Prevalence of gastrointestinal helminths and anthelmintic resistance on small-scale farms in Gauteng Province,South Africa

Tropical Animal Health and Production - The present study was conducted to determine the prevalence and distribution of gastrointestinal helminths, to detect the presence of anthelmintic resistance...     

A recombinant vaccine expressing a mammalian Mycobacterium sp. antigen is immunostimulatory but not protective in striped bass

A recombinant vaccine was constructed for piscine mycobacteriosis utilizing a Brucella abortus strain RB51 vector expressing a mammalian Mycobacterium sp. 85A antigen. Juvenile striped bass were inoculated with the resulting construct at doses equivalent to 10(6), 10(7), 10(8), 10(9), and 10(10) colony-forming units/fish. Blood and tissue samples from these fish demonstrated significant specific humoral and cell-mediated immune responses towards the 85A antigen in a dose-dependent manner. However, survival studies determined that inoculated fish failed to demonstrate cross-protective responses after live Mycobacterium marinum challenge 70 days post-inoculation.     

Effects of oxypolygelatin and dextran 70 on hemostatic variables in dogs

Objective To evaluate and compare coagulation variables following the administration of oxypolygelatin and dextran 70 to clinically healthy dogs. Study design Randomized cross‐over experimental study. Animals A total of eight healthy adult female Beagles aged 2–4 years old and weighing 11.8 ± 2.7 kg. Methods The dogs received a 15‐minute intravenous (IV) infusion of 5 mL kg^?1 oxypolygelatin or 10 mL kg^?1 6% dextran 70. Before (PRE) and at 2, 5, and 24 hours after administration, packed cell volume (PCV), total solids concentration (TS), prothrombin time (PT), activated partial thromboplastin time (APTT), fibrinogen concentration (FIB), platelet numbers (Plat), factor VIII coagulant activity (VIII:C), von Willebrand factor antigen concentration (vWf:Ag) and platelet function and buccal mucosal bleeding time (BMBT) were measured. Platelet function was assessed using aggregation and by measuring ATP release from aggregating platelets over 6 minutes, with 20, 10, and 5 µm ADP and 5 and 10 µg of collagen mL^?1 as platelet activation agonists. Results All baseline values were within our normal ranges, except for one dog that had low vWf:Ag PRE values prior to both dextran and oxypolygelatin administration. Following dextran and oxypolygelatin administration, the PCV and TP were significantly (p < 0.05) decreased. Plat, FIB, and vWf:Ag decreased, while BMBT and VIII:C increased following dextran administration. Dextran also caused a significant decrease in platelet aggregation in response to ADP. Oxypolygelatin caused a significant decrease in vWf:Ag, Plat, and FIB compared to PRE values. The total amount of ATP released, standardized to platelet number, did not vary significantly for either group at any sampling time from PRE values. No significant changes from PRE values were noted at any time in either group for PT or APTT. Conclusion At the doses administered, both dextran and oxypolygelatin can interfere with hemostatic variables in healthy dogs, but dextran's effect is more profound and prolonged when compared to oxypolygelatin. Clinical relevance Oxypolygelatin causes fewer hemostatic abnormalities when compared to dextran, making it a superior colloid for administration at the doses tested.     

Describing the within laboratory and between laboratory agreement of a serum ELISA in a national laboratory network

