The objective of this study was to evaluate the welfare of cull cows in a slaughtering plant, using indicators of health on arrival and indicators of handling during the stunning process. These pre-slaughter indicators were associated with post-slaughter indicators of the same cows, such as carcass bruising and condemnations. Transport staff surveys showed that all drivers had been trained on animal welfare. All loads of cows came directly from farms and had an average transport duration of 5 h 22 min. Indicators were registered in 237 cows during unloading at the slaughterhouse and in the stunning box. Bruises and condemnations were recorded post-slaughter in the carcasses of the same cows. Results at arrival showed that 48% of the cows had low body condition, 50% had mammary problems, and 24% suffered from lameness. During stunning, 16% of cows needed a second shot, and 54% exceeded the 60 s established as a recommended interval between stunning and bleeding. During the post-slaughter evaluation, 50% of the carcasses had more than two bruises and 70.46% had a bruise severity score different from zero. Low body condition was a risk factor to increase the severity of bruises; low body condition and mammary problems increased carcass condemnations; the stunning process indicators were not statistically associated with the severity of the bruises. For cull cows the main animal welfare issue originates at farm level.

Gurltia paralysans and Aelurostrongylus abstrusus are neglected metastrongyloid nematode species which infect domestic and wild cats in South American countries and in Chile, but no epidemiological studies on concomitant infections have been conducted in Chile so far. The aim of this study was not only to evaluate the occurrence of concomitant infections, but also to identify epidemiological risk factors associated with of G. paralysans and A. abstrusus infections in urban domestic cats (Felis catus) from Southern Chile. Blood samples from clinically healthy domestic cats from three cities of Southern Chile—Temuco, Valdivia, and Puerto Montt—were analyzed by an experimental semi-nested PCR protocol. A total of 171 apparently healthy domestic cats in Temuco (n = 68), Valdivia (n = 50), and Puerto Montt (n = 53) were sampled and analyzed. A total of 93 domestic cats (54.4%) were positive for G. paralysans, and 34 (19.9%) were positive for A. abstrusus infections. From those animals, 34 (19.9%) were co-infected. Cats positive with G. paralysans were found in all three cities; 47.2% in Puerto Montt, 48% in Valdivia, and 64.7% in Temuco. Levels of infection for A. abstrusus in the population under study were 4% (Valdivia), 10% (Puerto Montt), and 32.4% (Temuco). The present large-scale epidemiological study confirmed the presence of these neglected nematodes in domestic cat populations in Southern Chile, and described the possible risk factors associated with feline gurltiosis and aelurostrongylosis.

Rattlesnakes have venoms with a complex toxin mixture comprised of polypeptides and proteins. Previous studies have shown that some of these polypeptides are of high value for the development of new medical treatments. The aim of the present study is to evaluate, in vitro, the antibacterial and hemolytic activity of Crotalus triseriatus and Crotalus ravus venoms. A direct field search was conducted to obtain Crotalus triseriatus and Crotalus ravus venom samples. These were evaluated to determine their antibacterial activity against Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa through the techniques of Minimum Inhibitory Concentration (MIC) and Minimum Bactericidal Concentration (MBC). Hemolytic activity was also determined. Antibacterial activity was determined for treatments (Crotalus triseriatus 2) CT2 and (Crotalus ravus 3) CR3, obtaining a Minimum Inhibitory Concentration of 50 µg/mL and a Minimum Bactericidal Concentration of 100 µg/mL against Pseudomonas aeruginosa. CT1 (Crotalus triseriatus 1), CT2, and CR3 presented hemolytic activity; on the other hand, Crotalus ravus 4 (CR4) did not show hemolytic activity. The results of the present study indicate for the first time that Crotalus triseriatus and Crotalus ravus venoms contain some bioactive compounds with bactericidal activity against Pseudomonas aeruginosa which could be used as alternative treatment in diseases caused by this pathogenic bacterium.

Efecto antibacteriano del extracto metanólico de Salix babylonica sobre bacterias de importancia en salud pública

La Organización Mundial de Sanidad Animal (OIE) menciona que el uso inadecuado de antibióticos ha propiciado la aparición de cepas bacterias resistentes a los mecanismos de acción de estos fármacos, debido a la escasez de terapias efectivas se requiere del desarrollo de nuevas opciones de tratamiento para enfermedades que afectan la salud, al respecto los extractos de plantas o bien sus compuestos puros ofrecen una alternativa. El objetivo de la presente investigación fue caracterizar y evaluar la actividad antibacteriana in vitro del extracto hidroalcohólico de Croton draco sobre bacterias de importancia sanitaria. El extracto se obtuvo mediante maceración hidroalcohólica, se realizó una caracterización cualitativa y química del extracto, la actividad antibacteriana se determinó mediante la Concentración Mínima Inhibitoria (CMI) y la Concentración Mínima Bactericida (CMB). Los ensayos de caracterización cualitativa realizados al extracto hidroalcohólico de Croton draco indican la presencia de compuestos fenólicos, terpenos, saponinas y alcaloides, por cromatografía de gases se determinó por primera vez la presencia de timol y carvacrol en concentraciones de 0.5340 mg/ml y 0.4206 mg/mL respectivamente. Las bacterias mostraron diferentes grados de sensibilidad, sin embargo, se determinó una mayor actividad frente a bacterias Gram positivas como L. monocytogenes, S. aureus y B. subtillis.

