Influence of Bordetella avium infection on association of Escherichia coli with turkey trachea

Four-week-old Bordetella avium-infected and B avium-free turkeys were inoculated intratracheally with a suspension of fimbriated or nonfimbriated Escherichia coli. Numbers of E coli associated with tracheal sections were determined at postinoculation hour (PIH) 1 or 6. Significantly (P less than 0.05) greater numbers of E coli were isolated from the tracheas of B avium-infected turkeys compared with numbers in B avium-free turkeys. In B avium-free turkeys, tracheal associated E coli were 90% less at PIH 6 compared with that at PIH 1. However, in B avium-infected turkeys, numbers of E coli were not affected by postinoculation time. Seemingly, B avium-infected turkeys had reduced capacity to clear E coli from the trachea.     

Effects of Bordetella avium infection on the pulmonary clearance of Escherichia coli in turkeys

Thirty-six 1-day-old turkeys were inoculated intranasally with Bordetella avium (BA) strain 838. Noninoculated hatchmates (n = 36) were housed separately. At 2 and 4 weeks of age, 15 inoculated (BA+) and 15 noninoculated (BA-) turkeys were exposed to an aerosol of virulent Escherichia coli. The remaining six BA+ turkeys and six BA- turkeys were used as controls (ie, not exposed to E coli). Turkeys were necropsied on postaerosolization days 0 (immediately after aerosolization), 1, 3, 5, and 7. Lung and tracheal specimens were collected from each turkey for bacterial quantitation and histologic examination. A 1-ml blood sample was collected for detection of bacteremia. Numbers of E coli in lung specimens from 2- and 4-week-old turkeys were not significantly different between BA+ and BA- groups (pooled data over time); however, numbers of E coli isolated from tracheal specimens were significantly greater in BA+ turkeys than those in BA- turkeys. Although the incidence of pulmonary abcesses and E coli bacteremia was greater in 2-week-old turkeys than in 4-week-old turkeys, the incidence was not different between BA+ and BA- turkeys. At both ages, air sacculitis developed more often and was more severe in BA+ turkeys than in BA- turkeys. Hyperplastic bronchus-associated lymphoid tissue was found more often in BA+ turkeys than in BA- turkeys and appeared to be the first site of heterophil infiltration after E coli aerosolization.     

Studies of the transmission routes of Ornithobacterium rhinotracheale and immunoprophylaxis to prevent infection in young meat turkeys

The importance and prevention of the horizontal as well as the vertical transmission of Ornithobacterium rhinotracheale were investigated. In our first experiment we observed that specific-pathogen-free broiler chickens that were placed in hatching incubators at a commercial turkey hatchery during hatch showed respiratory tract lesions at postmortem examination that were positive for O. rhinotracheale by bacteriology and immunohistology. It appeared that vertical transmission occurred and that horizontal transmission of O. rhinotracheale is possible. In a second experiment, the turkeys derived from vaccinated parents showed significantly fewer respiratory tract lesions at postmortem examination at 16 days of age than the birds derived from nonvaccinated parents. In a third experiment, all vaccinated young birds, regardless of the vaccination state of their parents, showed significantly fewer respiratory tract lesions at 6 wk of age. We concluded that vaccination of the breeders reduces vertical transmission and that vaccination of the progeny is needed to resist challenge at 6 wk of age.     

Efficacy of enrofloxacin, florfenicol and amoxicillin against Ornithobacterium rhinotracheale and Escherichia coli O2:K1 dual infection in turkeys following APV priming

Experimental groups of 15 susceptible 3-week-old turkeys were inoculated oculonasally with avian metapneumovirus (APV) subtype A and susceptible Escherichia coli O2:K1 and Ornithobacterium rhinotracheale (ORT) bacteria, with a 3 days interval between viral and bacterial inoculation and approximately 8h between the two bacterial inoculations. The aims of the present study were to assess the efficacy of drinking-water administration of enrofloxacin for 3 and 5 days, amoxicillin for 5 days and florfenicol for 5 days for the treatment of the resulting respiratory disease, based on clinical and bacteriological examinations. Antimicrobial treatment started 1 day after dual bacterial inoculation. After infection, the birds were examined and scored for clinical signs daily, weighed at different times, and their tracheae swabbed daily. Five birds were euthanised and examined for macroscopic lesions at necropsy at 5 days post-bacterial inoculation (dpbi) and the remainder at 15dpbi. Samples of the turbinates, trachea, lungs, sinuses, air sacs, heart, pericardium and liver were collected for bacteriological examination. Recovery from respiratory disease caused by an APV/E. coli/ORT triple infection in 3-week-old turkey poults was overall most successful after enrofloxacin treatment, irrespective of treatment duration, followed by florfenicol treatment. Compared with the untreated group, clinical signs as well as ORT and E. coli multiplication in the respiratory tract were significantly reduced by both enrofloxacin treatments and the florfenicol treatment, with the enrofloxacin treatments showing significantly better reductions than the florfenicol treatment. Five-day treatment with amoxicillin, compared with the untreated group, did not cause a significant reduction in any of the aforementioned parameters.     

