Chronic intestinal pseudo-obstruction in a dog

SUMMARY A three-year-old neutered female Border Collie was presented with in-appetence, vomiting and diarrhoea. Abdominal radiographs revealed an obstructive pattern but no physical obstruction was evident at laparotomy. A diagnosis of chronic intestinal pseudo-obstruction was made based on histopathological changes in intestinal biopsies. Treatment was unsuccessful and the dog deteriorated progressively until euthanased five weeks after presentation.     

Isolation of Theileria parva lawrencei-infected lymphoid cell lines from free-ranging African buffaloes (Syncerus caffer)

Lymphoid cells collected from the peripheral blood of 45 free-ranging buffaloes sampled in the Masai Mara Game Reserve in Kenya were cultured in vitro in an attempt to establish cell lines of intralymphocytic theilerial schizonts. Theileria parva lawrencei-infected lymphoblastoid cell lines were established with samples taken from 12 buffaloes, and 11 of these were maintained continuously in vitro. Sixteen of the buffalo samples were contaminated with either trypanosomes or viruses. The successful in vitro isolation of Theileria species from 27 per cent of the buffaloes sampled demonstrates the applicability of this technique for field isolation of T parva lawrencei.     

Collateral vessel development, following unilateral chronic carotid occlusion in the dog.

Because much of the data base describing the physiology of cerebral circulation is based on experiments using the dog as a model and because the functional response to occlusion of arteries supplying the head have been shown to be different in man than in dogs, it is important that the growth and development of the extracerebral collateral circulation in dogs be documented. Using the techniques of corrosion casting, collateral vessel development was evaluated in adult mixed-breed dogs, following 4- and 8-week periods of unilateral ligation of the common carotid artery or the external carotid artery. Neurologic deficits or severe ischemia was not observed in any of the dogs during the postoperative period. Extensive collateralization occurred between the ipsilateral vertebral artery, regardless of the occlusion site. In addition, numerous collateral connections developed between the same vessel from the contralateral side. Two main patterns of collateral vessel organization consistently developed. Initially, a collateral network of highly tortuous superficial vessels predominated. With longer survival times after occlusion, deeper and more uniform-diameter direct-collateral vessels developed.     

Propagation of Porcine Cytomegalic Inclusion Disease Virus In Cell Cultures — Preliminary Report

The successful propagation of porcine cytomegalic inclusion disease virus (inclusion-body rhinitis virus) in primary pig lung cell cultures is reported. CID virus was carried through five passages in cell cultures with cytopathic affects appearing from 11 to 18 days post-inoculation. Four pigs inoculated with infected cell culture fluids from the second cell culture passage remained clinically normal. Two, however, had typical inclusion bodies in the glands of the nasal mucosa when examined three weeks post-inoculation. The progressive cytopathic effect produced and the inclusion bodies formed by this strain of porcine CIDV are described. These inclusion bodies appeared to be similar to those formed by cell culture-propagated cytomegaloviruses of man, mouse and guinea pig.     

Detection of Toxoplasma gondii-like oocysts in cat feces and estimates of the environmental oocyst burden

OBJECTIVE: To estimate the analytic sensitivity of microscopic detection of Toxoplasma gondii oocysts and the environmental loading of T gondii oocysts on the basis of prevalence of shedding by owned and unowned cats. DESIGN: Cross-sectional survey. SAMPLE POPULATION: 326 fecal samples from cats. PROCEDURES: Fecal samples were collected from cat shelters, veterinary clinics, cat-owning households, and outdoor locations and tested via ZnSO(4) fecal flotation. RESULTS: Only 3 (0.9%) samples of feces from 326 cats in the Morro Bay area of California contained T gondii-like oocysts. On the basis of the estimated tonnage of cat feces deposited outdoors in this area, the annual burden in the environment was estimated to be 94 to 4,671 oocysts/m(2) (9 to 434 oocysts/ft(2)). CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Despite the low prevalence and short duration of T gondii oocyst shedding by cats detected in the present and former surveys, the sheer numbers of oocysts shed by cats during initial infection could lead to substantial environmental contamination. Veterinarians may wish to make cat owners aware of the potential threats to human and wildlife health posed by cats permitted to defecate outdoors.