Goat uterine epithelial cells are susceptible to infection with Caprine Arthritis Encephalitis Virus (CAEV) in vivo

ABSTRACT: The aim of this study was to determine, using immunofluorescence and in situ hybridization, whether CAEV is capable of infecting goat uterine epithelial cells in vivo. Five CAEV seropositive goats confirmed as infected using double nested polymerase chain reaction (dnPCR) on leucocytes and on vaginal secretions were used as CAEV positive goats. Five CAEV-free goats were used as controls. Samples from the uterine horn were prepared for dnPCR, in situ hybridization, and immunofluorescence. The results from dnPCR confirmed the presence of CAEV proviral DNA in the uterine horn samples of infected goats whereas no CAEV proviral DNA was detected in samples taken from the uninfected control goats. The in situ hybridization probe was complementary to part of the CAEV gag gene and confirmed the presence of CAEV nucleic acids in uterine samples. The positively staining cells were seen concentrated in the mucosa of the lamina propria of uterine sections. Finally, laser confocal analysis of double p28/cytokeratin immunolabelled transverse sections of CAEV infected goat uterus, demonstrated that the virus was localized in glandular and epithelial cells. This study clearly demonstrates that goat uterine epithelial cells are susceptible to CAEV infection in vivo. This finding could help to further our understanding of the epidemiology of CAEV, and in particular the possibility of vertical transmission.     

Caprine arthritis-encephalitis syndrome (CAE): A review

Caprine arthritis-encephalitis syndrome (CAE) is a viral disease of domestic goats characterized by chronic proliferative synovitis and periarthritis of adult goats while acute afebrile leukoencephalomyelitis is characteristic in goat kids. The causative agent, a Lentivirus, is transmitted from adult goats to kids via the colostrum or lateral transmission also occurs.The CAE virus is worldwide in distribution. All breeds and ages of goats. are susceptible to infection, and once established it persists throughout the animal's life. A diagnosis can be based on the clinical signs, pathological changes, and demonstration of serum antibody levels.A vaccine is not available. Control or eradication of the disease is based on periodic serological testing, culling of all CAE antibody-positive animals, and separation of kids from adults following birth.Kansas Agriculture Experiment Station Contribution #84-148-J.     

Caprine arthritis-encephalitis syndrome (CAE): a review

Caprine arthritis-encephalitis syndrome (CAE) is a viral disease of domestic goats characterized by chronic proliferative synovitis and periarthritis of adult goats while acute afebrile leukoencephalomyelitis is characteristic in goat kids. The causative agent, a Lentivirus, is transmitted from adult goats to kids via the colostrum or lateral transmission also occurs. The CAE virus is worldwide in distribution. All breeds and ages of goats are susceptible to infection, and once established it persists throughout the animal's life. A diagnosis can be based on the clinical signs, pathological changes, and demonstration of serum antibody levels. A vaccine is not available. Control or eradication of the disease is based on periodic serological testing, culling of all CAE antibody-positive animals, and separation of kids from adults following birth.     

A voluntary scheme to accredit flocks and herds free from aprine arthritis encephalitis infection (CAE)

Extract

The following is an outline of a scheme to accredit goat flocks (or herds, as applicable) as free from the viral infection Caprine Arthritis Encephalitis (CAE).     

A Serological Investigation into Contagious Caprine Pleuropneumonia (CCPP) in Ethiopia

For a comparison of serological tests for CCPP, sera from 767 goats were examined. They were subjected to three tests: complement fixation test (CFT) with Mycoplasma capricolum subspecies capripneumoniae antigen; blocking ELISA (B-ELISA) with Mycoplasma capricolum subspecies capripneumoniae antigen; and CFT with Mycoplasma mycoides subspecies mycoides small colony type antigen. Antibodies were detected by these three tests in 23%, 2% and 12%, respectively, of sera from districts in which CCPP had not been reported, and in 60%, 83% and 87%, respectively, in sera from areas in which CCPP had been reported. The specificity of the tests is discussed. The use of the B-ELISA test for the diagnosis and for epidemiological studies of CCPP is strongly recommended.     

Caprine mycoplasmosis: widespread infection in goats with Mycoplasma mycoides subsp mycoides (large-colony type)

A mycoplasma survey of goats with a history of mastitis, polyarthritis, and pneumonia revealed a high incidence of Mycoplasma mycoides subsp mycoides (large-colony type). During the early winter kidding season of 1979-1980, kid morbidity in a large commercial dairy herd, evidenced by hyperthermia, polyarthritis, and pneumonia, exceeded 90%. In excess of 200 kids died. Colostral cultures of the parent does yielded 157 isolations from 605 goats (26%). Additional isolations were made from goats with polyarthritis, peritonitis, CNS disorders, and pneumonia; these animals represented 6 California counties and the states of Arizona and Idaho. Identification was accomplished by growth inhibition and immunofluorescent studies. Titers in the colostrum, although variable, were as high as 1 x 10(10) viable organisms/ml and remained virtually undiminished after storage at 5 C for periods of greater than or equal to 4 weeks. The experimental inoculation of the organism into normal goats 1 week to 2 years of age resulted in the death of most animals between the 4th and 14th day after inoculation, whether the organism was administered intraperitoneally, IM, into the teat canal, or orally to young animals. The primary lesions were a fibrinopurulent polyarthritis, fibrinous pleuritis, and pneumonia. It appears that goats can acquire the infection through ingestion, and the organism seems to be widespread in the United States.     

