Urine Stains Research Articles

New Methodology for Non-destructive Identification of Body Fluid for Forensic Purposes

The purpose of this research study was to test and subsequently validate a method based on the identification of biological fluids by nondestructive analysis, attributing phenotypic characteristics to biological stains. Specifically, a new methodology for non-destructive forensic histological analysis using Alternative Light Source 450 nm + orange filters was developed and validated - also testing its analytical efficiency and inherent degree of probabilistic error. The validation process has been carried out through the creation of a standard database of known samples, in which were included blood-stains, semen stains, saliva stains and urine stains. Histological profiling with the observation of given parameters was included in the study such as fluorescence/absorbance, stain’s shape, intensity of the signal, concentration of the signal etc. 160 reference samples were produced, which were used as a comparison method for subsequent histological profiling activities. Through a method validation procedure developed on four different tests of the technically investigated samples, specific useful ranges were identified for histological-forensic diagnosis of the biological stains, both known in the reference sample and unknown samples. Careful observation of the biological traces revealed several phenotypic characteristics, through which the study took shape. In conclusion, this experimental work made it possible to design and validate a a non-destructive analytical methodology, which is particularly useful in the forensic field. Through this study is it possible to identify the histology of stains founded on the findings with a non-destructive analysis; furthermore it has to been specified that, according to the data obtained, it is possible to identify correctly the histological composition of the blood-stains but the histological identification of stains from semen, saliva and urine is still probabilistics.

Analysis of Muscle Damage Through Urine Staining and Density as Prevention of Rhabdomyolysis During Physical Training

Analysis of Muscle Damage Through Urine Staining and Density as Prevention of Rhabdomyolysis During Physical Training

Diagnostic Accuracy of Point-of-Care Gram Stains in Obstructive Pyelonephritis due to Ureteral Stones.

The diagnostic utility of point-of-care (POC) Gram stains for obstructive pyelonephritis with hydronephrosis is not well established. The current study aimed to assess the diagnostic accuracy of urine Gram stains in patients with obstructive pyelonephritis due to ureteral stones. A retrospective observational study was conducted on patients with obstructive pyelonephritis admitted to our hospital between January 2011 and December 2021. The diagnostic accuracy of Gram stains was evaluated based on the severity of hydronephrosis, including Gram stains performed by both trained physicians and microbiological technicians. After analyzing 210 patients, POC Gram stains of bladder urine presented a sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, and negative predictive value of 86.8%, 81.8%, 93.7%, and 66.7%, respectively, for gram-negative rods and 65.7%, 83.4%, 48.9%, and 91.0%, respectively, for gram-positive cocci. The agreement between POC Gram stains and urine culture was good for gram-negative rods, with a kappa (κ) coefficient of 0.637 and agreement rate of 85.6%, and moderate for gram-positive cocci, with a κ coefficient of 0.435 and agreement rate of 80%. The agreement between POC Gram stains and bladder urine culture results for gram-negative rods was higher in the mild hydronephrosis group (κ coefficient = 0.677) than in the severe hydronephrosis group (κ coefficient = 0.466). Discrepancies in Gram stain results between physicians and technicians were observed in 21 of 180 cases (11.7%). POC Gram stains for gram-negative rods may be a useful diagnostic tool for obstructive pyelonephritis, particularly in cases of mild hydronephrosis.

Phenotypic profiling based on body fluid traces discovered at the scene of crime: Raman spectroscopy of urine stains for race differentiation.

Modern criminal investigations heavily rely on trace bodily fluid evidence as a rich source of DNA. DNA profiling of such evidence can result in the identification of an individual if a matching DNA profile is available. Alternatively, phenotypic profiling based on the analysis of body fluid traces can significantly narrow down the pool of suspects in a criminal investigation. Urine stain is a frequently encountered specimen at the scene of crime. Raman spectroscopy offers great potential as a universal confirmatory method for the identification of all main body fluids, including urine. In this proof-of-concept study, Raman spectroscopy combined with advanced statistics was used for race differentiation based on the analysis of urine stains. Specifically, a Random Forest (RF) model was built, which allowed for differentiating Caucasian (CA) and African American (AA) descent donors with 90% accuracy based on Raman spectra of dried urine samples. Raman spectra were collected from samples of 28 donors varying in age and sex. This novel technology offers great potential as a universal forensic tool for phenotypic profiling of a potential suspect immediately at the scene of a crime, providing invaluable information for a criminal investigation.

