The efficacy of hyperimmune serum in the treatment of sweating sickness

Natural and experimental cases of sweating sickness were treated using a hyperimmune serum as specific treatment and hyperimmune serum combined with symptomatic and supportive treatment based on the clinicopathological changes observed in cases of sweating sickness. The treatment regimens were found to be highly effective in pigs and sheep as well as in calves, although recovery in the latter species was slower.     

Kidney pathology in non-obstructive urolithiasis in cattle

The objectives of the present study were to investigate the gross and histopathological findings in non-obstructive urolithiasis. Pathological examinations were carried out on 102 cattle kidneys with non-obstructive urolithiasis. The common gross lesions were cyst formations in the kidney lobes, hyperaemia and haemorrhage. The weight of the stones differed from 0.02 to 237.44 g and the colour changed brown to white. The calculi had different shapes. At histopathological examination of the kidneys slight to severe mononuclear cell infiltrations were commonly observed. Haemorrhage and connective tissue proliferations were also seen. Neutrophil leucocyte infiltrations caused by pyelonephritis were observed in some cases and multiple stone formations were found in these cases. Widening of the Bowman's space was a common histopathological finding especially when the stones were big or the inflammatory reaction was severe. Calcium deposits and eosinophylic material were found in the medullary tubules and pelvis renalis lumens in some kidneys. Giant cell formations around the stone reactions were rarely observed. Hyperplasia of the pelvis renalis and tubulus epithelium was another finding which occurred seldom. Whereas sand-like material accumulation seen in urinary bladders in some cases, no obstruction was observed in the urinary canal in this study.     

Hematology and clinical pathology of experimental Fascioloides magna infection in cattle and guinea pigs.

The hematologic and clinico-pathologic response to Fascioloides magna infection in cattle and guinea pigs was investigated. Twelve calves (six infected and six controls) were monitored for 26 weeks after inoculation with 1000 metacercariae. All calves remained healthy and there were no significant differences in weight gains between infected and control groups. Flukes (mean = 9.2, range 1–32) were recovered from the liver and abdominal cavity of all infected calves. The only significant response observed in the complete blood counts was an eosinophilia present in the infected calves extending from Weeks 2 to 26 post-infection. There were no significant differences in serum levels of aspartate aminotransferase and only minor increases in the levels of gamma-glutamyl transferase and sorbitol dehydrogenase.

A total of 48 infected and 48 control guinea pigs from three separate experiments were monitored for 16 weeks after inoculation with 20 metacercariae of Fascioloides magna. Infected guinea pigs died between 7 and 114 days after infection, and flukes (ean = 2.5, range 0–13) were recovered from the liver, abdominal cavity, lungs, thoracic cavity, skeletal muscle and subcutaneous tissue. There were no differences in weight gains between infected and control guinea pigs. Complete blood counts showed increases in white blood cell, monocyte and neutrophil counts from between the third and fourteenth weeks post-infection; however, the differences were not consistently significant. Infected guinea pigs developed a significant eosinophilia and basophilia from 2 to 16 weeks post-infection. There were no significant changes in the serum levels of alanine aminotransferase or gamma-glutamyl transferase. There was an increase in the serum levels of aspartate aminotransferase beginning at 5 weeks post-infection. The response observed in the guinea pigs was similar to that reported in sheep, suggesting the suitability of the guinea pig as a model for Fascioloides magna infection in the sheep.     

Further studies on the diagnostic value of gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase and 5'-nucleotidase in cattle, sheep and horses

The distribution of 5'-nucleotidase (5'-NT) and gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase (gamma-GT) is similar in the tissues of the sheep, calf and horse, except that there is relatively less gamma-GT in calf liver than in the liver of the other two species. The liver lesion produced by the oral administration of chloroform is similar in the three species and is accompanied by the release of 5'-NT into the plasma of the sheep and calf but not of the horse. Conversely, gamma-GT is released into plasma of the horse but not of the sheep or calf. This difference is not related to the tissue distribution of the two enzymes. The kidney lesion in sheep produced by the intravenous administration of mercuric chloride is accompanied by a reduction in the rate of excretion of an injected dose of inulin and by an increase in the concentration of urea in plasma and in the activity of gamma-GT in plasma and urine. There was no increase in 5'-NT activity in plasma or urine.