During evolution, animals have returned from land to water, adapting with morphological modificat... more During evolution, animals have returned from land to water, adapting with morphological modifications to life in an aquatic environment. We compared the osteochondral units of the humeral head of marine and terrestrial mammals across species spanning a wide range of body weights, focusing on microstructural organization and biomechanical performance. Aquatic mammals feature cartilage with essentially random collagen fiber configuration, lacking the depth-dependent, arcade-like organization characteristic of terrestrial mammalian species. They have a less stiff articular cartilage at equilibrium with a significantly lower peak modulus, and at the osteochondral interface do not have a calcified cartilage layer, displaying only a thin, highly porous subchondral bone plate. This totally different constitution of the osteochondral unit in aquatic mammals reflects that accommodation of loading is the primordial function of the osteochondral unit. Recognizing the crucial importance of the ...
Genome sequences of Francisella tularensis samples, isolated from human infections in the Netherl... more Genome sequences of Francisella tularensis samples, isolated from human infections in the Netherlands in 2015 and 2016.
Members of the genus Bartonella are fastidious Gram-negative facultative intracellular bacteria t... more Members of the genus Bartonella are fastidious Gram-negative facultative intracellular bacteria that are typically transmitted by arthropod vectors. Several Bartonella spp. have been found to cause culture-negative endocarditis in humans. Here, we report the case of a 75-year-old German woman with prosthetic valve endocarditis due to Bartonella washoensis .
Neisseria animaloris is considered to be a commensal of the canine and feline oral cavities. It i... more Neisseria animaloris is considered to be a commensal of the canine and feline oral cavities. It is able to cause systemic infections in animals as well as humans, usually after a biting trauma has occurred. We recovered N. animaloris from chronically inflamed bite wounds on pectoral fins and tailstocks, from lungs and other internal organs of eight harbour porpoises. Gross and histopathological evidence suggest that fatal disseminated N. animaloris infections had occurred due to traumatic injury from grey seals. We therefore conclude that these porpoises survived a grey seal predatory attack, with the bite lesions representing the subsequent portal of entry for bacteria to infect the animals causing abscesses in multiple tissues, and eventually death. We demonstrate that forensic microbiology provides a useful tool for linking a perpetrator to its victim. Moreover, N. animaloris should be added to the list of potential zoonotic bacteria following interactions with seals, as the find...
ABSTRACT Een mannelijke Aziatische olifant leed sinds enkele jaren aan gewrichtsproblemen. Tevens... more ABSTRACT Een mannelijke Aziatische olifant leed sinds enkele jaren aan gewrichtsproblemen. Tevens had het 50 jaar oude dier regelmatig problemen met de nagels, zoals het loslaten daarvan in combinatie met een necrotiserende nagelbedontsteking. Na verloop van tijd verslechterde het dier zienderogen met als verschijnselen: sloomheid, toenemende gewrichtsontsteking, zucht onderaan de buik (ventraal oedeem) en overmatig drinken en plassen.
Scoliosis is a deformation of the spine that may have several known causes, but humans are the on... more Scoliosis is a deformation of the spine that may have several known causes, but humans are the only mammal known to develop scoliosis without any obvious underlying cause. This is called ‘idiopathic’ scoliosis and is the most common type. Recent observations showed that human scoliosis, regardless of its cause, has a relatively uniform three-dimensional anatomy. We hypothesize that scoliosis is a universal compensatory mechanism of the spine, independent of cause and/or species. We had the opportunity to study the rare occurrence of scoliosis in a whale (Balaenoptera acutorostrata) that stranded in July 2019 in the Netherlands. A multidisciplinary team of biologists, pathologists, veterinarians, taxidermists, radiologists and orthopaedic surgeons conducted necropsy and imaging analysis. Blunt traumatic injury to two vertebrae caused an acute lateral deviation of the spine, which had initiated the development of compensatory curves in regions of the spine without anatomical abnormali...
The Usutu virus (USUV) is a mosquito-borne zoonotic flavivirus. Despite its continuous circulatio... more The Usutu virus (USUV) is a mosquito-borne zoonotic flavivirus. Despite its continuous circulation in Europe, knowledge on the pathology, cellular and tissue tropism and pathogenetic potential of different circulating viral lineages is still fragmentary. Here, macroscopic and microscopic evaluations are performed in association with the study of cell and tissue tropism and comparison of lesion severity of two circulating virus lineages (Europe 3; Africa 3) in 160 Eurasian blackbirds (Turdus merula) in the Netherlands. Results confirm hepatosplenomegaly, coagulative necrosis and lymphoplasmacytic inflammation as major patterns of lesions and, for the first time, vasculitis as a novel virus-associated lesion. A USUV and Plasmodium spp. co-infection was commonly identified. The virus was associated with lesions by immunohistochemistry and was reported most commonly in endothelial cells and blood circulating and tissue mononucleated cells, suggesting them as a major route of entry and s...