Identification of urine samples obtained in forensic cases by fourier transform infrared spectroscopy

Forensic sciences are a multidisciplinary science that covers all branches of science for justice. Forensic genetics is one of the sub-branches of forensic sciences. It is a branch of science that contributes to establishing a connection between crime and criminal by using all kinds of biological evidence (blood, semen, saliva, urine, vaginal fluid, hair, hair, sweat, saliva, etc.) and reaching the perpetrator with the genetic information obtained. Serological and immunological tests are used in the identification of body fluids found as evidence at the crime scene. The number of serological tests used in the past and today is limited; not all body fluids can be analyzed routinely. Many of the existing tests are not directly specific to the body fluid but are intended to identify intermediate metabolites. One such example is the urine sample. In the identification of urine, the presence of creatinine and amines in the urine is often used. In addition, these tests require the expenditure of separate consumables to identify each body fluid. For this reason, with the development of technology, in recent years, the use of spectroscopic methods that provide cost-free and easy analysis in the identification of body fluids has increased. Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy is one of the spectroscopic methods used to identify body fluids from biological samples found at the crime scene without loss of quantity and without damaging the sample, quickly and without loss of consumables. This study investigated the identification of urine stains obtained from the crime scene with FTIR spectroscopy without using serological materials. Functional groups, which we can express as identification regions, were determined as 13 different distinguishing points in the relevant molecules and their usability in forensic serological analyses was determined.

Do bats use scent cues from guano and urine to find roosts?

Selection of habitat is a key determinant of reproductive success, and the process of finding and choosing these sites is often influenced by the presence of conspecifics. Many bats frequently switch roosts, and some bats repeatedly find new roosts. To find roosts with conspecifics or group members, bats can use social cues. However, most research on how bats use social cues for roost-finding has focused on acoustic cues. Here, we review and discuss the evidence for bat roost selection using scent cues from guano and urine stains, which are present at most bat roosts. We outline reasons why bats might, or might not, use scent in roost detection and selection, and we review evidence on the possible use of guano and urine in roost-finding from eight studies with 12 bat species (across four families). Overall, the sparse evidence that exists indicates that scent cues from guano and urine are not a strong and consistent lure in the species and situations that were tested. Most studies had unclear results or found no effect. Two of the eight studies found weak experimental evidence for bats using guano or urine to select a roosting site. Even if guano and urine can indicate the presence of bats at a roost, it is possible that the resulting olfactory cues do not contain sufficient social information to be used in roost selection, in contrast to olfactory cues from scent marking. Studies of how bats use sensory cues beyond sound could contribute to a better understanding of bat social behavior and roosting ecology.

Complications, outcome and owner satisfaction after Callicrate Bander phallectomy and perineal urethrostomy in 14 equids

SummaryBackgroundThe use of a bander castration device (Callicrate Bander) to perform partial phallectomy in combination with a perineal urethrostomy (PU) has previously been described to be an effective and well‐tolerated procedure in standing sedated horses.ObjectivesThe main objective of the present report is to share our experiences with the combined Callicrate Bander phallectomy (CBP) and PU (CBP/PU) focussing on potential complications, outcome and owner satisfaction.Study designRetrospective case series.MethodsMedical records of 14 male equids that underwent CBP/PU at two different equine referral hospitals between 2012 and 2020 were reviewed. A long‐term follow‐up was conducted by telephone interview with the owners using a standardised questionnaire.ResultsEquids underwent CBP/PU to treat penile and preputial squamous cell carcinomas (11/14), equine sarcoids (2/14) and penile abscessation and paraphimosis after trauma (1/14). Early post‐operative complications were mild and included transient post‐urination haemorrhage, perineal or preputial oedema and partial dehiscence of the PU. Complications that required further veterinary care in the immediate post‐operative period occurred in one animal, which had haemorrhage at the amputation site with subsequent haematoma and oedema formation, causing moderate signs of post‐operative pain. Complications encountered after discharge from the clinic comprised transient urine leakage at the amputation site, transient purulent preputial discharge, abscessation of the penile remnant and urine staining of the hind legs, tail and/or perineum. Four equids were euthanased because of tumour recurrence.Main limitationsVariable case details provided in the medical records, and information regarding the post‐operative healing process were mainly based on owner assessment.ConclusionsCallicrate Bander phallectomy/perineal urethrostomy is a well‐tolerated salvage procedure for male equids with debilitating conditions of the penis and prepuce. Severe post‐operative complications are rare. If advanced stages of penile SCC are expected, careful case selection based on a rigorous preoperative examination is mandatory. Owner satisfaction with the post‐operative result is high.

