Isolation of lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus from wild house mice (Mus musculus) in Osaka Port, Japan.

Lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus (LCMV) was isolated from 14 out of 35 wild house mouse samples captured on two piers of Osaka port in Japan. Four of them were isolated from were isolated from 18 antibody positive mice while 10 were from 17 antibody negative mice. This is the first report of the isolation of LCMV from wild mice in Japan.     

Lamb mortality in Meknes province (Morocco)

Two studies were carried out: a preliminary study based upon 220 flocks visited twice to collect data on sheep-flock management and losses, and a second intensive 2 year (1984–1986) study carried out on 16 of the 220 flocks in one country.

Mean annual lamb mortalities were 17.6% (1984–1985) and 31.3% (1985–1986), and varied significantly according to nutrition. Pre-parturient deaths represented 27.3% (1984–1985) and 18.9% (1985–1986) of total deaths. The percentage of parturient deaths was very low (0.4%) for both years. Of the lambs necropsied, starvation/exposure complex contributed most to lamb mortality. Enteritis and septicemia represented the second most important cause. Of the enteritis cases, 18.5–63.2% of the samples analyzed were positive for Escherichia coli: 38.5% of the septicemia cases were positive for E. coli in 1985–1986 but none were positive in 1984–1985. E. coli K99 isolates were rare. Only one Salmonella isolate was made in 1985–1986. There were 16 cases (12.2%) of pneumonia in 1984–1985 and two cases only (1.5%) in 1985–1986. Of the cases examined, 18.8% were positive for Pasturella hemolytica and 25% were positive for Pasturella multocida in 1984–1985.

Its appears that lamb mortality can be reduced by improvement of nutrition and health care in many of these flocks. Further work should be done to provide information on the causes of lamb pneumonia as well as the potential for vaccination against lamb diarrhea (i.e. E. coli in these flocks.     

Serological survey of Brucella abortus antibody prevalence in the one-humped camel (Camelus dromedarius) from eastern Sudan

A five year investigation of Brucella antibody prevalence in camel sera was conducted in 1502 one-humped camels of both sexes and different ages. The average (mean +/- SD) incidence rate of positive results was 6.95 +/- 1.55%. Among adult one-humped camels, the rate was 4.94 +/- 2.51% in males and 13.76 +/- 4.41% in females. Juvenile one-humped camel calves showed a 0% incidence rate in males and a 1.82 +/- 3.64% in females. Antibodies against Brucella abortus were prevalent in one-humped camel sera throughout the five years of the survey with incidence rates of 6.54, 5.79, 9.32, 5.03 and 8.06%, respectively from 1985 to 1989.     

Bovine leukemia virus infection in Taiwan: epidemiological study.

We conducted a seroepidemiological survey for antibodies to bovine leukemia virus (BLV), by using agar gel immunodiffusion technique, in dairy cows, water buffaloes, and yellow cattle throughout Taiwan. The positive reactors were 8.4% (376/4,459) in 1985 and 5.8% (1,277/22,190) in 1986, in 15 prefectures and 7 cities. Relatively high infection rate appeared in the northern and southern areas of Taiwan. Positive reactors increased gradually with age. The incidence of positive antibodies was 2 to 3 times higher in pasture-style farms than in housed-style farms. Among the 6,313 imported cattle, 302 (4.8%) showed positive reaction. Between 1985 and 1987, 5 cattle showed enzootic bovine leukosis among 351 sero-positive reactors in four highly positive prefectures. Survey of 134 water buffaloes and yellow cattle showed no positive reactors. This survey demonstrated that BLV-infection has increased over the years and spread throughout Taiwan.     

The detection of Toxoplasma gondii by comparing cytology, histopathology, bioassay in mice, and the polymerase chain reaction (PCR)

The objective of this study was to compare the different methods of detecting Toxoplasma gondii in sheep tissue, tested serologically positive by the indirect immunofluorescent antibody test (IFAT). Brain, diaphragm, and blood samples were collected from 522 sheep slaughtered at the S?o Manuel abattoir, S?o Paulo State, Brazil. Brain and diaphragm samples from IFAT seropositive animals were digested by both trypsin and pepsin and then injected into mice. Part of the digested samples was used to prepare slides for Giemsa staining and in the polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Tissue fragments were fixed in formalin and examined using hematoxilin-eosin (HE). Forty of the sheep (7.7%) were IFAT positive. T. gondii was isolated in 23 (59.0%) of the 39 mice with pepsin-digested brain samples and in 27 (69.0%) of the 39 with trypsin-digested brain samples. Injection of diaphragm samples led to T. gondii isolation in 26 (66.7%) of the 39 pepsin-digested samples and 21 (53.8%) of the 39 trypsin-digested samples. Cytological and hystopathological examination of both brains and diaphragms was negative in all examined sheep. PCR was positive in 7 (17.9%) of the trypsin and 2 (5.1%) of the pepsin-digested samples, while 9 (23.1%) of the trypsin and 3 (7.7%) of the pepsin-digested samples showed T. gondii DNA. T. gondii isolation rate in mice (n = 34; 85.0%) was significantly higher than detection by PCR (n = 15; 37.5%).     

