Hereditary bovine syndactyly: diagnosis in bovine fetuses

Diagnostic guidelines were established for progeny testing of hereditary bovine syndactyly. Through the use of superovulation and embryo transfer, 139 fetuses were recovered at 50 to 77 days gestation. Normal (+/+, +/sy) and syndactylous (sy/sy) anatomy of Holstein fetuses was defined, and the accuracy of macroscopic versus microscopic limb diagnosis was assessed. Chondrification and ossification differences between normal (+/+, +/sy) and syndactylous (sy/sy) fetuses were only age-related. Normal (+/+, +/sy) fetal limbs differed from normal (+/+, +/sy) adult bovine limbs in two ways. Fetal metacarpal and metatarsal III and IV bones were not fused, and fetal metacarpal and metatarsal II and V bones often extended up to three-fourths the length of metacarpal and metatarsal III and IV bones. In syndactylous (sy/sy) fetuses, synostosis asymmetries occurred within and between fetal limbs, and between fetuses, representing variable gene expressivity. Synostosis pattern within limbs did not correspond with those of the adult bovine; the second phalangeal pair was synostotic most frequently in the fetus, followed by the first, and then the third pair. Synostosis patterns between fetal limbs agreed with those of the adult; there was a right-left and front-rear limb gradient. Partial synostoses occurred sporadically in all three paired phalanges. Those of the first and third pair always involved the tip closest to the second phalangeal pair. A unique example of variable gene expressivity occurred in one syndactylous fetus. Both front limbs were syndactylous, while both rear limbs were normal grossly. Microscopically the right rear limb was normal while the left rear limb consisted of closely apposed phalangeal blastemata without coalescence.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

Examination of bovine and ovine fetuses

Diagnosis of the causes of bovine and ovine abortion is difficult and frustrating and requires a systematic and thorough approach. Laboratory assistance is required in all cases. Herd and individual histories occasionally help, as does knowledge of the gestational age and autolytic condition of the fetus when aborted. Tissues from mummified fetuses should be cultured and examined by fluorescent antibody techniques for viruses. The placental tissue from mummified fetuses should be examined for fungi and lesions. Lung, liver, kidney, spleen, abomasal content, body cavity fluid or serum, and fetal placenta from all but completely mummified fetuses should be submitted to a diagnostic laboratory.     

Brucella abortus-associated meningitis in aborted bovine fetuses.

Granulomatous meningitis was present in 6/33 bovine fetuses from which Brucella abortus (B. abortus) had been isolated. Meningitis was severe in three fetuses, moderate in one fetus, and mild in the remaining two fetuses. The meningitis was characterized by the infiltration of a mixed population of lymphocytes, plasma cells, and macrophages in the leptomeninges. Vasculitis characterized by the infiltration of lymphocytes and plasma cells in the vascular wall was observed in the vessels of the cerebral cortices of 4/6 fetuses. Gram negative coccobacilli were present in the cytoplasm of the leptomeningeal macrophages and extracellularly. Brucellar antigens labeled by the avidin-biotin-peroxidase complex method were present in massive amounts in leptomeningeal macrophages and in small foci of stained cells in the choroid plexus and ependyma. The findings indicate that B. abortus is one of pathogens capable of inducing meningitis in bovine fetuses.     

Viral aetiologies for bovine respiratory disease

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Bovine respiratory disease (BRD) is a major health problem of cattle all over the world. Financial losses arise from the loss in production, cost of treatment and mortality. Incidence varies with seasons, the highest occurring in autumn and winter. Virus infections such as infectious bovine rhinotracheitis (IBR), parainfluenza 3 (P13) and bovine respiratory syncytial (BRS) viruses have all been incriminated as causes for BRD. It has been suggested that bovine viral diarrhoea (BVD) virus may also contribute to BRD because of its immunosuppressive effects, thus increasing the susceptibility of the host to other respiratory pathogens.     

Lung lesions in bovine fetuses aborted by Brucella abortus.

