Region Of Cuba Research Articles

Climatic variation along the distributional range in Cuban Anolis lizards: Species and ecomorphs under future scenarios of climate change

Geographical ranges and physiological tolerances of species are correlated, and it can be expected that widespread species encounter higher climatic variation across their distributions than restricted species. Widespread species should consequently be more tolerant to extreme or variable weather conditions, and may have the ability to better conserve their current geographical ranges under future climate change scenarios. We tested this hypothesis by studying the relationship between the climatic variation experienced by restricted and widespread Anolis lizards from different ecomorphs and regions of Cuba and the distributional shifts induced by climate change. We selected seven bioclimatic variables from WorldClim to characterize the realized climatic niche of 12 Cuban anoles, where the coefficients of variation of each variable were taken as a measure of climatic variation. We used niche modeling to predict changes in suitable habitats under future climatic scenarios. We found that species from Eastern Cuba occupy areas with the highest climatic variation, likely related to the topography of the region. Crown giant anoles experienced habitats with lower climatic variation in comparison with species from other ecomorphs, which together with their tree canopy habitat and large body size may represent a disadvantage to face changing climates. All species will experience a severe decrease in their habitat suitability, with the Western species being predicted to lose a higher proportion of suitable habitat. Combining niche modeling with physiological data would better predict the effects of climate change on Cuban lizards and might allow taking management actions for species and habitats to mitigate the possible negative impacts of this phenomenon.

Prevalence of Alzheimer′s disease in rural and urban areas in Cuba and factors influencing on its occurrence: epidemiological cross-sectional protocol

IntroductionAccording to the World Alzheimer’s Report 2019, around 50 million people suffer from dementia, worldwide. Observational analysis revealed the existence of particular factors associated with the onset and progression of...

Hepatitis E virus in Cuba: A cross-sectional serological and virological study in pigs and people occupationally exposed to pigs.

Surveillance of hepatitis E virus (HEV) in risk groups is an important strategy to monitor its circulation pattern and to timely detect changes thereof. The aims of this cross-sectional study were to estimate the prevalence of HEV infections in pigs and humans from different regions of the country, to identify risk factors for increasing anti-HEV IgG prevalence and to characterize HEV strains. The presence of anti-HEV antibodies was assessed by commercial ELISA in serum samples from the general population, farm and slaughterhouse employees, as well as pigs sampled in the three regions of Cuba from February to September 2016. Overall, individuals with occupational exposure to swine or swine products (70/248, 28.2%) were 4 times more likely to be seropositive compared to the general population (25/285, 8.7%; OR: 4.18; p< .001). Within the risk group, risk factors included age, number of years working in a professional activity with direct exposure to swine, geographic region and distance between residence and closest professional swine setting, while wearing gloves had a protective effect. Prevalence of total anti-HEV antibodies in swine was 88.2% (165/187) and HEV RNA was detected by real-time RT-PCR in 9.2% (16/173) swine stools. All HEV strains sequenced clustered within genotype 3. Some strains clearly belonged to subtype 3a, while another group of strains was related with subtypes 3b and 3k but partial HEV sequences did not allow unequivocal subtype assignment. These findings suggest that the high HEV exposure in Cuban individuals with swine-related occupations could be due to enzootic HEV in certain regions, direct contact with infectious animals or their products as well as environmental contamination.

Comparison between SARIMA and Holt\u2013Winters models for forecasting monthly streamflow in the western region of Cuba