Urine staining intensity and observation of intraoperative ureteral jets among oral agents.

To determine if administration of a standard 400mg oral dose of riboflavin (vitamin B2) was comparable to phenazopyridine (pyridium) for evaluating ease of visualization of ureteral jets at the time of cystoscopy. A three-arm double-blinded, randomized controlled study was performed consisting of thiamine as placebo, phenazopyridine, and riboflavin. Agents were administered the morning of surgery prior to surgical procedure. The primary outcome was the ease of visualization of the ureteral jets based on a grading of urine stain intensity on a 7-point color scale, where 1-2 were minimal yellow staining, 3-4 were moderate yellow staining, and 5-7 defined as intense yellow staining. Analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) was used with pairwise comparison to characterize urine stain intensity as a continuous variable among the three groups controlling for age, BMI, creatinine, and time from ingestion of medication to first cystoscopy. Eighty-four subjects were randomized with a mean ± SD age of 46.25+11.36 and BMI of 32.46+6.59. Riboflavin did have moderate or intense staining in 57% of cases; however, there was no significant difference between urine staining intensity compared to placebo (p = 0.21). There was a statistically significant increased urine staining intensity for phenazopyridine compared to placebo (p = 0.001) and for phenazopyridine compared to riboflavin (p = 0.001). Phenazopyridine provided statistically significantly greater urine staining compared to both riboflavin and placebo and should be considered primarily for ease of ureteral jet visualization.

Rethinking traditional husbandry practices – changing the lengths to which lambs’ tails are docked

Animals have tails for many reasons, such as helping with balance, providing shade, for use in defence, for dealing with skin irritations, as a means of locomotion and to aid...

Time of ureteral ejection of sodium fluorescein in the cystoscopic assessment of ureteral patency in patients undergoing total laparoscopic hysterectomy

Objective:To evaluate the time of ureteral ejection of intravenous sodium fluorescein in the assessment of ureteral patency in patients undergoing total laparoscopic hysterectomy (TLH).Material and Methods:Fifty-four women undergoing TLH were studied in a public teaching hospital in Culiacan, Sinaloa, Mexico. They underwent cystoscopic evaluation of ureteral patency after intravenous administration of 100 mg of sodium fluorescein. The present study analyzed the time elapsed in minutes from the intravenous administration of fluorescein to the outflow of stained urine by one or both ureteral meatus, the degree of urine staining, and the impact of body mass index (BMI) (BMI; normal, overweight, and obesity) on ejection time.Results:The overall average time elapsed to visualize the ejection of fluorescein through at least one ureteral meatus was 7.5 minutes [95% confidence interval (CI): 6.3-8.7]. There were no significant differences in the time of ureteral ejection of fluorescein taking BMI into account (p=0.579), with a mean time for normal BMI of 8.1 minutes (95% CI: 5.1-11.2), for overweight of 7.0 minutes (95% CI: 5.5-8.5), and for obesity of 7.8 minutes (95% CI: 5.3-10.3).Conclusion:Intravenously administered 10% sodium fluorescein dye is rapidly eliminated and strongly stains urine, which makes it useful for identifying ureteral patency during cystoscopy after TLH. Fluorescein excretion is not affected by patient BMI.

Camponotus ants mine sand for vertebrate urine to extract nitrogen

AbstractThe ability of some ant species (including Camponotus spp.) to forage on vertebrate urine to extract urea may extend their niche in competitive and strongly nitrogen‐limited environments. We examined the preference of Camponotus terebrans, a sand‐dwelling ant widespread in southern Australia, for baits including urine, and the duration of their foraging on those baits. We baited ants with liquid stains of urine (human and kangaroo), urea in water (2.5%. 3.5%, 7.0%, 10.0%) and sucrose in water (20% and 40%) poured directly on the ground, as well as hard baits in plots drawn on sandy soil (Kangaroo Island, South Australia). We counted individuals of this mostly nocturnal species to determine their attraction to different baits for one month. We checked plant growth on the plots after nine and 13 months. Ants collected insects and meat; they foraged for at least 29 days on stains. Ants were most numerous on 10% urea, followed by 7% urea, 3.5% urea, urine (which contains ~2.5% urea) and 2.5% urea, 40% sucrose and 20% sucrose; sucrose was less attractive to them than equimolar urea bait. Ants were attracted to human, kangaroo, and unidentified urines, and they collected bird guano. Baits and ant foraging did not affect plant recruitment in plots. We observed incidentally Camponotus consobrinus foraging on urine, which may be a common resource for this genus at the site. The remarkable ability of C. terebrans to extract nitrogen from dry sand over weeks explains partly its success on sandy soils. Foraging on urine may be an important strategy to address nitrogen limitation on sandy soils and exploit commensally niches in which hosts are kangaroos, wallabies and other vertebrates. The understanding of plant–vertebrate interactions must factor in the role of ants as commensal organisms. Such ants could also reduce greenhouse gas emissions from urine.

