Diagnostic testing patterns of natural Mycobacterium paratuberculosis infection in pygmy goats

Thirteen pygmy goats (Capra hircus) from a herd naturally infected with Mycobacterium avium ss. paratuberculosis (MPTB) were monitored with 4 diagnostic assays for 2 to 15 mo. Cellular and humoral immune responses to the infection were assessed with assays of gamma interferon (IFNγ), serum antibody [enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and agar gel diffusion (AGID)], and radiometric fecal culture. Microscopic examination and radiometric culture of tissue from 12 sites were performed at necropsy. Goats were considered infected if MPTB was isolated from any tissue sample collected at necropsy. Mycobacterial isolates were confirmed as MPTB with an IS900 polymerase chain reaction assay. Ten goats whose antemortem tests indicated infection carried heavy organism burdens at necropsy, both within and beyond the gastrointestinal system. False-negative ELISA, AGID, and/or culture results were obtained in 5 of the 10 confirmed cases during the study period. In 3 goats with sporadic fecal shedding of MPTB or detectable IFNγ response, or both, no abnormalities were detected at necropsy and no MPTB was isolated from the tissue samples; the antemortem fecal-culture and IFNγ results were thus considered false-positive. Diagnosticians should be alert to the possibility of both false-positive and false-negative test results for Johne's disease in goats. False-positive fecal-culture results may occur when a high prevalence of infection exists in the herd and the premises are likely to be heavily contaminated. The diverse antemortem testing patterns seen in these goats underscore the importance of using varied diagnostic assays serially or in parallel to increase the likelihood of identifying all infected goats.     

Metabolism of bromoxynil octanoate in growing wheat

[¹⁴C]ring-Bromoxynil octanoate was applied to the leaves of wheat seedlings, which were cultivated in a growth cabinet under controlled conditions for 14 days. Fractionation of the metabolites present in the treated leaves, which accounted for about 63% of the radioactivity applied, indicated a complex metabolic pathway resulting from initial hydrolysis to free bromoxynil, followed by three consecutive or concurrent steps (a) hydrolysis of the cyano group to the amide and carboxylic acid, followed by decarboxylation to 2,6-dibromophenol (0.5% of the ¹⁴C applied), (b) replacement of one or both bromine atoms by hydroxy groups to 3-bromo-4,5-dihydroxybenzonitrile (1.3 %) and 3,4,5-trihydroxybenzo-nitrile (0.6 %) or their hydrolysis products, (c) replacement of one or both bromine atoms by hydrogen, giving 3-bromo-4-hydroxybenzonitrile (1.9 %) and 4-hydroxy-benzonitrile (0.6%) or their hydrolysis products. Some of the phenolic acids or phenols formed are natural plant constituents. The metabolites identified represented in all about 11 % of the herbicide applied, but no individual metabolite accounted for more than a small proportion of it.     

Radiochemical distribution and decline studies with bromoxynil octanoate in wheat

Bromoxynil octanoate labelled with ¹⁴C in the ring or in the cyano-group was applied to wheat seedlings at the two-leaf or fully-tillered stage and at rates equivalent to up to 16 oz a.i./acre. The plants were grown either in environmental chambers under controlled conditions for up to 28 days, or outdoors under field conditions for various periods up to harvest. Initially, elimination of radioactivity occurred more rapidly with bromoxynil-cyano-[¹⁴C]-octanoate than with bromoxynil-ring-[¹⁴C]-octanoate, indicating metabolic attack on the cyano group. Under outdoor conditions with ring-[¹⁴C]-herbicide applied at the two-leaf stage, only 12% of the radioactivity was retained after 28 days, principally in the treated leaves. When application was made at fully-tillered stage, about 33% of the ¹⁴C was retained after 56 days, almost entirely in the treated senescent leaves at the base of the plant. There was very little translocation of the herbicide or of any major metabolite. The level of radioactivity in harvested grain and in straw more than 7.5 cm above the ground was very low, even after very late application of ring-[¹⁴C]-labelled herbicide. The amount of bromoxynil octanoate, together with any metabolite retaining part of the aromatic ring, did not collectively exceed the equivalent of approx. 0.01 parts/million bromoxynil octanoate.     

