First Portuguese isolate of Neospora caninum from an aborted fetus from a dairy herd with endemic neosporosis

Neospora caninum was isolated from the brain of an aborted 4-month-old fetus from a dairy cow herd with endemic neosporosis in Porto, Portugal. The fetal brain homogenate was inoculated interperitoneally first into outbred Swiss Webster mice given dexamethasone and then the peritoneal exudates from these mice was co-inoculated with mouse sarcoma cells in the peritoneal cavity of mice given dexamethasone. N. caninum tachyzoites were seen in peritoneal exudate of the second passage. Tachyzoites from the peritoneal exudate reacted positively with anti-N. caninum antibodies and not with anti-Toxoplasma gondii antibodies and contained N. caninum specific DNA. This Portuguese isolate of N. caninum has been successfully maintained in cell culture. The dam of the aborted fetus had an antibody titer of 1:10240 in the Neospora agglutination test (NAT). Antibodies to N. caninum were found in 76 of 106 cows from this herd in titers of 1:40 in 31, 1:80 in 22, > or =1:160 or more in 23 in the Neospora agglutination test. This is the first isolation of a viable N. caninum-like parasite from any host in Portugal.     

Kitten mortality in the United Kingdom: a retrospective analysis of 274 histopathological examinations (1986 to 2000)

The postmortem findings in 274 kittens were reviewed. The kittens were grouped by age at death: perinatal (< one day), neonatal (one to 14 days), preweaning (15 to 34 days) and postweaning (35 to 112 days); 203 (74 per cent) of the kittens were postweaning and 38 (14 per cent) were preweaning. Infectious disease was identified in 55 per cent of the kittens, and 71 per cent of the infectious disease was viral and detected significantly more frequently in rescue shelter kittens than in kittens from private homes. Twenty-five per cent of all kitten mortality was due to feline parvovirus (FPV). During the neonatal and preweaning periods, the main viral infections were feline herpesvirus and calicivirus. Feline infectious peritonitis caused the death of 17 kittens in the postweaning period. The rescue shelter kittens were significantly younger than the kittens from private homes (median survival 49 and 56 days) and were more likely to have FPV. The non-pedigree kittens were significantly younger than the pedigree kittens (42 v 56 days), and the pedigree kittens were significantly less likely to originate from rescue shelters. There was no significant difference between the age distribution of the male and female kittens. No diagnosis could be found in 33 per cent of the kittens, and this failure was correlated significantly with the submission of tissue samples as opposed to the whole carcase.     

Responses of seasonally anovulatory mares to daily administration of thyrotropin-releasing hormone and(or) gonadotropin-releasing hormone analog

Seventeen seasonally anovulatory light horse mares were treated daily, starting January 5 (d 1), for 28 d with GnRH analog (GnRH-A; 50 ng/kg BW) and(or) thyrotropin-releasing hormone (TRH; 5 microg/kg BW) in a 2 x 2 factorial arrangement of treatments to test the hypothesis that combined treatment may stimulate follicular growth and development. Ovaries were examined via ultrasonography and jugular blood samples were collected every 3 d. Frequent blood samples were collected after treatment injections on d 1, 2, 4, 7, 11, 16, and 22; on d 29, all mares received an i.v. mixture of GnRH, TRH, sulpiride, and EP51389 (a growth hormone secretagogue) to assess pituitary responsiveness. No consistent effects (P > 0.1) of treatment were observed for plasma LH, FSH, prolactin, or thyroxine concentrations in samples collected every 3 d. The only effect on ovarian follicle numbers was a reduction in number of follicles 11 to 19 mm in diameter due to TRH treatment (P = 0.029). No mare ovulated during treatment. On the days of frequent sampling, mean LH (P = 0.0001) and FSH (P = 0.001) concentrations were higher in mares receiving GnRH-A and tended to increase from d 1 through 7. In contrast, mean prolactin (P = 0.001) and thyroid-stimulating hormone (P = 0.0001) concentrations were high in mares receiving TRH on d 1 but rapidly decreased thereafter. When mares were administered the secretagogue mixture on d 29, the LH response was greater (P = 0.0002) in mares that had previously received GnRH-A but the FSH response was not affected (P > 0.1); the prolactin response was greater (P = 0.014) and the TSH response was smaller (P = 0.0005) in mares that had previously received TRH. Surprisingly, an immediate growth hormone response to EP51389 was absent in all mares. In conclusion, daily GnRH-A treatment stimulated plasma LH and FSH concentrations immediately after injection; although no long-term elevation in preinjection concentrations was achieved, the responses gradually increased over time, indicating a stimulation of gonadotropin production and storage. Daily treatment with TRH stimulated plasma TSH and prolactin concentrations, but the response diminished rapidly and was minimal within a few days, indicating a depletion of pituitary stores and little or no stimulation of production. There was no beneficial effect of adding TRH treatment to the daily GnRH-A regimen.     

