Simple methods for measurement of bovine mucosal antibody responses in vivo

The mucosal immune response serves as the first line of defence against many bacterial and viral diseases. Therefore, measurement of mucosal immune responses is important in evaluating mucosal immunisation protocols and understanding initial host/pathogen interactions. In this study we compare two methods for repeated sampling of bovine rectal mucosal secretions, namely rectal swabbing and rectal biopsies, and evaluate a simple swabbing method for sampling bovine nasal secretions. Both rectal swabs and rectal biopsies yielded similar quantities of total IgA (TIgA)/ml. However, rectal biopsies yielded five times more total IgG (TIgG)/ml than rectal swabs. Blood contamination was estimated to contribute approximately 7% of TIgG and <0.05% TIgA in rectal swab samples compared to 40% of TIgG and 4.5% of TIgA in rectal biopsy samples, indicating that rectal swabbing was more effective at sampling rectal mucosal secretions. Nasal swabs were effective at obtaining nasal secretion samples with only 1% of TIgG and <0.05% TIgA estimated to be blood derived. Furthermore, H7 flagellin-specific antibodies were detected in both nasal and rectal swab samples following either rectal immunisation with purified H7 flagellin or oral challenge with live E. coli O157:H7, indicating that both techniques are effective methods for monitoring mucosal antibody responses in cattle.     

Evaluation of foot and mouth vaccination for yak (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Bos grunniens</Emphasis>) in Pakistan

In northern Pakistan, many farming communities rely on domestic yak (Bos grunniens) as a principle source of income. A 2006 participatory disease surveillance report from this region indicated that foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) is the most prevalent annual disease of yak. Our objectives of this study were to determine exposure levels of yak to FMD virus; implement a vaccination program based on current, regional FMD virus serotypes and subtypes; and quantify immune responses following vaccination. Blood samples were used to determine pre-vaccination exposure of animals to FMD virus by antibody presence to non-structural proteins of FMD virus using a 3-ABC trapping indirect ELISA. Vaccine used consisted of FMD serotypes ‘O’ (PanAsia-2), ‘A’ (Iran-05), and ‘Asia-1’ (Shamir), but changed later during the study to match newly circulating viruses in the country (‘O’-PanAsia-2; ‘A’-Turk-06 and Asia-1-Sindh-08). Three hundred sixty-three blood samples were tested from selected villages to determine pre-vaccination FMD virus exposure in yak with an average of 37.7%. Immune responses from initial vaccination and booster dose 30 days later showed clear protective levels (as mean percent inhibition) of antibodies against structural proteins of serotypes ‘O,’ ‘A,’ and ‘Asia-1.’ These responses remained above threshold positive level even at day 210 following initial vaccination. Results of sero-surveillance and anecdotal information of repeated FMD outbreaks demonstrate the persistence of FMD virus of yak in northern Pakistan. Laboratory results and field observations clearly indicated that yak can be protected against FMD with a good quality vaccine with FMD serotype(s) matching current, regionally circulating FMD virus.     

Prevalence, molecular diagnosis and treatment of Mycoplasma conjunctivae isolated from infectious keratoconjunctivitis affected Lohi sheep maintained at Livestock Experiment Station, Bahadurnagar, Okara, Pakistan

