This study evaluated the repellent activity of the botanical compounds thymol, carvacrol, nootkatone, and eugenol (5%), as well as the combination of 2.5% nootkatone + 2.5% eugenol, against Amblyomma sculptum nymphs under laboratory and field conditions. In contact bioassays, carvacrol and nootkatone showed the highest mean repellency rates (94.5% and 93.7%), followed by thymol and eugenol (90.2% and 87.2%). The combination (nootkatone + eugenol) resulted in 92.8% repellency, with 100% efficacy in some evaluation periods. The repellency of 7% DEET (positive control) was 82.2%. Nootkatone 5% and the combination (nootkatone + eugenol) were also tested in a Y-tube olfactometer, showing repellency rates of 86.1% and 72.2%, respectively, both higher than 7% DEET (69.4%). In field trials, volunteers wore treated socks and walked through an area naturally infested with nymphs. A significant reduction (p < 0.05) in tick counts was observed in the treated groups (about five unfed nymphs) compared to the control (about 40 unfed nymphs). Cumulative efficacy exceeded 85% in both treatments. In the cost simulation, the estimated cost of a 100 mL formulation containing 5% nootkatone was USD 50.8, while the combination (nootkatone + eugenol) presented a cost USD 28.6, representing a 44% reduction with no loss of efficacy in field conditions. These results indicate that all compounds tested showed repellent activity in the laboratory. Nootkatone has high repellent activity, and its combination with eugenol is a promising and more economically viable alternative for tick repellency.

Yellow fever virus (YFV) recurrently causes severe outbreaks in tropical regions of South America and Africa and an average of 30 to 40 thousand deaths worldwide each year. An effective vaccine is available but the coverage of the population in countries at risk is not optimal. No antivirals are currently approved for YFV treatment. Herein, we describe the evaluation of 6-MMPr, a de-novo-purine-nucleotide biosynthesis inhibitor, as a potentiator for enhanced activity of the broad-spectrum antiviral drug favipiravir in a hamster model of yellow fever. Administration of 6-MMPr was well-tolerated and a combination of favipiravir and 6-MMPr did not cause overt toxicity as indicated by normal weight gain of treated hamsters. Treatment with a combination of a suboptimal dose of favipiravir with 6-MMPr was significantly more effective in improving survival, weight change and virus replication when compared with monotherapy. The initiation of treatment two days after virus challenge was also effective in improving survival when compared with monotherapy. Our results demonstrate the safety and efficacy of such a combination either as a preventive or delayed treatment.

Lumpy Skin Disease Virus (LSDV) is a transboundary pathogen that affects cattle, causing significant economic losses, particularly in Africa and Asia. While the virus was originally endemic to sub-Saharan Africa, it has rapidly spread to Europe, the Middle East, and Asia, necessitating comprehensive genomic surveillance. Despite LSDV’s African origins, genomic data from West and Central Africa remain scarce, limiting insights into regional viral evolution and vaccine compatibility. In this study, molecular detection of LSDV was carried out on cattle samples from Nigeria, Cameroon, and Benin. However, comparative genomic analysis was performed using two near-complete LSDV genomes obtained from Cameroon. Phylogenetic evaluation revealed that LSDV strains from Nigeria and Cameroon cluster within the classical 1.2 lineage. Furthermore, the two sequences from this study cluster with the only publicly available sequence from West and Central Africa, supporting earlier findings of the presence of a West/Central African sub-lineage. Functional genomic analysis identified mutations in genes encoding ankyrin repeat Kelch-like proteins, and envelope proteins involved in immune evasion and viral virulence, raising concerns about vaccine effectiveness. Furthermore, the detection of LSDV in flesh flies (Sarcophaga spp.) underlines their potential role in virus transmission. These findings highlight the importance of genomic monitoring and targeted surveillance.

