Bernal Gambín, Luis Jesús

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Bernal Gambín, Luis Jesús

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Bernal Gambín, Luis Jesús

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Universidad de Murcia. Departamento de Medicina y Cirugía Animal

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Genetic diversity and phylogenetic relationships between Leishmania infantum from dogs, humans and wildlife in south-east Spain
(Wiley, 2019-08-05) Ortuño, María; Latrofa, María S.; Iborra Bendicho, Maria Asunción; Pérez Cutillas, Pedro; Bernal Gambín, Luis Jesús; Risueño Iranzo, José; Muñoz Hernández, Clara; Bernal, Ana; Sánchez López, Pedro F.; Segovia Hernández, Manuel; Annoscia, Giada; Maia, Carla; Cortes, Sofia; Campino, Lenea; Otranto, Domenico; Berriatua Fernández de Larrea, Eduardo; Sin departamento asociado
Leishmania infantum causes human and canine leishmaniosis. The parasite, transmitted by phlebotomine sand flies, infects species other than dogs and people, including wildlife, although their role as reservoirs of infection remains unknown for most species. Molecular typing of parasites to investigate genetic variability and evolutionary proximity can help understand transmission cycles and designing control strategies. We investigated Leishmania DNA variability in kinetoplast (kDNA) and internal transcribed spacer 2 (ITS2) sequences in asymptomatically infected wildlife (n = 58) and symptomatically and asymptomatically infected humans (n = 38) and dogs (n = 15) from south-east Spain, using single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and in silico restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) analyses. All ITS2 sequences (n = 76) displayed a 99%–100% nucleotide identity with a L. infantum reference sequence, except one with a 98% identity to a reference Leishmania panamensis sequence, from an Ecuadorian patient. No heterogeneity was recorded in the 73 L. infantum ITS2 sequences except for one SNP in a human parasite sequence. In contrast, kDNA analysis of 44 L. infantum sequences revealed 11 SNP genotypes (nucleotide variability up to 4.3%) and four RFLP genotypes including B, F and newly described S and T genotypes. Genotype frequency was significantly greater in symptomatic compared to asymptomatic individuals. Both methods similarly grouped parasites as predominantly or exclusively found in humans, in dogs, in wildlife or in all three of them. Accordingly, the phylogenetic analysis of kDNA sequences revealed three main clusters, two as a paraphyletic human parasites clade and a third including dogs, people and wildlife parasites. Results suggest that Leishmania infantum genetics is complex even in small geographical areas and that, probably, several independent transmission cycles take place simultaneously including some connecting animals and humans. Investigating these transmission networks may be useful in understanding the transmission dynamics, infection risk and therefore in planning L. infantum control strategies.
Open Access
Interdisciplinary collaboration between Veterinary and Communication students to promote communication skills: a qualitative pilot study
(Frontiers Media, 2020-11-24) Tvarijonaviciute, Asta; Roca Marín, Delfina; Escribano Tortosa, Damián; Franco Martínez, Lorena; Bernal Gambín, Luis Jesús; Cerón Madrigal, José Joaquín; Rojo; Martínez Subiela, Silvia; Comunicación; Facultades de la UMU::Comunicación y Documentación
Interdisciplinary collaborations are increasingly gaining popularity, as are active in higher education and innovative learning strategies. However, relatively little research has been performed related to interdisciplinary learning methodologies in higher education. In the present work, a pilot activity between communication and veterinary students was performed, consisting in performance of mock interviews at a professional television studio. Besides some drawbacks such as low participation rates by veterinary students, the activity was associated with a number of benefits, including enhanced acquirement of communication skills, greater topic-related knowledge assimilation, and reinforced practical application of the theoretical concepts.
