to analyze the potential reservoir role of the European brown hare in northern Patagonia, Argentina, where fascioliasis is endemic. Measures of F. hepatica found in L. europaeus from northern Patagonia demonstrate that the liver fluke is able to fully develop in wild hares and to shed normal eggs through their faeces. Egg shedding to the environment is close to the lower limit obtained for pigs, a domestic animal whose epidemiological importance in endemic areas has already been highlighted. The former, combined with the high prevalence found (14.28%) suggest an even more important role in the transmission cycle than previously considered. The results obtained do not only remark the extraordinary plasticity and adaptability of this trematode species to different host species, but also highlight the role of the European brown hare, and other NIS, as reservoirs capable for parasite spillback to domestic and native cycle, representing a potentially important, but hitherto neglected, cause of disease emergence. Sitio de la revista: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26204194/

Landuse/landcover change induced effects on regional weather and climate patterns and the associated plant response or agricultural productivity are coupled processes. Some of the basic responses to climate change can be detected via changes in radiation (R), precipitation (P), and temperature (T). Past studies indicate that each of these three variables can affect LCLUC response and the agricultural productivity. This study seeks to address the following question: What is the effect of individual versus simultaneous changes in R, P, and Ton plant response such as crop yields in a C3 and a C4 plant? This question is addressed by conducting model experiments for soybean (C3) and maize (C4) crops using the DSSAT: Decision Support System for Agrotechnology Transfer, CROPGRO (soybean), and CERES-Maize (maize) models. These models were configured over an agricultural experiment station in Clayton, NC [35.65°N, 78.5°W]. Observed weather and field conditions corresponding to 1998 were used as the control. In the first set of experiments, the CROPGRO (soybean) and CERES-Maize (maize) responses to individual changes in R and P (25%, 50%, 75%, 150%) and T (±1, ±2 °C) with respect to control were studied. In the second set, R, P, and T were simultaneously changed by 50%, 150%, and ±2 °C, and the interactions and direct effects of individual versus simultaneous variable changes were analyzed. For the model setting and the prescribed environmental changes, results from the first set of experiments indicate: (i) precipitation changes were most sensitive and directly affected yield and water loss due to evapotranspiration; (ii) radiation changes had a non-linear effect and were not as prominent as precipitation changes; (iii) temperature had a limited impact and the response was non-linear; (iv) soybeans and maize responded differently for R, P, and T, with maize being more sensitive. The results from the second set of experiments indicate that simultaneous change analyses do not necessarily agree with those from individual changes, particularly for temperature changes. Our analysis indicates that for the changing climate, precipitation (hydrological), temperature, and radiative feedbacks show a non-linear effect on yield. Study results also indicate that for studying the feedback between the land surface and the atmospheric changes, (i) there is a need for performing simultaneous parameter changes in the response assessment of cropping patterns and crop yield based on ensembles of projected climate change, and (ii) C3 crops are generally considered more sensitive than C4; however, the temperature–radiation related changes shown in this study also effected significant changes in C4 crops. Future studies assessing LCLUC impacts, including

The functional relationship between the relative operating characteristic (ROC) and the economic value (EV) graphical methods have been exploited to develop a hybrid procedure called the extended ROC (EROC) method. The EROC retains the appealing simplicity of the traditional ROC method and the ability of the EV method to provide evaluation of the performance of an ensemble climate prediction system (EPS) for a hypothetical end user defined by the cost–loss ratio (μ = C/L). An inequality defining the lower and upper theoretical bounds of μ has been derived. Outside these limits, the EPS yields no added benefits for end user μ relative to the use of climatological persistence as an alternative prediction system. In the traditional ROC graphical method, the ROC skill (ROCS) is often expressed in terms of the area between the ROC graph and the diagonal baseline passing through the origin with slope m = 1. Thus, ROCS = 2A − 1, where A is the area under the ROC graph. In the proposed EROC approach, a more general procedure is recommended based on the construction of user-specific baselines that do not necessarily pass through the origin and, in general, have slope m ≠ 1. The skill of a particular EPS computed from the EROC method is proportional to the corresponding estimated value based on the EV graphical method. Therefore, the EROC geometry conveys the same basic information as the EV method. The Semazzi–Mera skill score (SMSS) is proposed as a convenient and compact way of expressing the combined verification based on the ROC and EV methods. The ROCS estimate is a special case of the SMSS. The near-horizontal trail-like geometry sometimes exhibited by EV graphs is also examined. It is shown to occur when either the hit-rate or false-alarm term dominates in the formula for EV, unlike the more typical situation in which both terms are comparable in magnitude.

Dirofilariosis, caused by Dirofilaria immitis and D. repens, is (re-) emerging worldwide. Dogs are the main reservoirs, while human infection has recently become an important focus of interest and attention. In Argentina, canine D. immitis infection has been described in eastern and northern subtropical and temperate humid regions, but never reported in mid-western arid regions so far. In this research note we report for the first time the occurrence of autochthonous human and canine D. immitis infection in the region.

