Even though gas gangrene caused by Clostridium septicum in goats is mentioned in the classical textbooks, we have not managed to find any case description in the literature. Clinical signs resembling gas gangrene such as subcutaneous bloating, edema and crepitation were detected at various body parts of nine pregnant animals at the ages of 2–3 years on a hair goat farm (n = 170) located in Bingol province, Eastern Turkey. Five of these suspected animals with severe clinical symptoms died within 2 days. Various samples such as internal organs, edematous skin and edema fluid collected from dead and live animals were analyzed for the presence of clostridial agents by histopathological and microbiological methods. As a result of macroscopic and microscopic examination, lesions of gas gangrene were detected. The suspected isolates were identified and confirmed as C. septicum by bacteriological and molecular methods. The present study was the first to report identification of C. septicum as primary agent in the gas gangrene of goats.

Background and objectives: The whole world is spending an extraordinary effort by implementing various measures to control and prevent the COVID-19 pandemic. The effectiveness of the preventive measures is greatly influenced by the public’s knowledge, attitudes, and practices (KAP) towards the disease. In this study, KAP values and some characteristic features of people recovered from COVID-19 were determined by conducting a questionnaire survey. Materials and Methods: The questionnaire survey was conducted between 1 and 10 January 2021 on people who recovered from COVID-19 in a total of 150 different locations in Turkey. The questionnaire consisted of 46 questions: 14 for determining demographic and some characteristic features of the participants, and 32 for determining their knowledge, attitudes, and practices. The data obtained were evaluated using descriptive statistics, chi-squared tests, t-tests, and one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA). Results: It was determined that 63% of the participants had at least one chronic illness, 3.9% suffered from the disease twice, and 45.2% changed their smoking habits. The average knowledge score of the participants about COVID-19 was calculated as 10.25 (SD = 2.37; range 0–15). The participants were found to have a high level of knowledge about the symptoms and prevention methods in general, and positive changes in post-illness attitudes and behaviors. However, there was a great instability regarding the drugs and vaccines used in the treatment of COVID-19. Conclusions: This was the first study carried out in Turkey to determine knowledge, attitudes, practices, and some characteristic features of people who recovered from COVID-19. It was suggested that health authorities in the country need to develop more effective strategies and policies to find out permanent solutions in order to control and prevent the COVID-19 pandemic by taking into account the concerns of the public, particularly with regards to the drugs used in the treatment and vaccination.

Pneumonia caused by the facultative intracellular pathogen Rhodococcus equi stands out as one of the most significant infections associated with a notably high mortality rate in foals worldwide. Limited therapeutic options and inadequate control and prevention measures result in substantial economic losses, underscoring the need for enhanced interventions. A cross-sectional, multi-province study was conducted on racehorse-breeding farms in Türkiye to estimate prevalence and index virulence, assess relatedness, and summarize antimicrobial susceptibility within a farm management context. Nasal and fecal swabs and environmental samples (soil and water) were cultured and confirmed; virulence was assessed with vapA-specific PCR, genetic relationship determined with PFGE, and antimicrobial susceptibility using disk diffusion. R. equi was detected in 10% of nasal swabs, 22.9% of fecal swabs, 29.4% of soil samples, and 5.9% of water samples; 46.2% of confirmed isolates were vapA-positive. Susceptibility patterns were favorable overall, with frequent ampicillin resistance, infrequent resistance to macrolides and rifampin, rare multidrug resistance, and no vancomycin resistance was detected. PFGE demonstrated substantial genotypic diversity, with 12 clusters and 29 distinct pulsotypes. Farm-level observations were exploratory. More frequent mechanical paddock cleaning coincided with the absence of foal deaths, and vapA-positive isolates were observed on farms with prior infection. Taken together, these findings support routine paddock hygiene, prompt isolation of clinically affected foals, culture-guided therapy, and continued surveillance, and they indicate a need for longitudinal and genomic studies to evaluate the impact.

