Isolation and characterisation of equine influenza viruses (H3N8) from Europe and North America from 2008 to 2009

Like other influenza A viruses, equine influenza virus undergoes antigenic drift. It is therefore essential that surveillance is carried out to ensure that recommended strains for inclusion in vaccines are kept up to date. Here we report antigenic and genetic characterisation carried out on equine influenza virus strains isolated in North America and Europe over a 2-year period from 2008 to 2009. Nasopharyngeal swabs were taken from equines showing acute clinical signs and submitted to diagnostic laboratories for testing and virus isolation in eggs. The sequence of the HA1 portion of the viral haemagglutinin was determined for each strain. Where possible, sequence was determined directly from swab material as well as from virus isolated in eggs. In Europe, 20 viruses were isolated from 15 sporadic outbreaks and 5 viruses were isolated from North America. All of the European and North American viruses were characterised as members of the Florida sublineage, with similarity to A/eq/Lincolnshire/1/07 (clade 1) or A/eq/Richmond/1/07 (clade 2). Antigenic characterisation by haemagglutination inhibition assay indicated that the two clades could be readily distinguished and there were also at least seven amino acid differences between them. The selection of vaccine strains for 2010 by the expert surveillance panel have taken these differences into account and it is now recommended that representatives of both Florida clade 1 and clade 2 are included in vaccines.     

Disease of geese caused by a new herpesvirus

A goose flock farmed outdoors in south-eastern Queensland suffered an outbreak of peracute disease with high death rate (97%). Small button ulcers and large plaques overlying lymphocyte aggregates were present on the mucosa of the small intestine of affected birds. Small white foci of necrosis and focal haemorrhages were seen in the livers. Numerous intranuclear inclusion bodies were observed microscopically in hepatocytes and a herpesvirus which grew rapidly in chicken kidney cells was isolated from tissues. Duck virus enteritis (DVE) was suspected but DVE antiserums failed to neutralise the virus. Further serological studies with a limited range of known avian herpesviruses have failed to identify the virus. Experimental transmission resulted in high mortality in geese (100%), lower mortality in ducklings and nil mortality in chickens. Surveillance studies showed no evidence of infection in domestic and wild birds beyond the original farm and the infection appears not to have been established in the area. Wild ducks, which were frequent visitors to the farm dam, were considered the most likely source of the infection.     

Organophosphate degradation by insecticide-resistant and susceptible populations of mosquitofish (Gambusia affinis)

Phosphorothionate and phosphate degradation was investigated as a factor which could influence the tolerance of organochlorine compound-resistant and susceptible mosquitofish (Gambusia affinis) to parathion and methyl parathion. The greater toxicity of methyl parathion than parathion can be attributed in part to a higher rate of degradation of methyl paraoxon than paraoxon (7-fold), but not to any difference in phosphorothionate dearylation. Resistant fish possess higher levels of microsomal mixed-function oxidases which can degrade methyl parathion (1.3-fold); these higher levels could contribute to the increased methyl parathion tolerance by this population over the susceptible population. Environmentally induced tolerance to parathion in the resistant population may be the result of increased levels of parathion degradation by induced mixed-function oxidases which can dearylate parathion. The increased tolerance of either insecticide by the resistant population is not caused by degradation of the phosphates by phosphotriesterases.     

Hydrolytic activation and detoxication of 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid esters in mosquito fish

Insecticide-resistant mosquito fish (Gambusia affinis) were found to be slightly more tolerant to two thiol esters of 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D) than were fish of a susceptible population. DEF (S,S,S,-tributyl phosphorotrithioate), at 0.1 ppm for 24 hr, slightly decreased the toxicity of both esters to both populations. Comparison of esterase activities in gill and liver preparations showed that the resistant fish had lower levels of liver esterases than the susceptible fish, but results with gill preparation were not consistent. With the ethyl thiol ester, susceptible fish had the higher activity, but with butyl thiol ester, resistant fish had the higher activity. DEF inhibited activities in both tissues of both populations, but inhibition was appreciably greater in the liver. Results suggest that (i) hydrolysis in the liver activaties 2,4-D esters, (ii) hydrolysis in the gill is a detoxication reaction, (iii) the slight increase in tolerance in the insecticide-resistant fish is primarily the result of decreased activation, and (iv) antagonism by DEF is the result of a greater inhibition of activation than of detoxication.     

The use of incidence counts for estimation of cereal aphid populations. 3. Population development and the incidencedensity relation

The relation between the population density of the cereal aphid,Sitobion avenae, and the proportion of wheat tillers infested is examined. Three of the six models considered require the assumption that the aphids' spatial configuration can be described by a single statistical distribution; as this is not true forS. avenae these models are unsuitable. When the other three models were applied to field sample data, only that of Nachman (1981) yielded a regression equation that remained constant throughout the development of the aphid population.Samenvatting Om in de praktijk gebruik te kunnen maken van incidentie (de fractie bezette halmen) voor het schatten van graanluispopulaties moet dezelfde relatie tussen dichtheid en incidentie tijdens het hele groeiseizoen gelden. Uit analyses van veldgegevens voor de graanluisSitobion avenae blijkt dat wel het geval te zijn, zodat bepalingen van incidentie kunnen worden gebruikt om de populatiedichtheid betrouwbaar te schatten.     

Initial results from long-term field studies at three sites on the effects of heavy metal-amended liquid sludges on soil microbial activity

In a long‐term study of the effects on soil fertility and microbial activity of heavy metals contained in sewage sludges, metal‐amended liquid sludges each with elevated Zn, Cu or Cd concentrations were applied over a 3‐year period (1995–1997) to three sites in England. The experiments were sited adjacent to experimental plots receiving metal‐rich sludge cakes enabling comparisons to be made between the effects of heavy metal additions in metal‐amended liquid sludges and sludge cakes. The liquid sludge additions were regarded as ‘worst case’ treatments in terms of likely metal availability, akin to a long‐term situation following sewage sludge additions where organic matter levels had declined and stabilised. The aim was to establish individual Zn (50–425 mg kg^?1), Cu (15–195 mg kg^?1) and Cd (0.3–4.0 mg kg^?1) metal dose–response treatments at each site, but with significantly smaller levels of organic matter addition than the corresponding sludge cake experiments. There were no differences (P > 0.05) in soil respiration rates, biomass carbon concentrations or most probable numbers of clover Rhizobium between the treatments at any of the sites at the end of the liquid sludge application programme. Soil heavy metal extractability differed between the metal‐amended liquid sludge and metal‐rich sludge cake treatments; Zn and Cd extractabilities were higher from the liquid sludge additions, whereas Cu extractability was higher from the sludge cake application. These differences in metal extractability in the treated soil samples reflected the contrasting NH₄NO₃ extractable metal contents of the metal‐amended liquid sludges and sludge cakes that were originally applied.