Pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) was used to investigate the diversity of Streptococcus suis isolates of various serotypes recovered from swine clinical samples in Spain. Capsular types 9 (64.9%) and 2 (14.8%) were the most frequently isolated serotypes followed by serotype 7 (5.9%) and serotype 8 (4.3%). The PFGE results of this study with 60 different pulsotypes indicate a great genetic diversity among the S. suis isolates, which is consistent with the broad distribution of S. suis in the swine population. Forty-five percent of the pulsotypes corresponded to single isolates, no pulsotype was common to all farms, and at least 3 different pulsotypes were isolated in 56% of herds in which more than 3 clinical isolates were analyzed. These results reveal a great diversity both between and within herds throughout the strains of S. suis studied, demonstrating that different strains of S. suis are associated with infection in pigs. Some pulsotypes were more frequently isolated and exhibited a wider distribution over herds than others, and were the unique or predominant strains in several herds, suggesting the existence of a prevalent or a few prevalent clones responsible for a large proportion of clinical cases. Overall, the great genetic heterogeneity of the clinical strains of S. suis, the isolation of different strains within the same herd, and the predominance of particular strains in some herds are evidence that infection by S. suis is a dynamic process and reinforce the idea that the epidemiology of S. suis infection is very complex.

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A serological survey for a range of avian paramyxoviruses (PMV) was carried out among wildfowl from southern Spain, 1990 to 1992, using the hemagglutination inhibition technique. We collected 579 sera from 24 avian families (18 aquatic and six non-aquatic). Antibodies were detected to all paramyxoviruses in waterfowl, with a notable prevalence of antibodies to PMV-8 (43%) and to a lesser extent PMV-6 (21%). By contrast, in non-aquatic species high antibody prevalences were detected only to PMV-2 (60%), particularly in sparrows (68%), while antibody prevalences to other PMV's were moderate or low.

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This study was performed to determine the effectiveness of a cardiac rehabilitation and exercise training program on metabolic parameters and coronary risk factors in patients with the metabolic syndrome and coronary heart disease. The study involved 642 patients with coronary heart disease. Of them, 171 (26.7%) fulfilled criteria for the metabolic syndrome. Clinical data, laboratory tests, and exercise testing were performed before and after the program, which lasted 2 to 3 months. Except for waist circumference, there were no significant differences between groups; blood pressure, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, triglycerides, and fasting glucose improvements during the follow-up were higher in patients with the metabolic syndrome (all P<.001). At study end, in patients with the metabolic syndrome, functional capacity increased by 26.45% ( P<.001), as measured by metabolic equivalents, with a slight increase of 1.25% ( P=not significant) in the double product. Patients with the metabolic syndrome who took part in this secondary prevention program reported improvements in cardiovascular risk profile and functional capacity. J Clin Hypertens (Greenwich).