Animal rabies remains underreported in low-income countries, hindering effective control. This scoping review aimed to map reported animal rabies cases, identify key reservoir species, and assess gaps in surveillance coverage in mainland Tanzania from 1993 to 2023. Specifically, it addressed the distribution of cases, species involved, and the extent of surveillance coverage during this period. Literature searches in PubMed, Google Scholar, and Science Direct were screened using Rayyan. Twenty articles published between 1993 and 2023 reported 7319 animal rabies cases across the Northern Zone (NZ), Southeastern Zone (SEZ), and Coastal Zone (CZ). In the NZ, domestic dogs accounted for most cases (5387), followed by jackals (225), cats (77), livestock (311), and various wildlife species including African wild dogs, bat-eared foxes, lions, cheetahs, and striped hyenas. Additionally, 102 cases involved unidentified animals. In SEZ, domestic dogs (588) were the primary source, followed by jackals (262), hyenas (8), cats (10), honey badgers (5), and leopards (2). In CZ, domestic dogs accounted for 94 cases. The findings confirm domestic dogs as the main rabies reservoir, highlighting the need for strengthened surveillance and control. The role of wildlife in rabies maintenance and spillover remains poorly understood and warrants further investigation, especially in enzootic hotspots.

Clubroot, caused by the obligate parasite Plasmodiophora brassicae, is a soilborne disease affecting canola (Brassica napus) and other crucifers. Although planting resistant cultivars remains the primary strategy for managing clubroot, the emergence of resistance-breaking P. brassicae pathotypes continues to threaten canola production. In this context, soil and root microorganisms may play a role in suppressing the disease. This study investigated the impact of P. brassicae infection on the microbial communities of soil, seeds, roots, and the rhizosphere in susceptible and resistant canola lines, with the aim of analyzing host–pathogen–microbiome interactions and identifying microbial taxa potentially associated with disease resistance. Our findings showed that resistant canola lines inoculated with P. brassicae (pathotype 3A) exhibited reduced disease severity compared to their susceptible counterparts. Diversity analyses of microbial communities revealed that clubroot-resistant canola lines tended to maintain more stable and diverse fungal communities, with a higher Shannon index than susceptible lines. Inoculation with P. brassicae induced more pronounced changes in the root microbiome than in the rhizosphere. Additionally, the seed microbiomes of resistant and susceptible lines displayed distinct bacterial and fungal profiles, suggesting that clubroot susceptibility may influence seed-associated microbial community composition. Differential abundance analysis of root and rhizosphere microbiomes indicated that certain microbial taxa, including bacterial genera such as Acidovorax, Bacillus, Cupriavidus, Cytophaga, Duganella, Flavobacterium, Fluviicola, Luteimonas, Methylotenera, Pedobacter, and Peredibacter, as well as fungal genera such as Aspergillus, Candida, Fusicolla, Paecilomyces, and Rhizophlyctis, may be recruited or enriched in resistant canola lines following P. brassicae inoculation, potentially contributing to reduced clubroot severity.

Resistance to anthelmintics in gastrointestinal nematodes (GINs) is highly prevalent, as these parasites have been treated with anthelmintics for decades in ruminants and horses. Anthelmintics belong to different classes, each with a different mode of action. The most used are benzimidazoles and macrocyclic lactones and, to a lesser extent, levamisole and pyrantel in herbivores, as estimated from the literature. Combining these classes should be effective in controlling GIN. However, several farmers’ practices tend to promote GIN resistance. Therefore, it is unclear whether the use of anthelmintic associations is a sustainable solution for controlling resistance in natural conditions. It is not easy to establish the association of anthelmintic resistances on farms since rarely several anthelmintics and their combinations are used on a single farm. Composed probability calculations were employed when literature data indicated the presence of resistance (to benzimidazoles, levamisole, or macrocyclic lactones) in several ruminant GIN cases. The efficacy of different anthelmintics (benzimidazoles, pyrantel, or macrocyclic lactones) was evaluated in terms of the correlation between faecal nematode egg counts in horses in the available literature. No associations of anthelmintic resistance were found between the different classes of anthelmintics in either ruminants or horses. However, the association between anthelmintic resistance in GIN may appear in the long term. It is presumed that combining drugs may reduce the development of resistance and allow better control of infection on farms where resistance is already established to a low level.