Mycoplasma conjunctivae are etiological agents of infectious keratoconjunctivitis (IKC), commonly known as pink-eye in domestic sheep, goats and other wild animals in many parts of the world. A few young Lohi lambs maintained at Livestock Experiment Station (LES), Bahadurnagar, Okara, Pakistan showed clinical signs and symptoms of conjunctivitis, keratitis, severe lacrimation and varying degree of blindness. During January to March, 2011, a total of 36 ocular swabs were collected from IKC affected animals and were processed for isolation, identification, and characterization of M. conjunctivae. Sixteen (44.44 %) out of 36 samples showed turbidity in PPLO broth. Twelve (75 %) out of 16 broth samples showed colony growth on PPLO agar. All 16 (44.44 %) out of 36 turbid broth samples, 12 (75 %) out of 16 cultured on agar plate samples, and 21 (59 %) out of 36 sheep ocular direct swab samples were found positive for M. conjunctivae through polymerase chain reaction test by using M. conjunctivae-specific primer pair McoF1 and McoR1 and detecting a 750 base pair fragment on agarose gel. Topical application of 0.5 % sterile solution of gentamycin (100 mg/ml) (Gentafar 10 %, FARVET, Netherlands) proved suitable for the treatment of IKC in Lohi lambs as all clinical signs of IKC disappeared after 5 days of treatment with this antibiotic. This is the first report about the prevalence, molecular diagnosis, and treatment of M. conjunctivae in Lohi sheep affected with infectious keratoconjunctivitis at LES, Bahadurnagar, Okara, Pakistan.     

Detection of equine herpesvirus-1 in nasal swabs of horses by quantitative real-time PCR

Background: Early identification of inhalation-transmitted equine herpesvirus type 1 (EHV-1) infections has been facilitated by the availability of a number of real-time quantitative PCR (qPCR) tests. A direct comparison between nasal swab qPCR and traditional virus isolation (VI) requires a method for normalizing the qPCR samples and controlling for PCR inhibitors present in some clinical samples.
Objectives: To quantify EHV-1 shedding in viral swabs using an internal control and to compare fast qPCR to VI for the detection of EHV-1 in nasal swabs from horses.
Animals: Fifteen horses experimentally infected with EHV-1.
Methods: Experimental study : Nasal swab samples were collected daily after experimental infection for up to 21 days. VI was performed by conventional methods. The DNA was prepared for qPCR with the addition of a known quantity DNA of Marek's disease virus as an internal control. qPCR was performed.
Results: The qPCR method detected virus up to day 21 after challenge, whereas VI detected virus only to day 5. The median Kaplan-Meier estimates for EHV-1 detection were 12 days for qPCR and 2 days for VI ( P < .0001). When compared with VI, the sensitivity and specificity of qPCR were 97 (95% CI: 86–100) and 27% (95% CI: 20–35).
Conclusions and Clinical Importance: We conclude that fast qPCR of nasal swab samples should be chosen for diagnosis and monitoring of herpesvirus-induced disease in horses. Recommended reference ranges of C _T values are provided as well as justification of a minimum 10-day quarantine period.     

Outbreak investigations and genetic characterization of foot-and-mouth disease virus in Ethiopia in 2008/2009

The study was conducted in three regional states of Ethiopia: Amhara, Oromia, and Addis Ababa from August 2008 to April 2009 with the objectives of identifying the genetic diversity of serotypes and topotypes in Ethiopia, and determining the attack rate and associations of potential risk factors with foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) seropositivity. A total of 496 cattle were clinically and serologically examined for presence of specific lesions and nonstructural protein for FMD, respectively. Of which, 140 (28.2%) manifested clinical signs and lesions suggestive of FMD, and 219 (44.2%) were seropositive. From a total of 7,781 animals observed and recorded on a designed format in six districts, 1,409 (19.6%) were infected, and 15 (0.12%) died during outbreaks of FMD. Epidemiological investigations revealed that the morbidity rate of the disease was 21.1% in Akaki-kality sub-city, but the mortality rate was <2% in all districts. Furthermore, the mortality and case fatality rates were relatively higher, 1.6% and 8.9% in calves than the other age groups, respectively. From a total of 33 bovine epithelial tissue-cultured samples, 19 (57.6%) showed CPE for FMD virus, in which 16 samples had serotype O and EA-3 topotype, while three samples had found serotype A, Africa topotype, and G-VII strain. Various strains of FMD viruses were isolated in Ethiopia in this study, and therefore, further detailed studies on the evaluation of available vaccines and the development of a vaccine which contains cocktails of antigens of FMD virus strains in the country should be encouraged.     

