Serotyping of Haemophilus paragallinarum isolates from Mexico by the Kume hemagglutinin scheme

A total of 42 isolates of Haemophilus paragallinarum from Mexico were serotyped by the Kume hemagglutinin scheme. Serovars A-1, A-2, B-1, and C-2 were recognized among 11 (26.2%), 7 (16.6%), 4 (9.5%), and 14 (33.3%) isolates, respectively. A further six isolates (14.3%) showed hemagglutinating activity but could not be classified into any serovar. Commercial vaccines containing Kume serovars A-1, A-2, B-1, and C-2 may provide better protection than those bi- or trivalent infectious coryza vaccines currently used in Mexico.     

Survival of infective Ostertagia ostertagi larvae on pasture plots under different simulated grazing conditions

This study was carried out to examine the survival of infective Ostertagia ostertagi larvae (L(3)) on pasture under different simulated conditions of grazing, i.e. mixed grazing of cattle and nose-ringed sows, or grazing by cattle alone. Standardised pats of cattle faeces containing O. ostertagi eggs were deposited on three types of herbage plots, which were divided into zone 1: faecal pat; zone 2: a circle extending 25cm from the edge of the faecal pat; zone 3: a circle extending 25cm from the edge of zone 2. For "tall herbage" (TH) plots, the herbage in zone 2 was allowed to grow naturally, while the herbage in zone 3 was cut down to 5-7cm fortnightly, imitating a cattle-only pasture. For "short herbage" (SH) plots, the herbage in both zones 2 and 3 were cut down to 5-7cm fortnightly, imitating mixed grazing of cattle and sows. The grass in the "short herbage and scattered faeces" (SH/SF) plots were cut as for SH plots, and the faeces were broken down 3 weeks after deposition and scattered within zone 2, imitating the rooting behaviour of co-grazing sows. Five faecal pats from each plot group were collected on monthly basis, along with the herbage from zones 2 and 3 cut down to the ground. Infective larvae were then recovered from both faeces and herbage. The numbers of L(3) recovered from zone 1 were higher in the TH plots than in the other two groups and, furthermore, the larval counts from SH plots were always higher than from SH/SF plots. The three groups followed a similar pattern during the season regarding numbers of L(3) in zone 2, and no clear patterns between plot types were obtained. The presence of L(3) in zone 3 was almost negligible. Important differences were seen throughout the study from the biological point of view; more L(3) were able to survive in faeces on the TH plots, presumably reflecting a better protection from heat and desiccation compared to those in the other plots. The overall results support the idea that mixed grazing of cattle and pigs favour the reduction of O. ostertagi larval levels in pasture. This reduction is mainly due to the grazing behaviour of pigs, which by grazing up to the very edge of the cattle faeces, will either expose the larvae in faeces to adverse environmental summer conditions or ingest cattle parasite larvae, or both.     

Isolation of equine herpesvirus-2 from the lung of an aborted fetus.

This study describes the isolation of equine herpesvirus-2 (EHV-2) from the lung of an aborted equine fetus in Argentina. The isolated virus was confirmed as EHV-2 by indirect immunofluorescence using a rabbit anti-EHV-2 polyclonal antiserum and by virus-neutralization test using an equine polyclonal antibody against EHV-2. Restriction endonuclease DNA fingerprinting with BamHI also confirmed the identity of the virus as EHV-2. Furthermore, viral nucleic acid was detected by polymerase chain reaction from the original lung sample and from the DNA obtained from cells infected with the virus isolate. This work constitutes the first reported isolation of EHV-2 from an aborted equine fetus. The presence of EHV-2 in the lung of the aborted fetus would indicate that this virus is capable of crossing the placental barrier. However, no cause-effect relationship was established between the EHV-2 isolate and the abortion.     

A new isolate of the nematophagous fungus Duddingtonia flagrans a biological control agent against free-living larvae of horse strongyles

An experiment was carried out in 1997 to test the efficacy of an isolate of the microfungus Duddingtonia flagrans against free-living stages of horse strongyles under conditions in the field and to assess the eventual effect of the fungus on the normal degradation of faeces. Faecal pats were made from faeces of a naturally strongyle infected horse, which had been fed fungal material at a dose level of 106 fungal unit/kg bwt. Control pats without fungi were made from faeces collected from the same animal just before being fed fungi. Faecal cultures set up for both groups of faeces to monitor the activity of the fungus under laboratory conditions showed that the fungus significantly reduced the number of infective third-stage larvae (L3) by an average of 98.4%. Five faecal pats from each batch of faeces were deposited on pasture plots at 3 times during spring-summer. The herbage around each pat was sampled fortnightly to recover L3 transmitted from faeces. The results showed that the herbage infectivity around fungus-treated pats was reduced by 85.8-99.4%. The remaining faecal material at the end of each sampling period was collected, and the surviving L3 were extracted. Significantly fewer larvae were recovered from the fungus-treated pats. Analysis of wet and dry weight of the collected pats, as well as their organic matter content, were performed to compare the degradation of faeces of both groups. The results indicated that the presence of the fungus did not alter the degradation of the faeces.     