Antimicrobial Susceptibility of Microorganisms Isolated from Equine Orthopedic Patients

Positive cultures were obtained from 60 equine orthopedic cases during a 12 year period (1974-1985). These cases consisted of 34 long or cuboidal bone fractures, 13 arthrotomy/arthroscopy procedures for removal or internal fixation of a fracture, 7 proximal splint bone fractures, and 6 facial or mandibular fractures. Excluding the 13 arthrotomies, only 10 (21%) of the 47 were open fractures. Multiple organisms were isolated from 36 cases (20 long or cuboidal bone fractures, 7 splint bone fractures, 5 mandibular fractures, and 4 intra-articular fractures). Of the 142 isolates, 35 (24%) were members of the family Enterobacteriaceae, 33 (23%) Streptococcus spp., and 25 (18%) Staphylococcus spp. with the majority being coagulase positive (65%). Other organisms isolated were Pseudomonas spp. (16, 11%), obligate anaerobes (11, 7%), and Actinobacillus spp. (7, 5%). the remaining 10% consisted of Pasteurella spp., Bacillus spp., Corynebacterium spp., Micrococcus spp., and Actinomyces spp. When comparing results between two time periods (1974-1979 and 1980-1985) there was an increase in the percentage of coagulase positive staphylococci isolates resistant to all antimicrobics tested except oxacillin and amikacin, and Escherichia coli isolates were resistant to all but amikacin. For Pseudomonas spp., resistance to gentamicin increased in the second time period (1980-1986). During the initial time period (1974-1979) culture tests for obligate anerobes were not conducted until 1975. No anerobes were cultured during those initial 5 years; however, one third of those isolated after 1980 were resistant to penicillin and ampicillin.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

Scrapie in Cyprus

Scrapie was first recorded in Cyprus in 1985 in two flocks of sheep and subsequently the disease was diagnosed in dairy goats kept in mixed flocks with affected sheep. By 1989 scrapie had been diagnosed in 23 flocks. Epidemiological data presented in the present study are essentially from clinicopathological investigations between 1985 and 1989. A total of 356 out of 957 sheep and 10 out of 30 goats examined from flocks in Nicosia, Larnaca and Limassol districts showed histopathological lesions consistent with a diagnosis of scrapie.     

Evaluation of feline leukemia virus diagnostic tests available for in-office use by veterinarians.

Blood samples from cats were tested for FeLV group-specific antigen by use of an indirect immunofluorescent antibody (IFA) test, ELISA, or both. Several ELISA kits were evaluated as they would be used in a veterinary clinic, and some ELISA kits were compared with an IFA test for agreement of results. Good agreement of results was evident among the commercially available ELISA kits; results for most blood samples were clearly negative or decidely positive. Occasionally, test results were equivocal and retesting was necessary to obtain clear interpretation. Negative results are highly reliable, which makes ELISA valuable screening tests for FeLV in healthy cats. Results of tests on blood from healthy cats in Alabama indicated positivity rate of 4.0% in 1978 with an IFA test and 4.8% with ELISA in 1988 through 1989. Infection rate in sick cats ranged from 11.6 to 35.8%. The frequency of positive test results for FeLV in cats tested at Auburn University decreased from a 5-year average of 27.7% during 1980 through 1984 to a 5-year average of 14.9% during 1986 through 1990; the rate in 1990 was 11.6%.     

