Abdullah F. Alsayeqh

Infectious bursal disease (IBD) is one of the dangerous diseases of poultry that affects the bursa of Fabricius, which is an important organ of the bird’s immune system. IBD virus is resistant to many drugs, making its control difficult. Vaccination of IBD is in practice for a long time worldwide to control IBD, but secondary issues like vaccine failure and lower efficacy lead to their reduced use in the field. Multiple medicines are currently used, but the phytochemicals have emerged as promising agents for controlling IBD. The drugs to be developed should possess direct antiviral properties by targeting viral entry mechanisms, enhancing the host immune response, and inhibiting viral protein synthesis. Phytochemicals have potential to contribute to food security by minimizing the possibility of disease outbreaks and ensuring that consumers worldwide obtain healthy poultry products. It has been now claimed that direct and indirect activities of phytochemicals can be effective in the control of IBDV. Although available evidence suggest that the phytochemicals can contribute in controlling occurrence IBDV, there is a definite need of focused studies to gain more insight and develop rational strategies for their practical use. This review highlights the disease caused by IBDV, inhibition of viral replication, boosting the immune system, disruption of viral membrane, and important phytochemicals showing antiviral activities against IBDV.

The consumption of exotic meats, such as squab and quail meats, is common in many parts of the world. However, little is known about the safety of these foods. This study aimed to evaluate the microbial characteristics of squab and quail meats, with a particular interest in the prevalence of Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC). Meat samples were examined for total bacterial counts, total mold counts, most probable number of coliforms, total E. coli counts, and the prevalence of STEC. The presence of virulence genes (stx1, stx2, and eae) in STEC isolates was also investigated. Results from microbial analyses revealed poor hygienic status of squab and quail meats. E. coli was isolated from 16% and 10% of squab and quail meats, respectively. Six E. coli serotypes were recovered, including O26, O78, O111, O114, O119, and O127, and STEC genes were detected in all these isolates. Squab liver had the highest E. coli prevalence rates, followed by gizzard, heart, spleen, and breast muscles. The prevalence of E. coli in quail meat samples was similar across all tissues. STEC serotypes showed notable multidrug resistance profiles. We then used ascorbic and rosmarinic acids to increase the safety of breast muscle. Treatment of breast muscles with these acids significantly improved their microbial safety. These findings highlight the potential role of squab and quail meats as a vehicle for STEC transmission to humans, and the beneficial effect of treatment with ascorbic and rosmarinic acids on enhancing the safety of exotic meats. Key words: food safety; shiga toxin; E. coli; squab; quails; meat

Crimean–Congo Hemorrhagic Fever (CCHF) is one of the most important vector-borne diseases of zoonotic potential that can be acquired following the bite of theHyalommaspecies of ticks. It is a highly prevalent disease in Asia and the Middle East. The risk factors of this disease are contact with infected tissue, blood, patient, or livestock in the acute viremic phase, infected tick bites, or the manual removal of ticks. The disease is clinically described as progressive hemorrhages, fever, and pain in musculature. Biochemical tests reveal elevated levels of creatinine phosphokinase, alanine transaminase, aspartate aminotransferase, and lactate dehydrogenase. Clotting time is prolonged in pro-thrombin tests, and pathogenesis is mostly related to the disruption of the epithelium during viral replication and indirectly by secreting cytotoxic molecules. These molecules cause endothelial activation and result in the loss of function. Supportive therapy is given through blood or plasma infusions to treat or manage the patients. According to the most advanced studies, CCHF can be treated by Ribavirin, which is an antiviral drug that shows excellent results in preventing the disease. Health-care staff are more prone to infection. The hemorrhagic phase represents a high risk for accidental exposures. This literature review presents a comprehensive overview of the viral epidemiology, zoonotic perspectives, and significant risk factors of CCHF in various Middle East and Asian countries. Furthermore, the pathophysiology and preventive strategies of CCHF have also been discussed as well as legislation and policies regarding public outreach programs, research, and development aimed at infection prevention and control that are required at a global level.

