Phenotypic characterisation of Australian sheep and cattle isolates of Mannheimia haemolytica,Mannheimia granulomatis and Mannheimia varigena

OBJECTIVE: To perform a comprehensive phenotypic characterisation of 35 isolates of bacteria previously identified as haemolytic Pasteurella-Actinobacillus and obtained from cattle and sheep. DESIGN: The 35 isolates that had been obtained from Australian animals, 30 from cattle and five from sheep, were compared with reference strains of the five recognised species of the genus Mannheimia--M. haemolytica, M. glucosida, M. granulomatis, M. ruminalis and M. varigena. RESULTS: Thirty-four of the isolates could be confidently assigned to three species of the genus Mannheimia. Twenty-nine were M. haemolytica, with 25 being isolated from cattle and four from sheep. All but three of the bovine M. haemolytica were isolated from pneumonic lungs. Of the three remaining bovine M. haemolytica isolates, one was obtained in pure culture from a bovine milk sample and the other two as part of a mixed flora associated with a middle ear infection of a calf suffering mucosal disease. Of the four ovine M. haemolytica isolates, two were isolated in pure culture from milk and two, also in pure culture, from pneumonic lungs. Three bovine isolates were identified as M. granulomatis--one from a tongue abscess, one from a jaw abscess and one from a lung showing suppurative bronchopneumonia. Two bovine isolates were identified as M. varigena--one coming from an udder and the other from a spleen. The available diagnostic records provided no information on whether these isolates were associated with a disease process. The remaining isolate was obtained from an ovine tongue abscess and could not be assigned to a recognised species within the genus Mannheimia. CONCLUSION: The study represents the first time that M. haemolytica, M. granulomatis and M. varigena have been recognised as being present in cattle and sheep in Australia. Veterinary laboratories that encounter Pasteurella-Actinobacillus-like organisms from cattle and sheep should attempt as complete a characterisation as possible to help improve our knowledge of the disease potential of these organsims.     

Histopathologic and bacteriologic evaluations of cellulitis detected in legs and caudal abdominal regions of turkeys

The objective of this study was to identify the causative agent of cellulitis in turkeys. Eighteen flocks from nine producers were sampled at the local processing plant, and 37 birds with cellulitis on legs or caudal thoracic area were obtained. None of the 37 birds with cellulitis had lesions in other organs. On gross examination, lesions were categorized into two groups: cellulitis with unopened skin lesions (type a) and cellulitis with opened skin lesions (type b). Histopathologically, cellulitis with unopened skin lesions had dermal necrosis with underlying fibrin and inflammatory exudate but cellulitis with open skin lesions had chronic granulomatous/granulation tissue-type reaction associated with foreign material. A complete bacteriologic study was conducted on 25 of 37 birds. Bacteria were isolated from 12 of the 25 birds with cellulitis lesions. No aerobic, microaerophilic, or anaerobic bacteria were isolated from the remaining 13 birds with cellulitis lesions. Escherichia coli was isolated in low numbers in mixed cultures with Proteus mirabilis, Lactobacillus spp., Klebsiella spp., and Staphylococcus spp. in 9 of 12 lesions. The remaining few cases yielded P. mirabilis in pure culture or in mixed culture with Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Types a and b cellulitis lesions in turkeys could be associated with primary contact dermatitis and skin abrasions, respectively. Their occurrence is likely associated with different management practices.     

Severity and persistence of footrot in Merino sheep experimentally infected with a protease thermostable strain of Dichelobacter nodosus at five sites

Objective To test the hypothesis that ovine footrot associated with a thermostable protease strain of Dichelobacter nodosus undergoes self cure or is sustained as an annually recurring disease, depending on the environment.
Design and procedure Forty Merino sheep from a single blood line were infected with a protease thermostable strain of D nodosus a t each of five sites in Western Australia. Footrot lesions and microscopic evidence of D nodosus were recorded every fortnight for 2.5 years, supplemented by laboratory culture. Rainfall, soil and air temperature, pasture quantity and composition and soil types were also recorded. Flocks that apparently self cured were relocated to a more favourable site for footrot in the final spring season.
Results The maximum prevalence of feet with clinical footrot lesions was 80.6, 1.3, 14.4, 3.8 and 88.1% at the five sites. Severe footrot occurred for three consecutive spring seasons at one site that had clay loam soil and at least 3500 kg/ha total pasture dry matter annually. However, the infection was asymptomatic for up to 10 weeks between outbreaks. D nodosus was isolated from flocks for 2.5 years at only two sites, although there was microscopic evidence of the organism at other sites in the final year. A thermolabile variant (strain U6) of D nodosus was isolated from the two sites where footrot persisted.
Conclusion Depending on time and location, ovine footrot induced by a protease thermostable strain of D nodosus either self cured or persisted as annual outbreaks interspersed with periods of asymptomatic infection.     

