We report a case of a falcon breeding facility, where raptors (both diurnal and nocturnal) were raised in contact with domestic fowl (Gallus gallus f. domesticus) infected by Mycobacterium avium subsp. avium. Fecal and environmental samples from 20 raptors and four common ravens (Corvus corax) were collected. Mycobacterium a. avium DNA was detected in feces of four raptors (bald eagle [Haliaeetus leucocephalus], eagle owl [Bubo bubo], barn owl [Tyto alba], and little owl [Athene noctua]) using triplex quantitative real-time PCR. As both the flock of domestic fowl and one of the infected raptors had the same origin (zoological collection), they might have had a common source of colonization/infection. However, the detection of M. a. avium in feces of three other raptors may point at transmission of the agent between the birds in the facility. Contact of raptors with domestic fowl infected by M. a. avium may pose a risk for transmission of the infection for them; however, raptors from the falcon breeding facility seemed to be relatively resistant to the infection.

The aim of this study was to determine possible differences in the faecal microbiota of dairy cows infected with Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis (Johne's disease) in comparison with noninfected cows from the same herds. Faecal samples from cows in 4 herds were tested for M. avium subsp. paratuberculosis by real-time PCR, and faecal bacterial populations were analysed by 454 pyrosequencing of the 16S rRNA gene. The most notable differences between shedding and nonshedding cows were an increase in the genus Psychrobacter and a decrease in the genera Oscillospira, Ruminococcus, and Bifidobacterium in cows infected with M. avium subsp. paratuberculosis. The present study is the first to report the faecal microbial composition in dairy cows infected with M. avium subsp. paratuberculosis.

A rapid, simple and highly efficient analytical method for the targeted determination of trimethoprim and sulfamethoxazole in serum samples has been developed and used to measure the pharmacokinetic curve of these medicinal substances after administration to chicken broilers. The pharmacokinetics properties of trimethoprim and sulfamethoxazole were investigated in clinically healthy broiler chickens after the single oral administration of the commercial preparation Methoxasol (Eurovet Animal Health, B.V., The Netherlands) at a dose of 0.275 ml/kg b.w. After a single dose drug administration, the chickens were sacrificed by decapitation under general anaesthesia by Isoflurin 1 000 mg/g (Vetpharma AH, Spain) and the blood was collected at precisely defined intervals: 15, 30, 45, 60, 90, 120, 180, 360 and 720 min after the administration. The serum concentrations of amoxicillin were determined using Q Exactive tandem mass spectrometer (Thermo Fisher Scientific, USA) in conjunction with liquid chromatography. The detected pharmacokinetic parameters of trimethoprim after the oral administration were C_max = 2.1 ± 1.0 µg/ml; T_max = 1.5 h; t_½ = 0.88 h; k_el = 0.009 3 ± 0.001 1 1/h; AUC_t = 2.901 ± 1.4 µg.h/ml; AUC_∞ = 2.907 ± 1.5 µg.h/ml; V_d = 2.632 l/kg; Cl = 2.7 l/h. The pharmacokinetic parameters of sulfamethoxazole after the oral administration were C_max = 47.1 ± 15.3 µg/ml; T_max = 1 h; t_½ = 1.92 h; k_el = 0.004 6 ± 0.000 3 1/h; AUC_t = 89.676 ± 26.9 µg.h/ml; AUC_∞ = 94.612 ± 28.4 µg.h/ml; V_d = 0.584 l/kg; Cl = 0.21 l/h. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first pharmacokinetic study of the combination of sulfamethoxazole and trimethoprim in broiler chickens.

This study was performed on 40 finished pigs from one herd naturally infected with Mycobacterium avium subsp. avium. The aim was to investigate the presence and amount of M. a. avium in samples of lymph nodes and diaphragm tissues collected during routine postmortem inspection using the triplex quantitative real time PCR (qPCR) method. We collected, in total, 107 samples: various lymph nodes affected by gross tuberculosis (TB)-like lesions from 17 pig carcasses, as well as samples of head and mesenteric lymph nodes from 23 carcasses without TB-like lesions. Samples of diaphragm tissues were collected from all carcasses. M. a. avium was detected in one or more tissue samples collected from half of the slaughtered pigs tested. Samples of diaphragm tissues of three pigs with detected TB-like lesions contained M. a. avium (10(2) to 10(3) cells per g of sample); the organism was not detected in diaphragm tissues from pigs without TB-like lesions. The qPCR method may be useful for quantification of M. a. avium in pigs for the purposes of foodborne risk assessment.

Clavulanic acid is a molecule with antimicrobial effect used in several livestock species treatment. Its inclusion in the treatment of infectious diseases of broilers requires determination of pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic parameters in order to determine the appropriate dosage for broilers and ensure safety of chicken products for human health. The present study describes the optimisation of analytical LC-MS/MS method for identification and quantification of clavulanic acid in broiler chicken plasma and meat. The limit of detection and the limit of quantification for the developed method were 3.09 μg·L−1 and 10.21 μg·L−1 for plasma and 2.57 μg·kg−1 and 8.47 μg·kg−1 for meat. The recoveries of the developed plasma and tissue extraction procedure were > 105.7% and > 95.6%, respectively. The achieved coefficient of variation of within-run precision ranged from 2.8 to 10.9% for plasma and from 6.5 to 8.5% for meat. The pharmacokinetic experiment was performed in 112 Ross broiler chickens assigned into time interval groups ranging from 10 min to 24 h in accredited animal facilities. Administered dose of clavulanic acid was 2.5 mg·kg−1 according to the manufacturer’s recommendations. The pharmacokinetic parameters obtained from the experiment are as follows: Cmax = 1.82 ± 0.91 mg·L−1, Tmax = 0.25 h, T1/2 = 0.87 h, Kel = 0.80 ± 0.04 h−1, AUC0-∞ = 2.17 mg·h ·L−1.