Results from laboratory assays for detection of animal disease are often assessed for repeatability (agreement within laboratory) and reproducibility (agreement between laboratories). This work aimed to understand the strengths and limitations of available methods for describing these quantities. Five major veterinary laboratories in Australia volunteered to participate in a designed evaluation based on repeat testing of twenty bovine sera. Sampling was stratified so that ten of the sera were negative to the virus neutralisation test (VNT) for antibody to bovine herpes virus 1 (BHV-1) and the remaining ten sera were VNT positive. Each serum was divided into 50 replicates and each laboratory assayed one replicate of each serum on a weekly basis using a commercial ELISA for BHV-1. Laboratories were blinded to the identity of sera. The data on sample to positive control ratio (S/P) for these 1000 individual assays were collated, sources of variance analysed using a random effects model, and reliability coefficients (ρ) obtained from the variance estimates as quantitative measures of within and between laboratory agreement. Coefficient of variation (CV) was calculated for combinations of sera and laboratory. CV was found to be higher for sera with the lowest mean S/P values (VNT -ve sera). For VNT -ve sera, agreement of S/P within laboratory was low to moderate (ρ: 0.01-0.27) and the agreement between all labs was low (ρ=0.02). Reliability coefficients for VNT +ve sera were very high for agreement within laboratories (ρ: 0.63-0.92) and moderate for agreement between laboratories (ρ=0.52). As well, simulation demonstrated that sero-prevalence has a dramatic affect on the reliability coefficient if sampling were to be irrespective of VNT status. We conclude that there are some limitations with the available approaches for assessing agreement within and between laboratories. Although reliability coefficients have some drawbacks they are an attractive way of reducing reliance on subjective assessment of agreement.     

Applying molecular genetic tools to tiger conservation

The utility of molecular genetic approaches in conservation of endangered taxa is now commonly recognized. Over the past decade, conservation genetic analyses based on mitochondrial DNA sequencing and microsatellite genotyping have provided powerful tools to resolve taxonomy uncertainty of tiger subspecies, to define conservation units, to reconstruct phylogeography and demographic history, to examine the genetic ancestry of extinct subspecies, to assess population genetic status non-invasively, and to verify genetic background of captive tigers worldwide. The genetic status of tiger subspecies and populations and implications for developing strategies for the survival of this charismatic species both in situ and ex situ are discussed.     

Carbon Dioxide Laser Keratectomy as a Treatment Option for Equine Corneal Stromal Abscessation: A Comparison to Lamellar Keratectomy and Penetrating Keratoplasty

Carbon dioxide (CO₂) laser keratectomy was compared to lamellar keratectomy (LK) and penetrating keratoplasty (PK) as a potential treatment option for equine corneal stromal abscessation. The medical records of 35 client owned horses undergoing surgical management of stromal abscessation were reviewed. Among those 17 underwent LK, 3 PK and 15 CO₂ laser keratectomy. Healing of the stromal abscess was achieved in all treated eyes. Those horses undergoing CO₂ laser keratectomy demonstrated few complications, and the time to healing and cosmetic outcome was comparable to those horses undergoing LK and PK.     

Clinical,pathologic, and toxicologic characterization of Salvia reflexa (lance-leaf sage) poisoning in cattle fed contaminated hay

Salvia reflexa (lance-leaf sage)-contaminated alfalfa hay was fed to ~500 mixed-breed beef cattle. Within hours of exposure, nearly half of the cattle developed lethargy, anorexia, depression, and recumbency, followed by bellowing, colic, and death. Even though the uneaten contaminated hay was removed the first day, nearly 100 animals died within the first 48 h. Three of these cattle were examined postmortem, and tissues and hay samples were collected for microscopic and chemical analysis. Several days later, a smaller number of the clinically poisoned cattle developed neurologic disease with aberrant behavior, aggression, icterus, blindness, exhaustion, and death. A total of 165 cattle were fatally poisoned. Poisoned cattle had swollen, dark, mottled livers that had a prominent nutmeg-like lobular pattern on cut section. Histologically, there was severe centrilobular-to-panlobular hepatic necrosis with marked hepatocellular swelling, degeneration, and necrosis. The surviving cattle developed liver disease characterized by altered serum biochemical analyses and microscopic hepatocellular degeneration and necrosis. In subsequent biopsies and analysis, these lesions resolved within 6–7 mo. After confirming toxicity of the hay in cattle, goats, and mice, followed by a mouse bioassay–guided chemical fractionation process, Salvia reflexa was identified as the contaminant in the hay responsible for the hepatotoxicity. S. reflexa has not been reported previously to cause fatal hepatotoxicity in livestock in North America, to our knowledge.