Background: Visceral leishmaniasis (VL) is a rare, parasitic infection with distinctive features that may mimic autoimmune diseases. In this study, we report on the laboratory autoimmune manifestations of VL in Chinese patients.Methods: Twenty-seven patients who were hospitalized with VL were included in this retrospective study.Routine blood and biochemical tests were conducted, and a variety of autoimmune antibodies and complement fractions were detected. Continuous variables are expressed as means ± standard deviations, and categorical data are expressed as a number (percentage). Missing data were not included for statistical analysis. Data were analyzed with SPSS v. 13.0 statistical software.Results: All patients had cytopenia (82% with pancytopenia) and hepatosplenomegaly, and 25 (93%) patients also suffered from fever. The prevalence of autoantibodies (number of patients with antibody detected/total number of patients tested for the antibody) for each antibody tested was as follows: antinuclear antibodies (ANA; 18/22, 82%), anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic antibodies (ANCA; 4/5, 80%), anti-mitochondrial M2 antibodies (AMA-M2; 1/6, 17%), anti-liver cytosol specific type 1 antibodies (anti-LC1; 1/6, 17%), anti-liver/kidney microsomal type 1 antibodies (anti-LKM1; 1/6, 17%), anti-centromere protein-B antibodies (anti-CENP-B; 4/21, 19%), anti-Sjögren's syndrome type A antibodies (anti-SSA; 2/21, 10%), anti-Sjögren's syndrome type B antibodies (anti-SSB; 1/21, 5%), anti-Jo-1 antibodies (1/21, 5%), antidouble-stranded DNA antibodies (anti-dsDNA; 1/25, 4%), direct antiglobulin test (direct Coombs; 6/6, 100%), and rheumatoid factor (RF; 3/11, 27%). Increased serum C-reactive protein (CRP) was found in 14 (100%) patients. Of the 19 patients tested for serum IgG, 17 patients (89%) were found with increased IgG levels, while complement 3 protein (C3) and complement 4 protein (C4) levels were not decreased in any of the 19 patients. Of note, in one patient followed up 1 month after therapy, only ANA was still present, and all the other laboratory autoimmune manifestations had disappeared.Conclusions: VL infection associated with laboratory autoimmune manifestations is common. This may lead to patients with VL being misdiagnosed as having an autoimmune disorder. An obligatory differential diagnosis that considers VL should be undertaken for patients diagnosed with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), especially in endemic areas, is necessary.

The stressful events associated with weaning predispose piglets to reduced feed intake, which in concert with immature digestive and immune systems, results in increased incidences of diarrhea and poor performance. Flavors and sweeteners can be used in diets for young pigs as a means of attracting them to dry feed and increase their feed intake and performance after weaning. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of dietary inclusion of flavors and sweeteners and their combination on growth performance and post-weaning gut health of nursery pigs. A total of 1,144 weaned pigs (initial BW 6.61 ± 0.2 kg) were used in a randomized complete block design and assigned to one of four dietary treatments, with 11 replicates (pens) of 26 piglets per pen. Dietary treatments were 1) Control: standard 4-phase nursery feeding program; 2) Sweetener: control plus sweetener (0.015%); 3) Flavor: control plus flavoring (0.05%); 4) Combination: control plus sweetener and flavoring. Experimental diets were provided at a budget of 0.9, 3.4, 4.5, and 24 kg/pig in Phase 1, 2, 3, and 4, respectively. A common phase 5 diet was provided ad libitum until d56 after weaning. Feed disappearance and body weight were measured every other week. A pen fecal score assessment was performed at d4, 7, 10, and 14 after weaning. Overall, there were no differences among dietary treatments for growth performance. However, during the first two weeks post-weaning pigs fed diets containing flavors and sweeteners had a greater (P = 0.097) ADFI than control pigs. On d14, pigs fed diets containing flavors and sweeteners had less incidence of soft and watery feces (χ2 < 0.05) compared to control pigs. This study provides evidence that dietary inclusion of flavors and sweeteners has important benefits to the overall health of nursery pigs likely related to feed intake in the period immediately after weaning.

Two studies were conducted to evaluate the effects of a feed sweetener on nursery pig performance. In the first study, 360 pigs (PIC 800 x 1050; 6.22 ± 1.20 kg) were blocked by BW and pen location and assigned to 3 treatment groups: 1) Control; 2) 100 mg/kg feed sweetener; or 3) 200 mg/kg feed sweetener. There were 12 pens containing 10 pigs for each treatment. In the second study, 540 pigs (6.12 ± 0.39 kg) were blocked by BW and pen location and assigned to 3 treatment groups: 1) negative control; 2) 100 mg/kg feed sweetener; or 3) 0.5% carob bean. There were 18 pens containing 10 pigs per pen for each treatment. A 3-phase feeding program was used, and diets were fed for 6 wk in both studies. In study 1, ADFI, ADG, and gain:feed were increased (P < 0.05) during Phase 1 for pigs fed diets with 100 mg/kg or 200 mg/kg sweetener. Phase 2 ADFI and ADG were increased (P < 0.05) in pigs fed 100 mg/kg sweetener when compared to the control. Increased BW (P < 0.05) were observed on D 7, 14 and 21 for animals fed 100 mg/kg or 200 mg/kg sweetener. The mortality rate was decreased (P < 0.05) in the group of animals fed 100 mg/kg sweetener compared to the control. In study 2, there was no effect of sweetener or carob bean on growth performance, feed intake or gain:feed. However, mortality rate was decreased (P < 0.05) in pigs fed the sweetener compared to pigs fed carob bean. In conclusion, the feed sweetener improved early nursery performance in one study and had no effect in another study. Mortality was decreased by supplementation with 100 mg/kg sweetener when compared to a negative control in one study and compared pigs fed carob bean in the second study. Further research is needed to explore differences observed between studies to optimize feed sweetener usage strategy.