Clostridium perfringens is a ubiquitous foodborne and opportunistic anaerobe and a leading cause of necrotic enteritis (NE) in broiler chickens, with implications for animal health, food safety, and public health. While the pore-forming NetB toxin has been identified as a major virulence determinant in NE, its prevalence shows geographical variability, and the molecular epidemiology of C. perfringens populations circulating in clinically healthy broilers with subclinical intestinal and hepatic lesions remains poorly characterized. A cross-sectional molecular epidemiological study was conducted using samples from broiler chickens originating from 100 commercial farms in Eastern Türkiye and sampled at slaughterhouses. A total of 1,000 samples (500 intestinal and 500 liver tissues) exhibiting hemorrhagic and lesion-associated tissues were analyzed. C. perfringens isolates were identified using phenotypic methods and PCR targeting the cpa and 16 S rRNA genes. Major toxin genes (cpa, cpb, etx, iap, cpb2, and cpe) were detected by multiplex PCR, and the netB gene was screened by singleplex PCR. Alpha-toxin production was quantified by ELISA, and clonal relatedness was assessed by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE). C. perfringens was isolated from 66.0% (660/1,000) of the samples. Nearly all isolates (99.5%) carried the cpa gene and were classified as toxin type A, whereas none harbored the netB gene or other major toxin genes. Alpha-toxin expression was confirmed in 94.0% of tested isolates. PFGE analysis of 61 representative isolates identified 30 distinct pulsotypes distributed across 17 clusters, revealing pronounced genetic heterogeneity among farms and slaughterhouses. The C. perfringens population circulating in broiler production systems in Eastern Türkiye is dominated by genetically diverse, cpa-positive and netB-negative type A strains. From a One Health perspective, the high prevalence and diversity of these strains in food animals highlight their potential role as reservoirs at the animal-food-human interface, emphasizing the need for integrated molecular surveillance to mitigate risks to poultry health and public health. To our knowledge, no previous study from Türkiye has reported PFGE-based genetic diversity analysis of Clostridium perfringens isolates from broiler chickens within a slaughterhouse-linked, multi-farm epidemiological design, nor has the presence of the netB toxin gene been comprehensively evaluated in broiler-derived isolates from Türkiye.

This study aimed to determine and comparatively evaluate the phenotypic antimicrobial resistance profiles of Escherichia coli isolates obtained from fecal samples collected from poultry and cattle farms in and around Elazığ, Türkiye. A total of 100 fecal samples (50 from poultry and 50 from cattle) were processed, from which 79 E. coli isolates were recovered, including 31 from poultry and 48 from cattle. All isolates were further confirmed by PCR targeting the 16S rRNA gene. Antimicrobial susceptibility testing was performed using the Kirby–Bauer disk diffusion method against 13 antibiotics, in accordance with CLSI M100 (2023) guidelines. The findings revealed a high prevalence of antimicrobial resistance among E. coli isolates from both animal sources. In poultry-derived isolates, resistance rates reached 96.77% for several antibiotics, including amoxicillin/clavulanic acid, nalidixic acid, cefotaxime, ampicillin, gentamicin, enrofloxacin, ceftazidime, and streptomycin. High resistance levels were also observed for tetracycline, ciprofloxacin, and florfenicol. In cattle-derived isolates, resistance rates of 100% were detected for amoxicillin/clavulanic acid, nalidixic acid, tetracycline, ampicillin, florfenicol, gentamicin, ceftazidime, and streptomycin. In contrast, intermediate susceptibility profiles were more prominent than resistance for ciprofloxacin, trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole, and enrofloxacin. All poultry isolates were classified as multidrug-resistant (MDR), while MDR was also highly prevalent among cattle isolates.In conclusion, the results demonstrate a considerable level of phenotypic antimicrobial resistance in E. coli isolates from both poultry and cattle. These findings provide baseline data for regional antimicrobial resistance surveillance and support the need for prudent antibiotic use in veterinary practice.