Het Ministerie van Landbouw, Natuur en Voedselkwaliteit (LNV) beoogt invulling te geven aan een l... more Het Ministerie van Landbouw, Natuur en Voedselkwaliteit (LNV) beoogt invulling te geven aan een lijst met diersoorten die door eenieder in of om het huis gehouden mogen worden (‘de Positieflijst’). Daartoe heeft LNV in de herfst van 2017 een groep onafhankelijke wetenschappelijk deskundigen gevraagd op persoonlijke titel te participeren in een Wetenschappelijke Adviescommissie Positieflijst (WAP). LNV heeft de WAP de opdracht verstrekt om te adviseren over een vereenvoudigde, wetenschappelijk valide, toetsingskader voor de positieflijst huisdieren. Randvoorwaarden hierbij zijn dat de systematiek voldoende goed uitvoerbaar is (eenvoudig, tijd- en kostenefficient) en dat de systematiek voldoet aan de Nederlandse en Europese wettelijke vereisten en aan wetenschappelijke validiteit. De taken van de adviescommissie bestaan uit:• het ontwikkelen van het toetsingskader;• het opstellen van inhoudelijke criteria als onderscheidende basis voor het toetsingskader;• de wetenschappelijke onderbo...
Within 10 days of ingesting boxelder tree (Acer negundo) cuttings, seven fallow deer (Dama dama) ... more Within 10 days of ingesting boxelder tree (Acer negundo) cuttings, seven fallow deer (Dama dama) died (n=2) or were euthanased (n=5) after showing signs of colic, anorexia and severe depression. Another fallow deer and two Dutch Landrace goats (Capra aegagrus hircus) simultaneously displayed colic signs but survived. Therapy included intramuscular flunixine meglumine. Postmortem investigation revealed subacute renal tubular necrosis and extensive lung oedema in all animals, and three deer had liver degeneration. The combination of clinical history and postmortem findings lead to the presumptive diagnosis of maple leaf intoxication as described in equids. This is the first report of likely boxelder tree (A negundo) intoxication in animals and the first report of maple leaf intoxication in fallow deer and goats.
During evolution, animals have returned from land to water, adapting with morphological modificat... more During evolution, animals have returned from land to water, adapting with morphological modifications to life in an aquatic environment. We compared the osteochondral units of the humeral head of marine and terrestrial mammals across species spanning a wide range of body weights, focusing on microstructural organization and biomechanical performance. Aquatic mammals feature cartilage with essentially random collagen fiber configuration, lacking the depth-dependent, arcade-like organization characteristic of terrestrial mammalian species. They have a less stiff articular cartilage at equilibrium with a significantly lower peak modulus, and at the osteochondral interface do not have a calcified cartilage layer, displaying only a thin, highly porous subchondral bone plate. This totally different constitution of the osteochondral unit in aquatic mammals reflects that accommodation of loading is the primordial function of the osteochondral unit. Recognizing the crucial importance of the ...
Genome sequences of Francisella tularensis samples, isolated from human infections in the Netherl... more Genome sequences of Francisella tularensis samples, isolated from human infections in the Netherlands in 2015 and 2016.
Members of the genus Bartonella are fastidious Gram-negative facultative intracellular bacteria t... more Members of the genus Bartonella are fastidious Gram-negative facultative intracellular bacteria that are typically transmitted by arthropod vectors. Several Bartonella spp. have been found to cause culture-negative endocarditis in humans. Here, we report the case of a 75-year-old German woman with prosthetic valve endocarditis due to Bartonella washoensis .
Neisseria animaloris is considered to be a commensal of the canine and feline oral cavities. It i... more Neisseria animaloris is considered to be a commensal of the canine and feline oral cavities. It is able to cause systemic infections in animals as well as humans, usually after a biting trauma has occurred. We recovered N. animaloris from chronically inflamed bite wounds on pectoral fins and tailstocks, from lungs and other internal organs of eight harbour porpoises. Gross and histopathological evidence suggest that fatal disseminated N. animaloris infections had occurred due to traumatic injury from grey seals. We therefore conclude that these porpoises survived a grey seal predatory attack, with the bite lesions representing the subsequent portal of entry for bacteria to infect the animals causing abscesses in multiple tissues, and eventually death. We demonstrate that forensic microbiology provides a useful tool for linking a perpetrator to its victim. Moreover, N. animaloris should be added to the list of potential zoonotic bacteria following interactions with seals, as the find...