The present study aims to compare SARIMA and Holt–Winters model forecasts of mean monthly flow at the V Aniversario basin, western Cuba. Model selection and model assessment are carried out with a rolling cross-validation scheme using mean monthly flow observations from the period 1971–1990. Model performance is analyzed in one- and two-year forecast lead times, and comparisons are made based on mean squared error, root mean squared error, mean absolute error and the Nash–Sutcliffe efficiency; all these statistics are computed from observed and simulated time series at the outlet of the basin. The major findings show that Holt–Winters models had better performance in reproducing the mean series seasonality when the training observations were insufficient, while for longer training subsets, both models were equally competitive in forecasting one year ahead. SARIMA models were found to be more reliable for longer lead-time forecasts, and their limitations after being trained on short observation periods are due to overfitting problems.Article HighlightsComparison based on rolling cross-validation revealed the models forecasts sensibility to available observations amount.HW and SARIMA models perform better when limited observations or long-view forecasting, respectively, otherwise they do similar.HW models were superior modeling less variable monthly flows while SARIMA models better forecast the highly variable periods.

Diet Segregation between Sexes by a Gregarious Greater Antillean Bat, Phyllonycteris poeyi (Chiroptera: Phyllostomidae)

Phyllonycteris poeyi is endemic to Cuba and Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles, and it is among the most common and widespread bats of the Cuban archipelago. This species is an obligate cave dweller and forms the largest aggregations of bats found in Cuban caves; and could be considered a hot cave specialist. This high gregariousness could increase intraspecific competition of food resources. In this study, we examined the diet of P. poeyi at Cueva de los Majaes located in Baconao Biosphere Reserve in the southeastern region of Cuba. We hypothesized sexual diet variation as a way to reduce intraspecific competition. We estimated the percentage volume and frequency of occurrence of different food categories consumed by both sexes, using faecal analysis. Throughout the year, the diet of P. poeyi is a combination of fruits, pollen and insects; fruits of at least 17 plant species and flowers of five species are used by P. poeyi and the most frequent items were pollen of Roystonea regia and fruits of Piper aduncum and Piper umbellata. Insects occurred in the faeces of both sexes and their frequency and volume were low and did not differ between sexes. Although both sexes fed on similar food categories, we found significant variation in diet composition between sexes. Throughout the year, the majority of females mainly consumed fruits while males had preference for floral resources. We did not find differences in the sexes-reproductive season interaction, therefore the differences could not be attributed to changes associated to reproduction energetics. The average volume of fruits and pollen consumed by females were independent of the reproductive season, only significant differences were found in the consumption of insects, being the highest during the reproductive season. We conclude that this dietary partitioning behaviour between sexes of P. poeyi may be a strategy to maintain a high year-round gregariousness that could be critical to the viability of their large colonies in Cuban caves.

High Prevalence of CTX-M Type Extended-Spectrum Beta-Lactamase Genes and Detection of NDM-1 Carbapenemase Gene in Extraintestinal Pathogenic Escherichia coli in Cuba.

Increase of extraintestinal pathogenic Escherichia coli (ExPEC) showing resistance to beta-lactams is a major public health concern. This study was conducted as a first molecular epidemiological study on ExPEC in Cuba, regarding prevalence of extended-spectrum beta-lactamases (ESBLs) and carbapenemase genes. A total of 306 ExPEC isolates collected in medical institutions in 16 regions in Cuba (2014–2018) were analyzed for their genotypes and presence of genes encoding ESBL, carbapenemase, plasmid-mediated quinolone resistance (PMQR) determinants by PCR and sequencing. The most common phylogenetic group of ExPEC was B2 (49%), followed by D (23%), A (21%), and B1 (7%). Among ESBL genes detected, blaCTX-M was the most common and detected in 61% of ExPEC, with blaCTX-M-15 being dominant and distributed to all the phylogenetic groups. NDM-1 type carbapenemase gene was identified in two isolates of phylogenetic group B1-ST448. Phylogenetic group B2 ExPEC belonged to mostly ST131 (or its single-locus variant) with O25b allele, harboring blaCTX-M-27, and included an isolate of emerging type ST1193. aac (6’)-Ib-cr was the most prevalent PMQR gene (40.5%), being present in 54.5% of CTX-M-positive isolates. These results indicated high prevalence of CTX-M genes and the emergence of NDM-1 gene among recent ExPEC in Cuba, depicting an alarming situation.

