Evidence for Parachlamydia in bovine abortion     

Ruhl S  Casson N  Kaiser C  Thoma R  Pospischil A  Greub G  Borel N 《Veterinary microbiology》2009,135(1-2):169-174

Bovine abortion of unknown infectious aetiology still remains a major economic problem. In this study, we focused on a new possible abortigenic agent called Parachlamydia acanthamoebae. Retrospective samples (n=235) taken from late-term abortions in cattle were investigated by real-time diagnostic PCR for Chlamydiaceae and Parachlamydia spp., respectively. Histological sections of cases positive by real-time PCR for any Chlamydia-related agent were further examined by immunohistochemistry using specific antibodies. Chlamydophila abortus was detected only in three cases (1.3%) by real-time PCR and ArrayTube Microarray playing a less important role in bovine abortion compared to the situation in small ruminants in Switzerland. By real-time PCR as many as 43 of 235 (18.3%) cases turned out to be positive for Parachlamydia. The presence of Parachlamydia within placental lesions was confirmed in 35 cases (81.4%) by immunohistochemistry. The main histopathological feature in parachlamydial abortion was purulent to necrotizing placentitis (25/43). Parachlamydia should be considered as a new abortigenic agent in Swiss cattle. Since Parachlamydia may be involved in lower respiratory tract infections in humans, bovine abortion material should be handled with care given the possible zoonotic risk.  相似文献   

Detection of hexabromocyclododecane and its metabolite pentabromocyclododecene in chicken egg and fish from the official food control     

Hiebl J  Vetter W 《Journal of agricultural and food chemistry》2007,55(9):3319-3324

During routine gas chromatography with electron capture detection (GC/ECD) analysis of chicken eggs, we observed that the most prominent peak in some samples did not match the retention time of any of the food contaminants screened. Subsequent GC coupled with mass spectrometry (GC/MS) studies clarified that the mass spectrum of the peak was very similar to hexabromocyclododecane (HBCD), which was also identified by GC/MS in the egg. The unknown compound was positively identified as pentabromocyclododecene (PBCDE), a metabolite of HBCD detected for the first time in foodstuffs. Studies of the analytical method used for the analysis of pesticides and contaminants showed that this cleanup method was suitable for the determination of HBCD and PBCDE, but storage of sample extracts resulted in the loss of HBCD when the sample extracts were not sufficiently purified. The concentrations of HBCD and PBCDE in the high polluted sample were 2.0 and 3.6 mg/kg egg fat. HBCD and PBCDE were also detected in two additional eggs at lower levels (<0.15 mg/kg), whereas 75 eggs did not contain these compounds (<0.02 mg/kg). We also detected HBCD and PBCDE in two samples of whitefish (Coregonus sp.), while an eel sample (Anguilla anguilla) positively tested for HBCD did not contain PBCDE. Surprisingly, the potential metabolite of HBCD, PBCDE, has not been detected before in any food or environmental sample. The present results indicate that more attention should be paid to the detection of HBCD and its metabolite PBCDE in chicken eggs.  相似文献