Epidemiology and diagnosis of Mycobacterium tuberculosis in captive Asian elephants (Elephas maximus).

The deaths of two Asian elephants (Elephas maximus) in August 1996 led the United States Department of Agriculture to require the testing and treatment of elephants for tuberculosis. From August 1996 to September 1999. Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection was confirmed by culture in 12 of 118 elephants in six herds. Eight diagnoses were made antemortem on the basis of isolation of M. tuberculosis by culture of trunk wash samples; the remainder (including the initial two) were diagnosed postmortem. We present the case histories, epidemiologic characteristics, diagnostic test results, and therapeutic plans from these six herds. The intradermal tuberculin test, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay serology, the blood tuberculosis test, and nucleic acid amplification and culture are compared as methods to diagnose M. tuberculosis infection in elephants.     

Seed survival and predation of Anoda cristata in soyabean crops

Anoda cristata is a troublesome annual broad-leaved weed in summer crops in the rolling Pampa in Argentina; seeds are the only source of regeneration of this species. Seed persistence or depletion is the result of survival and loss processes, including predation. The objective of this study was to determine survival at two burial depths in undisturbed soil and predation rates of A. cristata seeds in soyabean crops in different rotations and tillage systems. Survival was discontinuous and decreased to 25% after 35 months, after which no further reduction in survival was observed to the end of the experiment at 96 months. No differences in seed survival between seeds placed on the soil surface and buried 5 cm below the soil surface were found at 80 months, but at later times survival was lower for seeds placed on the soil surface. Predation rates ranged between 0.3% day⁻¹ and 6.7% day⁻¹. Of the models tested, a polynomial regression of the rate of predation with time gave the best representation of seed predation. From January to July, predation was higher in non-tillage plots in the wheat/soyabean rotation. There was no significant difference in predation rates between tillage systems in the soyabean monoculture and no difference between planting densities. Higher crop residue levels in non-tillage plots in the wheat/soyabean rotation was the dominant factor influencing seed predation, probably because such habitat favours the presence of seed predators.     

The efficacy of mesenteric lymph node biopsy in the eradication of paratuberculosis from an infected dairy farm

Lymph node biopsy was performed on animals older than nine months on a dairy farm which carried 223 animals and was severely affected by paratuberculosis. Biopsies were examined histologically and bacteriologically for the presence of M. paratuberculosis infection. In this way paratuberculosis infection was diagnosed in 29 animals, in which other diagnostic methods (serum complement fixation test, intradermal johnin test and microscopic examination of the faeces) produced negative results. The value of lymph node biopsy is the early detection of infected animals. In the two years after the biopsies, no further cases of clinical paratuberculosis were detected on the affected farm, although infection with M. paratuberculosis persisted.     

Blastocyst Evaluation by Means of Differential Staining: a Practical Approach

Techniques for in vitro production of embryos have been developed world-wide in different species, with promising results in human and ruminants. Thousands of human IVF-babies have been born during the last 20 years and thousands of in vitro -produced calves have been born since the late 1980s. With current methods for bovine in vitro fertilization, about 30–40% of in vitro -fertilized bovine oocytes develop further to the blastocyst stage and can be used for transfer. A proper evaluation of blastocyst quality remains however, an important challenge for every researcher involved in embryology and for every clinician who wants to select the best embryos for transfer. This review attempts to summarize the different methods available for estimation of blastocyst quality with a special emphasis upon differential staining.     

Dietary crude protein concentration does not affect the leucine requirement of growing dogs

The objective of the present study was to examine the interaction between graded levels of leucine and dietary crude protein. Dose–response curves were generated using four 3 × 3 Latin squares (two dogs/square). Each square represented one of two concentrations of crude protein (140 or 280 g/kg diet) and one of two combinations of three concentrations of leucine (5.0, 7.0 and 9.0 g/kg diet or 9.0, 11 and 13 g/kg diet). An additional experiment was performed by feeding crude protein at 210 g/kg diet with either 7.0 or 11 g leucine/kg diet. Weight gain, food intake, nitrogen retention, plasma albumin and plasma amino acids were measured. The requirement was determined to be the minimum leucine concentration required to maximize weight gain and nitrogen retention. For 8–14-week-old male Beagle dogs, 140 g crude protein/kg diet in a diet containing 18 kJ metabolizable energy/g does not appear to support maximal growth. The leucine requirement was not affected by doubling the dietary crude protein level from 140 to 280 g/kg diet. From these results, the leucine requirement of 8–14-week-old Beagle dogs appears to be 11 g leucine/kg diet independent of the level of dietary crude protein, whereas dogs over 14 weeks require only 7 g leucine/kg diet for maximal nitrogen retention.     

Evaluation of an autogenous Salmonella bacterin and a modified live Salmonella serotype Choleraesuis vaccine on a commercial dairy farm.

