Humoral immune responses following experimental infection of goats with Mycoplasma capricolum subsp. capripneumoniae.

Goats housed in microbiologically secure facilities were experimentally endobronchially infected with Mycoplasma capricolum subsp. capripneumoniae (Mccp), causal agent of contagious caprine pleuropneumonia (CCPP). The animals were monitored over an 8-week period post-infection (p.i.). Elevated temperatures were observed 2-7 days p.i., reaching a maximum of 41.5 degrees C in one animal (1884). By 8 weeks p.i. the infection was successfully cleared, with no Mccp being recovered from the lungs, serum or nasal passages. Mccp was not isolated from serum throughout the experiment, either directly by culture or indirectly via polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Humoral immune responses against Mccp capsular polysaccharide (CPS) were generally poor when measured by ELISA. CPS antigen was present in the serum of all infected animals early in the infection (day 14 p.i.), although in one animal (1855) CPS antigen persisted throughout. This was the only animal to exhibit a serious cough (day 5-19 p.i.). Successful diagnosis of CCPP was achieved using two different types of latex agglutination test (CPS antibody and CPS antigen detection test), immunoblotting and a blocking ELISA, although the latter lacked sensitivity until later in the infection (35-40 days p.i.). Only a single animal (1855) was detected positive using the current complement fixation test (CFT). Strong immune responses to protein antigens were detected by IgG and IgM immunoblotting from the first time point at day 14 p.i. IgM immunodominant bands of 220, 85, 62 and 40kDa were observed in the 3 infected animals and from CFT-positive CCPP field sera. Band intensity gradually diminished throughout the experiment. IgG immunodominant bands of 108, 70, 62, 44, 40 and 23kDa were shared between experimentally-infected and field sera, with band intensity either remaining unchanged or increasing from day 14 p.i. These bands were not present using pre-infection sera. Of the diagnostic tests used, only the CPS antibody detection latex agglutination test and IgG immunoblotting gave positive diagnoses throughout the entire period post-infection (days 14-53 p.i.).     

THE USE OF SIMULATION MODELLING IN THE MANAGEMENT OF BRUCELLOSIS ERADICATION

Problems faced by Government veterinarians in the planning and implemention of the national bovine brucellosis eradication campaign are described. These problems stem from the uncertainty associated with the epidemiology of the disease and its initial status in eradication areas. They are compounded by contraints on abattoir capacity, finance and time. A computer stimulation model is discussed which is designed to assist campaign organisers to cope with these problems. Inputs related to expected test and slaughter rates, district disease prevalence and proposed campaign intensity are entered into the model. Output from the model inlcudes distributions giving predicted testing workloads, cattle slaughtered and disease status over the course of the campaign. The operation of the model is illustrated using data from the Bangalow district of New South Wales.     

Influence of ambient temperature on prolactin concentrations in serum of Holstein and Brahman x Hereford heifers

Four Holstein and four Brahman x Hereford heifers about 8 mo of age were used in a study to determine whether breed influences the effects of ambient temperature on concentrations' of prolactin in serum. Two heifers of each breed were stanchioned in each of two environmental chambers at 21 C for 7 d, after which chamber temperatures were changed to 7 or 31 C during 6 h. After 5 d at 7, 21 or 31 C, heifers were injected with 60 micrograms thyrotropin-releasing hormone (TRH). A switch-back design was used and each heifer was exposed to all treatments. Concentrations of prolactin in serum of heifers during exposure to 7, 21 or 31 C for 5 d were related to ambient temperature (9.0, 20.9 and 29.5 ng/ml, respectively; P less than .001), but the response was not influenced by breed. Heifers of both breeds responded similarly to treatment with TRH, and prolactin in serum increased (P less than .001) within 5 min from 7.0 +/- 3.2 to 45.7 +/- 8.2 ng/ml in heifers at 7 C, from 13.1 +/- 1.6 to 97.2 +/- 9.6 ng/ml in heifers at 21 C and from 18.2 +/- 3.5 to 96.2 +/- 11.3 ng/ml in heifers at 31 C. We conclude that concentrations of prolactin in serum of heifers are positively associated with ambient temperature and that the effects of temperature on basal and TRH-stimulated concentrations of prolactin do not differ significantly between Holstein and Brahman x Hereford heifers. Thus, differences in tolerance to heat were not related to differences in prolactin secretion.