A new species ofClinopodium(Lamiaceae) from E Cuba

Abstract: Clinopodium rankiniae, a new species from the SE region of Cuba, is described and illustrated. It appears to be closely related to the other endemic species of Cuba and Hispaniola (C. alpestre, C. banaoense, C. bucheri and C. ekmanianum), which grow isolated in mountainous ecosystems. It differs primarily by the disposition of the leaves (mostly on short, lateral brachyblasts), the colour of the corolla (white, with a very light purple tinge) and the hirsute to tomentose calyx. Citation: Mendez Santos I. E. & Rifa Tellez J. C. 2017: A new species of Clinopodium (Lamiaceae) from E Cuba [Novitiae florae cubensis No. 52]. — Willdenowia 47: 173–177. doi: https://doi.org/10.3372/wi.47.47209 Version of record first published online on 1 September 2017 ahead of inclusion in August 2017 issue.

Wild birds as pets in the central region of Cuba: Elements for a mitigation strategy

The island of Cuba has the greatest diversity of birds in the Caribbean, and at the same time, a large number of endangered species. Illegal trade is one of major threats in Neotropical islands, because birds are captured for domestic and international illegal market. This study was undertaken with the aim to characterize the domestic market, in which captive wild birds are used as pets in the central region of Cuba. For this, a census and random survey to identify, and describe wild bird richness and abundance in 10 localities of urban and rural environments, was undertaken from August to November 2014, and from June to October 2015. Our results detected that at least 24 species and 973 individuals from six orders and 11 families were captive. The best represented order was Passeriformes (13 species), followed by Accipitriformes (four species). The best-represented families were Thraupidae (3.3 ± 0.33) and Cardinalidae (2.6 ± 0.45). Besides, the localities of Patria (17), Moron (13) and Bolivia (13) in the urban area had the highest richness. The richness of residents (5.80 ± 0.68) was higher than the endemics (1.70 ± 0.30) and migrants (2.70 ± 0.52), while the richness of endemics (2.5 ± 0.29) and residents (7.75 ± 0.63) was higher in urban areas. There were more captive species with Least Concern category (6.20 ± 1.02), but the Endangered category predominated in rural areas (12.5 %). The most common species were Passerina cyanea , Melopyrrha nigra , Tiaris olivaceus and Passerina ciris. A total of 46% of the species were classified with a tendency to decrease, 33.3 % to increase and 20.8 % to stability. The abundance of species with a tendency to decrease (63.4 ± 22.13) was higher than those that tend to stability (14.8 ± 9.9). The actual traffic will lead to species extinction, mainly parrots and raptors, threatening several ecological services. Illegal trade should be addressed as an environmental, economic and social problem. Strategy for controlling this unsustainable trade was proposed.

Aves silvestres como mascotas en la región central de Cuba: Elementos para una estrategia de mitigación

The island of Cuba has the greatest diversity of birds in the Caribbean, and at the same time, a large number of endangered species. Illegal trade is one of major threats in Neotropical islands, because birds are captured for domestic and international illegal market. This study was undertaken with the aim to characterize the domestic market, in which captive wild birds are used as pets in the central region of Cuba. For this, a census and random survey to identify, and describe wild bird richness and abundance in 10 localities of urban and rural environments, was undertaken from August to November 2014, and from June to October 2015. Our results detected that at least 24 species and 973 individuals from six orders and 11 families were captive. The best represented order was Passeriformes (13 species), followed by Accipitriformes (four species). The best-represented families were Thraupidae (3.3 ± 0.33) and Cardinalidae (2.6 ± 0.45). Besides, the localities of Patria (17), Morón (13) and Bolivia (13) in the urban area had the highest richness. The richness of residents (5.80 ± 0.68) was higher than the endemics (1.70 ± 0.30) and migrants (2.70 ± 0.52), while the richness of endemics (2.5 ± 0.29) and residents (7.75 ± 0.63) was higher in urban areas. There were more captive species with Least Concern category (6.20 ± 1.02), but the Endangered category predominated in rural areas (12.5 %). The most common species were Passerina cyanea, Melopyrrha nigra, Tiaris olivaceus and Passerina ciris. A total of 46 % of the species were classified with a tendency to decrease, 33.3 % to increase and 20.8 % to stability. The abundance of species with a tendency to decrease (63.4 ± 22.13) was higher than those that tend to stability (14.8 ± 9.9). The actual traffic will lead to species extinction, mainly parrots and raptors, threatening several ecological services. Illegal trade should be addressed as an environmental, economic and social problem. Strategy for controlling this unsustainable trade was proposed.

