The presence of avian pox in endemic birds in the Galápagos Islands has led to concern that the health of these birds may be threatened by avipoxvirus introduction by domestic birds. We describe here a simple polymerase chain reaction-based method for identification and discrimination of avipoxvirus strains similar to the fowlpox or canarypox viruses. This method, in conjunction with DNA sequencing of two polymerase chain reaction-amplified loci totaling about 800 bp, was used to identify two avipoxvirus strains, Gal1 and Gal2, in pox lesions from yellow warblers (Dendroica petechia), finches (Geospiza spp.), and Galápagos mockingbirds (Nesomimus parvulus) from the inhabited islands of Santa Cruz and Isabela. Both strains were found in all three passerine taxa, and sequences from both strains were less than 5% different from each other and from canarypox virus. In contrast, chickens in Galápagos were infected with a virus that appears to be identical in sequence to the characterized fowlpox virus and about 30% different from the canarypox/Galápagos group viruses in the regions sequenced. These results indicate the presence of canarypox-like viruses in endemic passerine birds that are distinct from the fowlpox virus infecting chickens on Galápagos. Alignment of the sequence of a 5.9-kb region of the genome revealed that sequence identities among Gal1, Gal2, and canarypox viruses were clustered in discrete regions. This indicates that recombination between poxvirus strains in combination with mutation led to the canarypox-like viruses that are now prevalent in the Galápagos.

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Bovine leptospirosis is a highly prevalent infection worldwide causing serious losses in cattle production and serving as a source for human infection. Diagnosis and assessment of prevalence of this infection in bovine herds is difficult due to limitations of current procedures. The present report describes the adaptation of a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) protocol for detection of leptospiral DNA in bovine urine. The amplification products corresponded to a segment of the Leptospira 16S rRNA gene detected using two sets of primers (A/B and C/D). A total of 547 urine samples from Bos taurus (n=327) and Bos indicus (n=220) were collected from animals in Andean and Coastal regions of Ecuador, either by furosemide-induced urination or from bladders at the slaughterhouse. The results of this research showed a PCR positivity of 13.52% using primers A/B. Bos taurus samples obtained by urination and those obtained from bladder showed a significant difference in PCR positivity (P= 0.036). Differentiation of Leptospira species was preformed by DNA sequencing of the amplified products. Three amplicons showed 90 and 98% sequence identity with L. borgpetersenii and 98% identity with L. inadai. The results of this study suggest that PCR could be an excellent approach for epidemiological studies.

El presente trabajo identificó mediante diagnóstico clínico la presencia de linfadenitis en cuyes (Cavia porcellus), en un plantel cavícola de la provincia de Imbabura, el resultado fue confirmado por un estudio histopatológico y bacteriológico.