A bacteriological investigation of subcutaneous abscesses in cats

Ten out of eleven subcutaneous abscesses in cats harboured anaerobic bacteria. Seven of the ten abscesses contained a mixture of obligate anaerobes and facultative anaerobes or microaerophilic bacteria. All of the anaerobic isolates were sensitive to the antibiotic metronidazole, but were resistant to streptomycin. Three isolates from one abscess were resistant to penicillin and ampicillin. Clinical resolution of subcutaneous abscesses was poor when procaine penicillin was used alone as treatment.     

The influence of temperature on the development of Moniezia expansa (Rudolphi, 1810) in oribatid mites

The life cycle of Moniezia expansa was studied experimentally using 10 species of oribatid mites as intermediate hosts. Four of them became infected, namely Scheloribates laevigatus (76.2%), Sch. latipes (70.8%), Liacarus coracinus (20%) and Platynothrus peltifer (1.1%). The last was found for the first time to serve as intermediate host of M. expansa in Czechoslovakia. The development of the cysticercoid of M. expansa in the oribatid mites at 28 degrees C and 85% relative humidity is completed within 27 days. At 18-20 degrees C and the same relative humidity the development lasts even 97 days.     

Scanning electron microscopic studies on males of trichinella species

Ultrastructure of the cuticle and pseudobursa of adult males of four species of Trichinella has been studied by SEM. T. nativa differs markedly from T. spiralis, T. nelsoni and Trichinella sp. in the form of the pseudobursa. Trichinella sp. differs only slightly from T. spiralis and T. nelsoni. The ultrastructure of the cuticle revealed no characters suitable for the differentiation of the taxons under study.     

DDT in northern pike (Esox lucius) from the Richelieu River, Québec, Canada, 1974-75

Concentrations of DDT, TDE, DDE, and sigma DDT were determined in homogenized whole fish samples of 129 northern pike (Esox lucius). These fish were netted between June 1974 and June 1975 in the first 10 km of the Richelieu River flowing in Canadian territory. Two years after the banning of DDT, sigma DDT levels ranged from 0.2 ppm fresh body weight in two-year-old specimens to 1.5 ppm in a six-year-old pike. Residues increased greatly with age, and significant seasonal variations in the sigma DDT levels were found in five- and six-year-old pike.