Begoña Acosta

University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria | ULPGC · Instituto Universitario de Sanidad Animal y Seguridad Alimentaria (IUSA)

Salmonella spp. are known pathogens in fish, with their presence potentially resulting from the contamination of the aquatic environment or improper handling. Accurate bacterial identification is crucial across various fields, including medicine, microbiology, and the food industry, and thus a range of techniques are available for this purpose. In...

Cetaceans, which are crucial in marine ecosystems, act as sentinels for ecosystem and human–environmental health. However, emerging fungal infections, particularly by Candida spp., pose a growing concern in these marine mammals. This review consolidates current knowledge on the prevalence, clinical manifestations, species distribution, and antifung...

Over 60% of emerging infectious diseases in humans are zoonotic, often originating from wild animals. This long-standing ecological phenomenon has accelerated due to human-induced environmental changes. Recent data show a significant increase in fungal infections, with 6.5 million cases annually leading to 3.7 million deaths, indicating their growi...

Cetaceans, which are integral to marine ecosystems, face escalating anthropogenic threats, including climate change and pollution, positioning them as critical sentinel species for ocean and human health. This review explores the neglected realm of non-Candida yeasts in cetaceans, addressing the gaps in the understanding of their prevalence, pathog...

Free-living cats usually live in colonies in urban areas, especially close to parks and neighbourhoods where people feed them without any sanitary control. This can pose a human, animal and environmental health concern due to the close contact between uncontrolled colonies, the population and other domestic and/or wild animals. Thus, this study aim...

Simple Summary The aim of this study was to investigate the invasive species Lampropeltis californiae (California kingsnake) as a reservoir of Salmonella and its ability to spread different clones of the bacterium with zoonotic potential into the environment, as well as study its antimicrobial resistance patterns in Gran Canaria (Spain). The main r...

Yersiniosis, caused by the fish pathogen Yersinia ruckeri , is a serious bacterial septicaemia affecting mainly salmonids worldwide. The acute infection may result in high mortality without apparent external disease signs, while the chronic one causes moderate to considerable mortality. Survivors of yersiniosis outbreaks become carriers. Y. ruckeri...

In collaboration with the American College of Veterinary Pathologists.

Stray cat populations can represent a significant threat of the transmission of zoonotic diseases such as salmonellosis. The objective of this study was to assess Salmonella carriage by free-living cats in Gran Canaria island and the Salmonella serovars involved, in order to inform to those responsible for the colonies about the possible risk facto...

On intensive fish farms, 10% of the population dies exclusively from pathogens, and Photobacterium damselae subsp. Piscicida (Ph. damselae subsp. Piscicida), the bacteria causing pasteurellosis in marine aquaculture, is one of the major pathogens involved. The objective of this study was to obtain new probiotic strains against pasteurellosis in ord...

Intensive fish farms are often affected by different organisms that produce infectious diseases. To control this situation, antibiotics have been used with negative repercussions for the environment and health. As an alternative to this, probiotics are used that show more effective and respectful results with the environment. The aim of this projec...

Previous studies have evaluated the action of gentamicin against Malassezia pachydermatis. The aim of this study was to evaluate in vitro susceptibility of M. pachydermatis to the aminoglycosides— gentamicin, tobramycin, netilmicin and framycetin. The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of gentamicin was determined following methods M27-A3 micro...

Background: The importance of pigeons as reservoirs and carriers of Cryptococcus neoformans and other species of this genus is well-known; however, less is known about their role as reservoirs and carriers of other yeasts that impact public health. Aims: The present study was performed on Gran Canaria Island to define yeasts other than Cryptococ...

Otitis caused by Malassezia pachydermatis is generally a common and recurrent disease in canine clinical pathology. The increased incidence of fungal resistant to antifungal in both humans and pets is a cause for concern and is associated with the indiscriminate use of antifungals. Finding the most effective disinfectants and antifungals has become...

Background: Two studies have observed that growth media containing gentamicin can inhibit the growth of the yeast organism Malassezia pachydermatis. The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of this bactericidal antibiotic for this organism has not been previously determined. Objective: To evaluate the susceptibility of M. pachydermatis isolate...

This study evaluated the effect of skimmed milk as a cryoprotectant for the maintenance and long-term preservation of 70 Malassezia pachydermatis strains. An initial suspension of each strain was prepared in sterile distilled water with skimmed milk. The most effective method was cryopreservation that ensured 100% viability for 2 years.

The aim of this study was to look for new potential probiotic bacterial strains for marine aquaculture. Only one of 195 isolates from the gut of cultured fish including sea bass Dicentrarchus labrax, gilthead sea bream Sparus aurata, meagre Argyrosomus regius and sole Solea solea showed a strong inhibitory effect against Vibrio anguillarum.This iso...

Streptococcus iniae is a major fish pathogen producing invasive infections that result in economic losses in aquaculture. Gentamicin protection assays were used to investigate the ability of different S. iniae strains to invade and adhere to fibroblastic‐like fish cell line SAF‐1. All strains tested were detected intracellularly using both techniqu...

In this study we evaluated the effect of the probiotic Vagococcus fluvialis on the cellular immune unspecific system of two different fish species of great interest in aquaculture such as gilthead sea bream (Sparus aurata) and European sea bass (Dicentrarchus labrax). Leucocytes from head kidney of the two fish species were extracted and concentrat...