Considering the poor facilities available for microbiological diagnosis in some countries where Brucella abortus is a frequent cause of bovine abortion, a study was conducted to determine if isolation of B. abortus from an aborted bovine fetus could be predicted from a detailed histological study of the formalized lung. Thirty-nine samples of B. abortus positive and 20 negative fetal samples were examined for the presence of 14 different pulmonary lesions. Differences in the frequency of observed lesions between the positive and negative groups, were determined by odds ratios and chi square statistic. The confidence of the prediction was calculated by means of the logistic computer model. The frequency of eight lung lesions was found to be significantly (p less than 0.05) different between the groups; nevertheless, these lesions were not specific enough to be able to incriminate B. abortus as the cause of abortion.     

Detection of Bovine herpesvirus 4 DNA in aborted bovine fetuses

The presence of Bovine herpesvirus 4 (BoHV-4) was investigated by several methods in 24 aborted bovine fetuses. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and in situ DNA hybridization proved the presence of BoHV-4 DNA in 7 (29%) of the fetuses. The BoHV-4 genome was detected in the cytoplasm of splenic lymphocytes and monocytes, and sometimes in renal tubular epithelial cells or hepatic Kupffer cells, in all 7 PCR-positive fetuses. However, BoHV-4-specific monoclonal antibody failed to detect viral antigen in the formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded tissue samples. No bacterial pathogens were found in the tissues of the BoHV-4-positive fetuses. Fungi were detected in 1 sample, and antibody to bovine viral diarrhea virus was detected in another. These results indicate that BoHV-4 could play a role in reproductive disorders of cattle, including abortion.     

Lymphocyte blastogenesis in bluetongue virus or Mycobacterium bovis-inoculated bovine fetuses

Bovine fetuses were inoculated with Mycobacterium bovis, bluetongue virus or placebo at approximately 125 days of gestation, and blastogenic responses of peripheral blood lymphocytes and lymph node cells were determined at various time intervals after inoculation. Lymphocytes from all fetuses were stimulated by phytohemagglutinin, concanavalin A, and pokeweed mitogen, and peripheral blood lymphocytes gave consistently greater stimulation indices than did prescapular lymph node cells. Bluetongue virus infection did not consistently suppress mitogen induced lymphocyte blastogenesis. Lymphocytes taken from fetuses at 20 or 50 days after Mycobacterium bovis inoculation were not stimulated by purified protein derivative (PPD), whereas lymphocytes taken from adult cattle at similar intervals after Mycobacterium bovis inoculation were stimulated by PPD. Although lymphocytes from bovine fetuses may be stimulated by mitogens, antigen specific blastogenesis to a known inducer of cellular immunity was not detected by 175 days of gestation.     

Cellular and humoral responses of Brucella abortus-infected bovine fetuses

Fifty-nine bovine fetuses naturally and experimentally infected with Brucella abortus were studied. Lymphoid hyperplasia in multiple lymph nodes, lymphoid depletion in the thymic cortex, adrenal cortical hyperplasia, and disseminated inflammatory foci composed mainly of large mononuclear leukocytes were present in infected fetuses. Histopathologic changes in naturally infected fetuses were indistinguishable from those infected fetuses inoculated in utero. Fetuses inoculated with 1.0 X 10(3) to 1.0 X 10(5) colony-forming units of strain 2308 B abortus were aborted on postinoculation day (PID) 7 to 19. Fetuses obtained by PID 9 and 10 had increased immunoglobulin concentrations and antibody. Increased cortisol values were present in fetuses obtained as early as PID 6. The initial fetal inflammatory response was composed of large mononuclear leukocytes. In fetuses obtained by PID 9 to 10, moderate numbers of neutrophils mixed with mononuclear leukocytes were present in the inflammatory foci. This shift in the initial inflammatory reaction coincided with the appearance of agglutinating antibody.     

