Disease and destiny–mystery and mastery

When early people made their appearance, zoonotic infectious diseases were already waiting, but epidemic diseases did not appear in human history until people began to live in large numbers under conditions of close contact, mainly during the last 10,000 years. Disease has decimated urban populations, conquered armies, and disrupted society. The focus here is on (1) the plague of Athens and the Black Death; (2) smallpox, influenza, and rabies; (3) avian influenza prion diseases, and foot & mouth disease; and (4) emerging and re-emerging diseases. All have veterinary public health associations.In Athens, Greece, in 430 BC, when the Spartans ravaged the countryside, hordes crowded into Athens so that orderly movements, space in which to live, and adequate supplies of food became impossible. Crowding of any population fosters disease transmission; chaos and disorder enhance it all the more. Out of northern Egypt came a terrible plague from across the Mediterranean Sea. The identity of the plague of Athens remains unsure, but the well-considered conclusion is Rift Valley Fever, a mosquito borne, viral zoonosis. The Black Death, also called the Plague, raged in Asia for centuries. In 1347, the Black Death was brought by a ship out of Asia to Sicily. The scenes of devastation were repeated throughout Europe, with 90% or more of the people dying in city after city.Influenza, too, has been a cause of periodic human epidemics, but the great pandemic of influenza occurred in the last months of World War I. In the years of highest occurrence, more than half the world's population became clinically infected. If veterinary public health had been born earlier, it could have led to elucidating the epidemiology of influenza and the plagues of Athens, Europe, and Asia. In turn, smallpox had also caused continual tragedy. In 1796, Edward Jenner began to harvest pustules of cowpox from children or infected cows and inject them into susceptible children. In 1980, the World Health Organization declared that smallpox had been eliminated from the world. Rabies, though, still strikes terror.A number of animal diseases, broadly termed emerging and re-emerging diseases, need surveillance because they have the potential to impact human health. From late in 2003 to 2007, the highly pathogenic H5N1 influenza virus in poultry infected at least 121 people and caused 62 deaths in four countries. The prion diseases, too, all have very high numbers in concentrated contacts. To control these diseases, veterinary public health is essential, with diagnosis, epidemiological surveillance, clinical manifestations, and prevention as primary measures.     

The mystery of fungal infection in the guttural pouches

Advances in the understanding of guttural pouch physiology and novel therapeutic approaches to mycotic infections in the horse are reviewed. It is suggested that the guttural pouches may contribute to the regulation of arterial blood temperature, cooling the circulation to the brain to below body temperature. Aspergillus spp. is the major organism found in a guttural pouch affected with mycosis but it is unclear why this agent becomes aggressive. Conventional therapy aims to prevent fatal haemorrhage and to treat any neurological lesions but it is desirable to try to prevent the disease. A technique consisting of inserting a transarterial coil into the internal carotid, external carotid and maxillary arteries in normal and affected horses has been reported to be rapid, safe and effective in occluding the arteries and in inducing regression of the mycotic lesions without adjunctive medical treatment. When faced with acute and uncontrollable epistaxis in the field, the most effective means to reduce haemorrhage is probably the occlusion of both common carotid arteries. However, how such arterial occlusions can result in the successful management of guttural pouch mycosis without antifungal medication remains a mystery.     

Borna disease virus: a mystery as an emerging zoonotic pathogen

For Central European veterinarians, Borna disease (BD) has been known for a long time as a sporadically occurring, progressive viral polioencephalomyelitis predominantly affecting horses and sheep and-as discovered in the last decade-an increasing number of domestic and zoo animals. The aetiological agent, the Borna disease virus (BDV), a negative-sense, single-stranded RNA virus classified in the new virus family Bornaviridae within the order Mononegavirales, can induce severe clinical signs typically of a viral encephalitis with striking behavioural disturbances. After an incubation period lasting a few weeks to several months, BDV-infection causes locomotor and sensory dysfunctions followed by paralysis and death. Natural infections seem to be subclinical in most cases. BD received world-wide attention when it was reported that sera and/or cerebrospinal fluids from neuro-psychiatric patients can contain BDV-specific antibodies. Since infected animals produce BDV-specific antibodies only after virus replication, it was assumed that the broad spectrum of BDV-susceptible species also includes man. However, reports describing the presence of other BDV-markers, i.e. BDV-RNA or BDV-antigen, in peripheral blood leukocytes or brain tissue of neuro-psychiatric patients are highly controversial and, therefore, the role of BDV in human neuro-psychiatric disorders is questionable. (c) 2001 Harcourt Publishers Ltd.     