27: Pilot study: investigating oral agents for urine staining to facilitate intraoperative observation of ureteral jets

27: Pilot study: investigating oral agents for urine staining to facilitate intraoperative observation of ureteral jets

Our Worries: A #MeToo Narrative

Our Worries:A #MeToo Narrative Janice Lee (bio) Careen Grace Shuyi Liew Noemi Press http://www.noemipress.org 87 Pages; Print, $15.00 Make a ghost of your poise. It is a wonder that the fleshed-out female body is both so ghostly and alive. The script that has written itself over this sedimentary stack of skin and bones is that of time, is that of wear, is that of climactic change. I often sit quietly to study the ghosts that surround me, but of course those opaque forms that find themselves present before me, that of course is not the whole story. How far back do we go? Inside you is a mother wounded from the death of her mother. Inside her is a mother who never recovered from the birth of her children. The traumas are not all mine. But what we inherit, we pass on. The wounds cannot always be seen, are often forgotten but somehow felt. I think about the concept of han and how this speaks to more than just the presence of a historical trauma. It manages to weave together the presence of an unresolved corporeal history and the impossibility of articulation or expression in relation to questions of experience, loss, shame, guilt. Sometimes, one can feel guilty for being alive. Sometimes, one can feel guilty for having merely survived. We learn bodily ire from our mothers—how to run out of our own flesh— My mother claimed that her psoriasis started the day after I was born. I used to have beautiful legs, she would say. Now they are destroyed. This is the price of motherhood. I learned to hate my body from my mother. She would make me walk around the house with stacks of books on my head. Good for your posture, she would say. You've got walk straight, with your shoulders back. Show that you're a confident woman, but not too confident. She would make me walk straight lines, pointing at painted white lines on the asphalt and instructing me to put one foot forward, then the next. As I tried to correct my duck-footed gait, I could hear: Keep your feet straight. No man is going to want a duck for a wife. My mother also instructed me to pinch my nose when I was idle. Asian girls sometimes have pig noses, she had told me, and to insure that I would mature with a small, narrow nose rather than a wide, fat one, I would constantly pinch my nose with my fingers, as if I had a nosebleed. I was taught bowing all the way toward those walks in evenings: I never knew how benign standing upright was, until I did it one day. We inevitably learn how to survive from our mothers, not only from them, but through them, by surviving daughterhood, by surviving their by persisting. Carefree is one form of amnesia. As a child I admired those outgoing, carefree white girls. I didn't understand my shyness, my worries, my constant anxieties. What was wrong with me? Why couldn't I just be confident like those other girls? I was so shy I was afraid to raise my hand during class to ask for permission to go to the bathroom, would risk peeing my pants, would always have a sweatshirt on hand to tie around my waist to cover the urine stains, and walk [End Page 13] home crying and ashamed. The constant worrying must come from my mother, I thought. My mother, who was tall and beautiful, had constantly reminded me that I had only inherited the worst traits from my parents: my mother's wide feet and my father's thick legs. Little did I know how right I really was, how closely linked to survival these feelings of perpetual discomfort were, how necessary, how torturous, how cruel. At what age do we talk to our children about when to fuck, why to take changes, and how to outlive love? Who encoded the planned obsolescence of an emotion? What my mother taught me about sex was to avoid it at all costs. Men are all wolves, she would say...