A study on Contagious Caprine Pleuropneumonia (CCPP) in goats at an export oriented abattoir, Debrezeit, Ethiopia

300 goat serum samples from an export-oriented abattoir were tested for contagious caprine pleuropneumonia antibodies by the complement fixation test. The disease prevalence was 31% with no significant differences (P > 0.05) between the regions “Borena”, “Bale”, “Afar” and “Jinka” or the age of the goats (P > 0.05). Gross pathology and histopathology of the lung primary lesions were indicative of pleuropneumonia caused by Mycoplasma capricolum subsp. capripneumoniae.     

Staphylococcal Arthritis in A White-Tailed Deer (Odocoileus virginianus)

A five and one-half year old deer (Odocoileus virginianus) developed an ankylosing periarticular hypertrophic arthritis due to a coagulase positive staphylococcus infection. Complete encasement of the tibio-tarsal (hock) joints with a hypertrophic, and porous osseous mass had occurred with complete loss of articular cartilage. The pathologic alterations of the tissues are compared to those occurring in swine due to Erysipelothrix insidiosa infection which produces a rheumatoid-like arthritis.     

中西医结合治疗羊传染性胸膜肺炎

<正>羊传染性胸膜肺炎是肺泡、细支气管和肺间质发生的炎症。不同年龄的羊只均可发生该病而且传染速度快。2007年11月至2008年12月共收治羊传染性胸膜肺炎335例,其中治愈319例,总有效率95%以上,收到了良好治疗效果。现将诊疗情况报告如下,供同行参考。     

A model for study of lungworm (Dictyocaulus sp.) and gastrointestinal nematode infection in young red deer (Cervus elaphus)

A model of sub-clinical parasitism in young red deer, using concurrent trickle infections of lungworm (Dictyocaulus sp.) and mixed gastro-intestinal (GI) nematodes of deer-origin was evaluated. 20 parasite-free deer calves were artificially reared indoors from 4 days of age. A further five calves were naturally reared on pasture with their dams, treated with anthelmintic and brought indoors at 3-4 months. At 4-4.5 months of age they were individually housed and allocated to five groups (n=5). Groups were dosed 3 x per week, for 9 weeks with 0, 100 and 500, 200 and 1000 (2 groups), 400 and 2000 infective larvae of lungworm and mixed GI nematodes, respectively, cultured from deer faeces. Liveweight and voluntary feed intake measurements and faecal and blood samples were taken weekly. In the fourth week following cessation of trickle infection, deer were euthanased and lung and GI nematodes recovered. Both lungworm and GI nematode infections became patent at Week 4 of infection. Maximum group arithmetic mean faecal egg counts were 100-190 epg. Maximum group arithmetic mean faecal lungworm larval counts were 58-123 lpg. Group arithmetic mean nematode counts at slaughter ranged from 439-806 for GI nematodes and 31-73 for lungworm, respectively. Despite low nematode counts, reduced liveweight gain, voluntary feed intake and serum albumin concentration, elevated serum pepsinogen, gastrin and globulin concentrations and elevated peripheral eosinophil counts and slight haemoconcentration, but no clinical signs, were observed. The reduction in liveweight gain was related to the reduction in voluntary feed intake (r2=0.83; p<0.088). Naturally-reared deer had similar liveweight gains, voluntary feed intake and nematode counts to artificially-reared deer. Thus, methods of infection to produce concurrent sub-clinical lungworm and GI nematode burdens for study of sub-clinical parasitism in young deer have been defined.     

Application of truncated nucleocapsid protein (N) for serotyping ELISA of murinae-associated hantavirus infection in rats

Truncated recombinant nucleocapsid proteins (trNs) that lack N-terminally located cross-reactive epitopes of four Murinae rodent-associated hantaviruses, Seoul virus (SEOV), Thailand virus, Hantaan virus (HTNV) and Dobrava-Belgrade virus, were produced by using a baculovirus expression system. ELISA with the trNs as antigens enabled serotyping of immune sera from rats experimentally inoculated with the corresponding hantaviruses with cut-off OD values of 60% of those of whole N of HTNV. The trN-based ELISA could serotype 12 out of 13 sera obtained from wild rodents (Rattus norvegicus) naturally infected with SEOV using the 60% cut-off value. These results indicate that screening with whole N followed by serotyping with trNs using a cut-off OD value of 60% of that of whole N is a useful method for serological surveillance of Murinae-associated hantavirus infection among rodents.     