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Spatial distribution of human asymptomatic Leishmania infantum infection in southeast Spain: a study of environmental, demographic and social risk factors
(Elsevier, 2015-03-20) Pérez Cutillas, Pedro; Goyena Salgado, Elena; Chitimia Dobler, Lidia; Rúa Tarín, Pilar de la; Bernal Gambín, Luis Jesús; Fisa, Roser; Riera, Cristina Ferri; Iborra Bendicho, Maria Asunción; Murcia, Laura; Segovia Hernández, Manuel; Berriatua Fernández de Larrea, Eduardo; Anatomía y Anatomía Patológica Comparada; Facultades de la UMU::Facultad de Veterinaria
Recent PCR studies indicate that asymptomatic L. infantum infection is common in people in southern Europe. Understanding its spatial distribution is a requisite to evaluate the public health implications and to design disease control schemes. We investigated infection in blood samples from 657 donors in southeast Spain using PCR and antibody ELISA. They came from 19 blood centers and were interviewed about their residence, occupation, dog ownership and Leishmaniosis awareness. The percentage of PCR and ELISA positives were 8% (49/618) and 2% (13/657). Donor's residences were spatially clustered around blood donning centers and PCR prevalence was 18% in rural municipalities with 20–1330 inhabitants, 12% in those with 1467–5088 inhabitants and 3% in larger communities, and was associated with dog ownership (p < 0.05). Further analysis of data from rural donors indicated that PCR status was strongly related to the climate, altitude and soil type in the donor's residence area and not to other demographic or sociologic variables. Mixed logistic regression analysis predicted PCR prevalence to be greatest in the 200–300 m altitude range with a mean spring–summer (time of highest vector activity) temperature of 18.4–19.0 °C. A temperature and altitude risk map was generated that will provide the basis for elaborating evidence-based vector surveillance studies.
Open Access
Evaluation of the effect of a live interview in journalism students on salivary stress biomarkers and conventional stress scales
(Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute, 2022-02-09) Roca Marín, Delfina; Escribano Tortosa, Damián; Franco Martínez, Lorena; Contreras Aguilar, María Dolores; Bernal Gambín, Luis Jesús; Cerón Madrigal, José Joaquín; Rojo Villada, Pedro Antonio; Martínez Subiela, Silvia; Tvarijonaviciute, Asta; Comunicación; Facultades de la UMU::Comunicación y Documentación
A career in journalism can be very stressful, as journalists frequently have to deal with uncontrolled situations such as conducting live interviews. Therefore, training is essential during their career, both for the development of communication skills and for the improvement of the real and effective capacity to perform the tasks of their professional activity. The aim of this study was to assess the levels of stress in students before and after a practical training in a professional television set using subjective (State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) and Likert scale) and objective (salivary cortisol and alpha-amylase) methods. The results indicate that a live interview produces stress in the students as revealed by increased concentrations of cortisol and alpha amylase in saliva. Furthermore, students with lower initial concentrations of these biomarkers obtained better grades in evaluation, suggesting that greater control of anticipatory stress could be associated with a better activity performance.
Open Access
Measurement of urea and creatinine in saliva of dogs: a pilot study
( BioMed Central , 2018-07-20) Tvarijonaviciute, Asta; Pardo Marín, Luis; Tecles Vicente, Fernando; Carrillo Sánchez, J. D.; García Martínez, Juan Diego; Bernal Gambín, Luis Jesús; Pastor, Josep; Cerón Madrigal, José Joaquín; Martínez Subiela, Silvia; Medicina y Cirugía Animal
Background: Urea and creatinine in saliva have been reported to be possible markers of chronic kidney disease (CKD) in humans. The aim of this study was to assess if urea and creatinine could be measured in canine saliva, and to evaluate their possible changes in situations of CKD. Results: The spectrophotometric assays for urea and creatinine measurements in saliva of dogs showed intra- and inter-assay imprecision lower than 12% and coefficients of correlation close to 1 in linearity under dilution tests. Healthy dogs showed median salivary concentrations of urea of 39.6 mg/dL and creatinine of 0.30 mg/dL, whereas dogs with CKD showed median salivary urea of 270.1 mg/dL and creatinine of 1.86 mg/dL. Positive high correlations were found between saliva and serum activities of the two analytes (urea, r = 0.909; P < 0.001; creatinine, r = 0.819; P < 0.001). Conclusions: Urea and creatinine concentrations can be measured in canine saliva with commercially available spectrophotometric assays. Both analytes showed higher values in saliva of dogs with CKD compared with healthy dogs and their values were highly correlated with those in serum in our study conditions.