Linear hoof defects in sheep infected with foot-and-mouth disease

During the epidemic of foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) in The Netherlands in 2001, a sheep farm was identified that had been subclinically infected with the disease. The FMD virus genome was detected in 12 of 16 probang samples collected from the sheep and the virus was isolated from four of these samples. Linear defects were observed, 1 to 3 cm from the coronary band, in the hooves of several of the sheep. The defects were thought to have been caused by the FMD infection. It was thought that the distance of the defects from the coronary band might be an indication of the time since the animals had been infected. To determine the growth rate of the claws of sheep, the growth of the hoof horn of uninfected lambs and ewes was measured; in the lambs the growth rate was 0.44 mm per day and in the ewes it was 0.29 mm per day.     

Isolation,Identification and Sequence Analysis of Leukotoxin Gene lktA1 of Fusobacterium necrophorum of Cow Footrot

For separation and purification of Fusobacterium necrophorum of cow footrot, and analysis of genetic relationship with other strains, the hoof ministry swab samples were detected by PCR based on specific primers of leukotoxin gene, and genomic DNA were isolated from PCR positive samples of Fusobacterium necrophorum culturing in anaerobic medium.The genes of leukotoxin were cloned and sequenced.The results showed that nine of hoof ministry swab samples were all PCR positive samples, and we obtained Fusobacterium necrophorum pure culture from one of the samples which named bFR13-1.The gene sequencing results indicated that the homologies of leukotoxin gene nucleotide sequence of bFR13-1 strain compared with H05, A25 and B35 strains from GenBank were 98.40%, 98.35% and 90.79%, respectively, and the homologies of deduced amino acid sequence were 97.7%, 97.6% and 89.0%, respectively.Phylogenetic tree analysis results showed that leukotoxin gene of Fusobacterium necrophorum bFR13-1 and H05 had high homology and bFR13-1, H05 and A25 showed a close genetic relationship.The result indicated that leukotoxin showed variability between different Fusobacterium necrophorum isolated strains, and it was worth to study whether this change and pathogenicity of Fusobacterium necrophorum were related.     

豚鼠动物模型评价牛口蹄疫Asia-1型灭活疫苗效力的研究

以豚鼠为试验动物模型,探索一种应用豚鼠替代牛进行牛口蹄疫Asia-1型灭活疫苗效力检验的方法.豚鼠和牛同步对6批牛口蹄疫Asia-1型灭活疫苗进行PD50效力检验,其中2批进行重复性试验.豚鼠分别在免疫后7、14、21和28天采血检测Asia-1型的中和抗体水平.统计学分析显示,测定的豚鼠PD50和牛PD50之间具有极...     

奶牛腐蹄病坏死杆菌分离鉴定及白细胞毒素基因lktA1序列分析

为分离纯化奶牛腐蹄病坏死杆菌,分析其与其他菌株的亲缘关系,本研究利用坏死杆菌白细胞毒素特异性引物,对奶牛腐蹄病病牛蹄部拭子样品进行了PCR检测,利用厌氧培养基对PCR检测阳性样品进行了坏死杆菌的分离培养,以分离的坏死杆菌基因组DNA为模板,对白细胞毒素基因进行了克隆和序列分析。结果显示,9份奶牛腐蹄病病牛蹄部拭子样品PCR检测结果均为阳性,对其中一份样品中的坏死杆菌进行分离培养,获得了纯培养物,命名为bFR13-1。坏死杆菌bFR13-1菌株白细胞毒素基因测序结果显示,与GenBank已发表的H05、A25和B35菌株的白细胞毒素基因在核苷酸水平的同源性分别为98.40%、98.35%和90.79%,推导氨基酸的同源性分别为97.7%、97.6%和89.0%。进化树分析结果显示,坏死杆菌bFR13-1菌株白细胞毒素与H05菌株的同源性最高,bFR13-1菌株与H05菌株和A25菌株呈较近亲缘关系。结果表明,不同坏死杆菌分离株的白细胞毒素呈现一定的变异性,这种变化是否与坏死杆菌致病性相关,值得深入研究。     

