On the Current Situation of Glanders in Various Districts of the Pakistani Punjab

Glanders is a highly infectious and zoonotic disease of solipeds caused by Burkholderia mallei. Progressive loss of efficiency and fatal outcome resulted in massive economic losses, which forced veterinary authorities throughout the world to implement disease control measures; these measures included mass testing using the complement fixation test and/or malleinization, and the culling of positives. This led to the eradication of glanders from Western Europe and North America in the 1950s. However, in the last decade, the number of outbreaks in Asia and South America increased steadily, and glanders regained the status of a re-emerging transboundary disease. Pakistan has been an endemic country for the past 120 years, but concise data on the presence of disease are not available. A total of 533 serum samples were collected from draught equines, a suspected risk group for glanders, from various districts of Punjab in Pakistan. The complement fixation test and the highly sensitive Western blot technique were used for serodiagnosis. No animal (horse, mule, and donkey) was found to be positive for infection. Glanders seems to be restricted to remote, sporadic pockets of endemicity and may cause outbreaks after being introduced into naive populations by (asymptomatic) shedders.     

One-stage prothrombin time, activated partial thromboplastin time, thrombin time, fibrin degradation product concentration, and antithrombin activity in healthy adult alpacas

Background: Alpacas are increasingly presented to veterinarians for evaluation and care. Reports of alpaca reference intervals for one‐stage prothrombin time (PT), activated partial thromboplastin time (aPTT), thrombin time (TT), concentration of fibrin degradation products (FDP), and antithrombin (AT) activities are scarce or nonexistent. Objective: The aim of this study was to determine values for blood coagulation times (PT, aPTT, and TT), FDP concentrations, and AT activities in healthy adult alpacas. Methods: Of blood samples collected from 35 clinically healthy adult alpacas via jugular venipuncture and placed into sodium citrate and FDP tubes, 29 samples were assayable for coagulation testing. PT, aPTT, and TT were determined by physical (mechanical) clot detection; AT activity was determined using a thrombin‐specific chromogenic substrate end‐point assay; and FDP concentrations were determined by the slide agglutination method. Results: Median values and ranges (minimum–maximum) were determined for PT (8.7 seconds, 6.6–11.2 seconds), aPTT (17.3 seconds, 11.9–22.5 seconds), TT (10.2 seconds, 5.4–16.0 seconds), and AT activity (123.3%, 104.8–144.2%). The mean concentration of FDP was <8 μg/mL. Conclusion: These values for coagulation times, FDP concentration, and AT activity will provide a useful starting point in the diagnostic evaluation of ill adult alpacas.     

蚕沙和稻秸不同比例组合对瘤胃微生物体外发酵的组合效应

本文采用瘤胃微生物体外发酵法研究了不同比例蚕沙(SE)和稻秸(RS)的组合效应。试验将SE:RS设计为100∶0(SE100组)、80∶20(SE80组)、60∶40(SE60组)、40∶60(SE40组)、20∶80(SE20组)、0∶100(SE0组)的比例,分别进行体外发酵批次培养24 h和体外发酵产气培养72 h,测定产气参数和发酵特性指标。结果表明:1)SE100组理论最大产气量显著高于其他各组(P<0.05),SE80组的24和72 h累积产气量显著高于其他组(P<0.05)。2)24 h时培养液总挥发性脂肪酸浓度为SE80组>SE100组>SE60组>SE40组>SE0组>SE20组,乙酸/丙酸为SE80组SE100组>SE60组>SE80组>SE40组>SE0组。4)随着蚕沙比例的升高,底物体外有机物消化率越高。5)SE80组多项指标组合效应指数为0.76,SE80组>SE40组>SE60组>SE20组。蚕沙和稻秸组合改善了体外瘤胃微生物发酵特性和产气参数,且蚕沙和稻秸的最佳比例为80∶20。