Evaluation of the influence of supplementing the diet with mannose or palm kernel meal on salmonella colonisation in poultry

1. The dietary inclusion of 15 and 25 g/kg mannose was associated with a reduction in the numbers of Salmonella enteritidis (PT4) in the caecal contents of chicks challenged by the food. The same benefit was not recorded for S. infantis, possibly because this strain, unlike S. enteritidis PT4, lacked mannose‐sensitive fimbriae.

2. The addition of 25 g/kg palm kernel meal (PKM), but not 20 g/kg desiccated coconut, to the food reduced the degree of salmonella colonisation in the intestinal tract of broiler chicks given diets contaminated with S. kedougou or S. enteritidis from the day of their arrival from the hatchery.

3. The beneficial effect of PKM was also demonstrated at an inclusion rate of 5 g/kg and was similar for preparations with a particle size of either < 150 μm or < 300 μm.

4. Day‐old birds challenged orally with S. enteritidis and given food supplemented with 25 g/kg PKM, became clear of infection by 3 weeks of age while birds given unsupplemented food remained infected.

5. These preliminary results suggest that the inclusion of PKM, which contains inter alia, oligosaccharides containing mannose, in the diet of chicks may reduce the extent to which the intestine is contaminated with salmonellas.     

The irritancy of chlorhexidine gluconate in the genital tract of the mare

Uterine irrigation was carried out in eight Welsh pony mares using 50 ml of chlorhexidine gluconate solution diluted to give active ingredient concentrations of 0.25 per cent to 2 per cent. Treatment was repeated up to twice in mares showing no adverse effects and irritancy of treatment judged on clinical symptoms and uterine biopsy. Results indicated the inadvisability of using a higher concentration than 0.25 per cent. Three daily applications of a diluted surgical scub solution containing 2 per cent chlorhexidine gluconate to the penis of an arab stallion failed to produce symptoms or irritation. An in vitro minimum inhibitory concentration test performed with the contagious equine metritis organism confirmed its high sensitivity to both chlorhexidine gluconate preparations.     

Conjunctivitis, tracheitis, and pneumonia associated with herpesvirus infection in green sea turtles

Fourteen juvenile (15- to 20-month-old) green sea turtles (Chelonia mydas), representative of a group of sea turtles with clinical signs of respiratory tract disease, were euthanatized and submitted for necropsy. Macroscopically, lesions included periglottal necrosis, tracheitis with intraluminal caseous and laminated necrotic debris, and severe pneumonia. Several turtles had caseous conjunctival exudate covering the eyes. Microscopically, the turtles had fibrinonecrotic inflammation around the glottal opening, tracheitis, and severe bronchopneumonia and interstitial pneumonia. In multifocal areas, periglottal and tracheal epithelial cells adjacent to areas of necrosis had hypertrophic nuclei with amphophilic intranuclear inclusions. A mixed population of primarily gram-negative microorganisms was isolated from the tracheal and glottal lesions. Attempts at viral isolation in cultures of green sea turtle kidney cells resulted in the development of cytopathic effects characterized by giant cell formation and development of intranuclear inclusions. Using electron microscopy, intranuclear viral particles (88 to 99 nm in diameter) were seen in inclusion-containing tracheal and glottal epithelial cells and infected green sea turtle kidney cells; particles were consistently seen enveloping from nuclear membranes, and mature particles (132 to 147 nm) were found in the cytoplasm. On the basis of size, conformation, location, and presence of an envelope, the particles most closely resembled those of herpes-viruses.     

Comparison of renal biopsy techniques in dogs

To evaluate adequacy of biopsy specimens obtained and safety to the patient, the standard keyhole biopsy technique (using digital immobilization of the right kidney and placement of the biopsy needle up to the capsule before obtaining a tissue sample) was compared with 9 technical modifications. Adequacy was judged by the number of intact glomeruli observed in the specimen. Detection of transected blood vessels and renal pelvis was presumed to have predictive value for postbiopsy complications of hemorrhage and hydronephrosis. Needle biopsy specimens were also obtained from left and right kidneys by use of laparoscopic visualization and were compared with those obtained by use of the standard keyhole technique. Although the standard keyhole technique yielded the highest percentage of adequate biopsy specimens, there was no statistical difference between specimens obtained by this technique and those obtained by the modified technique or by laparoscope-guided biopsy. Also, significant difference in percentage of biopsy specimens with renal pelvis was not found between specimens obtained by the standard and modified techniques. For each technique, the biopsy core length was measured and the mean value was calculated. In this study, core length did not correlate with adequacy of the biopsy specimen.     