Echinococcosis is a neglected, WHO-listed cyclozoonotic parasitic disease that is caused by a number of species belonging to the genus Echinococcus. This disease is widespread across the globe, resulting in heavy economic losses for farmers and cystic disease in aberrant human hosts. This review paper briefly discussed taxonomy, a brief history, the magnitude of economic losses, host spectrum and life cycle, risk factors, and clinical manifestations. Furthermore, the copro- and sero-ELISA-based prevalence of echinococcosis on different continents was summarized. Finally, the authors analyzed the frequency and use of molecular epidemiology in the taxonomy of Echinococcus species based on molecular markers. This review will serve as a quick reference to Echinococcus.

The importance of meat-borne pathogens to global disease transmission and food safety is significant for public health. These pathogens, which can cause a variety of diseases, include bacteria, viruses, fungi, and parasites. The consumption of pathogen-contaminated meat or meat products causes a variety of diseases, including gastrointestinal ailments. Humans are susceptible to several diseases caused by zoonotic bacterial pathogens transmitted through meat consumption, most of which damage the digestive system. These illnesses are widespread worldwide, with the majority of the burden borne by developing countries. Various production, processing, transportation, and food preparation stages can expose meat and meat products to bacterial infections and/or toxins. Worldwide, bacterial meat-borne diseases are caused by strains of Escherichia coli, Salmonella, Listeria monocytogenes, Shigella, Campylobacter, Brucella, Mycobacterium bovis, and toxins produced by Staphylococcus aureus, Clostridium species, and Bacillus cereus. Additionally, consuming contaminated meat or meat products with drug-resistant bacteria is a severe public health hazard. Controlling zoonotic bacterial pathogens demands intervention at the interface between humans, animals, and their environments. This review aimed to highlight the significance of meat-borne bacterial zoonotic pathogens while adhering to the One Health approach for creating efficient control measures.

Introduction: Fascioliasis is a parasitic foodborne disease caused by the liver flukes, Fasciola hepatica and F. gigantica. Such parasites cause serious illness in numerous domestic animals and also in humans. Following infection, the parasite secretes a variety of molecules that immediately interact with the host immunity to establish successful infection. These molecules include cathepsin L peptidase 1 (CatL1); the highly investigated diagnostic and vaccine antigens using various animal models. However, a few studies have analyzed the potentials of FhCatL1 as a diagnostic or vaccine antigen using bioinformatic tools and much less for FgCatL1. The present study provides inclusive and exclusive information on the physico-chemical, antigenic and immunogenic properties of F. hepatica cathepsin L1 (FhCatL1) protein using multiple bioinformatic analysis tools and several online web servers. Also, the validation of our employed available online servers was conducted against a huge collection of previously published studies focusing on the properties of FhCatL1as a diagnostic and vaccine antigen.Methods: For this purpose, the secondary, tertiary, and quaternary structure of FhCatL1 protein were also predicted and analyzed using the SWISS-MODEL server. Validation of the modeled structures was performed by Ramachandran plots. The antigenic epitopes of the protein were predicted by IEDB server.Results and discussion: Our findings revealed the low similarity of FhCatL1 with mammalian CatL1, lacking signal peptides or transmembrane domain, and the presence of 33 phosphorylation sites. Also, the containment of FhCatL1 for many topological, physico-chemical, immunological properties that favored its function of solubility and interaction with the immune components were reported. In addition, the earlier worldwide reports documented the high efficacy of FhCatL1 as a diagnostic and vaccine antigen in different animals. Altogether, FhCatL1 is considered an excellent candidate for using in commercialized diagnostic assays or vaccine products against fascioliasis in different animal species. Our assessment also included FgCatL1 and reported very similar findings and outputs to those of FhCatL1.