Caracterización de las poblaciones de caballitos de mar en diferentes zonas de la costa norte de las regiones occidental y central de Cuba

Los caballitos de mar son peces ornamentales de gran interés para las exhibiciones en el Acuario Nacional de Cuba, por lo que se propuso valorar el estado actual de las poblaciones naturales de las especies Hippocampus reidi (Ginsburg, 1933) e Hippocampus erectus (Perry, 1810) en diferentes zonas de la costa norte de las regiones occidental y central de la isla. Se llevaron a cabo censos visuales mediante buceo libre, utilizando el método de transectos lineales, entre marzo del 2007 y marzo del 2010. Para la comparación de medias se aplicaron las pruebas de Kruskal Wallis y U de Mann-Whitney. La mayor densidad se encontró en las estructuras artificiales de las estaciones de Barracuda y Caleta, probablemente debido a la gran cantidad de sitios de anclaje presentes y la eutrofización. No se reportaron diferencias en esta variable entre las épocas de lluvia y seca para ninguna de las dos especies. H. reidi fue la especie más abundante y la de mayor distribución. Aunque la densidad de individuos de hipocampos suele ser baja, es posible que la marcada escasez de ejemplares de H. erectus en este caso se deba al método de muestreo (profundidad máxima de 2 metros). Los machos de ambas especies fueron mayores que las hembras. H. reidi se reprodujo todo el año y la proporción sexual registrada fue muy similar a la proporción 1:1, mientras que en H. erectus esta variable fue diferente a la esperada. Las macroalgas del género Caulerpa fueron los sustratos más utilizados por ambas especies.

Assessment of site for marine fish farming in Boca Ambuila, south central region of Cuba

Assessment of marine sites is a priority task in the inventory of potential marine areas for fishfarming, which is important in terms of investment costs/operation and profitability derived from the growth andsurvival of the species to cultivate. In general, the oceanographic characteristics of the site determine the efficiency and technical, operational and economic feasibility of the crop. The potential of open coastal waters adjacentto the town of Boca Ambuila, Cienfuegos, south central region of Cuba was assessed. This was done on the basisof previous studies (2008), oceanographic surveys during dry and in rainy season (April to September 2011),a diurnal cycle of temperature, oxygen and measurement of currents in August 2011. Although average annualtemperature in the region is 27.6 to 28.8ºC, mean values of 27.5°C were recorded in April/2011 to 30.9°C in August/2011, and extreme values of dissolved oxygen of 6.9 mg and 4.9 mg L-1 respectively in April and September2011. The current site reported 10 to 15 cm s-1, but in August 2011 lower values were recorded, with an averageof 5.5 cm s-1. Salinity, pH, turbidity, chemical demand (COD) and biological (BOD5) oxygen, nutrients and otherhydro-meteorological variables, showed permissible ranges for culturing native fish. Based on the above, the sitemeets the basic environmental requirements for marine fish farming in floating cages. Plus, in the coastal landarea there is an aquaculture facility and suitable conditions for breeding, spawning and larval marine fish farmingin a controlled environment.

DISTURBANCES CAUSED BY FLOODS IN THREE PHYSICAL PROPERTIES OF A VERTISOL SOIL IN THE EAST REGION OF CUBA, CULTIVATED WITH SUGARCANE (Saccharum spp.)

