Enteroviruses belong to the Picornaviridae family and infect a wide range of mammals including cattle. Bovine enterovirus (BEV) has recently been reclassified into E and F serotypes. BEV was first isolated in Egypt in 1966 although it has been known in other countries since the 1950s. In this study, BEV-F2 was isolated from calves with severe diarrhea and the isolated viruses were subjected to molecular characterization. Illumina sequencing of one of the isolates revealed the presence of a complete BEV-F genome sequence. The phylogenetic analysis revealed nucleotide substitutions along the genome in comparison with other known strains of BEV-F (HQ663846, AY508697 and DQ092795). Two primer sets were designed from the 3D and 5'NTR regions and used for the examination of the remaining isolates, which were confirmed to be of the BEV-F2 serotype. The availability of the complete genome sequence of this virus adds to the sequence database of the members of Picornaviridae and should be useful in future molecular studies of BEV.

BackgroundEquine pythiosis is an emerging, devastating disease that is hard to treat. The tumour‐like nodular skin masses grow rapidly and the outcome is generally fatal, and thus early diagnosis and intervention are important.Objectives(i) To highlight the clinical, histological and haematological findings in pythiosis, and (ii) to evaluate the efficacy of direct sample multiplex‐PCR targeting the single nucleotide polymorphisms within the ribosomal DNA region for detection and genotyping of Pythium insidiosum.AnimalsTwo hundred and twenty horses including 204 Arabian and 16 draft horses were surveyed.MethodsCase series study diagnosis was based on clinical, pathological and haematological findings typical of P. insidiosum infection, culture identification, immunohistochemical investigation and direct sample PCR.ResultsThe affected horses (24 of 220, 10.91%) presented with unifocal or multiple lesions on the abdomen, limbs, chest, face and mammary gland. Cases commonly had a history of access to stagnant water, ponds and intentionally flooded rice fields. Most were pregnant mares (58.33%). Histopathology revealed granulomatous reaction, blood vessel endotheliosis, heavy infiltration of eosinophils in the dermal layer, multifocal necrosis and Splendore–Hoeppli phenomenon. Unlike direct microscopy (50%) and culture (91.6%), multiplex‐PCR assay identified P. insidiosum (Clade II) in all tested samples. To the best of the authors knowledge, this is the first study determining a clade of P. insidiosum causing equine pythiosis in Egypt.Conclusions and clinical importanceDirect sample multiplex‐PCR assay is a potential tool for the early and rapid diagnosis of equine pythiosis. It overcomes limitations associated with morphological identification and provides a definitive diagnosis.

Canine parvovirus infection (CPV) is one among several hazard diseases that incorporates a dramatic end and remains a common and vital reason of morbidity and mortality in puppies. The aim of this study is to evaluate the efficacy of local and imported CPV vaccines along with PIND-ORF against the experimentally challenged puppies with the newly identified CPV-2a virus. Forty native breed puppies around 45 days old free from internal and external parasites (as examined clinically) and negative for CPV antibodies (as screened by serum neutralization test) were enrolled, and randomized into five groups (8 animals, each). Vaccinated groups were compared to each other, or to paramunity inducer inoculated group and to neither treatment nor vaccinated group. It was found that both local canine parvovirus and Vanguard are safe and potent vaccines inducing no clinical post-vaccination reaction and high levels of specific CPV antibodies (256) by 30 days post-vaccination. Such vaccines provided 80% protection for challenging puppies against the recent virulent strain (CPV-2a), while, unvaccinated puppies did not withstand the challenging virus infection. Besides, it was noticed that PIND-ORF enhanced the puppies immune response through the 1st 2 weeks post-vaccination, however, it was unable to enhance their ability to guard against the new CPV-2a virus infection strain. So it may be concluded that the currently used CPV vaccines; either the local or imported ones can protect puppies towards new CPV-2a strain along with paramunity inducer PIND-ORF.

In this study out of 200 Arabian horses periodically clinically examined in a station for Arabian horses, Cairo, Egypt, 55 animals (27.5%) had dermatological signs suggestive of dermatophytosis based on clinical examination. The majority of ringworm lesions were distributed over the head, neck, shoulder and limbs. Trichophyton mentagrophytes was the most commonly isolated dermatophyte species 19/39 (48.7 %), followed by T. verrucosum (12/39, 30.7%) and Microsporum canis (8/39, 20.9%). T. mentagrophytes and M. canis were isolated mostly from head and limbs. T. verrucosum was isolated from shoulder. The infection rate was higher in young horses less than one year old and increased during the winter season. Higher rate of infection was detected among female animals (81.4%) than males (60.7%). These findings have great veterinary and public health significance.

This study was applied on a cattle farm of Holstein cows at Sharkia Governorate for the isolation and identification of Bovine herpesvirus type-1 (BoHV-1) and to examine its effect on T lymphocytes. The results of clinical examination revealed that there were respiratory disorders in 30 out of 150 (20%) of cattle including elevated body temperature (40 to 42°C), nasal and ocular discharges, some animals developed severe rhinitis, conjunctivitis, corneal opacity, cough and diarrhea. Out of 30 nasal swabs, 15 swabs were positive for virus isolation as indicated by cytopothic effect (CPE) on MDBK cells. Only 11 of the 15 isolates were confirmed by virus neutralization test (VNT) as BoHV-1 isolates. In addition, only 3 out of 4 BoHV-1 isolates were detected by PCR. Peripheral blood T lymphocytes (PBTL) were analyzed using electron microscopy and comet assay to examine the effect of BoHV-1 on lymphocytes. Electron micrographs of T lymphocytes revealed peripheral condensation of chromatin and fragmentation of the nucleus end of the cell leading to the formation of apoptoic bodies. Comet assay denoted fragmentation of cellular DNA. It could be concluded that BoHV-1 can infect T lymphocytes of cattle, causing directly and indirectly apoptosis which subsequently lead to suppression of cellmediated immunity, enhancing establishment of latency and increasing the probability for secondary bacterial infection.