Caseous lymphadenitis is an infectious and contagious disease caused by Corynebacterium pseudotuberculosis, with a worldwide distribution and high prevalence in small ruminant populations. This disease causes significant economic losses in small ruminants through reduced meat, wool, and milk production. C. pseudotuberculosis can also affect horses,...

Columba livia is an important reservoir and carrier of Cryptococcus neoformans, Cryptococcus uniguttulatus, Cryptococcus laurentii and Cryptococcus albidus. Upper digestive tract of this species is also known as a habitat for Cryptococcus neoformans. Given the increasing clinical interest of this microorganism, 331 swabs from crop and 174 dropping...

In the last 25 years, the cases of human and animal cryptococcosis have increased significantly. This is mostly due to the improvement in the survival of immunocompromised patients. The disease is frequently related to the exposure of this type of patients to avian droppings. Among birds, pigeon, Columba livia, is undoubtedly the most important res...

En los últimos 25 años, los casos de criptococosis humana y animal han aumentado considerablemente, en gran medida debido a la supervivencia de enfermos con alteraciones en el sistema inmunológico. En numerosas situaciones, la enfermedad se ha relacionado con la exposición de los pacientes a excreciones de aves. De ellas, la paloma urbana -Columba...

A virulent strain of Photobacterium damselae subsp. piscicida (Pdp) was grown without (C form) or with (C+ form) glucose supplementation, the latter to enhance capsule formation. Both forms were resistant to killing by normal serum of seabream, red porgy and seabass. However, the C form was killed by immune serum of all three fish species while the...

Upper digestive tract of the pigeon (Columba livia) is well known as a reservoir for different species of Cryptococcus, but lower portions are not so frequently studied. In the present study, we tested on selective media a total of 331 pigeon cloacal swabs; Cryptococcus spp. were recovered from 26 (7.85%). Cryptococcus uniguttulatus was isolated fr...

Virulence factors (eae gene, haemolytic capacity, fimbriae, resistance to the bactericidal effect of serum, siderophore production) and pathogenicity for gilthead seabream, Sparus aurata L., were analysed for 23 Hafnia alvei strains. None of the strains used in LD50 studies were lethal for seabream at doses as high as >10(8) cfu mL(-1). In chronic...

Two adult ostriches developed anorexia, prostration, and severe hemorrhagic diarrhea, dying 24 hr after the onset of clinical signs. On postmortem examination, the cecal mucosa showed locally extensive areas of hemorrhages and fibrino-necrotic typhlitis with a white-yellowish material covering the mucosal surface. Multiple serosal petequial hemorrh...

Strains of Hafnia alvei caused mortalities in brown trout, Salmo trutta L., following intraperitoneal injection with LD50 values ranging between 1.3 × 104 and 2.5 × 107 bacteria fish−−1. These values are considered to represent a high to moderate degree of virulence. Virulent strains were isolated from non-fish sources. Fish surviving the LD50 valu...

Rodriguez, J.L., Acosta, B., Navarro, R. and Gutierrez, C. 2000. Rhodococcus equi infection in goat: Apropos of two cases. J. Appl. Anim. Res., 18:149?151. Two cases of Rhodococcus equi infection in Spanish goats have been described. Clinical signs were chronic weight loss, agalactia, fever, prone position and apparent abdominal pain in one of them...

Ascotricha canariensis sp. nov. (Xylariaceae, Ascomycetes) isolated from soil of the Canary Islands is described and illustrated. It belongs to the group of Ascotricha species with cylindrical asci and is differentiated from the other species by bearing ascomata with short, single or once-branched setae and by the presumed absence of an anamorph.

Ascotricha canariensis sp. nov. (Xylariaceae, Ascomycetes) isolated from soil of the Canary Islands is described and illustrated. It belongs to the group of Ascotricha species with cylindrical asci and is differentiated from the other species by bearing ascomata with short, single or once-branched setae and by the presumed absence of an anamorph.

We describe a case of canine crytococcosis, the clinical symptoms were: feverish syndrome, vomiting and diarrhoeas and bilateral lymphadenitis in superficial lymph nodes. Microbiology and histopathology study of popliteal lymph node biopsy demonstrated the presence of round yeasts of some 3 microm of diameter, which we identified as Cryptococcus ne...

In the present work Hafnia alvei was isolated from laying hens displaying a reduction in egg production, loss of appetite, opisthotonus, and death. Multifocal necrotizing hepatitis and splenitis were the most prominent lesions. The organism was identified microbiologically. Laying hens were experimentally inoculated by the oral and intraperitoneal...

Radial immunodiffusion was used to determine immunoglobulin (Ig)-G concentrations in 16 mammary secretions from uninfected udder halves and in 10-14 secretions from halves subclinically infected with coagulase-negative staphylococci in goats throughout lactation. IgG concentrations in samples from uninfected halves decreased rapidly during the firs...

ln this report we describe the first epizootic pasteurellosis in gilthcad seabream cultured in a fish farm located in South Gran Canaria (Spain), beginning in Januaiy 1996. Isolates from moribund fish conformed to Pasteurella piscicida biochemically and serologically. The measures which were applied to control the disease and the epidemiological hy...

Fifteen two- to three-week-old kids, fed artificially with goats' milk from a dairy, were found to have polyarthritis. The most affected joints were the carpals, either unilaterally or bilaterally, and in some cases the tarsal joints. Mycoplasma putrefaciens was isolated from the joints which showed an acute fibrinopurulent arthritis. No clinical m...