In Cuba the 40,3 % of cultivated lands is located in poorly drained soils, with tendency to increase, compounded by the effects of current climate change, which in this region of Cuba are becoming with more frecuency in extreme climatic events such as droughts and floods. The researh was developed with the objective of determing the influence of flooding in a Vertisol soil in three physical properties in the Cauto River Valley, of the Granma province. It was considered the presence or absence of flooding as the principal factor on large plots, each one divided into 30 plots of 48 m2, to facilitate take replicate samples. Two samplings, one at the beginning of the experiement and the other five months later, when the soil flooded concluded. The average of the bulk density, total porosity and aeration porosity values with their standard errors were plotted by bars, while statistically discriminated with the use of the Student t test. It is concluded that prolongated water excess in the soil increased bulk density and makes it significally decreases the total aeration and porosity, which affects physical fertility of these soils and a decrease of the sugarcane yield, the principal crop in Cuba yet.

Anatomía comparada de plantas de Dioscorea alata L. clon Caraqueño cultivadas en tres ambientes de crecimiento in vitro

La conservación in vitro de Dioscorea alata L. clon Caraqueño es fundamental para garantizar la propagación y distribución de material de plantación sano a los productores, y disponer de un banco in vitro de un clon de gran valor agronómico y comercial en la región oriental de Cuba. Con el fin de evaluar las modificaciones anatómicas que se producen en plantas de ñame en tres condiciones de cultivo in vitro: plantas conservadas por métodos de mínimo crecimiento, plantas regeneradas y plantas en fase de multiplicación en el medio MS 75 %, se realizó un análisis de la anatomía foliar y caulinar a partir de cortes transversales de la lámina foliar y del tallo, y cortes longitudinales y transversales de microtubérculos formados durante el proceso de conservación. Las hojas de las plantas conservadas mostraron menor espesor del mesófilo y la epidermis y el área de los haces conductores del tallo también fue menor, debido al proceso de stress durante la conservación in vitro. Sin embargo, durante la recuperación del material conservado a través de la regeneración y la multiplicación in vitro se restablecieron de manera normal estos parámetros. También se evidenció que los microtubérculos formados en la conservación in vitro, poseen parénquima amilífero con abundantes gránulos de almidón, capa delgada de parénquima cortical, y haces conductores poco desarrollados, todo lo cual indica la presencia de actividad meristemática.Palabras clave: caracterización anatómica, conservación in vitro, microtubérculos, ñame, segmentos nodales

The role of social learning in fostering farmers’ pro-environmental values and intentions

In interventions to achieve sustainability, social learning plays a prominent and growing role as a framework strategy in changing behaviors and intentions. Many interventions have been designed to achieve better performances in natural resource management, but the literature studying the effects on values and intentions is scarce. This paper studies the effects of the Local Agrarian Innovative Programme, which aims to promote sustainability, in two regions of Cuba. It is a long-term, on-going intervention in which learning, cooperation and social interactions play key roles. In this paper, outcomes and actions are considered a first category of learning (single loop learning), and subjective perceptions and intentions imply a superior category of learning (double loop learning). The data, mainly based on primary information collected from a representative sample, are analyzed in terms of differences in values and intentions, and reveal noticeable inter-regional diversity, while intervention duration appears as a decisive variable. From a policy point of view, this research calls into question the efficacy of short-term awareness projects and proposes the integration of social learning programmes when designing pro-environmental interventions.

Genetic and infective diversity of the liver fluke Fasciola hepatica (Trematoda: Digenea) from Cuba.

