Corynebacterium equi Infections in Horses, 1958-1984: A Review of 131 Cases

Of 131 cases of Corynebacterium equi infection in horses submitted for necropsy to the Ontario Veterinary College or Veterinary Laboratory Services, OMAF, Guelph, Ontario from 1958 to 1984, 115 were diagnosed as suppurative pneumonia, and of these 55 had associated ulcerative enterocolitis. Only five animals had intestinal involvement without pulmonary lesions. The remaining 11 cases included arthritis/cellulitis, skin abscesses and submandibular lymphadenitis. While the lung, intestine and associated lymph nodes yielded C. equi most frequently, in 21% of cases C. equi was also cultured from parenchymatous organs (spleen, liver or kidney) or blood. Corynebacterium equi infection accounted for 10% of all foals submitted for postmortem examination and 45% of all foals with pneumonia. Affected foals were one to four months of age. Submissions occurred between the months of May and August with a peak during July. There was a significantly greater prevalence of C. equi infection in Standardbreds when compared with other breeds. Of foals in this study, 36% were from farms which had had other horses succumb to this disease. Of the foals with pulmonary involvement, 21% did not have fever or clinical signs referable to the respiratory or gastrointestinal systems, findings which indicated that a large percentage of cases were subclinical.     

A Field Trial of a Pilated Moraxella bovis Bacterin for the Prevention of Infectious Bovine Keratoconjunctivitis

Two field trials were conducted to evaluate the efficacy of a Moraxella bovis bacterin in the control of infectious bovine keratoconjunctivitis. The bacterin did not affect the incidence of infectious bovine keratoconjunctivitis in either trial but did appear to reduce the severity of lesions, treatments required and withdrawals from pasture required in one trial. Possible reasons for the apparently contradictory results are offered. It is suggested that the bacterin may be of some value when used in conjunction with other preventive measures.     

Tenuous structures from disorderly growth processes

Colloidal aggregation and other random growth processes produce structures that behave differently from ordinary bulk matter. Much of this behavior can be described in terms of the invariance of the aggregates under changes of spatial length scale: they appear to be fractals. There are two types of basic mechanisms for producing fractal aggregates. Those in which aggregation proceeds cluster by cluster can be understood qualitatively in terms of a solvable schematic model. The diffusion-limited aggregation or deposition of individual particles to make a large cluster is not as well understood. It is closely related to several irreversible processes in other areas of physics, such as two-fluid displacement in porous materials and the dielectric breakdown of insulators. More generally, disorderly growth mechanisms provide structures having unique properties, many of which can be understood by using simple statistical principles.     

Use of paramunization in raising pigs

The fundamentals of paramunization are briefly discussed to provide better understanding of paramunization of pigs. Veterinary practice and experimental studies demonstrate the usefulness, efficacy and harmlessness of paramunization of pigs. Mortality, morbidity as well as weight gain in piglets are used to evaluate the effect of the inducers PIND-AVI and/or PIND-ORF on piglets which have been treated shortly after birth. The therapeutic effect of paramunization has been studied in herds with enzootic pneumonia. Paramunization is especially suitable in stimulating the immune system, in treating immune deficiencies, in the prophylaxis of the stress syndrome (e.g. induced by transport, weaning, changing stalls, etc.) and in treating pluricausal, multifactorial infectious diseases such as enzootic pneumonia, rhinitis atrophicans, "crowding" disease. Paramunization of pigs is discussed, using PIND-ORF as an example of a biological inducer. Paramunization as a biological method to stimulate immunity provides a new concept of prophylaxis and therapy opposed to the uncontrolled use of chemicals in pig production.     

Major antigenic groups of rabies virus in Canada determined by anti-nucleocapsid monoclonal antibodies

A total of 123 rabies virus isolates from various geographical areas in Canada were characterized by a panel of 43 anti-nucleocapsid monoclonal antibodies. Four major antigenic groups are found in terrestrial mammals: "Canadian Arctic" from Ontario, Quebec and the Northwest Territories; "south-eastern Georgian Bay" from Ontario; "south mid-central skunk" from Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba; and "Brook's, Alberta skunk" from a restricted area in Alberta. Bat isolates can be divided into 4 major antigenic groups: "B-1" in Eptesicus fuscus from Ontario; "B-2" in a variety of bat species from British Columbia eastward into Ontario; "B-3" in Myotis spp. from Ontario and New Brunswick; and "B-4" in E. fuscus from Alberta and Saskatchewan. A single case of bat to horse transmission of rabies virus is recorded. These street isolates are compared with isolates of fixed virus. Epidemiological aspects are discussed.