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Longitudinal monitoring of anti-saliva antibodies as markers of repellent efficacy against Phlebotomus perniciosus and Phlebotomus papatasi in dogs
(Wiley, 2019-11-18) Risueño Iranzo, José; Spitzová, T.; Bernal Gambín, Luis Jesús; Muñoz Hernández, Clara; López, M. C.; Thomas, M. C.; Volf, P.; Infante, J. J.; Berriatua Fernández de Larrea, Eduardo; Sin departamento asociado
A 2-year longitudinal study of enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) antibodies against Phlebotomus perniciosus and Phlebotomus papatasi (Diptera: Psychodidae) sandfly saliva was performed in 32 Beagle dogs treated preventively with an imidacloprid–permethrin topical insecticide in an endemic area in Spain. Dogs were grouped into three sandfly exposure groups according to the time of inclusion in the study. Assays analysed immunoglobulin G (IgG) against salivary gland homogenates (SGH) of both species and recombinant P. papatasi rSP32 and P. perniciosus rSP03B proteins in serum. The dogs were participating in a Leishmania infantum (Kinetoplastida: Trypanosomatidae) vaccine trial and were experimentally infected with the parasite in the second year. No dog acquired natural L. infantum infections during the first year, but most developed anti-saliva antibodies, and median log-transformed optical densities (LODs) were seasonal, mimicking those of local sandflies. This indicates that the repellent efficacy of the insecticide used is below 100%. Multi-level modelling of LODs revealed variability among dogs, autocorrelation and differences according to the salivary antigen and the dog's age. However, dog seroprevalence, estimated using pre-exposure LODs as cut-offs, was relatively low. This, and the fact that dogs did not become naturally infected with L. infantum, would support the efficacy and usefulness of this imidacloprid–permethrin topical insecticide in canine leishmaniasis control.
Open Access
Understanding Phlebotomus perniciosus abundance in south-east Spain: assessing the role of environmental and anthropic factors
(BioMed Central, 2017-04-19) Risueño Iranzo, José; Muñoz Hernández, Clara; Pérez Cutillas, Pedro; Goyena Salgado, Elena; Ortuño, María; Bernal Gambín, Luis Jesús; Ortiz Sánchez, Juana María; Alten, Bulent; Berriatua Fernández de Larrea, Eduardo; Gonzálvez Juan, Moisés; Anatomía y Anatomía Patológica Comparadas
Background: Leishmaniosis is associated with Phlebotomus sand fly vector density, but our knowledge of the environmental framework that regulates highly overdispersed vector abundance distributions is limited. We used a standardized sampling procedure in the bioclimatically diverse Murcia Region in Spain and multilevel regressionmodels for count data to estimate P. perniciosus abundance in relation to environmental and anthropic factors. Methods: Twenty-five dog and sheep premises were sampled for sand flies using adhesive and light-attraction traps, from late May to early October 2015. Temperature, relative humidity and other animal- and premise-related data recorded on site and other environmental data were extracted from digital databases using a geographical information system. The relationship between sand fly abundance and explanatory variables was analysed using binomial regression models. Results: The total number of sand flies captured, mostly with light-attraction traps, was 3,644 specimens, including 80% P. perniciosus, the main L. infantum vector in Spain. Abundance varied between and within zones and was positively associated with increasing altitude from 0 to 900 m above sea level, except from 500 to 700 m where it was low. Populations peaked in July and especially during a 3-day heat wave when relative humidity and wind speed plummeted. Regression models indicated that climate and not land use or soil characteristics have the greatest impact on this species density on a large geographical scale. In contrast, micro-environmental factors such as animal building characteristics and husbandry practices affect sand fly population size on a smaller scale. Conclusions: A standardised sampling procedure and statistical analysis for highly overdispersed distributions allow reliable estimation of P. perniciosus abundance and identification of environmental drivers. While climatic variables have the greatest impact at macro-environmental scale, anthropic factors may be determinant at a microgeographical scale. These finding may be used to elaborate predictive distribution maps useful for vector and pathogen control programs.