In this study we present the first approach to exploration of the genetic diversity of Cuban Fasciola hepatica populations using microsatellite markers, coupled with observed prevalence in slaughterhouses. Nine populations of flukes recovered from cows and buffalos were studied in the central-western region of Cuba. The observed infection rates of definitive hosts (bovines) were 70-100% in most cases. An important amount of polymorphism was found in the four loci explored. However, no apparent genetic differences were found between populations from different provinces or bovine species. The absence of deviations from Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium suggests a high rate of cross-fertilization between F. hepatica individuals. This result was confirmed when all multilocus genotypes were tested for clonal reproduction and only four individuals differed statistically (P sex<0.05). High values of expected heterozygosity coupled with highly probable mixing among strains make the metapopulation genetically diversified but similar in terms of certain alleles (low F ST values). These results suggest a close relationship between parasite diversity and cattle management in Cuba. Our findings should be taken into consideration by veterinary authorities to help mitigate fasciolosis transmission.

De los dominios del rey al imperio de la propiedad privada: Estructura y tenencia de la tierra en Cuba (siglos XVI–XIX) by Imilcy Balboa Navarro (review)

Imilcy Balboa Navarro. De los dominios del rey al imperio de la propiedad privada: Estructura y tenencia de la tierra en Cuba (siglos XVI-XIX). Coleccion America 21. Madrid: Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Cientificas, 2013. 349 pp.With the expansion of commercial agriculture, between the late eighteenth century and the first decades of the nineteenth century, Cuba maintained a model based on an agro-industrial export economy that acted to consolidate slave planters in the social strata. To consolidate the sugar plantation economy, planters needed slaves but also land. Slavery has been a recurring field of study in the Spanish, Cuban, and particularly U.S. historiography, but issues related to the usage and possession of land have remained a minor topic.Pioneering research on land begin with Francisco Perez de la Riva and his Origen y regimen de la propiedad territorial en Cuba (1946), but the only work, so far, entirely dedicated to the usage and possession of land is the work by Julio Le Riverend and his series of articles published in Revista de la Biblioteca Nacional, regrouped later in the book Problemas de la formacion agraria de Cuba, siglos XVI-XVII (1992).1 Since then, the topic of land has been treated only in works of a general nature or in recent years in so-called regional histories. Balboa's De los dominios del rey al imperio de la propiedad privada covers this gap and is acknowledged as one of the major works of the historiography of Cuba, particularly in relation to agricultural issues. In contrast to Le Riverend-to whom the author notes she is indebted-Balboa is not limited to the study of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Her research delves deeper into the search for explanations in the sixteenth century to support the dynamics of socioeconomic transformations that took place during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries; she then addresses the first decades of the twentieth century with the spread of the latifundio. All of this is documented with extensive archives sources located in Cuba and Spain; a documentary appendix is included. Given the depth and scope in the treatment of the issue, this book constitutes a precursor study for Hispanic Caribbean history, along with the works of Roberto Cassa and Michel J. Godreau, and Juan A. Giusti, for the cases of Santo Domingo and Puerto Rico, respectively.De los dominios del rey makes four fundamental contributions in my opinion. First is the combined analysis of social history with economic and legal factors. In this way, Balboa interconnects economic structure with the evolution of land tenure and the formation of social groups with the exploration of the political and legal conditions. Second is the consideration of the peculiarity of the island within the Spanish Empire. No previous study has reflected on the profuse Indies laws and the peculiarities of their application overseas. The third contribution is the review and adaptation of the main agricultural figures; this work overcomes the Western perspective to cover the island as a whole and takes into account factors that distinguished the agricultural model in each region of Cuba. Balboa focuses on social history and economic history, as well as on law and fiscal history, to remove coined stereotypes, which still persist in their insights, on the agrarian history of Cuba. Such concepts that have engendered confusion are subject to revision, including realengos, baldios, propios, haciendas comuneras, censos and arrendamientos, composiciones, and confirmaciones. …

Validating Governance Performance Indicators for Integrated Coastal and Ocean Management in the Southeast Region of Cuba