OBJECTIVE: To compare the efficacy of a Salmonella bacterin and a modified live Salmonella ser. Choleraesuis vaccine on a commercial dairy. ANIMALS: 450 cows in late gestation and 80 calves. PROCEDURE: Group-1 cows (n = 150) were vaccinated once with a modified live S. Choleraesuis (serogroup C1) strain 54 (SC54) vaccine, group-2 cows (150) were vaccinated on enrollment and 30 days later with a Salmonella ser. Montevideo (serogroup C1) bacterin, and group-3 cows (150) served as unvaccinated controls. One gallon of colostrum harvested from the first 80 cows to calve was fed to each calf. Outcome assessments included fecal shedding of Salmonella spp for the first 10 days after parturition (cows) or birth (calves), milk production, involuntary culling rate, mastitis incidence, antimicrobial use, and mortality rate. RESULTS: Salmonellae were isolated from 306 of 309 (99%) cows and 64 of 74 (86.5%) calves. Shedding frequency was less in SC54-vaccinated cows and calves that received colostrum from those cows, compared with the other groups, and vaccination was specifically associated with less shedding of serogroup C1 salmonellae. Production data were similar among groups. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Vaccination of pregnant cows with an autogenous Salmonella bacterin had no effect on fecal shedding of salmonellae, whereas vaccination with a modified live S. Choleraesuis vaccine reduced the frequency of fecal shedding of serogroup C1 salmonellae during the peripartum period. A commercial S. Choleraesuis vaccine licensed for use in swine may be more efficacious than autogenous Salmonella bacterins on dairies infected with serogroup C1 salmonellae.     

Application of Airway Pressure Therapy in Veterinary Critical Care: Part I: Respiratory Mechanics and Hypoxemia

Over the past several decades, recognition of acute respiratory failure as the cause of death in patients suffering from various clinical conditions has prompted aggressiv investigation into the area of respiratory physiology and supportive respiratory care. With the evolution of emergency medicine and critical care services in both human and veterinary medicine, many patients previously considered unsalvageable due to the severity of their underlying disease are now being resuscitated and successfully supported, creating a new population of critically ill patients. Where only a decade ago these patients would have succumbed to their underlying disease, they now survive long enough to manifest the complications of shock and tissue injury in the form of acute respiratory failure. Investigation into the pathophysiology and treatment of this acute respiratory distress syndrom (ARDS) has facilitated increased clinical application of respiratory theerapy and machanical ventilation.¹ The purpose of this paper is to provide a basic review of respiratory mechanics and the pathophysiology of hypoxemia as they relate to airway pressure therapy in veterinary patients and to review the use of airway pressure therapy in veterinary patients This paper is divided into two parts; part I reviews respiratory mechanics and hypoxemia as they apply to respiratory therapy, while part II deals specifically with airway pressure therapy andits use in clinical cases.     

Essential Fatty Acids and the Cat

Abstract— The physiology of essential fatty acid metabolism in the cat is reviewed. Emphasis is placed on those aspects of the n:6 and n:3 fatty acids, their metabolites and interactions, which relate primarily to the skin. The functional roles, if known, of the fatty acids are discussed. Recent clinical research into the use of essential fatty acid supplements in the management of feline dermatoses is presented. Current indications for the therapeutic supplementation with essential fatty acids are summarised.     

An Epidemiologic and Economic Study of Respiratory Diseases in Two Conventional Danish Swine Herds. I: Prevalence of Respiratory Lesions at Slaughter and Their Effects on Growth

A total of 578 slaughter pigs from 2 Danish conventional farrow-to-finish operations (Herds A and B) were followed from an age of 14 days to slaughter. Pigs were weighed at 3 weeks intervals and at slaughter and an extended post mortem examination of the plucks was done. Comparison of growth rates in pigs with and without specific types of lesions by the t-test and those with multiple lesions with regression models demonstrated that Mycoplasma-like pneumonia, complicated pneumonia, anterio-ventral pleuritis, fissures and atrophic rhinitis significantly reduced mean daily gain and increased the time required to reach slaughter weight. The total impact of the lesions in Herd A was an estimated reduction in mean daily gain of 27 grams and a 2 day increase in the interval from 14 days of age until slaughter (MDG14). Decreases in MDG14 in Herd B were more substantial, 98 grams and 16.7 days. Reductions in mean daily gains during the interval from the fourth weighing until slaughter were 31 grams in Herd A and 137 grams in Herd B. Chronic dorso-caudal and parietal pleuritis, without other lesions present, had no significant adverse effects on growth rates in either herd. Interactions between lesions did not significantly alter the estimates. The R² values obtained for the regression models showed that the presence, absence or extent of lesions at slaughter explained only 13-27% of the variations in growth rates in the 2 herds.