Antibody responses to avian encephalomyelitis virus vaccines when administered by different routes

Antibody responses to a commercial avian encephalomyelitis virus (AEV) vaccine administered by different routes were measured by an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Responses to single doses of vaccine administered by the ocular route to 10% of a flock were comparable with those obtained when all birds received a single dose in the drinking water. However, ocular vaccination of 5% of the flock resulted in significantly lower responses than those obtained when 10% were vaccinated. Maternal antibody was shown by the ELISA to persist in chickens from vaccinated flocks for up to 21 days after hatching. Day-old chickens with serum absorbances of < 0.3 at 492 nm, as determined by the ELISA, were shown to be susceptible to intracerebral challenge with the neurotropic Van Roekel strain of AEV.     

Comparison of media to isolate Staphylococcus aureus from teat skin and milking unit liners.

Four procedures were compared for isolation of Staphylococcus aureus from swabbing solutions of teat skin and milking unit liners from commercial dairies. In 2 procedures, 0.1 ml of swabbing solutions were added to either 5 ml Vogel-Johnson or Baird Parker broth media and enriched at 37 degrees C, 4 h. Following enrichment, 0.1 ml culture was transferred to modified Baird-Parker agar and incubated at 37 degrees C, 48 h. In the other 2 procedures, 0.1 ml of swabbing solution was directly placed on either blood or modified Baird-Parker agar plates and incubated at 37 degrees C 48 h. Combining results from all methods, Staphylococcus aureus were isolated from 72 of 913 (7.9%) skin samples, and 34 of 268 liners (12.6%). On average, 43.1% (31/72) of the S. aureus isolates were found by the enrichment in liquid Vogel-Johnson procedure. The average isolation percentage for other methods ranged from 19.4% to 25.0%. Isolation of S. aureus from milking unit liner or teat skin swabbing solutions was approximately twice as likely after enrichment in Vogel-Johnson liquid media as opposed to other methods of isolation. This indicates that enrichment in Vogel-Johnson liquid media improved recovery of S. aureus from swabbing solutions.     

Congenital deafness and vestibular deficit in the dobermann

A condition characterised by the early onset of vestibular deficit and hearing loss was investigated in the dobermann breed of dog. Affected pups showed behavioural signs of head tilt, circling and ataxia and there was a total absence of vestibular response to rotation or caloric stimulation. Severe deafness, as assessed by brainstem auditory evoked response testing, was present by three weeks of age in all affected animals. The inner ears showed a progressive neuroepithelial type of cochlear degeneration with loss of the auditory sensory cells. In the vestibular system, however, there was no equivalent sensory cell loss and the only abnormal feature was the absence or abnormality of the otoconia in some of the affected animals. Pedigree analysis suggested that the condition was inherited as an autosomal recessive trait.     

Plasma and extracellular volume in calves: comparison between isotopic and 'cold' techniques.

While isotopic techniques have largely superseded traditional markers for the determination of the volume of fluid compartments in vivo, they are not always convenient, especially with diarrhoeic animals. A direct comparison was therefore made in week-old calves between Evans blue and radio-iodinated serum albumin as measures of plasma volume and thiocyanate or 24sodium as measures of extracellular fluid space. The correlation coefficients were excellent (1.00, 0.96; P < 0.001) and the calves had plasma and extracellular fluid volumes of 72 +/- 2 and 438 +/- 2 ml kg-1, respectively. The latter value is, though high, typical of young animals and comparable with other data in calves.     

Ionized calcium concentration in horses with surgically managed gastrointestinal disease: 147 cases (1988-1990).

Packed cell volume, total plasma protein, serum sodium, potassium, and ionized Ca2+ concentrations, and blood pH were determined at the time of admission and following surgery in 147 horses with acute abdominal crisis. Horses were allotted to 3 categories on the basis of the surgical lesion: (1) nonstrangulating obstruction of the ascending or descending colon (category A, n = 76), (2) strangulating and nonstrangulating infarction of the cecum or ascending colon (category B, n = 37), and (3) strangulating and nonstrangulating infarction of the small intestine (category C, n = 25). Horses with low serum ionized Ca2+ concentration following surgery were given 23% calcium gluconate (100 to 300 ml) IV to effect, and ionized Ca2+ concentration was determined following treatment. The serum ionized Ca2+ concentrations of horses in categories A, B, and C before and after surgery were lower than our normal laboratory reference range. Prior to surgery, serum ionized Ca2+ concentration measured from horses in category B and C was lower than that in horses in category A. There was no difference in ionized Ca2+ concentration in serum samples obtained before surgery in horses from category B and C, and in serum samples obtained following surgery. There was a decrease in ionized Ca2+ concentration during surgery in horses in category A. There was no change between preoperative and postoperative ionized Ca2+ concentration in the samples obtained from horses in category B and C. After calcium gluconate administration, all horses with low serum ionized Ca2+ after surgery had concentrations within our normal range. Measurement of serum ionized Ca2+ in horses with an acute abdominal crisis is recommended.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

Effect of dietary protein content on episodic growth hormone secretion and on heat production of male broiler chickens.