A retrospective study of 11 cases of lungworm (Didelphostrongylus hayesi) infection in opossums (Didelphis virginiana).

A juvenile, female North American opossum (Didelphis virginiana) died of verminous pneumonia caused by Didelphostrongylus haysei despite aggressive treatment with oral fenbendazole, corticosteroids, and antibiotics. This prompted a retrospective study of lungworm infection in opossums, during which 19 additional necropsy reports from opossums were reviewed. Including the subject of this report, a total of 11 (55%) of these cases included a diagnosis of lungworm infection. This diagnosis was considered to have contributed to death in eight out of the 11 cases (73%). Histologically, 10 of the 11 (91%) opossums had granulomatous bronchopneumonia with small to moderate numbers of adult nematodes in the airways and parenchyma. Four of the 11 (36%) opossums had free larvae within the parenchyma or terminal airways. Inflammation was usually associated with larvae, degenerating parasites, and nonintact adult nematodes. Superimposed bacterial pneumonia was evident in three animals, and sections of lung examined from all the opossums were characterized by moderate to severe smooth-muscle hyperplasia in airways, including terminal respiratory bronchioles and alveolar ducts. Nine animals had prominent medial smooth-muscle hyperplasia in small- and medium-sized arterioles. Lesions in other organs, particularly in liver, heart, and gastrointestinal tract, were frequently identified. Three animals had concomitant septicemia or bacterial bronchopneumonia (or both), which contributed to the cause of death. Seven animals had gastric nematodosis (Physaloptera sp.), although three of them had been treated with a 14-day course of fenbendazole.     

A preliminary study of dietary protein requirement of juvenile marbled flounder (Pseudopleuronectes yokohamae)

An 8-week feeding trial was conducted to determine the optimal dietary protein level for juvenile marbled flounder. Five semi-purified test diets were formulated to contain different protein levels (CP) including 42.7%, 47.4%, 53.3%, 58.8%, and 64.5% (dry matter), named as CP42.7, CP47.4, CP53.3, CP58.8, and CP64.5, respectively. Five hundred and twenty-five juveniles (6.0 ± 0.1 g) were randomly distributed into 15 tanks (300 L tanks), resulting in 35 fish per tank (n = 3 tanks). Fish were fed the test diets 5 times per day until satiation. The CP58.8 resulted in the highest gain in weight and the best efficiency in feed utilization among the tested protein levels (P < 0.05). Fish fed the CP58.8 diet showed significantly higher whole-body protein and lipid contents than the fish that were fed the other diets (P < 0.05). Fish fed the CP53.3, CP58.8, and CP64.5 diets showed a significantly higher dorsal-muscle lipid content than the fish that were fed the CP42.7 and CP47.4 diets (P < 0.05). The one-slope straight broken-line regression analysis on the results of the thermal growth coefficient and feed conversion ratio indicated that the estimated optimum dietary protein level was 58.8%. Taken together, it is suggested that the dietary protein level of 58.8% is optimal for better growth and high efficiency in feed utilization for the juvenile marbled flounder.     

草原综合顺序分类系统第二级亚类的定量划分研究———以甘肃省为例简

 草原综合顺序分类理论自２０世纪５０年代提出以来,其完善的基本理论构架和定量化潜力已经使其成为草地生态系统研究科学性的代表。在草原综合顺序分类系统第１级——“类”的定量化研究方面取得了丰硕的成果,建立了检索图。但自该体系建立以来,由于数据获取困难,定量技术限制等原因,一直未开展第２级分类的定量化研究。论文以草原综合顺序分类系统的第２级——“亚类”为研究对象,在对亚类的分类指标——地形（地貌）和土壤的发生和分类进行综合分析的基础上,提出了在草地亚类划分中进行定量化分类的方法和原则,并以甘肃省为研究区域,进行了亚类的划分实践。首先,确定在山地使用地形（地貌）因子,在平原使用土壤亚类进行草地亚类划分,具体将甘肃省山地和平原按照坡度＞３°,连续面积达到６ｋｍ^２以上,划分为山地,其余划分为平原;在ＳＲＴＭ-ＤＥＭ数据基础上,提取了坡度、海拔、地势起伏度、山地和平原等因子,将甘肃省划分为２０个基本地貌类型单元;利用ＳＲＴＭ-ＤＥＭ 提取的地形坡度、坡向、曲率等数据和ＭＯＤＩＳ数据中ＭＯＤＩＳ０９ＧＡ、ＭＯＤＩＳ１３Ａ２影像提取和反演的土壤亮度、植被指数、水体指数、土壤温度、湿度指数、纹理特征等信息,通过监督分类,将甘肃省的土壤亚类定量划分为３６个类型;在此基础上,在山地使用地貌分类指标,在平原使用土壤分类指标将甘肃省草地划分为５６８个草地亚类。研究结果可以为完善草原综合顺序分类系统,建立类与型之间的桥梁,并最终推进该系统三级分类体系的实用化提供研究思路和方法参考。