DNA ISOLATION FROM HUMAN URINE STAIN AS AN ALTERNATIVE MATERIAL FOR PERSONAL IDENTIFICATION EXAMINATION

Accurate determination of personal identity is crucial for an investigation since any inaccuracy may lead to fatal consequences in the judicial process. Identification through DNA analysis involves somatic chromosomes and mtDNA. Each part of the human body can be taken as a specimen since every nucleated cell in the body of an individual has identical DNA sequence. To date, samples for identification through DNA analysis are obtained from blood stains, semen stains, bones, vaginal swab, buccal swab etc. In certain cases, urine stains on the clothing have frequently been overlooked. So far, personal identification through DNA analysis by the use of urine stains has not been commonly carried out. The present study detected bands in the loci CSF1PO, THO1, TPOX and 106bp-112bp amelogenin in all samples visualized from the results of Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) with Polyacrylamid Agarose Gel Electrophoreses-silver staining for exposure durations of 1, 7 and 14 days. However, for exposure duration of 20 days (the maximum in the study), bands were only detected in the loci THO1 and TPOX in all samples (100%), whereas the loci CSF1PO and 50% amelogenin exhibited obvious bands. This indicated that DNA analysis of urine stains through detection of the locus STR CSF1PO, THO1, TPOX exhibited different detection responses for different exposure durations assigned to the samples of urine stain. Successful detection of these loci was supported by the differences in amplicon product and GC content at each locus. Of the loci studied, the ratio of GC content of the primers, sorted from the lowest, were as follows: locus CSF1PO of 42.6 1%, TPOX of 56.25%, and THO1 of 63.83%. In conclusion, the loci THO1 and TPOX had the same probability of success in the STR examination compared with the locus CSF1PO.

White light reflectance spectroscopy biosensing system for fast quantitative prostate specific antigen determination in forensic samples

A label-free biosensor based on white light reflectance spectroscopy for the determination of PSA as semen indicator in forensic samples is presented. The sensor is based on a two-step immunoassay which employs the same polyclonal anti-PSA antibody as capture and detection antibody followed by reaction with streptavidin as a signal enhancement step. The whole assay time was set to 10min; 5min reaction of immobilized antibody with the PSA calibrators or the samples, 3min reaction with the biotinylated anti-PSA antibody and 2min reaction with streptavidin. Following this protocol, a detection limit of 0.5ng/mL was achieved and the assay's linear response range extended up to 500ng/mL. Thus, taking into account the quantification limit of 1.0ng/mL and the average PSA concentration in semen (0.2–5.5mg/mL), semen quantities of a few nanoliters could be detected. The accuracy of the sensor developed was demonstrated through recovery (% recovery ranged from 89.6 to 106) and semen dilution experiments. A linear correlation was found for semen dilutions ranging from 5000 to 360,000. The lack of interference by other bodily fluids was confirmed by analysing stains of blood, urine and saliva prior to and after the addition of semen. Finally, the sensor was evaluated by analysing 51 forensic casework samples which were also analysed with a semi-quantitative membrane strip test (Seratec® PSA), through microscopic detection of spermatozoa, and male DNA identification through detection of Y chromosome. The results obtained with the sensor were in excellent agreement with those provided by an immunoradiometric assay kit (PSA-RIACT) and in complete agreement with the findings using the membrane strip assay, spermatozoa and Y chromosome detection. The excellent analytical performance and small size of the instrument make the sensor developed an attractive tool for use in forensic evidence screening for semen detection.

Revealing the location of semen, vaginal fluid and urine in stained evidence through near infrared chemical imaging

Crime scene investigation (CSI) requires the ultimate available technology for a rapid, non-destructive, and accurate detection of a wide variety of evidence including invisible stains of bodily fluids. Particularly crucial is the discrimination of semen in stained evidence from sexual abuse cases. This is because those evidence have high odds of containing the DNA from the aggressor. To this aim, we demonstrated the potential of near infrared hyperspectral imaging (NIR-HSI) to make visible stains of semen, vaginal fluid, and urine on fabrics, which lays the bases to face the challenging visualization and discrimination of semen within bodily fluids mixtures. Combining the NIR-HSI data and simple chemometric techniques such as principal component analysis and classical least squares regression, we have revealed the location of semen, vaginal fluid and urine in bodily fluids stained evidence.

Differentiation of Body Fluid Stains on Fabrics Using External Reflection Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FT-IR) and Chemometrics.

Body fluids are evidence of great forensic interest due to the DNA extracted from them, which allows genetic identification of people. This study focuses on the discrimination among semen, vaginal fluid, and urine stains (main fluids in sexual crimes) placed on different colored cotton fabrics by external reflection Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) combined with chemometrics. Semen-vaginal fluid mixtures and potential false positive substances commonly found in daily life such as soaps, milk, juices, and lotions were also studied. Results demonstrated that the IR spectral signature obtained for each body fluid allowed its identification and the correct classification of unknown stains by means of principal component analysis (PCA) and soft independent modeling of class analogy (SIMCA). Interestingly, results proved that these IR spectra did not show any bands due to the color of the fabric and no substance of those present in daily life which were analyzed, provided a false positive.

