Antibiotic aerosolization: the effect on experimentally induced Alcaligenes rhinotracheitis in turkeys

Oxytetracycline hydrochloride was delivered by aerosol twice daily for 3 days to uninfected turkeys and to turkeys experimentally inoculated with Alcaligenes faecalis. The clinical, microbiological, and histological changes in the upper respiratory tracts were studied. No lesions were observed in the tracheas of uninoculated poults exposed to the aerosol. In experimentally infected poults, clinical signs included ocular and nasal discharges and open-mouthed breathing. Histologic lesions included progressive bacterial colonization of ciliated epithelium, loss of cilia, depletion of mucin from goblet cells, and accumulation of inflammatory cells within the tracheal lumen. Aerosolization of oxytetracycline effected a temporary decrease in bacterial colonization and a delay in clinical signs and histologic lesions in infected treated poults compared with untreated infected poults. Bacterial colonization and histologic lesions in the tracheas of both treated and untreated infected poults were similar by 4 days after the treatment was discontinued. This study indicates additional research with bactericidal antibiotics is needed to further evaluate antibiotic aerosolization as a treatment for alcaligenes rhinotracheitis.     

Feeding and drinking behavior of mares and foals with free access to pasture and water

The feeding and drinking behavior of 11 mares and 15 foals living on pasture with free access to water was recorded during 2,340 15-min focal samples taken over 2 yr. Lactating mares on pasture spent about 70% of the day feeding. Foals began feeding on their first day of life. As they grew older, they spent progressively more time feeding, but still spent only 47 +/- 6% of the time feeding by 21 wk of age. Foals fed primarily during the early morning and evening. While grass formed the major proportion of the diet of both foals and mares, they also ate clay, humus, feces, bark, leaves and twigs. Almost all feeding by foals was done while their mothers were feeding. Movement to water sources was frequently, but not invariably, carried out by an entire herd. Frequency (P = .005) but not duration (P greater than .05) of drinking bouts by mares increased as the temperature increased. Frequency was greatest at 30 to 35 C, at which temperature mares drank once every 1.8 h. Frequency of drinking varied with the time of day (P less than .01), being rarest during the early morning (0500 to 0900 h eastern daylight time) and most frequent during the afternoon (1300 to 1700 h). Drinking by foals was very rare. The youngest age at which a foal was observed to drink was 3 wk, and 8 of 15 foals were never observed to drink before weaning.     

Induction of diplodiosis, a neuromycotoxicosis, in domestic ruminants with cultures of indigenous and exotic isolates of Diplodia maydis

Diplodiosis, a neuromycotoxicosis, principally of cattle, which is characterized by ataxia, paresis and paralysis, was induced in 13 cattle, 16 sheep and 3 goats, by dosing them with Diplodia maydis [= D. zeae (Schw.) Lév.] cultured on sterilized maize seeds. The results of these experiments confirmed the findings of earlier workers that diplodiosis is a mycotoxicosis caused by D. maydis. The intoxication was induced with cultures of South African isolates of D. maydis obtained from local maize, one of which was associated with a suspected field outbreak, and with cultures of isolates from maize imported from the United States of America and Argentina. Other findings emerging from the experiments were, inter alia, that cultures incubated for less than 8 weeks were seemingly non-toxic, that there was little individual variation in response of cattle to cultures of the different toxic isolates or batches of the isolates, that apparent relapses of clinical signs can occur several weeks after dosing had ceased and that a small percentage of animals can show permanent locomotory disturbance. Light microscopical examination revealed no lesions in acutely affected animals, but an extensive laminar subcortical status spongiosis was evident in the cerebrum and cerebellum of a sheep that had been long paralysed and a steer that had permanent locomotory disturbance.     

Multiple embryo-transplant offspring produced from quartering a bovine embryo at the morula stage

A non-surgical embryo collection was completed on a day 7 superovulated Chianina donor cow. Because all but two of the ova from the collection were unfertilised and a surplus of potential recipients was available, one embryo (an excellent quality late morula) was dissected into four equal portioned 'quarter' embryos using a simplified micromanipulation procedure. Each quarter embryo was then placed in a 0.25 ml French straw and non-surgically transplanted to four different crossbred beef recipient females. The remaining embryo was similarly transplanted to a herd mate recipient as an intact embryo. One recipient returned to oestrus, one recipient had an extended post transfer cycle and the two remaining recipients produced a live quarter embryo transplant calf each within 24 hours of the other. The intact embryo placed in a herd mate recipient did not produce a transplant calf. To the authors' knowledge, these transplant offspring are the first live births reported from a non-surgically collected later-stage bovine morula (day 7), which had been dissected into quarters and then individually transplanted non-surgically to recipient females. The procedure was relatively simple to perform and was completed in less than one hour.     