The importance of evaluating the success of policies developed to effectively manage coastal and marine resource use is well documented. However, few frameworks exist that allow for a comparative examination of existing policy instruments, as opposed to specific initiatives, which assess governance performance aimed at addressing issues arising in the coastal zone. This paper describes the process and findings for evaluating the feasibility of a modified Coastal Sustainability Standard (CoSS) framework that seeks to measure the effectiveness of individual planning instruments within overlapping spatial boundaries in the landward and marine areas in the southeast region of Cuba. Through workshops conducted in Santiago de Cuba and Guama municipalities with key representatives involved in coastal management and planning, the utility of the framework was assessed using the main instruments of territorial planning in Cuba, namely integrated river basin management, territorial planning in coastal municipalities and marine and coastal management. While, the findings suggest that the modified CoSS framework can be used to assess the effectiveness of these planning instruments in the region, and workshop participants also suggested improvements to better match its use to the characteristics of the study region.

Development of a new LAMP assay for the detection of CSFV strains from Cuba: a proof-of-concept study.

Classical swine fever (CSF) is a devastating animal disease of great economic impact worldwide. In many countries, CSF has been endemic for decades, and vaccination of domestic pigs is one of the measures to control the disease. Consequently, differentiating infected from vaccinated animals by antibody ELISA screening is not applicable. In some countries, such as Cuba, lack of molecular techniques for sensitive, rapid and reliable detection of virus genomes is a critical point. To overcome this problem, an easy-to-use one-tube assay based on the loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) principle has been developed for detection of the genome of CSF virus (CSFV) of endemic Cuban genotype 1.4 isolates. The assay reliably detected recent isolates from three different regions of Cuba with an analytical sensitivity 10-100 times lower than that of quantitative reverse transcription RT-qPCR. Diagnostic test sensitivity was examined using reference sera from two groups of pigs experimentally infected with Cuban virulent strain CSF0705 "Margarita" and the recent field isolate CSF1058 "Pinar del Rio". Differences in pathogenicity of the two viruses were reflected in the clinical course of disease as well as in virus loads of blood samples. Low viral RNA loads in samples from pigs infected with the field isolate caused serious detection problems in RT-LAMP as well as in RT-qPCR. Thus, it will be necessary in future research to focus on targeted sampling of diseased animals and to restrict diagnosis to the herd level in order to establish LAMP as an efficient tool for diagnosing CSF under field conditions.

Rickettsia-related bacteria associated with papaya plants showing bunchy top disease in Cuba

Papaya bunchy top (PBT) disease has been associated with Rickettsia-related proteobacterium. To study the occurrence of this proteobacterium in Cuba, during 2012, we collected 264 samples from asymptomatic and symptomatic papaya trees in three regions of Cuba. Symptomatic tissue evaluated by transmission electron microscopy revealed Rickettsia-like morphology. PCR using rickettsial sdhA-specific primers amplified a single band with expected size from 95 % of symptomatic plants. Phylogeny confirmed the presence of Rickettsia-related proteobacterium in plant showing PBT disease. This work confirms Rickettsia-related proteobacterium is a generalized pathogen in papaya plant affected by bunchy top disease in Cuba.

First record of the invasive land snail Achatina (Lissachatina) fulica (Bowdich, 1822) (Gastropoda: Achatinidae), vector of Angiostrongylus cantonensis (Nematoda: Angiostrongylidae), in Havana, Cuba

The giant African snail, Achatina (Lissachatina) fulica (Bowdich 1822), is considered one of the worst invasive alien species in the world. This mollusc is also a concern to public health because it can serve as an intermediate host of the rat lungworm, Angiostrongylus cantonensis, a causative agent of eosinophilic meningoencephalitis in humans. This is the first record of A. fulica in Cuba, where it is found in an urban area of Havana where it has become established in an area of about 1 km². Parasitological analyses revealed that all A. fulica were infected with An. cantonensis with an average 50 third-stage larvae in 3 cm² of snail mantle. The eventual spread of A. fulica to other regions in Cuba through natural or human-mediated ways could result in damage to autochthonous flora and fauna as well as becoming a serious issue for public health and the economy.