Fascioliasis, the zoonotic disease caused by the trematode Fasciola hepatica, is expanding worldwide, with a 17 million people at risk. Rodents, often recognized as a major source of zoonotic diseases, are affected by F. hepatica, with some species playing important roles in the disease epidemiology. The case reported here in a nutria or kiya (Myocastor coypus) is the first documented case of F. hepatica in this species in Uruguay. Parasitic burden and total egg production detected are markedly higher than reported previously for this species, confirming its potential role as an effective reservoir and disseminator of liver flukes. Although further research is needed, nutria should be considered when designing effective control programs for fascioliasis.

Goats, called “the cow of the poor”, are the livestock species with the most significant population growth worldwide in recent years. Gastrointestinal parasitism constitutes one of the main constraints to its outdoor and extensive breeding in temperate and tropical countries. Despite a Creole goat population of nearly 4 million heads, local reports on parasitological prevalence are scarce, and while Fasciola hepatica infection is spread all over Argentina, the goat is usually neglected as a reservoir and economic losses are not considered. To evaluate gastrointestinal parasitism prevalence and associations between parasite genera and species, with emphasis on fascioliasis, Creole goats from the plateau and Andean regions from western Argentina were investigated by coprological techniques, and associations were statistically assessed. Eighty-five percent (85%) of the animals harbored one or more parasite types, while 46% showed mixed infections. Significant positive associations between F. hepatica + Strongyle eggs, Eimeria sp. + Nematodirus sp. andNematodirus sp. + Trichuris oviswere detected. Further studies are required to define the causality of these associations and their relevance in epidemiology. F. hepaticais rarely considered as goat parasite in the country, but a 33% prevalence poses an interrogation on the role goats play on the transmission and dissemination of this zoonotic trematode. As cabras, nomeadas como “a vaca dos pobres”, são as espécies de gado com o crescimento populacional mais significativo nos últimos anos em todo o mundo. O parasitismo gastrintestinal constitui uma das principais limitações à sua criação extensiva em clima temperado e tropical. Na Argentina, apesar de uma população de caprinos crioulos de cerca de quatro milhões de cabeças, são escassos os relatórios locais de prevalências parasitológicas. Embora a infecção porFasciola hepatica esteja espalhada em todo o país, as cabras são geralmente negligenciadas como um reservatório, e as perdas econômicas não são consideradas. Para avaliar a prevalência do parasitismo gastrintestinal e associações entre os gêneros e espécies de parasitos, com ênfase na fasciolose, caprinos crioulos da região andina e do planalto do oeste de Argentina foram avaliados por meio de técnicas coprológicas. Oitenta e cinco por cento dos animais hospedaram um ou mais tipos de parasitos, enquanto 46% hospedaram infecções mistas. Foram encontradas associações significativas entre F. hepatica+ ovos de estrongilídeos, Eimeria sp. +Nematodirus sp. e Nematodirus sp. +Trichuris ovis. Mais estudos são necessários para definir a causalidade dessas associações e sua relevância na epidemiologia. Raramente F. hepaticaé considerada como um parasito de cabra no país, mas uma prevalência de 33% suscita uma interrogação sobre o papel dos caprinos na transmissão e disseminação desse trematódeo zoonótico.

Freshwater lymnaeid snails are crucial in defining transmission and epidemiology of fascioliasis. In South America, human endemic areas are related to high altitudes in Andean regions. The species Lymnaea diaphana has, however, been involved in low altitude areas of Chile, Argentina and Peru where human infection also occurs. Complete nuclear ribosomal DNA 18S, internal transcribed spacer (ITS)-2 and ITS-1 and fragments of mitochondrial DNA 16S and cytochrome c oxidase (cox)1 genes of L. diaphana specimens from its type locality offered 1,848, 495, 520, 424 and 672 bp long sequences. Comparisons with New and Old World Galba/Fossaria, Palaearctic stagnicolines, Nearctic stagnicolines, Old World Radix and Pseudosuccinea allowed to conclude that (i) L. diaphana shows sequences very different from all other lymnaeids, (ii) each marker allows its differentiation, except cox1 amino acid sequence, and (iii) L. diaphana is not a fossarine lymnaeid, but rather an archaic relict form derived from the oldest North American stagnicoline ancestors. Phylogeny and large genetic distances support the genus Pectinidens as the first stagnicoline representative in the southern hemisphere, including colonization of extreme world regions, as most southern Patagonia, long time ago. The phylogenetic link of L. diaphana with the stagnicoline group may give light to the aforementioned peculiar low altitude epidemiological scenario of fascioliasis.

