Background:Recently an increase in the population of wild boars (Sus scrofa) in Europe has been observed. This is important from a zoonotic perspective because it influences directly on the spread of many diseases. For the first time, an extensive survey on the prevalence of Leptospira infections in Polish wild boars was performed. During the hunting season 2012-2014, 3621 blood samples from wild boars were collected. The animals originated from different geographical areas across Poland. Serum samples were tested by a microscopic agglutination test (MAT) for the presence of specific antibodies to the following Leptospira serovars: Icterohaemorrhagiae, Grippotyphosa, Sejroe, Tarassovi, Pomona, Canicola, Bratislava, Autumnalis, Hardjo and Ballum.Results: Antibody titers to all Leptospira serovars except serovar Ballum were found in 377 serum samples (10.4 %). The highest number of seropositive wild boars was found in the south-eastern part of Poland and in highly urbanized areas such as Silesia and Łódź. Conclusions:The relatively high prevalence of Leptospira infections in wild boars may constitute a threat to hunters and people having contact with forest lakes or marshlands. The results also indicate that an increasing population of wild boar living close to borders of cities may create additional risk for inhabitants in large urban areas.

BackgroundLeptospira spp. infect humans and a wide range of domestic and wild animals, but certain species such as small rodents and red foxes (Vulpes vulpes) play a particular role as reservoirs and transmission of leptospirosis as they easily adapt to many habitats including human environments. To investigate the significance of red foxes in the epidemiology of leptospirosis in Poland, a seroprevalence survey was conducted. During the 2014–2015 hunting season, blood samples of 2134 red foxes originating from the central-eastern part of Poland were collected. Serum samples were tested by a microscopic agglutination test for the presence of specific antibodies to Leptospira serovars Icterohaemorrhagiae, Grippotyphosa, Sejroe, Tarassovi, Pomona, Canicola, Hardjo, Ballum, Australis, Bataviae, Saxkoebing and Poi.ResultsAntibodies to at least one serovar were detected in 561 sera (26.3%). The highest seroprevalence was found in the Subcarpathia (41.6%) and Warmia-Masuria (40.3%) provinces. Antibodies were mainly directed against serovars Poi (12.4%), Saxkoebing (11.3%), and Sejroe (6.0%).ConclusionsExposure of red foxes to certain Leptospira serovars seems to be common in central and eastern Poland. In addition, the high prevalence of antibodies against Leptospira spp. in foxes may indicate a potential risk of infection for humans and other species coming into contact with these animals.

Haemophilus parasuis belongs to opportunistic microorganisms of undefined virulence. The purpose of the studies was to compare suitability of PCR/RFLP in our modification and ERIC PCR for epidemiological study of domestic strains of H. parasuis. The results were evaluated taking into account two different aspects: suitability of the tests for isolating the highest possible number of clone groups and subjective evaluation of the method judged with respect to the following criteria: difficulty, availability of equipment and reagents as well as time and cost of the study. The results obtained in the present study show that the two methods used for typing of H. parasuis had high discriminatory power. Taking into account this parameter it can be concluded that ERIC PCR is more suitable than PCR/RFLP. This justifies the use of ERIC PCR for routine epidemiological analyses of mentioned pathogen. Taking into account the complexity of method used, ERIC-PCR based on random amplification of DNA, proved to be comparable to PCR/RFLP. The last mentioned technique is relatively less expensive and labour-consuming, especially when diagnostic PCR method is used for the epidemiological studies.

Introduction: Recently in Europe an increase in the population of red deer (Cervus elaphus), roe deer (Capreolus capreolus), and fallow deer (Dama dama) has been observed. Research on the prevalence of Leptospira infections in Polish cervids has been performed for the first time. Material and Methods: During 2014/2015 hunting season, 147 blood samples from red deer, roe deer, and fallow deer were collected. The animals originated from different geographical regions across Poland. Serum samples were tested by microscopic agglutination test (MAT) for the presence of specific antibodies to the following Leptospira serovars: Icterohaemorrhagiae, Grippotyphosa, Sejroe, Tarassovi, Pomona, Canicola, Bratislava, Hardjo, Ballum, Zanoni, Hebdomadis, and Poi. Results: Serum antibody titres specific to Grippotyphosa, Pomona, and Zanoni serovars were found; none of the sera were positive for any of the other serovars. Out of 147 serum samples only 7 were positive, which gave an overall prevalence of 4.8% in the tested animal population. Conclusion: The low Leptospira antibody titres along with the low number of positive serum samples in deer indicate that these animals may not act as significant reservoirs of Leptospira for either humans or animals in Poland.

The aim of the study was to develop and validate a real-time PCR method, using a TaqMan probe, for quantification of Mycoplasma suis in porcine blood. No PCR signals with closely related non-haemotrophic mycoplasmas were obtained. The detection limit of PCR for plasmid combined with blood DNA was determined to be 10 3 /reaction (5 µL of DNA) (1.2x10 5 target copies in 1 mL of blood). The linearity of real-time PCR (near 1) indicates its use as a quantitative method. Real-time and quantitative PCR were sensitive and specific for the detection and quantification of M. suis in the blood of animals with acute and chronic form of eperythrozoonosis. Developed quantitative PCR cannot be used to detect carrier animals with a small amount of M. suis in their blood. The validity of real-time PCR used in the studies was confirmed by the low inter-and intra-assay coefficients of variation. This fact confirms the applicability of the assay in other laboratories.