Biotechnology: hail to man and animal

There are two basic remarks that must be made about this series of articles on the theme 'Modern biotechnology: a blessing or concern?'. Firstly, it is difficult to define what 'biotechnology' is due to the diversity of techniques employed. Secondly, it is striking how biotechnological techniques may be employed for such a wide variety of goals. In this article, the ethics of using biotechnology within veterinary science and research will be discussed. Aside from its usefulness to humankind, an animal has its own value as a living creature; a fact that we should always take into account. Ethical issues such as the health, welfare and integrity of animals are discussed here in relation to developments in biotechnology. These ethical arguments reveal that biotechnology does not always have a positive impact on animals. This does not necessarily mean that biotechnology should be rejected out of hand, but that it is essential that the purpose for which the animals are being used be adequately justified. In this regard, the veterinarian may play a unique role as the guardian of both animal and human health. The veterinary profession, in all its diversity, is a participant in the development and (future) practical application of biotechnological techniques. Changes in the broader society and within the veterinary profession may continue to play a role in the societal discourse on biotechnology and its practical application, it must actively consider the ethical aspects and consequences of these scientific developments.     

Bacteraemia in man and animals: An overview

Bacteraemia signifies invasion of the bloodstream by bacteria. In most systemic infections in man and animals, bacteria enter the blood at some stage during the infection and are rapidly distributed throughout the body. A wide variety of organisms have been associated with bacteraemia. Prompt detection of the aetiological agents of bacteraemia is of prime importance in clinical microbiology. There are no defined recommendations for blood cultures in animals but both conventional and improved methods are available for detection of bacteraemia in man. The consequences of bacteraemia are as diverse as the potential aetiological agents. Monoclonal antibodies to the core glycolipid (lipid A) seems very promising for the treatment of bacteraemia and septic shock caused by Gram-negative bacteria in man and animals.     

PRRSV感染的神秘本质

猪繁殖与呼吸综合征病毒(PRRSV)是动脉炎病毒属(Arterivirus)的一员,其他成员还包括小鼠乳酸脱氢酶-升高症病毒(Lactate Dehydrogenase-elevating Virus,LDV)、马动脉炎病毒(Equine Arteritis Virus,EAV)和猕猴出血热病毒(Simian Hemorrhagic Fever Virus,SHFV).     

Incidence of coccidia in dogs in Brno and the surrounding area

In the course of two years, 663 dogs from Brno and its vicinity were subjected to clinical and parasitological examination with a special reference to the occurrence of coccidia. A saturated sugar solution with the specific weight of 1150 was used as the flotation medium. Coccidia were found in 2.17% of the dogs examined. The oocysts of the groups Isospora ohioensis, I. burowsi and I. neorivolta were identified most frequently (2.11% of the dogs). Four dogs (0.60%), all alike, eliminated the oocysts of Hammondia heydorni and sporocysts of Sarcocystis species, and two dogs oocysts of Hammondia heydorni and sporocysts of Sarcocystis species, and two dogs (0.30%) excreted oocysts of I. canis. Out of the animals infected, 58% were younger than six months. Clinical signs were observed only at a medium to strong invasion with oocysts of the species I. ohioensis, I. burowsi and I. neorivolta. The digestive tract was affected most severely--the animals suffered from bloodless diarrhoeas lasting two to twelve days, from occasional vomiting and systemic dehydration. Invasion by I. canis, Hammondia heydorni and Sarcoystis sp. did not cause any clinical changes.