Introduction: For the production and commercialization of beef, it is required to know which are the main causes of seizures and how they are distributed in the geographical areas. With the analysis of the spatial information of pathologies, it will be possible to carry out a strategic approach of health intervention for the control of the pathologies that affect the cattle of a geographical area. Since a spatial cluster or spatial conglomerate refers to an increase or excess of cases in specific locations or an unusual pattern in a study area, it allows intervention under a risk criterion. The objective of the study was to perform epidemiological analysis of the causes of seizures of bovine carcasses and organs in slaughterhouses of the Los Lagos región in Southern Chile, linked to the geographical areas of origin. Material and Methods: The information of the cattle slaughtering plants of the Los Lagos region (n = 3) was analyzed between 2013 and 2017. The volume of the accumulated period of 5 years of slaughter was 962,456 bovines. Animals came from 2,845 geo-referenced farms by the Agriculture and Livestock Service (SAG). The data were analyzed, first by organ, the causes of seizures and by geographical distribution and the presence of spatial clusters of the main pathologies, based on the Poisson model. R, SatScanTM and Arc view 3.8 softwares were used. Results: The origin of the slaughtered animals was from the central zone of Chile, Valparaíso region to the southern end of Patagonia. The organs with most sized were the livers (n = 837,657 units 87.0%), followed by the kidneys (n = 1.124.7815 units, 8.4%) and stomachs (n = 106,054 units 11.0%). Marginally, heart, heads and channels were confiscated. The most frequent causes of seizures were for parasitic including dystomatosis, hydatidosis, cysticercosis, sarcosporidiosis and linguatulosis. Distomatosis was the main cause of liver seizures, reaching frequencies of 69.9% in the different slaughter establishments nationwide (435,784 affected animals). The distomatosis is produced by the fluke Fasciola hepatica, whose biological cycle is indirect involving molluscs as intermediate hosts and herbivores as definitive hosts. The species with the greatest detection of findings by distomatosis is the bovine species, with 98% of the affected animals, which is equivalent to a rate of 484 infected cattle per 1,000 slauthers animals. This parasite is a current problem in Chile, so efforts to control it should be focused on restricting contact between the agent and the animals, avoiding the stagnation of water that is fundamental to the snail's habitat, as well as advises to avoid the simultaneous use of pastures by bovines and sheep. In addition to the use of antiparasitic agents that act both in the juvenile stages of the parasite as well as in the adult stages. A wide geographical extension was found in both the central and southern areas 8 space clusters were identified. The second cause of liver seizures was hydatidosis, which is a parasitic disease caused by the cestode Echinococcus granulosus. It has an indirect biological cycle where dogs and wild canids participate as definitive hosts and ruminants as intermediate hosts. The intermediate host becomes infected by ingesting the eggs in the pastures that were eliminated by the faeces of the definitive host. Seizures for hydatidosis were made in 9 regions of the country from the Metropolitan region to Patagonia, distributed in 71 areas of these regions. The herds that submitted seizures were 999, corresponding to 35.1% of the herds that slaughtered animals in the slaughtering plants of the study. The areas with higher percentages (9.8% to 38.4%) of seizures due to hydatidosis and 20 space clusters were identified . The cysticercosis is the third pathology that causes seizures, being the species with more findings the sheep with 91.3% of the cases which is equivalent to 15,957 animals. Second, the animal species that is also affected by this parasitism is the bovine with 1,293 animals with findings of cysticercosis. With respect to the national geographic distribution of this disease, the Magallanes region is the one that concentrates the largest number of animals with findings to this pathology (70.1%), followed by the Los Lagos region (19.4%) and the region of Aysén (4.5%). It is important to highlight at this point that the findings by cysticercosis that are handled nationally in slaughtering plants, considers the seizures either by Cysticercus bovis as well as the seizure by Cysticercus ovis and Cysticercus tenuicollis (SAG, 2017), that is why the greatest presence of findings in the species sheep. The spatial distribution of seizures by bovine cysticercosis is observed in the 8th space cluster. Conclusions: According to the spatial analysis of the information studied, it was possible to determine that the different diseases that generate seizures at slaughterhouse level are distributed in different areas of the country, identifying areas of greater risk of disease. Of the parasitoses identified that generated the greatest impact in the seizures, are those associated with the presence of dogs (Canis lupus familiaris) such as hydatidosis, sarcosporidiosis acting as definitive hosts within the biological cycles.