Letters

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Hepatic serine and alanine metabolism during endotoxin-induced fever in sheep.

Time course changes in plasma amino acid concentrations and the hepatic metabolism of serine and alanine were measured in six mature wethers during endotoxin-induced fever. In separate trials, the animals' responses to injections of saline and endotoxin were measured. The endotoxin was from Escherichia coli serotype 055:B5 and was injected intravenously (4 micrograms/kg body weight). Liver biopsies were obtained from the sheep at 6 h postinjection during both endotoxin and saline injection trials. Rectal temperature in the endotoxin treated animals was increased (P less than 0.05, above that in control animals from 4.25 h to 9 h postinjection, with a maximum rise of 2.43 degrees C at 5.5 h postinjection. Glucose concentration in jugular plasma decreased (P less than 0.05) by 3 h postinjection and remained depressed throughout the 24 h postinjection sampling period. Plasma serine concentration was decreased (P less than 0.05) by 3 h postinjection. Plasma alanine concentration was decreased significantly (P less than 0.05) only at 24 h postinjection. Endotoxin injection increased (P less than 0.05) hepatic oxidation of 14C-serine (162%) and the net incorporation of 14C-serine carbon into hepatic protein (173%) and glycogen (275%). The net incorporation of 14C-alanine carbon into hepatic protein (172%) and glycogen (323%) were increased (P less than 0.05) by endotoxin injection, while alanine oxidation was not affected by endotoxin treatment (P greater than 0.05). The increased hepatic use of serine may explain, in part, the dramatic decrease in plasma concentrations of this amino acid following endotoxin injection into sheep.     

An evaluation of the influence of stock origin and out-migration history on the disease susceptibility and survival of juvenile Chinook salmon

Various methods have been developed to mitigate the adverse effects of the Federal Columbia River Power System on juvenile Pacific salmon out-migrating through the Columbia River basin. In this study, we found that hatchery-reared spring Chinook salmon Oncorhynchus tshawytscha in the river are in varying degrees of health, which may affect delayed mortality and the assessment of the effectiveness of management actions to recover listed stocks (e.g., barging fish downstream versus leaving fish in the river). A laboratory disease challenge with Listonella anguillarum was completed on fish from Rapid River Hatchery and Dworshak National Fish Hatchery (NFH) with different out-migration histories: (1) transported by barge, (2) removed from the river before barging, or (3) left to travel in-river. Barged fish from Rapid River Hatchery experienced less mortality than fish from Dworshak NFH. No statistical differences were found between the hatcheries with fish that had in-river out-migration histories. We suggest that the stressors and low survival associated with out-migration through the hydropower system eliminated any differences that could have been present. However, 18-25% of the fish that were barged or collected before barging died in the laboratory before the disease challenge, compared with less than 2% of those that traveled in-river. Owing to disproportionate prechallenge mortality, the disease-challenged populations may have been biased; thus, they were also considered together with the prechallenge mortalities. The synthesis of prechallenge and disease-challenged mortalities and health characteristics evaluated during out-migration indicated that the benefit of barging was not consistent between the hatcheries. This finding agrees with adult survival and delayed mortality estimates for the individual hatcheries determined from adult returns. The results suggest that the health status of fish and their history before entering the hydropower system (hatchery of origin and out-migration path) are critical variables affecting the conclusions drawn from studies that evaluate mitigation strategies.     

Field efficacy of an ivermectin jetting fluid for control of the sheep body louse Bovicola (Damalinia) ovis in New Zealand

The efficacy of an ivermectin jetting fluid against the sheep body louse, Bovicola (Damalinia) ovis, in long-woolled sheep was investigated in three field trials. In all trials, louse populations in hand-jetted sheep were reduced to nondetectable numbers within 2 weeks of treatment. Bv comparison, shorn and unshorn control sheep maintained detectable infestations for the duration of the trials.