Determination of the efficacy of pyrantel pamoate at the therapeutic dose rate against the tapeworm Anoplocephala perfoliata in equids using a modification of the critical test method

A total of 59 equids (54 horses and five Shetland ponies) were treated with pyrantel pamoate once, at the dose rate of approximately 6.6 mg base kg-1, during the period November 1985-January 1988. The drug was administered as a paste formulation (51 equids) intraorally or as a suspension formulation by stomach tube (eight equids). The purpose of treatment was to evaluate the activity of pyrantel pamoate (at the therapeutic dose rate) for removal of the tapeworm, Anoplocephala perfoliata, by a modified (24-h) critical test. The presence or absence of tapeworms was not determined for the equids before treatment. Twenty-three (39%) of the 59 treated equids were found to be infected with A. perfoliata (from one to 180 specimens per infected equid) at necropsy. Removals varied from 67 to 100% (average 88%) for the 18 infected equids treated with the paste formulation. For the five infected equids treated with the suspension, removals were 58-100% (average 75%). The combined average removal of A. perfoliata for both formulations was 87%. Two abnormal (triradiate) specimens of A. perfoliata were recovered; one from each of two different equids.     

Multiple hereditary ocular anomalies in a herd of cattle

A Brahman x Santa Gertrudis herd of cows bred to a Hereford bull was evaluated because of a 3-year history of several calves born with congenital blindness. Multiple congenital ocular anomalies in 2 calves included microphthalmos, microcornea, microcoria, heterochromia iridis, microlentia, cataracts, retinal dysplasia, retinal detachment, anterior segment dysgenesis, acorea, and proliferation of the anterior neuroectoderm. On the basis of the lack of environmental factors and persistence of an intermittent problem when breeding to a single bull, a genetic defect was diagnosed as the probable cause. Dominant inheritance with varied expressivity may have best explained the lack of obvious signs in the bull, with emergence of various anterior and posterior segment defects in offspring from unrelated cows.     

Equine viral arteritis at a veterinary teaching hospital

An outbreak of equine viral arteritis (EVA) occurred at a veterinary teaching hospital in the summer and autumn of 1984. Clinical signs were observed in 16 out of 61 hospitalized horses and included ventral, limb and preputial edema, mild conjunctivitis with lacrimation, pyrexia and increased respiratory and heart rates. Of 16 clinically affected horses, 13 were undergoing experimental abdominal surgery and/or were involved in digestion experiments; 9 of the 13 were > 20 years of age. The three other clinically affected horses were client animals. Thirteen client horses developed serologic titers to equine arteritis virus in the absence of clinical signs. The risk of infection was associated with close contact, involvement in the experimental studies being conducted and length of hospitalization. The disease was mild, limited in spread and successfully controlled by quarantine.     

Alternate day supplementation of corn stalk diets with soybean meal or corn gluten meal fed to ruminants.

Four experiments were conducted to determine the effect of adding corn gluten mean (CGM) or soybean meal (SBM) at 24- or 48-h intervals to diets based on corn stalks. In each experiment corn stalks was the primary diet ingredient fed to wethers or steers. Monensin was also fed to determine whether its effects on ruminal fermentation would improve the efficiency of N utilization under these conditions. Evaluation criteria included ruminal fermentation characteristics, DM intake and utilization, N balance in sheep, and steer feedlot performance. Ruminal ammonia nitrogen (NH3 N) concentrations measured over time were higher (P < .05) when diets contained SBM. Diet did not influence (P > .10) total VFA concentrations in ruminal fluid. Differences in diurnal shifts in ruminal NH3 N and total VFA due to protein source resulted in diet x hour interactions (P < .05). Dry matter intake response to protein source and frequency of supplement feeding was variable. Dry matter digestibility and nitrogen digestibility were not affected (P > .10) by protein source or feeding interval. The 48-h interval feeding of CGM was favorable compared with 24-h interval feeding (P < .05). The opposite response occurred with SBM, resulting in a diet x feeding interval interaction (P < .05). Nitrogen retention was greater (P < .05) when CGM was fed and with alternate day feeding. Diets that contained CGM supported higher (P < .05) ADG and gain/feed than diets that contained SBM when fed to steer calves. Alternate day feeding of supplements that contained monensin was detrimental to steer performance under the conditions of these experiments. Corn gluten meal is an effective substitute for SBM when alternate day protein supplementation is practiced.