EVALUATION OF A HARDJO-POMONA VACCINE TO PREVENT LEPTOSPIRURIA IN CATTLE EXPOSED TO A NATURAL CHALLENGE WITH LEPTOSPIRA INTERROGANS SEROVAR HARDJO

SUMMARY The efficacy of a vaccine against Leptospira interrogans serovar pomona and Leptospira interrogans serovar hardjo was evaluated in a group of dairy heifers that were serologically negative at the time of vaccination and later subjected to natural challenge with L. interogans serovar hardjo. Thirty-nine heifers were vaccinated twice, at a one-month interval, with a commercially prepared bivalent vaccine, while 43 unvaccinated heifers were used as controls. After vaccination, microscopic agglutination (MA) titres of serums to L. interrogans serovar hardjo ranged from 32 to 512, and those to L. interrogans serovar pomona ranged from 32 to 2048. Titres resulting from vaccination were short-lived and after the first vaccination the serums of 95% of vaccinated heifers did not react in the MA test by 24 weeks. The first indication of infection in the heifers was noted at week 6, and by week 16, elevated MA titres (≥128) to L. interrogans serovar hardjo had occurred in 62% of unvaccinated heifers and had increased to 85% by week 24. At week 18, 18% of the vaccinated heifers and 56% of the unvaccinated heifers had leptospiruria (p<0.01); after 22 weeks, 13% of the vaccinated heifers and 58% of the unvaccinated heifers showed evidence of leptospiruria (p<0.01).     

Quality of computerized medical record abstract data at a veterinary teaching hospital

This study was designed to evaluate the quality of data from computerized medical record abstracts at the Veterinary Teaching Hospital, Ontario Veterinary College. Information in the paper medical record (registration, physical exam, daily progress, laboratory, radiology, anaesthesia and surgery forms), the summary sheet, and the computerized record were compared. A random sample of 100 patient visits from a subset of visits that were identified as all possible dog or cat elective-surgery visits in the computerized records from 1983 through 1991 were used. Clinicians were responsible for summarizing the medical record on the summary sheet and health record technicians entered the information from the summary sheet into the computer record. Most of the discrepancies (n = 33) noted for diagnoses, procedures or complications were due to the lack of transfer of information from the paper forms to the summary sheet. Although the medical record technicians detected and entered some of these (n = 10), most were not entered into the computerized records. The next most-common discrepancies (n = 5) were due to the clinician writing a different entry on the summary sheet than was present on the other paper record forms. Only one record had a miscoded diagnosis and three had miscoded procedures. Misfiled forms in the medical record folders of two patients resulted in one incorrect diagnosis and one incorrect procedure recorded in the computer record. When any discrepancy between the paper and computer record for diagnoses, procedures or complications was considered, 41% of the visits had discrepancies (46% dogs; 36% cats). The percentage varied by surgery status: non-elective surgeries 82%, elective surgeries 37% and non-surgical visits 29%. There was no obvious time trend. The completeness and accuracy of information in the database was inadequate for the intended research on post-operative complications following elective surgeries.     

Identification and anatomic categorization of the vascular patterns to the pelvic limb muscles of dogs

The vascular patterns to pelvic limb muscles were studied in 6 dogs (12 limbs) to identify muscles most suitable for transposition in the treatment of large wounds. Gross dissection of injected specimens and angiography were used to identify the vascular pedicles. The vascular pedicles to several muscles were generally consistent, and any variations would not interfere with most muscle transfers. The cranial part of the sartorius, gracillis, semitendinosus, and rectus femoris muscles were identified as suitable candidates for transfer. The caudal part of the sartorius, cranial tibial, and long digital extensor muscles have segmentalized vascular patterns that would limit its arc of rotation.