Mycobacterial spindle cell pseudotumors (MSCPs) are rare lesions characterized by the proliferation of spindle-shaped histiocytes caused by mycobacterial infections. MSCPs have been reported in the lung, lymphatic system, and skin of immunodeficient patients. We present the case of a spindle cell pseudotumor of the pancreas in a 30-year-old male with advanced human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection, which led to biliary stricture, splenomegaly, chronic pancreatitis, portal hypertension, compression of the hepatic artery and portal vein, and ascites. This was the patient’s third mycobacterial infection diagnosis. The MSCP was diagnosed via endoscopic biopsy after two prior non-diagnostic biopsies of the pancreatic lesion. Following 18 months of tailored antimycobacterial therapy, the pancreatic mass resolved radiographically with normalization of liver tests and sustained clinical improvement, and there has been no relapse more than 8 months after treatment completion. This case highlights the presentation of an MSCP in a unique anatomic location not previously documented and the challenges encountered with diagnosis and management.

Coxiella burnetii, the causative agent of Q fever, is a highly infectious pathogen capable of invading diverse cell types, from alveolar macrophages to trophoblasts. Within host cells, it establishes a replicative niche named Coxiella-containing vacuole (CCV). This is driven by effector proteins secreted by the bacterium into the host cell cytoplasm via a Type 4b Secretion System (T4SS). Advances in axenic culture and mutagenesis allowed the characterization of Coxiella effector proteins, revealing their host targets and strategies of cellular subversion. This review highlights recent insights into Coxiella effector proteins and their manipulation of host processes, from vesicular trafficking to innate immunity.

Background: Mitis group non-pneumococcal streptococci (MGNPS), specifically Streptococcus mitis, Streptococcus infantis and Streptococcus oralis, have recently been shown to cause pneumonia and/or bacteremia. These organisms often have capsular (cps) operons resembling those in pneumococci, and some express cps-generated polysaccharides that antigenically cross-react with pneumococcal capsular serotypes. But, to date, a series of MGNPS isolates has not been studied by electron microscopy (EM) for the presence of a capsule. Methods: We studied 21 MGNPS; 11 were isolated from sputum and determined to have caused pneumonia, 3 were isolated from blood, and 7 were commensal isolates cultured from the oral cavity of healthy adults. Two reacted with a pneumococcal anticapsular antibody. Isolates were fixed with two different protocols and examined by transmission EM. Results: EM of MGNPS after standard fixation and staining with uranyl acetate did not show capsules. In contrast, the 21 MGNPS isolates that we studied after fixation with ruthenium red and lysine acetate were all shown to be encapsulated. The thickness and density of capsules was related to their species: Streptococcus pneumoniae had the most prominent encapsulation and Streptococcus oralis had the least. However, within a species, there was no apparent difference in capsules between disease-causing and colonizing strains. Conclusions: EM with ruthenium red staining demonstrated capsules on 21 MGNPS, but within a species, there was no apparent difference between disease-causing and commensal isolates. It seems reasonable to conclude that the capsule, together with inoculum size, host’s ability to clear aspirated organisms, and other as yet unidentified virulence factors, all contribute to the pathogenesis of MGNPS pneumonia.

Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) are genetically diverse foodborne pathogens of major global public health concerns. Serogroup-level identification is critical for effective surveillance and outbreak control; however, it is often challenged by STEC’s genome plasticity and frequent recombination. In this study, we employed a standardized pangenomic pipeline integrating Roary ILP Bacterial Core Annotation Pipeline (RIBAP) and Panaroo to analyze 160 complete, high-quality STEC genomes representing eight major serogroups at a 95% sequence identity threshold. Candidate serogroup-specific markers were identified using gene presence/absence profiles from RIBAP and Panaroo. Our analysis revealed several high-confidence markers, including metabolic genes (dgcE, fcl_2, dmsA, hisC) and surface polysaccharide-related genes (capD, rfbX, wzzB). Comparative pangenomic evaluation showed that RIBAP predicted a larger pangenome size than Panaroo. Additionally, some genomes from the O104:H1, O145:H28, and O45:H2 serotypes clustered outside their expected clades, indicating sporadic serotype misplacements in phylogenetic reconstructions. Functional annotation suggested that most candidate markers are involved in critical processes such as glucose metabolism, lipopolysaccharide biosynthesis, and cell surface assembly. Notably, approximately 22.9% of the identified proteins were annotated as hypothetical. Overall, this study highlights the utility of pangenomic analysis for potential identification of clinically relevant STEC serogroups markers and phylogenetic interpretation. We also note that pangenome analysis could guide the development of more accurate diagnostic and surveillance tools.