A retrospective study on the epidemiology of foot-and-mouth disease in Bhutan

A retrospective study on the outbreaks of foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) in Bhutan, between the years 1996 and 2008, based on the data collected through passive surveillance, was undertaken. A total of 230 outbreaks of FMD at sub-district level were recorded in 299 villages located in 19 out of the 20 districts in the country. There were no significant differences between the years (P = 0.998) or months (P = 0.989) on the incidence of FMD. The sub-districts in the north (altitude >1,000 m above mean sea level) had significantly (P = 0.008) higher incidences of outbreaks in winter than in summer. The sub-districts that shared border with India had significantly more outbreaks than those that didn't (P = 0.001). Cattle were the most predominant species affected being involved in all of the outbreaks reported. Serotype O, which constituted 70.6% of the outbreaks typed was the most predominant serotype prevalent in Bhutan followed by A (16.7%), Asia 1 (8.8%), and C (3.9%). Cattle density was significantly positively correlated (P = 0.023) with the incidence of disease. Three waves of outbreaks of epidemic proportions were reported in 1997/1998, 2002/2003, and 2007/2008 due to the PanAsia strain of the O serotype. The study highlights the incursion of the PanAsia strain of the O serotype into the country, possibly, through the transboundary movement of animals and the need for active surveillance of FMD, especially at the border areas. The study also highlights the significance of the O serotype and cattle as the main indicator species in the epidemiology of FMD in Bhutan. The findings from this study can be used as baseline epidemiological data for further research to understand the epidemiology of FMD in Bhutan.     

猪口蹄疫O型病毒ORMF8测毒试验

用中国农科院兰州兽医研究所统一提供的猪口蹄疫O型灭活疫苗效检攻毒用种毒ORMF8,在3个企业同时用架子猪进行测毒,分别测得猪的最小感染量(MID)和猪的半数感染量(ID 50).3家单位测得的MID和ID 50分别为10 -6.0 /2 mL,10 -8.2 /2 mL;10 -7.0 /2 mL,10 -7.0 /2 mL;10 -6.0 /2 mL,10 -7.5 /2 mL.将所有实验动物统计计算,MID约为10 -6.3 /2 mL,ID 50约为10 -7.6 /2 mL.从这些数据得出,该试验1 MID约为20 ID 50.     

Clinical protection, sub-clinical infection and persistence following vaccination with extinction payloads of O1 Manisa Foot-and-Mouth Disease monovalent vaccine and challenge in goats and comparison with sheep

Small ruminants play an important role in the epidemiology of Foot-and-Mouth Disease (FMD). Small ruminants are vaccinated with one-half or one-third of cattle dose of oil-based or aqueous vaccines respectively. The extinction antigen payload in vaccine for protection in small ruminants is poorly studied. FMD seronegative Nellore sheep (n=30) and Osmanabadi goats (n=30) were vaccinated with different payloads of O(1) Manisa vaccine (0.45-5 μg). Vaccinated and sero-negative unvaccinated sheep (n=6) and goats (n=6) were challenged intradermally into the coronary band with O(1) Manisa virus. The sheep and goats were monitored for signs of FMD and samples were collected for measuring viraemia and virus associated with nasal swabs and probang samples. Clotted blood was collected for serology. Vaccines containing antigen payload up to 0.94 μg protected sheep and goats against challenge. Sheep and goats vaccinated with 0.45 μg antigen payload were poorly protected against challenge. An antigen payload of 0.94 μg was sufficient to offer complete protection and also absence of carrier status. Sheep and goats with no vaccination or with poor sero conversion to vaccination showed sub-clinical infection and became carriers. The results of the study suggest that vaccination offers protection from clinical disease even at a low payload of 0.94 μg and hence one-half of cattle dose of the oil-based vaccine formulations is sufficient to induce protective immune response in sheep and goats. Since no live virus could be isolated after 5 days post challenge from the nasal swab or probang samples even though viral RNA was detected, the risk of these animals transmitting disease was probably very low.     