1. The effect of the crude protein content (200 and 150 g/kg) of isoenergetic diets on episodic growth hormone (GH) release and on heat production was investigated in male broiler chickens. 2. Decreasing the crude protein content of isoenergetic diets from 200 g/kg (HP diet) to 150 g/kg (LP diet) resulted in depressed body weight gain, impaired food conversion efficiency and increased abdominal fat deposition. 3. The pattern of growth hormone secretion was markedly affected by dietary treatment. Broiler chickens fed on the LP diet had higher overall mean, amplitude, baseline and peak frequency than the HP chickens. 4. The LP chickens produced more heat per unit of metabolic body weight than the HP chickens. 5. The hypothesis relating the pattern of GH secretion to protein conversion efficiency was corroborated.     

Detection with nonradioactively labeled probes of the toxin genes of different E. coli pathotypes from swine]

We tested hemolytic E. coli from 86 pigs with edema disease or colidiarrhea. They were tested serologically and with nonradioactive digoxigenin-dUTP labelled probes for the presence of enterotoxin or Shiga-like-toxin genes. By slide-agglutination we detected 38 cases with E. coli O149:K88, 28 with E. coli O139:82B and 20 with E. coli O141. E. coli of serogroup O149:K88 isolated from diarrheic pigs, reacted with the probes for LT and STb genes. Edema disease E. coli O139:82B reacted with the SLTII probe. E. coli O141, isolated from colidiarrhea or edema disease showed a diversity of toxin gene patterns. All the E. coli O141 from diarrheic pigs reacted with the probes for LT and STap in addition to SLTII. No strains isolated from pigs with edema disease possessed any of these enterotoxin genes. Gene probe technique confirmed the serological method as useful tool for diagnosing E. coli O149:K88 and O139:82B as ETEC or VTEC, respectively. On the other hand only the demonstration of toxin genes with probes could explain the pathological findings in the pigs shedding E. coli of serogroup O141.     

Severe mortality in broiler chickens associated with Mycoplasma synoviae and Pasteurella gallinarum.

Severe economic loss due to high mortality and condemnation rates occurred on two commercial broiler facilities. Chickens had moderate-to-severe airsacculitis, pericarditis, perihepatitis, tracheitis, and synovitis. Pasteurella gallinarum was isolated from 16 of 18 pericardia, four of 14 livers, 11 of 16 air sacs, six of seven joints and one of 28 tracheas in pure culture. In addition, Mycoplasma synoviae was isolated from trachea and air sac. Lesions were suggestive of an Escherichia coli septicemia, but E. coli was isolated from only four of 28 tracheas and one of 14 livers in pure culture. A coronavirus was isolated from trachea and lung. Whether this coronavirus represented a vaccine or field strain of infectious bronchitis was not determined. These findings suggested that the severe lesions were due to a concomitant infection with an atypical strain of P. gallinarum.     

Adaptation of 5'-deiodination to hypothyroid conditions following surgical and/or radiothyroidectomy in chickens

The effect of thyroidectomy on serum levels of thyroid hormones (thyroxine, T4; triiodothyronine, T3) and on tissue levels of T3 as well as on 5'-deiodination (5'-DI) in liver, kidney and brain of chickens was investigated. The most effective way of thyroidectomy was a combined surgical (Tx) plus radiothyroidectomy (RTx) with low amounts of 131-I (NaI). The latter destroyed extra-thyroidal hormone production. It was found that even if after Tx and RTx the serum levels of T4 and T3 were close to the detection limit, the tissue T3 level was only half of normal in liver and kidney and remained normal in the brain. It is suggested that lowered 5'-deiodination is an important but not exclusive factor contributing to this adaptation of cells to hypothyroid conditions.     

Morphologic changes in the mammary gland of megestrol acetate-treated and untreated cats: a retrospective study

Abnormal mammary gland growth is a side effect of progestin therapy in some cats. In this retrospective study, the nature and significance of morphologic changes in the mammary gland of 17 megestrol acetate (MA)-treated cats were compared to mammary lesions in 97 untreated cats. Fourteen out of 17 MA-treated cats had non-neoplastic mammary lesions including fibroepithelial hyperplasia (nine cats), lobular hyperplasia (three cats), and duct ectasia (two cats); whereas three MA-treated cats had mammary neoplasms including one adenoma and two carcinomas. Although MA has been causally linked to mammary cancer in cats, only mammary fibroepithelial hyperplasia was clearly associated with MA therapy in this study. Fibroepithelial hyperplasia occurred in older (average age 8.1 years) neutered male and female cats in the MA-treated group and in younger (average age 2.1 years) female cats in the untreated group. Morphologically, both intraductal and solid fibroepithelial growth patterns were seen. Intraductal fibroepithelial hyperplasia was further subdivided into papillary and circumferential types. An apparent greater association between MA therapy and the intraductal types of fibroepithelial hyperplasia was noted. Furthermore, it appears likely that mammary lobular hyperplasia also is linked to MA therapy. Possible mammatrophic effects of MA and other growth-promoting agents in the cat are discussed.