ABSTRACT Een mannelijke Aziatische olifant leed sinds enkele jaren aan gewrichtsproblemen. Tevens... more ABSTRACT Een mannelijke Aziatische olifant leed sinds enkele jaren aan gewrichtsproblemen. Tevens had het 50 jaar oude dier regelmatig problemen met de nagels, zoals het loslaten daarvan in combinatie met een necrotiserende nagelbedontsteking. Na verloop van tijd verslechterde het dier zienderogen met als verschijnselen: sloomheid, toenemende gewrichtsontsteking, zucht onderaan de buik (ventraal oedeem) en overmatig drinken en plassen.
Scoliosis is a deformation of the spine that may have several known causes, but humans are the on... more Scoliosis is a deformation of the spine that may have several known causes, but humans are the only mammal known to develop scoliosis without any obvious underlying cause. This is called ‘idiopathic’ scoliosis and is the most common type. Recent observations showed that human scoliosis, regardless of its cause, has a relatively uniform three-dimensional anatomy. We hypothesize that scoliosis is a universal compensatory mechanism of the spine, independent of cause and/or species. We had the opportunity to study the rare occurrence of scoliosis in a whale (Balaenoptera acutorostrata) that stranded in July 2019 in the Netherlands. A multidisciplinary team of biologists, pathologists, veterinarians, taxidermists, radiologists and orthopaedic surgeons conducted necropsy and imaging analysis. Blunt traumatic injury to two vertebrae caused an acute lateral deviation of the spine, which had initiated the development of compensatory curves in regions of the spine without anatomical abnormali...
The Usutu virus (USUV) is a mosquito-borne zoonotic flavivirus. Despite its continuous circulatio... more The Usutu virus (USUV) is a mosquito-borne zoonotic flavivirus. Despite its continuous circulation in Europe, knowledge on the pathology, cellular and tissue tropism and pathogenetic potential of different circulating viral lineages is still fragmentary. Here, macroscopic and microscopic evaluations are performed in association with the study of cell and tissue tropism and comparison of lesion severity of two circulating virus lineages (Europe 3; Africa 3) in 160 Eurasian blackbirds (Turdus merula) in the Netherlands. Results confirm hepatosplenomegaly, coagulative necrosis and lymphoplasmacytic inflammation as major patterns of lesions and, for the first time, vasculitis as a novel virus-associated lesion. A USUV and Plasmodium spp. co-infection was commonly identified. The virus was associated with lesions by immunohistochemistry and was reported most commonly in endothelial cells and blood circulating and tissue mononucleated cells, suggesting them as a major route of entry and s...
Het Ministerie van Landbouw, Natuur en Voedselkwaliteit (LNV) beoogt invulling te geven aan een l... more Het Ministerie van Landbouw, Natuur en Voedselkwaliteit (LNV) beoogt invulling te geven aan een lijst met diersoorten die door eenieder in of om het huis gehouden mogen worden (‘de Positieflijst’). Daartoe heeft LNV in de herfst van 2017 een groep onafhankelijke wetenschappelijk deskundigen gevraagd op persoonlijke titel te participeren in een Wetenschappelijke Adviescommissie Positieflijst (WAP). LNV heeft de WAP de opdracht verstrekt om te adviseren over een vereenvoudigde, wetenschappelijk valide, toetsingskader voor de positieflijst huisdieren. Randvoorwaarden hierbij zijn dat de systematiek voldoende goed uitvoerbaar is (eenvoudig, tijd- en kostenefficient) en dat de systematiek voldoet aan de Nederlandse en Europese wettelijke vereisten en aan wetenschappelijke validiteit. De taken van de adviescommissie bestaan uit:• het ontwikkelen van het toetsingskader;• het opstellen van inhoudelijke criteria als onderscheidende basis voor het toetsingskader;• de wetenschappelijke onderbo...
Within 10 days of ingesting boxelder tree (Acer negundo) cuttings, seven fallow deer (Dama dama) ... more Within 10 days of ingesting boxelder tree (Acer negundo) cuttings, seven fallow deer (Dama dama) died (n=2) or were euthanased (n=5) after showing signs of colic, anorexia and severe depression. Another fallow deer and two Dutch Landrace goats (Capra aegagrus hircus) simultaneously displayed colic signs but survived. Therapy included intramuscular flunixine meglumine. Postmortem investigation revealed subacute renal tubular necrosis and extensive lung oedema in all animals, and three deer had liver degeneration. The combination of clinical history and postmortem findings lead to the presumptive diagnosis of maple leaf intoxication as described in equids. This is the first report of likely boxelder tree (A negundo) intoxication in animals and the first report of maple leaf intoxication in fallow deer and goats.
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Papers by Marja Kik