A Retrospective Study on Antimicrobial Resistance in Mannheimia (Pasteurella) haemolytica,Escherichia coli,Salmonella Species,and Bordetella avium from Chickens in Minnesota

A 5-yr retrospective study (1998 to 2002) was conducted to determine the rate of isolation of 4 different bacterial pathogens and their antimicrobial resistance from chickens submitted to the Minnesota Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory, St. Paul, Minnesota. The in vitro antimicrobial resistance was evaluated using the disc diffusion method. A total of 218 bacteria were isolated with the frequency of isolation being Mannheimia (Pasteurella) haemolytica 92 (42.2%) > Escherichia coli 80 (36.7%) > Salmonella spp., 42 (19.3%) > Bordetella avium 4 (1.8%). All isolates were resistant to macrolides and tetracycline antimicrobials but showed varied resistance to aminoglycoside and beta-lactam antibiotics. A majority of the isolates showed high resistance to spectinomycin, sarafloxacin, tetracycline, sulfadimethoxine, and sulfachloropyridiazine. These results emphasize the need for continued surveillance of chicken pathogens to monitor their resistance patterns with a view to control the infections caused by these pathogens.     

Use of ovotransferrin as an antimicrobial in turkeys naturally infected with Chlamydia psittaci, avian metapneumovirus and Ornithobacterium rhinotracheale

Respiratory pathogens are difficult to control in large-scale turkey production. This report describes a clinical trial of antimicrobial ovoTF aerosol on a large Belgian turkey farm. ovoTF was administered to reduce Chlamydia psittaci (C. psittaci) infections and to study the impact of this action on the occurrence of Ornithobacterium rhinotracheale (O. rhinotracheale) and avian metapneumovirus (aMPV) infections. Two subsequent broods were included; (i) a control brood receiving no ovoTF and (ii) an ovoTF brood receiving ovoTF aerosol (5mg/animal) at the age of 2 weeks, continuing daily for 12 days. Twenty-four one-day-old toms of the control and ovoTF brood were tagged and monitored for 15 weeks. The control brood experienced two periods of respiratory disease, the first (2-3 weeks of age) due to C. psittaci and the second (8-17 weeks of age) in the presence of C. psittaci, O. rhinotracheale and maybe aMPV. Extensive antibiotic treatment was needed in 2, 8 and 9 week-old toms. In the ovoTF brood, toms stayed healthy until the age of 9 weeks, whereafter respiratory disease occurred in the presence of C. psittaci, O rhinotracheale and aMPV. OvoTF administration: (i) reduced the amount of C. psittaci in the air as demonstrated by bioaerosol monitoring, (ii) prevented respiratory disease during the first half of the brood period, (iii) was associated with 46% reduction of mortality, and (iv) reduced the antibiotic cost. Our results justify additional clinical trials to explore the use of this innovative antimicrobial strategy for poultry.     

Studies on parturient paresis with special reference to the Downer cow syndrome

In addition to the classic form of parturient paresis characterized by hypocalcemia and somnolence, which responds rapidly to calcium therapy, it is not unusual to encounter other forms of this disease. The most common aberration would seem to be that in which the animals do not rise after calcium treatment. Many of these cows show little or no drowsiness, their appetite is often good, and the results of a clinical examination often negative. Some authors, Blood & Henderson (1960) for instance, consider that this “downer cow syndrome” is an indépendant disease not connected wiht milk fever.Although the downer cow syndrome is a common disease and is of considerable significance, remarkably little has been written about it. Garm in 1950 noted that the frequency of downers had increased as compared with the numbers registered a few years earlier. He had also noticed that in many of these cows hypocalcemia was present on the first day of illness but not on subsequent days, despite the fact that they had marked signs of milk fever. Osinga, in an investigation in 1963, compared two types of milk fever: a typical form in which the cow is drowsy, lies on her side, and has partial anorexia, and an atypical form in which the animal is alert and has normal or only slight loss of appetite. Osinga remarked that the atypical cases had in-creased in number and suggested as an explanation the fact that the amount of protein in the fodder has increased, with the result that auto-intoxication and damage to parenchymatous organs may occur.The object of the present investigation was to study the difference between cows that recover after treatment (“uncomplicated milk fever”) and those that have not risen 24 hrs. after the first treatment (“downers”). We also wanted to ascertain whether any changes occurred in the downers between the first and second, and second and third days. In addition, the difference between cows with blood-calcium levels equivalent to or over 8.0 mg/100 ml serum and those with corresponding values under 8.0 mg at the first examination was also studied.     