Toxoplasmosis and neosporosis are major protozoan diseases of global distribution. Toxoplasma gondii is the cause of toxoplasmosis, which affects almost all warm-blooded animals, including humans, while Neospora caninum induces neosporosis in many animal species, especially cattle. The current defective situation with control measures is hindering all efforts to overcome the health hazards and economic losses of toxoplasmosis and neosporosis. Adequate understanding of host-parasite interactions and host strategies to combat such infections can be exploited in establishing potent control measures, including vaccine development. Macrophages are the first defense line of innate immunity, which is responsible for the successful elimination of T.gondii or N. caninum. This action is exerted via the immunoregulatory interleukin-12 (IL-12), which orchestrates the production of interferon gamma (IFN-γ) from various immune cells. Cellular immune response and IFN-γ production is the hallmark for successful vaccine candidates against both T. gondii and N. caninum. However, the discovery of potential vaccine candidates is a highly laborious, time-consuming and expensive procedure. In this review, we will try to exploit previous knowledge and our research experience to establish an efficient immunological approach for exploring potential vaccine candidates against T. gondii and N. caninum. Our previous studies on vaccine development against both T. gondii and N. caninum revealed a strong association between the successful and potential vaccine antigens and their ability to promote the macrophage secretion of IL-12 using a murine model. This phenomenon was emphasized using different recombinant antigens, parasites, and experimental approaches. Upon these data and research trials, IL-12 production from murine macrophages can be used as an initial predictor for judgment of vaccine efficacy before further evaluation in time-consuming and laborious in vivo experiments. However, more studies and research are required to conceptualize this immunological approach.

The poultry sector is facing infections from Salmonella, Campylobacter, Listeria and Staphylococcus spp., and Escherichia coli, that have developed multidrug resistance aptitude. Antibiotics cause disturbances in the balance of normal microbiota leading to dysbiosis, immunosuppression, and the development of secondary infections. Bacteriophages have been reported to lower the colonization of Salmonella and Campylobacter in poultry. The specificity of bacteriophages is greater than that of antibiotics and can be used as a cocktail for enhanced antibacterial activity. Specie-specific phages have been prepared, e.g., Staphylophage (used against Staphylococcus bacteria) that specifically eliminate bacterial pathogens. Bacteriophage products, e.g., BacWash^TM and Ecolicide PX have been developed as antiseptics and disinfectants for effective biosecurity and biosafety measures. The success of phage therapy is influenced by time to use, the amount used, the delivery mechanism, and combination therapy with other therapeutics. It is a need of time to build a comprehensive understanding of the use of bacteriophages in poultry production. The current review thus focuses on mechanisms of bacteriophages against poultry pathogens, their applications in various therapeutics, impacts on the economy, and current challenges.

Toxoplasmosis, neosporosis, and brucellosis are devastating diseases causing infectious abortion and, therefore, substantial economic losses in farm animals. Toxoplasmosis and neosporosis are caused by the intracellular protozoan parasites Toxoplasma gondii (T. gondii) and Neospora caninum (N. caninum), respectively. Brucellosis is a bacterial disease caused by numerous Brucella species in multiple hosts. Toxoplasmosis and brucellosis are also considered foodborne zoonotic diseases. In the current study, specific antibodies to T. gondii and N. caninum, in addition to those to Brucella spp., were detected to gain a better understanding of the epidemiological situation for these three pathogens. Sheep and goat sera from Egypt (n = 360) of animals with and without a history of abortion were tested using commercial ELISAs. Seropositivity rates of 46.1%, 11.9%, and 8.6% for T. gondii, N. caninum, and Brucella spp., respectively, were revealed. Mixed infections with T. gondii and Brucella spp. (4.4%), T. gondii and N. caninum (4.2%), N. caninum and Brucella spp. (1.4%), and even some triple infections (0.6%) have been observed. Animals with a history of abortion had a significantly higher seroprevalence for Brucella spp. infection than those without abortion (12.6%; 28/222 vs. 2.2%; 3/138) (p = 0.0005; Odds ratio = 1.9–21.8), while none of the other pathogens showed a similar effect. This result suggests brucellosis as a possible cause of abortion in the study population. However, the high seroprevalence for T. gondii and N. caninum revealed in our study warrants further investigations.