Viral contamination of bovine fetal lung cultures and bovine fetal serum

Commercial bovine fetal serum (BFS) and bovine fetal lung (BFL) cells were tested for viruses. The only virus detected in any samples was noncytopathogenic bovine viral diarrhea virus (BVDV). Of 37 BFL cultures initiated, 34 were negative for BVDV, 1 was positive, and 2 were suspicious in that the source of BVDV contamination was not certain. Of 9 lots of irradiated sera tested, 1 (10%) was positive for BVDV; of 21 lots of nonirradiated sera tested, 13 (62%) were positive for BVDV. As judged by intensity of fluorescence in infected cultures, some cell strains were much more susceptible to BVDV than other strains. Heat inactivation of serum at 56 C for 30 minutes was found to be an unreliable method of eliminating BVDV from sera.     

Viral and viral protein specificity of antibodies induced in cows persistently infected with noncytopathic bovine viral diarrhea virus after vaccination with cytopathic bovine viral diarrhea virus

Neutralizing and nonneutralizing antibodies to bovine viral diarrhea (BVD) virus were detected in 3 cows persistently infected with noncytopathic BVD virus after vaccination with modified-live cytopathic BVD virus. Neutralizing antibodies detected in serum samples from each persistently infected cow at 3 weeks after vaccination were highly specific for certain isolates of cytopathic BVD virus and reacted only with a viral protein with a molecular weight of 53,000. Neutralizing antibodies to 1 of 3 isolates of noncytopathic BVD virus were detected in a serum sample obtained at 12 weeks after vaccination from 1 of 3 persistently infected cows. Nonneutralizing antibodies were detected in all cows at 7 to 12 weeks after vaccination. The nonneutralizing antibodies were less specific for isolates of BVD virus and reacted with viral proteins with molecular weights of 115,000, 80,000, 53,000, and 47,000.     

Serological Survey of Viral Antibodies in Llamas (Lama glama) in Argentina

This study analysed sera from 390 llamas (Lama glama) from nine farms located in three different Argentine provinces: Buenos Aires, Cordoba and Jujuy. The samples were tested for antibodies against 8 virus known to infect cattle: bovine herpesvirus type 1 (BHV-1), bovine viral diarrhea virus (BVDV), bovine adenovirus (BAdV III), bovine enterovirus (BEV), bovine rotavirus (BRV), bluetongue virus (BTV), bovine leukaemia virus (BLV), and foot-and-mouth virus (FMDV) by conventional methods such as seroneutralization, immunoperoxidase staining, and agar gel immunodiffusion. The antibody prevalences detected in llamas were: BHV-1 in 0.77 % (3/390), BVDV in 2.05 % (8/390), BAdV III in 5.13 % (20/390), BEV in 4.10 % (16/390), BRV in 87.69 % (342/390). No antibodies against BTV, BLV and VIAA (FMDV infection associated antigen) were detected.     

Viral and bacterial pathogens in bovine respiratory disease in Finland

Pathogens causing bovine respiratory tract disease in Finland were investigated. Eighteen cattle herds with bovine respiratory disease were included. Five diseased calves from each farm were chosen for closer examination and tracheobronchial lavage. Blood samples were taken from the calves at the time of the investigation and from 86 calves 3-4 weeks later. In addition, 6-10 blood samples from animals of different ages were collected from each herd, resulting in 169 samples. Serum samples were tested for antibodies to bovine parainfluenza virus-3 (PIV-3), bovine respiratory syncytial virus (BRSV), bovine coronavirus (BCV), bovine adenovirus-3 (BAV-3) and bovine adenovirus-7 (BAV-7). About one third of the samples were also tested for antibodies to bovine virus diarrhoea virus (BVDV) with negative results. Bacteria were cultured from lavage fluid and in vitro susceptibility to selected antimicrobials was tested. According to serological findings, PIV-3, BAV-7, BAV-3, BCV and BRSV are common pathogens in Finnish cattle with respiratory problems. A titre rise especially for BAV-7 and BAV-3, the dual growth of Mycoplasma dispar and Pasteurella multocida, were typical findings in diseased calves. Pasteurella sp. strains showed no resistance to tested antimicrobials. Mycoplasma bovis and Mannheimia haemolytica were not found.