东北地区猪群链球菌分离鉴定及流行病学调查分析

为了解猪链球菌在东北地区正常猪群中的流行情况,对黑龙江、吉林、辽宁省等地无菌采集的2 204份鼻拭子接入含有1‰抗生素的链球菌液体选择培养基中,37℃静止培养24 h,挑取细菌培养物涂片,革兰氏染色后镜检,将镜检为革兰氏阳性的链球菌利用PCR方法进行猪链球菌种的鉴定,在此基础上再利用PCR方法进行猪链球菌1、2、7、9血清型的分型鉴定.结果显示,黑龙江、吉林、辽宁3省猪群链球菌的携带率分别为29%、27%、34%,东北地区分离得到猪链球菌共155株,其中1型猪链球菌7株,2型猪链球菌39株,7型猪链球菌4株,9型猪链球菌11株,其他型猪链球菌94株.     

Increased humoral antibody response of foot-and-mouth disease virus vaccine in growing pigs pre-treated with poly-γ-glutamic acid

This study was conducted to determine if humoral antibody response of foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) vaccine improved in 8-week-old growing pigs born to well-vaccinated sows pre-treated with 60 mg of poly-γ-glutamic acid (γ-PGA) three days before vaccination. Antibody against FMD virus serotype O was measured 0, 2, 4 and 6 weeks post-vaccination, using a PrioCHECK FMDV type O ELISA kit. The results showed that positive antibody reactions against FMDV serotype O antigen among a component of the vaccine significantly increased in response to pre-injection with γ-PGA.     

云南边境O型口蹄疫监测及病毒VP1基因序列分析

口蹄疫是由口蹄疫病毒引起的主要侵袭偶蹄动物的一种急性热性高度接触性传染病。口蹄疫病毒为微RNA病毒科口蹄疫病毒属成员,存在7个不同血清型,病毒VP1蛋白抗原性差异是病毒血清型划分依据,而其编码基因(1D)核苷酸序列差异是同型病毒拓扑型(Topotype)或基因型鉴别依据。采用O/A/C/Asia-1多重RT-PCR技术,对2006年自云南边境地区采集的120份动物组织样品,进行口蹄疫病原监测,检出O型口蹄疫病毒阳性样品15份。对阳性样品中病毒VP1基因全序列进行扩增、纯化后,克隆至pMD18-T载体测序,并与已知代表性毒株进行比对及系统发育分析。结果发现:云南边境O型口蹄疫病毒阳性样品VP1基因核苷酸序列同源性介于77.3%~98.7%,可划分为3个不同的拓扑型或基因型:中东-南亚型(ME-SA)或泛亚型(PAN-Asia)、古典中国型(Cathay)、东南亚型(SEA)。部分样品VP1蛋白表位43位、154位关键性氨基酸位点存在变异。     

口蹄疫病毒RT-PCR检测与血清型鉴别

针对编码非结构蛋白的3D基因合成一对引物进行口蹄疫病毒RT-PCR扩增,不同血清型病毒的RNA样本均显现一条457bp的目的带,与预期设计的长度相符合。在敏感性试验中,O型、A型和AsiaⅠ型病毒的最小RNA检出量分别为0.8ng、8ng和8ng。根据GenBank发表的口蹄疫病毒VP1和2A基因序列,采用多重RT-PCR鉴别口蹄疫病毒血清型,O型、A型和AsiaⅠ型病毒的特异性扩增片段分别为200bp、340bp和500bp。对9份乳鼠感染病料进行检测,确诊为O血清型口蹄疫病毒感染。