Response of growing-finishing pigs to decreasing floor space allowance and(or) virginiamycin in diet

Five hundred forty crossbred pigs were utilized in four trials (10 replications) at two stations to determine the separate and interacting effects of decreasing floor space allowance with or without the addition of virginiamycin to the diet on performance of growing-finishing pigs. Pigs were allowed .37, .33 or .28 m2/pig during the growing phase (23 to 55 kg) and .74, .66, .56 m2/pig during the finishing phase (55 to 100 kg) and fed either a corn-soybean meal control diet or the control diet plus 11 mg of virginiamycin/kg of diet. Floor space allowances were achieved by varying pen size, so the number of pigs and feeder space per pig were constant for all pens. During the growing phase, daily gain (P less than .01) daily feed intake (P less than .05) and feed conversion ratio (P less than .05) decreased as floor space allowance decreased. During the finishing phase and for the total test period, daily gain (P less than .01) and feed conversion ratio (P less than .05) were reduced but daily feed intake was not affected (P greater than .05) by restricted floor space allowance. The addition of virginiamycin to the diet had no effect on pig performance. The virginiamycin X floor space allowance interaction was not significant, suggesting that pigs fed a diet with or without virginiamycin responded similarly to restricted floor space allowance. The data suggest that the addition of virginiamycin to the diet was ineffective in overcoming the decrease in performance of growing-finishing pigs caused by crowded conditions.     

Perinatal piglets under sublethal concentrations of atmospheric carbon monoxide

Perinatal exposure to atmospheric carbon monoxide at sublethal concentrations affected neonatal piglets negatively. Low total hemoglobin concentration and oxyhemoglobin saturation ratio were present at birth in piglets farrowed by gilts that had been exposed to carbon monoxide at 250 ppm from gestation d 109 on, but stillbirth rate was only 4.8%. Carboxyhemoglobin saturation ratio increased from .0 to 19.8 and 22.4% as carbon monoxide concentration rose from background (less than 5 ppm) to 200 and 250 ppm. Carbon monoxide affected neonatal piglets' behavior. Piglets exposed to atmospheric carbon monoxide at 250 ppm perinatally took longer to nurse for the first time than did counterparts under background or 200-ppm concentrations. Those under carbon monoxide at 250 ppm had compromised performance in behavior tests that measured a piglet's ability to orient itself in, maneuver in and investigate its environment, respectively.     

Hemorrhage from the cosmetic otoplasty of Doberman Pinschers with von Willebrand's disease

The hemorrhagic tendencies of 23 Doberman Pinscher pups were observed during cosmetic otoplasty and were ranked by a +1 to +4 grading system (+1 = least hemorrhage, and +4 = most hemorrhage). A second estimate of the hemostatic competencies of these dogs was made by counting the gauze sponges used in the otoplasties. Factor VIII-related antigen concentrations and coagglutinin cofactor concentrations were measured in plasma samples from blood drawn not more than 30 hours before the surgical procedures were done. The factor VIII-related antigen concentrations were between 9% and 147% of the concentration in a normal plasma pool, and the coagglutinin cofactor concentrations were between 1% and 165%, indicating that some of these dogs had von Willebrand's disease. The hemorrhagic tendencies of 12 pups were graded +1. This group had a mean antigen concentration of 75% (min-max, 38% to 147%) and a mean coagglutinin cofactor concentration of 89% (min-max, 42% to 165%). These were significantly greater than the antigen and cofactor concentrations of the grades +2 (n = 5), +3 (n = 3), or +4 (n = 3) dogs. Significant differences were not found when antigen concentrations of the grade +2 dogs (mean, 16%; min-max, 11% to 22%), grade +3 dogs (mean, 13%; 12% to 16%), and grade +4 dogs (mean, 11%; 9% to 12%) were compared with each other, nor were significant differences seen among the coagglutinin cofactor concentrations of the grade +2 dogs (mean, 7%; min-max, 1% to 11%), grade +3 dogs (mean, 6%, 4% to 8%), and grade +4 dogs (mean, 5%; 2% to 9%).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

Red cell population distributions in healthy dogs

Red blood cells population distributions were studied in puppies and in mature beagle dogs using the Coulter Channelyzer C-1000. Weekly measurements over a period of six months indicated that only minor fluctuations in population distribution indices occurred. Normal range studies showed that although mean cell volume was similar in young and older dogs, young dogs showed an approximately 12.5 per cent greater volume range due to an increased presence of both larger and smaller cells. The red cell population distributions conformed to a single log normal distribution. A mild anaemia was induced in mature dogs. Compensation for this led to transient changes from the usual log normal shape of the red cell population distribution.     

BCG treatment of periocular sarcoid

Twenty-six horses and five mules with periocular sarcoids were treated with intralesional injections of a purified bacillus of Calmette and Guerin (BCG) cell walls in oil suspension. All sarcoids were cured and the horses and mules remained free from recurrence of sarcoid during the two-year follow-up period.