The incidence of Coxiella burnetii antibodies in cattle in the Transvaal

With the use of the complement fixation test, 8,900 cattle were tested for antibodies to Coxiella burnetii. These were randomly selected from 178 different farms in 37 districts in the Transvaal. The percentage of cattle in the sample with positive antibody titres was equal to 7.78%, with a standard error of 0.28%. Because of the large size of the sample, asymptotic normality can be relied upon and the population confidence interval calculated. This was found to be greater than or = 0.07 and less than or = 0.085 at a 99% confidence level. Hence we are 99% confident that between 7% and 8.5% of the cattle in the Transvaal had antibodies to Coxiella burnetii during the period March 1985 to July 1986. The proportion of cattle with C. burnetii antibodies was also estimated for each of the 37 districts tested. Every district tested had some evidence of C. burnetii. The percentage of positive titres ranged from less than 1%-30% per district. This suggests that C. burnetii is probably an endemic disease of the cattle population of the Transvaal. A higher proportion of cattle had antibody titres in the central and south-eastern parts of the Transvaal. This distribution may be linked to the distribution of Boophilus species ticks which occur in the same areas of the Transvaal.     

Seroepidemiological studies of the detection of leptospires of the sejroe group in cattle in middle Thuringia]

From 1983 to 1989 14,361 head of cattle from the middle Thuringia region were investigated by means of microagglutination test for the presence of Leptospira serovars hardjo, saxkoebing and sejroe. 4,484 samples from cattle with abortion (1983-1985) and a random sample of 5,284 cattle sera (1985) were investigated giving priority to L. hardjo. Furthermore 3,293 samples from cattle with abortion (1986/87) and a random samples test of 1,300 cattle sera (1989) were tested giving priority to L. saxkoebing. 2.5 percent of the cows having aborted and 10.3 percent of cattle tested out of the whole livestock showed antibodies against L. hardjo. The test for presence of L. saxkoebing demonstrated in cattle with abortion a seroprevalence of 14 percent and in the random samples tests a portion of reagents of 11.3 percent. The degree of infection differed regionally, the highest degree was found in livestocks of the northern part of the Thuringia forest. The prevalence of L. saxkoebing in cattle with abortion from large dairy farms was 18.6 percent, which is higher than the average in the region examined. Antibodies against hardjo and sejroe were interpreted as caused by cross reactivity.     

Cache Valley virus infection in Texas sheep flocks

Cache Valley virus (CVV), an arbovirus indigenous to the United States, has been implicated as an important teratogenic agent in sheep. The prevalence and distribution of Texas sheep with CVV-specific antibody were investigated. In 1981, 19.1% of 366 sheep located in 22 counties of Texas had antibodies specific for CVV. Of 50 flocks examined in the major sheep-producing counties in Texas, 34 had sheep with antibodies that reacted with CVV, including all sheep tested in 6 flocks that were seropositive. Sera obtained from sheep at the Texas Agricultural Experiment Station at San Angelo between 1986 and 1989 were also examined for CVV-specific antibody because this flock was the subject of the episode of CVV-associated congenital malformations during the 1986 and 1987 lambing season. Approximately 8.6% of 104 sheep in 1986, 63.4% of 164 in 1987, 11.3% of 44 in 1988, and 71.9% of 89 in 1989 from the Texas Agricultural Experiment Station at San Angelo tested were seropositive. The data indicate that CVV infections in sheep were widespread in Texas in 1981 and that the virus is enzootic in sheep at the Texas Agricultural Experiment Station in San Angelo, where the episode of congenital malformations had initially been reported in 1987.     

Finding of Neospora caninum in the wild brown rat (Rattus norvegicus)

Nine rats (16.4%) out of 55 (Rattus norvegicus) from cattle farms were seropositive to Neospora caninum. Two of the seropositive rats were also PCR positive but all were negative by immunohistochemistry and PAS staining. The brains of all the captured rats were homogenized and initially inoculated intraperitoneally into nude mice or into SPF ICR mice, which had been immunosuppressed with prednisolone. One mouse that was inoculated with brain material from a seropositive rat became infected with N. caninum, as demonstrated by the presence of a tissue cyst in the brain and confirmed by immunohistochemistry and PCR. This is the first finding of N. caninum in naturally infected farm rats. The findings show that natural N. caninum infection occurs in wild brown rats and thus rats may serve as a reservoir for the protozoan on the cattle farm.     

Toxoplasma gondii antibodies in common barn-owls (Tyto alba) and pigeons (Columba livia) in New Jersey

In southwestern New Jersey during 1986 and 1987, common barn-owls and pigeons were captured on farmsteads and tested for Toxoplasma gondii antibodies by a modified direct agglutination test. In 1986, 3/28 (10.7%) adult and 0/124 nestling owls tested positive at titers of greater than or equal to 1:40. Additionally, 2/34 (5.9%) pigeons tested had T. gondii antibodies at titer of 1:320. In 1987, 9/38 (27.3%) adult and 18/80 (22.5%) nestling owls tested positive at titers of greater than or equal to 1:25; this includes 3/38 (7.9%) adult and 1/80 (1.3%) nestling owls that tested positive at a titer of 1:50.     