Effects of mannanoligosaccharide and fructooligosaccharide on the response of broilers to pathogenic Escherichia coli challenge

1. The effects of mannanoligosaccharide (MOS, Bio-Mos, Alltech Inc.) on the growth performance and digestive system, particularly gut microflora, were tested and compared with fructooligosaccharide (FOS, Raftilose P95, Orafti) using 1-d-old birds in an Escherichia coli challenge model. The experiment lasted for 3 weeks and zinc bacitracin (ZnB) was used as a positive control. 2. Dietary MOS had positive effects on body weight gain (BWG) or/and feed conversion efficiency (FCE) of the challenged birds compared to the negative control at the end of weeks 1 and 3. Similar results were obtained for ZnB treatment. In contrast, FOS supplementation improved only the BWG of the challenged birds at 21 d of age. Within the unchallenged birds, a large improvement in BWG was noticed for FOS treatment at the end of the experiment, with the BWG of birds on ZnB and MOS treatments being intermediate. The FCE of the unchallenged birds was not affected by the dietary additives. 3. The addition of MOS reduced the number of mucosa-associated coliforms in the jejunum of the challenged birds on d 7. On d 21, FOS tended to increase the number of jejunal mucosa-associated lactobacilli in both the challenged and unchallenged birds. The number of Clostridium perfringens in the gut lumen was reduced by only ZnB. 4. Dietary MOS reduced the jejunal crypt depth of birds on d 7, regardless of the challenge. The FOS supplement did not affect the gut morphology, however, the concentration of lactic acid in the ileum was increased and, depending on the challenge, the intestinal pH was decreased by FOS at different ages. 5. In conclusion, the effects of MOS or FOS on the composition and activities of gut microflora and mucosal morphology of birds were related to E. coli challenge as well as the age of birds, which may be involved in the observed different growth-improving effects of the tested dietary additives.     

Escherichia coli in the rumen and colon of slaughter cattle,with particular reference to E. coli O157

The distribution of Escherichia coli O157 and of total E. coli was surveyed in the digestive tract of cattle under 30 months of age, slaughtered between August 1999 and May 2000 in three abattoirs in southern England. Samples were taken from the dorsal and ventral rumen wall, the rumen contents, the colon wall and colon contents, and from faeces or caudal rectal contents. Gut wall samples were processed by vortex-mixer to release loosely adherent bacteria, and by Stomacher to release firmly attached bacteria. E. coli O157 was detected by immunomagnetic separation followed by growth on selective culture media. The numbers of E. coli were higher in the colon than the rumen, and most were located in the digesta phase, rather than associated with the gut wall. The number of E. coli found in the gut and in faeces decreased during the winter months. E. coli O157 was detected more frequently in the colon than in the rumen, but the majority of detections(7/8) were in samples of rumen wall.     

Isolation and characterization of Pseudomonas aeruginosa from sheep with fleece rot in northern and middle Jordan

A total of 162 sheep fleece samples were collected from 2315 sheep clinically examined for evidence of dermatitis. The sheep belonged to 32 flocks raised in northern and middle Jordan. Eighty-three samples showed no obvious abnormalities, whereas the remainder showed exudation (79 samples), fleece discoloration (18) and fleece roughness (40) and abscesses (7). Seventeen Pseudomonas aeruginosa isolates were obtained from these samples. Antibacterial resistance in vitro was common; resistance to tetracycline, amoxycillin, erythromycin and cotrimoxazole was shown by > 90% of the isolates. Resistance to norfloxacin (29.4% of isolates), ciprofloxacin (17.6%) and amikacin (17.6%) was also demonstrated. Fourteen isolates were serum resistant when assessed after 1-3 h incubation in sheep and calf sera, and their count increased by 2-2.9 and 2.5-3.5 respectively.     

Studies on the contractility of follicular wall with special reference to the mechanism of ovulation in hens

1. To investigate the mechanism of ovulation in the hen, histological and physiological investigations on the contractility of the follicular wall were carried out.

2. Smooth muscle bundles in the loose connective tissue coat from the stalk to the equator showed spontaneous rhythmic contractions with an alternation of contraction and pausing periods of about 4 min. The administration of prostaglandins F_2α (PGF_2α), E₂ (PGE₂), ovarian oviposition inducing factor (OOIF), oxytocin and acetylcholine increased the frequency and amplitude of the contractions.

3. The theca layer showed spontaneous contractions at a frequency of about 30 per 10 min. PGF_2α, OOIF, acetylcholine, adrenaline and noradren‐aline induced tonic contractions, whereas PGE₂, oxytocin and histamine induced relaxation.

4. It is suggested that the contraction of the follicular wall promotes the rupture of the stigma at ovulation and the neurotransmitters as well as prostaglandins and OOIF may be involved in this event.