PREVALENCE OF GALLBLADDER SLUDGE IN DOGS AS ASSESSED BY ULTRASONOGRAPHY

Ultrasonography of the gallbladder was performed in 3 groups of dogs: 30 clinically healthy dogs, 50 dogs with hepatobiliary disease, and 50 dogs with diseases other than hepatobiliary disease. The gallbladder was evaluated for the presence of sludge (echogenic material without acoustic shadowing). Maximal gallbladder length, width, height, and area were measured as well as the gallbladder wall thickness. The relative sludge area was calculated as the ratio of sludge area over gallbladder area on longitudinal images. No significant difference was found in the prevalence of gallbladder sludge among healthy dogs (53%), dogs with hepatobiliary diseases (62%), and dogs with other disease (48%). The mean age of dogs with sludge was higher than the mean age of dogs without sludge in dogs with hepatobiliary disease and dogs with other diseases (p ≤0.05). The mean relative sludge area did not differ significantly among the 3 groups. A trend to larger gallbladder dimensions in dogs with sludge compared to dogs without sludge was detected within the 3 groups. The gallbladder wall thickness was not different between dogs with and without sludge within the 3 groups. However, the gallbladder wall was more frequently isoechoic than hyperechoic to the liver in dogs with sludge than in dogs without sludge. The results of this study indicate that gallbladder sludge, in dogs, in not particularly associated with hepatobiliary disease and should be considered an incidental finding.     

Effects of oral administration of sodium citrate or acetate to pigs on blood parameters, postmortem glycolysis, muscle pH decline, and quality attributes of pork

The objective of this study was to determine the effects of oral administration of sodium citrate (CIT) or acetate (ACE) to pigs on blood parameters, postmortem glycolysis, pH decline, and quality attributes of pork. Previous studies have shown that CIT has the potential to inhibit phosphofructokinase (PFK), a key enzyme in postmortem muscle glycolysis. In Exp. 1, CIT, ACE, or water was orally administered (0.75 g/kg of BW) to 24 pigs. After a 30-min rest, pigs were exercised, and blood samples were taken at 45 and 75 min after oral treatment. Citrate and ACE tended (P = 0.08) to increase blood pH and increased (P = 0.02) bicarbonate levels immediately after exercise. After a 30-min rest, blood pH of pigs administered ACE tended (P = 0.09) to remain higher, whereas blood pH of CIT-treated pigs was similar to that of control pigs. Bicarbonate levels in ACE- and CIT-treated pigs were still greater (P < 0.05) than those of control pigs at 75 min after oral treatment. In Exp. 2, 30 pigs were administered CIT, ACE, or water 45 min before stunning (electric plus captive bolt). Antemortem treatments had no effect (P > 0.10) on muscle pH or postmortem concentrations of the glycolytic metabolites of glucose-6 phosphate, fructose-6 phosphate, fructose-1,6 bisphosphate, glyceraldehyde-3 phosphate, dihydroxyacetone phosphate, or lactate. Minor, but inconsistent, differences in quality attributes were found in LM chops, and no differences in quality attributes were found between control and CIT- or ACE-treated pigs for inside and outside semimembranosus muscles (P > 0.10). There was no significant inhibition of the PFK enzyme by orally administered CIT or ACE; however, the PFK glycolytic metabolite data analysis indicated that PFK was a main regulatory enzyme in postmortem muscle.     

Giant sequoia regeneration in group selection openings in the southern Sierra Nevada

Fire has been linked to the regeneration of giant sequoia (Sequoiadendron giganteum) [Lindley] Buchholz but no studies have directly investigated the effects of opening size and fuel treatment on giant sequoia establishment. Giant sequoia seedling density was analyzed in 36 group selection openings harvested in 1993 at Mountain Home Demonstration State Forest, CA. The experiment consisted of four replicates of a randomized 3 × 3 factorial design which investigated the effects of opening size and fuel treatment on giant sequoia regeneration. Small, medium, and large circular openings had average diameters of 15, 30, and 61 m, respectively. A total of 12 large, 12 medium, and 12 small openings were created. Three fuel treatments were randomly applied to the openings: tractor pile and burn, broadcast burn, and lop and scatter. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) detected no significant differences between treatments and seedling density (p < 0.05). All the treatments had low giant sequoia seedling density regardless of opening size or fuel treatment. Regeneration was completely absent in all openings with the lop and scatter fuel treatment while small openings had low giant sequoia regeneration density regardless of fuel treatment. Giant sequoia seedling density was low because of below average annual and summer precipitation following the creation of the openings and of low seed dispersal. The group selection silvicultural system attempts to simulate the structural complexity of the prehistoric, patchy, high intensity fire regime that once existed in the mixed-conifer forests of the southern Sierra Nevada but important ecosystem processes such as increased seed dispersal following patchy, high intensity fire and large scale nutrient cycling are not duplicated.