Breech-strike on mulesed, clipped and unmulesed Merino ewes and hoggets in south-eastern Australia.

Compare breech-strike on Merino ewes and hoggets that were mulesed, had breech and tail clips applied ('clipped') or left unmulesed and treated strategically with long-acting insecticide. A cohort study on two farms in southern Victoria. Three treatment groups were established at lamb marking in 2008 and 2009 on each farm. The unmulesed group was treated with a long-acting insecticide in early spring. The prevalence of breech-strike and key risk factors, including presence of dag, urine stain and breech wrinkle, were compared between groups. Breech-strike was detected from October to December on 1.9% and 7.2% of mulesed, and on 14.8% and 12.5% of clipped ewes, respectively, on each farm. Thus, clipped ewes had a relative risk of breech-strike 7.8- and 1.7-fold that of mulesed ewes. Unmulesed ewes treated with insecticide had similar or less breech-strike compared with mulesed ewes (3.4% and 1.4%), but significantly more dag, stain and breech wrinkle. From January, breech-strike on unprotected unmulesed ewes was 8.5% and 2.8%, compared with 3.5% and 0% on mulesed ewes. Early-season treatment of unmulesed sheep prevented most breech-strikes during spring and early summer on both hoggets and breeding ewes, confirming it as a short- to medium-term option for the control of breech-strike. Some benefits were associated with the use of clips but, to control breech-strike, clipped sheep should be treated the same as unmulesed sheep. Genetic selection to reduce the prevalence of dag will be required for future strategies to control breech-strike on Merino sheep in south-eastern Australia.

Foreground detection of group-housed pigs based on the combination of Mixture of Gaussians using prediction mechanism and threshold segmentation

In this paper, a foreground detection method to obtain the foreground objects of pigs in overhead views of group-housed environments is proposed. The method is based on the combination of Mixture of Gaussians (MoG) using prediction mechanism (PM) and threshold segmentation algorithm. First, the “valid region” is manually set according to a priori knowledge. Second, the foreground objects of pigs are detected using the PM-MoG algorithm. The algorithm uses the detected binary image of the previous frame to predict the current frame in the valid region for pixels that fulfil background updating conditions. Different update strategies are used to update the background for different circumstances. Third, the maximum entropy threshold segmentation algorithm is used according to the colour information of foreground objects. Finally, the results of the two previous steps of foreground detection are fused. The experimental results show that the method is effective and can extract relatively complete foreground objects of pigs in complex scenes. These complex scenes include light changes, the influence of ground urine stains, water stains, manure, and other sundries, pigs' slow movement patterns, and varying colours of foreground objects. The average foreground detection rate is approximately 92%. The experimental results set the foundation for further exploration of individual identification of group-housed pigs, their behaviour analysis, and other objectives.

Identifying indicator traits for breech strike in Merino sheep in a Mediterranean environment

Data from 2833 unmulesed Merino lambs from 49 sires and 1535 dams that were born from 2005 to 2009, were used to identify indicator traits for breech strike in a Mediterranean environment. Sheep were managed in a normal production environment where no preventative treatments were applied to protect them from being struck by flies, but were immediately treated when found to be fly struck. Seventy-seven skin, body conformation, wool, disease and production traits that may contribute to breech strike and that could qualify as potential indicator traits were recorded on progeny at birth, weaning, post-weaning, yearling, spring and at pre- and post-hogget age at ~18 months of age. In all, 31% of ewes and 22% of rams were fly struck in the breech area between birth and hogget shearing. The heritability of and the phenotypic and genetic correlations between the potential indicator traits and breech strike were estimated. The results showed that breech strike is a heritable trait (h2 = 0.51 ± 0.10), and that the most important indicator traits for breech strike were dags, scored at any time, especially at hogget age (rg = 0.81 ± 0.15), spring (rg = 0.77 ± 0.13) or at weaning (rg = 0.64 ± 0.00), urine stain scored at weaning (rg = 0.54 ± 0.13) and marking (rg = 0.51 ± 0.15), neck wrinkle at hogget age (rg = 0.46 ± 0.13) and breech cover (rg = 0.32 ± 0.15) scored at post-weaning shearing. These traits could be used to select indirectly for breech strike resistance in a Mediterranean environment.