Cervical and Thoracic Vertebral Malformation ("Weak Neck") in Colombia Lambs

The purpose of this study is to describe a developmental defect of the caudal cervical and cranial thoracic vertebrae in 11 purebred Colombia lambs. The lambs were either affected at birth, or developed the condition within the first 18 days of age. Cervicothoracic kyphosis, with a compensatory cervical lordosis and ataxia were common; 8 lambs had abnormal head posture, characterized by inability to lift the head from the ground. One lamb had rigid head and neck, and had to move the entire body to look to the left or right. Neurological signs included ataxia, tetraparesis, diminished conscious proprioception, and increased patellar and triceps reflexes. One lamb had inspiratory stridor because of compression of the trachea in the area overlying the abnormal vertebrae (cervical vertebrae 6 [C6] and 7 [C7]). Radiographic and pathological abnormalities included malalignment and malarticulation of the caudal cervical and cranial thoracic spine, rounded cranioventral margins in the bodies of vertebrae C7 and T1, wedging of the intervertebral disc spaces between C6 and T1 vertebrae, and hypoplasia of the dens. Pathological changes in the soft tissues included hypoplasia of the cervical epaxial and hypaxial musculature, with associated focal areas of myodegeneration. Mild Wallerian axonal degeneration, compatible with a mild cord compression syndrome, was found in 3 lambs in the cervicothoracic spinal cord adjacent to the vertebral anomalies. The concentrations of copper and selenium in blood, plasma, or tissues were normal in 10 of 11 lambs. All but one of the lambs in which pedigree information was provided were genetically related. Siblings born as twins to 5 of the affected lambs were normal, but both lambs from one twin pregnancy were affected. Owners reported that breeding stock had been shared among the ranches. Because of the close familial relationships of the affected lambs, the condition is suspected to have a hereditary basis.     

Metabolism of dibutyl-14C-labeled dibutylaminosulfenyl derivative of carbofuran in the cotton plant

The fate of the di-n-butylaminosulfenyl moiety in 2,3-dihydro-2,2-dimethyl-7-benzofuranyl (di-n-butylaminosulfenyl)(methyl)carbamate (DBSC or Marshal) was studied in the cotton plant at 1, 3, 6, and 10 days following foliage treatment with [di-n-butylamino-¹⁴C]DBSC. Dibutylamine and two major radioactive metabolites were obtained following extraction of the plant tissue with a methanol-buffer containing N-ethylmaleimide (NEM), a sulfhydryl scavenger which was added to prevent the cleavage of the NS bond during the workup procedure. The most adundant radioactive material recovered from plants was identified as a product arising from the reaction between NEM and dibutylamine. Extraction of plant tissue with straight methanol-buffer solution or with methol-buffer containing other sulfhydryl scavengers resulted in 57–86% of the applied radioactivity being recovered as dibutylamine in the organosoluble fraction. When [¹⁴C]dibutylamine was applied to cotton leaves, most of the radioactivity, i.e., 96% of the total recovered radioactivity, was found in the organosoluble fraction as dibutylamine. Dibutylamine is the major metabolite of [di-n-butylamino-¹⁴C]DBSC in the cotton plant.     

Prevalence of ulcers of the squamous gastric mucosa in standardbred horses

This study was performed to determine the prevalence of ulcers in the gastric squamous mucosa in Standardbred racehorses. Observations were performed at monthly intervals between the beginning of their training season and their 1st qualifying race. This study also identified risk factors at different levels of race training. Forty-eight Standardbred racehorses from 3 training stables in Quebec, Canada, were studied. Baseline historical information and gastroscopic findings were recorded at the beginning of the trial, and once a month thereafter, between December 2001 and June 2002, until the horse's 1st qualifying race or the end of the training. Intensity of training ranged from jogging to intensive training just before the 1st race and was assigned an ordinal score. Location of squamous ulcers and their appearance were observed on gastroscopy, and an ordinal score was assigned. Prevalence of squamous ulcers from the 2nd through the 4th month (72-88%) of training remained at a significantly higher level (P = .002 to .04) than at the onset of the study (38%) and was also higher in intensely trained horses than in joggers (93% versus 56%). Moderate or more intensive training increased the odds (odds ratio [OR], 3.39; confidence interval [CI], 1.34-8.56; and OR, 11.4; CI, 3.21-40.5, respectively) of detecting ulcers with higher scores. These odds were also higher in trotters (OR, 2.17; CI, 1.07-4.43) than in pacers and generally increased with the duration of training. Duration of training, training level, and gait type also influenced the number of sites with ulcers in the same way. Ulcers had higher scores along the lesser curvature (LC) and the margo plicatus (MP) areas of the stomach. It was concluded that squamous ulcers appeared early in the training of Standardbred racehorses, that the number of sites affected and the ulcer score are related to the intensity of training, and that trotters are more prone to squamous ulcers than pacers.     

