Studies of cardiac pathomorphology in swine which died during transport

The following findings were obtained from pathomorphological examination of the myocardium of 100 pigs which had died on transport: Degenerative or necrobiotic changes of certain myocardial fibres were recorded from 73 per cent of all cases, usually in the form of granular degeneration (60 per cent). They were "scattered" in 33 per cent of all cases, "multiple" in 22 per cent, and "frequent" in five per cent. In 26 per cent, the myocardial fibres had undergone coarse granular or hyalin plaque-type decomposition, among them with "scattered" manifestation in 15 per cent, "multiple" in four per cent, "frequent" in five per cent, and "massive" in two per cent. Moderate focal resorptive myositis was recorded from eight per cent, while earlier myocardial scars were exhibited by four per cent. The figure for reactive inflammatory processes was twelve per cent. Prestatic hyperaemia of different degrees had taken place in 75 per cent of all animals, and it had been accompanied by varied congestion. The following results were obtained from comparative checks of 100 hearts of clinically intact pigs after slaughter under normal conditions: Granular degeneration was recorded only from 18 per cent of all cases, with actual manifestations "scattered" in 16 per cent and "multiple" in two per cent. Their myocardial fibres had undergone coarse granular or hyalin plaque-type decomposition of moderate intensity in three per cent only, all of them having been "scattered". Reactive inflammatory changes were not recorded at all and signs of prestatic hyperaemia only in 46 per cent. The degenerative-necrobiotic alterations of myocardial fibres which had been observed in the context of death on transport are interpreted as a result of hypoxaemic or hypoxic conditions accompanying acute shock-type circulatory failure in pigs.     

California National Animal Health Monitoring System for meat-turkey flocks, 1988-1989: diagnostic testing results.

Six hundred fourteen meat turkeys were submitted for necropsy from 24 California ranches as part of the National Animal Health Monitoring System (NAHMS). Enteritis was the most frequent pathologic diagnosis in birds 18 days old or younger and the second most frequent diagnosis in birds 19-70 days old. Hemorrhagic enteritis was the most frequent diagnosis in birds aged 19-70 days. Tibial dyschondroplasia, bronchopneumonia, and ascaridiasis were ranked one through three in frequency of diagnoses in birds over 70 days of age. Salmonella was isolated from 71% of flocks tested, and Mycoplasma meleagridis was isolated from 33% of tested flocks over 70 days of age. Antibodies to several disease agents were detected, including hemorrhagic enteritis (100% of flocks over 70 days old) and Newcastle disease (63% of flocks over 70 days old).