Study on the inductive factors of hypobiosis of Ostertagia ostertagi in cattle

Two experiments were carried out to determine the causes producing the Ostertagia ostertagi hypobiosis phenomenon in cattle. In the first experiment, the effect of time on third-stage larvae in the environment was studied during a 2-year period. Three experimental paddocks contaminated with O. ostertagi eggs at different times of the year were used, and the levels of hypobiosis were recorded by using 'indicator' and 'tracer' calves. The results suggest that time as such is not a hypobiosis-inductive factor. The second experiment was conducted under laboratory conditions, where the effects of temperature and light on infective larvae were studied. Infective larvae were subjected to different conditions of temperature and light during 6 weeks, and then inoculated to parasite-naive calves, which were slaughtered after 4 weeks. Percentages of hypobiotic larvae in these calves varied from 3.5 to 94.8%, depending on the different storage conditions the larvae underwent before inoculation. Results suggest that increasing temperature and increasing time of light exposure simulating spring conditions would be the factors which act upon third-stage larvae inducing them to a later hypobiotic stage in the host.     

Lactation curves in captive Iberian red deer (Cervus elaphus hispanicus)

This study examines milk production and the effect of milk production and sex of calf on body weights and gains of red deer calves and hinds of the Iberian subspecies (Cervus elaphus hispanicus). Milk production was assessed in 14 hinds by weighing calves before and after suckling and by adjusting these values to the Gamma function. Gamma estimates of total milk production up to d 105 were similar to the amounts computed directly from double weighing. Hinds showed two types of lactation curve: 1) the standard mammal lactation curve, with an asymmetrical peak at wk 2 to 4 (Type I) and 2) decreasing curves with no peak (Type II). Although there was great interindividual variability, hinds with Type I curves showed a trend to produce more milk than those with Type II. The type of curve did not seem to affect weight variables of the calf or those of the dam. Calves that gained more weight consumed greater amounts of milk (P<.05). Males were heavier than females at birth (P<.05), but males did not differ from females in their weight at 105 d, milk consumption, and gain. Gender did not affect hind weight, but dams of male calves showed a trend to be lighter (P = .063) at d 105 than dams of female calves. Our results suggest that suckling differences found in other studies between male and female calves may not involve differences in milk production, although other rearing costs seem to affect hind weight losses. They also suggest that the curve type may not depend only, as reported, on the nutrition plane.     

Multispecies and multiple anthelmintic resistance on cattle nematodes in a farm in Argentina: the beginning of high resistance?

There are very few resistance records on cattle nematodes. South American successive records have been increasing rapidly since the year 2000. In Argentina, increasing dissatisfaction based on the exclusive use of macrocyclic lactones has prompted the use of benzimidazoles in the Pampean region. The studied farm is located in the Argentina humid Pampas and had apparently poor results after anthelmintic treatments. Evaluation of resistance was firstly based on faecal egg reduction after treatment in November 2001 and June 2002 and was complemented with worm counts obtained by necropsy in June 2002. The study reports that the reduction of faecal egg excretion after benzimidazole (reduction 31-79%) or ivermectin treatments (76-97%) in November 2001 was insufficient and these poor results were confirmed in June 2002 (benzimidazoles (65-89%) and ivermectin (47-77%)). Several methods for evaluating faecal egg count reduction were performed and yielded different results. A new method based on the estimated faecal egg counts (corrected from the initial faecal egg counts and animal type using a general linear model) was used and gave higher flexibility in the interpretation of putative resistance to anthelmintics. From necropsy results, it could be concluded that Cooperia oncophora was resistant to avermectins and benzimidazoles and that Cooperia punctata, Ostertagia ostertagi and Haemonchus placei were resistant to benzimidazoles. This case of multispecies and multidrug resistance is probably not unique and could reflect the emergence of resistances in Argentina. This emergence is probably due to the intensive use of anthelmintics, the absence of refugia, and the frequent circulation of infected cattle.     

The Effect of Supplementation with Fresh Browse of Ziziphus mauritiana or Combretum aculeatum on Feed Intake,Nitrogen Utilization and Growth of Grazing Range Sheep

The influence of 0, 60 or 120 min access to a grove of either Ziziphus mauritiana (Ziziphus) or Combretum aculeatum (Combretum) on forage intake and on the digestibility, growth and excretion of nutrients was determined using 40 Oudah rams grazing for 7 h/day on poor-quality dry season pasture in the Sahel. The effects of browse species and browsing duration (0, 30, 60 or 120 min) on the ruminal ammonia content were also evaluated using 8 mature fistulated rams. Ziziphus increased both total digestible organic matter and total dry matter intakes per (kg live weight)^0.75 without decreasing herbage intake, whereas 60 or 120 min access to Combretum reduced herbage intake by 6.3% and 4.2%, respectively. The digestibility of the diet decreased (p<0.05) with the duration of access to the groves. Despite the provision of more nitrogen (N) than in the control diet, ruminal NH₃-N decreased 24 h after browsing commenced. The reduced live weight gain of sheep browsing Combretum may indicate more deleterious compounds in Combretum than in Ziziphus. Ziziphus appears to have more potential than Combretum to increase sheep production in low-input crop/livestock systems.