The use of non-prion biomarkers for the diagnosis of Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathies in the live animal

Scrapie and bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) are major global concerns and the emergence of variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (vCJD) has caused turmoil for blood transfusion services and hospitals worldwide. Recent reports of iatrogenic CJD (iCJD) cases following blood transfusions from Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathies (TSE)-infected donors have fuelled this concern. Major diagnostic tests for BSE and scrapie are conducted post-mortem from animals in late stages of the disease. Although the lymphoreticular system is involved in the earlier pathogenesis of some forms of sheep scrapie and vCJD, which presents great opportunity for diagnostic development, other TSE diseases (some strains of scrapie, sporadic CJD (sCJD) and bovine BSE) do not present such a diagnostic opportunity. Thus, there is an urgent need for pre-mortem tests that differentiate between healthy and diseased individuals at early stages of illness, in accessible samples such as blood and urine using less invasive procedures. This review reports on the current state of progress in the development and use of prion and non-prion biomarkers in the diagnosis of TSE diseases. Some of these efforts have concentrated on improving the sensitivity of PrPSc detection to allow in vivo diagnosis at low abundances of PrPSc whilst others have sought to identify non-prion protein biomarkers of TSE disease, many of which are still at early stages of development. In this review we comment upon the limitations of prion based tests and review current research on the development of tests for TSE that rely on non-prion disease markers in body fluids that may allow preclinical disease diagnosis.     

Unexpected newcastle disease virus in day old commercial chicks and breeder hen

Newcastle disease virus (NDV) specific antigen in the gut contents and NDV specific antibody in blood circulation were seen in day old chicks belonging to nine different commercial hatcheries of Tamil Nadu, India. Antigen disappeared by 4th week and antibody by 6th week of age. Fourteen NDV isolates obtained from the gut contents of day old chicks of different commercial hatcheries, one NDV isolate from dead in shell eggs and one NDV isolate from breeder hen were characterized and grouped under velogenic, mesogenic and lentogenic pathotypes. Four isolates were grouped under F and another four isolates were grouped under E based on reaction with monoclonal antibodies (Mabs) but found to be velogenic based on pathogenicity tests. In one particular flock velogenie NDV was isolated from breeder hen, dead in shell embryos and day old chicks and they all belong to Mabs group E. Vertical transmission of velogenic, mesogenic and lentogenic NDVs and role of NDVs in the gut contents have been discussed.     

Species of Staphylococcus isolated from animal infections

One hundred randomly selected clinical strains of staphylococci were identified by species using a commercial micromethod system. Eight species of staphylococci were identified. Staphylococcus intermedius was the most frequent (n = 74) species identified and accounted for 70/74 (94.6%) of the coagulase-positive strains and 70/79 (88.6%) of the total isolates from dogs. Other species identified, in order of their frequency, included S. epidermidis (8), S. aureus (7), S. simulans (4), S. sciuri (2), S. xylosus (2), S. hyicus (2) and S. saprophyticus (1). These results show that at least 8 different species of staphylococci can be recovered from animal infections and that coagulase-positive species such as S. intermedius may be more common than S. aureus. The relative significance of these other species in animal infections needs to be assessed.     

Development and validation of species-specific primers that provide a molecular diagnostic for virus-vector longidorid nematodes and related species in German viticulture

The nematode species Longidorus attenuatus, L. elongatus, L. macrosoma and Paralongidorus maximusare economically important pests to the viticulture industry due to their ability to vector two nepoviruses (Raspberry Ringspot Virus and Tomato Black Ring Virus) to grapevines. In Germany, these species occur in vineyard soil with other non-vector but morphologically similar longidorid species, L. helveticus, L.profundorum and L. sturhani. Species-specific primers were designed from ribosomal DNA for all seven species to facilitate taxonomic identification for non-specialists. Primers were assessed for their reliability by screening, where possible, a number of populations of each species. Furthermore, their selectivity and sensitivity were determined when challenged with closely related longidorid species and general nematode communities typical of vineyard soil. A multiplex approach using a common forward primer combined with species-specific reverse primers enabled three target nematode species to be detected in the same PCR reaction. All primers were highly specific, detecting all nematode developmental forms from disparate populations and were sufficiently sensitive to detect a single target nematode within a whole nematode community typical of a vineyard soil comprising of a range of non-target species. Given their specificity, sensitivity and reliability, these diagnostic primers should be of great benefit to both phytosanitary/quarantine services related to the viticulture industry and also as a decision management tool for growers.