In Argentina, human fascioliasis has never been adequately analysed, although having a physiography, climate, animal prevalences and lymnaeids similar to those of countries where the disease is endemic such as Bolivia, Peru and Chile. We performed a literature search identifying 58 reports accounting for 619 cases, involving 13 provinces, their majority (97.7%) from high altitudes, in central mountainous areas and Andean valleys, concentrated in Cordoba (430 cases), Catamarca (73), San Luis (29) and Mendoza (28), the remaining provinces being rarely affected. This distribution does not fit that of animal fascioliasis. Certain aspects (higher prevalence in females in a local survey, although a trend non-significant throughout Argentina) but not others (patient's age 3-95 years, mean 37.1 years) resemble human endemics in Andean countries, although the lack of intensity studies and surveys in rural areas does not allow for an adequate evaluation. Human infection occurs mainly in January-April, when higher precipitation and temperatures interact with field activities during summer holidays. A second June peak may be related to Easter holidays. The main risk factor appears to be wild watercress ingestion (214) during recreational, weekend outings or holiday activities, explaining numerous family outbreaks involving 63 people and infection far away from their homes. Diagnosis mainly relied on egg finding (288), followed by serology (82), intradermal reaction (63), surgery (43), and erratic fluke observation (6). The number of fascioliasis-hydatidosis co-infected patients (14) is outstanding. Emetine appears as the drug most used (186), replaced by triclabendazole in recent years (21). Surgery reports are numerous (27.0%). A long delay in diagnosis (average almost 3.5 years) and high lithiasis proportion suggest that many patients are frequently overlooked and pose a question mark about fascioliasis detection in the country. High seroprevalences found in recent random surveys suggest human endemic situations. This analysis highlights that human fascioliasis may have been overlooked in the past and its real epidemiological situation in high risk rural, mainly altitudinal areas, may currently be underestimated. Results provide a valuable baseline on which to design appropriate multidisciplinary studies on humans, animals and lymnaeids to assess up to which level and in which areas, human fascioliasis may represent a health problem in Argentina.

In South America, Fasciola hepatica infection poses serious health problems in both humans and livestock. In Chile, the medical impact appears yearly stable and mainly concentrated in central regions, where the veterinary problem is highlighted by higher animal prevalences. Studies were undertaken by rDNA ITS-2 and ITS-1 and mtDNA cox1 sequencing to clarify the specific status of the lymnaeids, their geographical distribution and fascioliasis transmission capacity in Chile, by comparison with other American countries and continents. Results change the lymnaeid scenario known so far. The lymnaeid fauna of mainland Chile shows to be poor, including only two authochthonous species, Lymnaea viator and Pectinidens diaphana, and a third introduced species of Palaearctic origin Galba truncatula. Both Lymnaea lebruni and Lymnaea patagonica proved to be synonyms of P. diaphana. G. truncatula appears to have always been confused with L. viator and seems distributed from Region VI to Region IX, overlapping with human endemic areas. DNA sequencing results suggest that the absence of correlation between remote sensing data and disease prevalences could be due to transmission capacity differences between L. viator and G. truncatula. Results furnish a new baseline on which to undertake future appropriate studies on transmission, epidemiology and control.

As part of an ongoing study on the health status of pichis, Zaedyus pichiy (Mammalia, Dasypodidae), blood was collected under manual restraint from 72 free-ranging pichis captured in Mendoza Province, Argentina, between November 2001 and December 2006, and from 22 captive-kept pichis in January 2007. Reference values were established for hematology and serum chemistry. Pichis had lower leukocyte counts and higher mean corpuscular volumes than most other mammals. Blood values were similar for captive and wild pichis, and only a few significant differences were found among genders or age classes. Fil: Superina, Mariella. Department Of Biological Sciences; Estados Unidos. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Mendoza. Instituto de Medicina y Biología Experimental de Cuyo; Argentina Fil: Mera y Sierra, Roberto. Universidad "Juan Agustín Maza". Facultad de Ciencias Veterinarias y Ambientales; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de Cuyo. Facultad de Ciencias Médicas; Argentina

Dirofilariosis, caused by Dirofilaria immitis and D. repens, is spreading in several geographic regions. The deve - lopment of infective larvae in the mosquito vector (extrinsic incubation) needs an accumulated total of 130 degree-days above the 14 ºC threshold, normally expressed as heartworm development units (HDUs). Based on this information, temperature- based models have been developed and applied to evaluate the distribution and spread of Dirofilaria infections in various countries and continents. Despite the confirmed presence of D. immitis in most South American countries, the available information about its epidemiology remains scarce. We analysed the temporal and spatial extrinsic incubation of this parasite in Argentina, Chile and Uruguay, taking into account daily temperatures from 49 meteorological stations during a 30-year period (1982-2012). The theoretically possible number of D. immitis generations was calculated based on the number of meteorological stations that reached the 130-HDUs threshold. The resulting information was spatially interpolated using the inverse weighted distance (IWD) model to produce thematic maps. The model shows that 41 of the meteorological stations reach the threshold needed and that D. immitis transmission is markedly seasonal with a peak in late spring (December), stable during summer (January to March) and declining in the autumn (April and May). Suitable temperatures exist in Uruguay and most of Argentina, whereas D. immitis transmission in Chile is only possible in the north and in the central inlands. The results suggest that the climatic impact on D. immitis transmission must have been minimal in the countries investigated since the annual meteorological records did not change much during the 30-year period analysed.