Immunoreactivity of A103, an antibody to Melan A, in canine steroid-producing tissues and their tumors.

The monoclonal antibody A103 to the melanocytic differentiation antigen Melan A stains human steroid-producing cells and their tumors. A total of 200 formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded canine normal tissues and hyperplastic and neoplastic lesions of the adrenal gland, testis, and ovary were immunohistochemically tested for Melan A with antibody A103. Leydig cell tumors (23/23, 100%), Sertoli cell tumors (14/15, 93%), and adrenocortical adenomas (12/13, 92%) were consistently positive. Adrenocortical carcinomas (23/35, 65%) and granulosa cell tumors (10/17, 59%) were less frequently positive. All pheochromocytomas, seminomas, and dysgerminomas were negative. The pattern of staining was cytoplasmic, but nuclear staining was also frequently seen in normal Leydig cells and their tumors. As in human tumors, immunohistochemistry for Melan A stains many canine steroid-producing tumors and can be used to distinguish these tumors from those of nonstereidogenic cells.     

Seroprevalence and identification of Ornithobacterium rhinotracheale from broiler and broiler breeder flocks in Thailand

Ornithobacteriosis is an infectious disease of avian species that has been reported in almost all countries around the world, except Thailand. The objectives of this study were to determine the seroprevalence of Ornithobacterium rhinotracheale (ORT) and to isolate and identify ORT in broilers and broiler breeders in Thailand. Chicken antibodies had been randomly checked from 17 farms (19 flocks) of broilers and 23 farms (28 flocks) of broiler breeders. The seropositive flocks were 63% and 100% in broilers and broiler breeders, respectively. The sera analysis showed that the individual 280 broiler sera antibody responses were 67.5% negative, 12.9% suspect, and 19.6% positive. The individual antibody responses of 510 broiler breeder sera revealed 12.2% negative, 38.0% suspect, and 49.8% positive samples. The bacteria were isolated and identified by polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Bacterial isolation and identification revealed that nine isolates of the 12 PCR analysis samples showed positive results to PCR analysis. All the positive PCR samples were collected from the broiler breeder farms.     

麻雀自然感染鸡传染性法氏囊病病毒的调查

从鸡传染性法氏囊病（IBD）流行的鸡场捕杀麻雀54只,用鸡传染性法氏囊病病毒（IBDV）单克隆抗体夹心阻断ELISA检测抗体,阳性检出率为7.4％(4/54);以逆转录—聚合酶链反应（RT-PCR）检测病毒核酸,阳性检出率为11.1％（6/54）;RT-PCR阳性样本病毒分离亦为阳性。结果表明,IBD流行的鸡场里的麻雀能够发生IBDV自然感染,麻雀可能是IBDV的贮存宿主或二次传染源之一。     

Serologic evidence for the etiologic role of Chuzan virus in an epizootic of congenital abnormalities with hydranencephaly-cerebellar hypoplasia syndrome of calves in Japan

An epizootic of congenital abnormalities of calves was observed in the Kyushu district of Japan from November 1985 through April 1986. The main clinical signs of the disease were impairment of mobility and signs of impairment of the nervous system. Opisthotonos was pronounced, and almost all calves were unable to suckle by themselves. The main macroscopic pathologic changes were hydranencephaly and cerebellar hypoplasia. Although an etiologic agent was not isolated from the calves, serotest results of precolostral serum samples indicated that 128 of 139 (92%) abnormal calves had antibody for Chuzan virus, a new virus belonging to the Palyam subgroup of the Orbivirus genus; 34 healthy calves in the epizootiologic area did not have antibody for the virus. The presence of Chuzan virus in Kyushu in 1985 was confirmed serologically.     

The eradication experience of enzootic bovine leukosis from Lithuania

Before 1985 the situation regarding enzootic bovine leukosis (EBL) in Lithuanian cattle was described only haphazardly. In 1986 serological investigations were initiated together with an eradication programme. The EBL bovine leukosis virus (BLV) situation was monitored by the Institute of Immunology Vilnius University, national and regional veterinary laboratories. Starting in 1986 all EBL-positive cattle were separated from negative cattle into BLV-infected and BLV-free herds. To create the latter, calves were fed pasteurized milk. The seroprevalence in 1990 was 7.29%, but it steadily declined to 0.32% in 2006.