A retrospective study on adverse reactions to canine vaccines in Japan

Adverse reactions to vaccines were examined in 311 canine cases reported to the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries in Japan during the period of 6 years from April of 1994 to March of 2000, and classified according to their clinical symptoms. There were 27 cases of adverse reactions to rabies virus vaccines. Gastrointestinal symptoms were the most frequently observed (26%), followed by respiratory and/or cardiovascular symptoms (22%) and dermatologic symptoms (11%). There were 284 cases of adverse reactions to non-rabies monovalent vaccines and mixed vaccines. Dermatologic symptoms were the most frequently observed (53%), followed by gastrointestinal symptoms (16%) and respiratory and/or cardiovascular symptoms (14%). Of the total 311 cases, 11 (3.5%) died of adverse reactions to vaccines.     

Serum leptin levels during the periparturient period in cows

Serum leptin concentrations were measured in antenatal and postnatal cows housed at two different locations. The mean serum leptin concentration was 9.2 +/- 0.6 ng/m l (n=22) in one group, and was slightly lower in the other (7.4 +/- 0.4 ng/ml, n=54), probably because of the different nutritional conditions between the two groups. There was no consistent variation in relation to the menstrual cycle and the periparturient period in both groups. Moreover, serum leptin concentrations during the periparturient period were independent of the number of delivery and the incidence of mastitis and milk fever. These results are quite different from those in rodents and human, suggesting the different regulatory mechanism of circulating leptin concentration in cows.     

Congenital cutaneous fibropapillomatosis without evidences of papillomavirus infection in a Holstein-Friesian calf

A male Holstein-Friesian calf was born with multiple, cauliflower-like, pale pink cutaneous masses on the head and limbs. On histopathological examination, the cutaneous masses were diagnosed as congenital cutaneous fibropapillomatosis. Those lesions involved focal proliferation of sebaceous gland in the dermis. There were no histological findings to suggest bovine papillomavirus infection, such as the presence of intranuclear inclusion bodies, large keratohyalin granules, and koilocytosis. Furthermore, papillomaviral antigens and DNA were not detected by immunohistochemistry and polymerase chain reaction, respectively. These results suggested that there was no association between these cutaneous lesions and bovine papillomavirus infection, and the lesions were considered as harmartomatous changes.     

Effect of a commercial microbiological additive on beef manure compost in the composting process

We observed the effects of a commercial microbiological additive (MA) on the beef manure composting process and investigated the changes in its physical and chemical components and microbial populations in the composting process. When beef manure compost was inoculated with the MA, its temperature rapidly increased at the beginning of the process, and after the first turning, the ammonia emission from the compost pile and nitrate production decreased quicker than that in the composting process without the MA. During the composting process, the manure inoculated with MA showed a larger numbers of mesophilic and thermophilic aerobes, and a smaller number of thermophilic anaerobes than in the process without the MA. These results suggested that mesophilic aerobes increased in number and metabolized ammonia by assimilation rather than nitrification to accelerate the temperature elevation in the composting process with the MA.     

Efficacy of atovaquone against Babesia gibsoni in vivo and in vitro

The therapeutic efficacy of atovaquone against Babesia gibsoni was examined in three dogs experimentally infected with B. gibsoni isolated from naturally infected dogs in Aomori Prefecture, Japan. Once parasitemia reached 10%, atovaquone was administered orally (30 mg/kg twice daily for 7 days). Within 2 days of atovaquone treatment, the parasite disappeared from blood smears without any clinical side effects. Anemia and thrombocytopenia were significantly improved in all the dogs. However, a polymerase chain reaction assay revealed that a B. gibsoni marker gene was intermittently present in peripheral blood after atovaquone therapy, indicating that the organism had not been eliminated, and parasites reappeared in blood smears 33 days after the last treatment. To investigate the change in sensitivity against atovaquone, an in vitro sensitivity test was performed using peripheral blood obtained from an untreated dog that was infected with the original parasite isolate, and from two of the experimentally infected and atovaquone-treated animals (blood was collected at the time of the post-treatment recurrence of the B. gibsoni infection). Atovaquone was added to the culture medium to final concentrations of 0.1, 1, 10, 100, and 1000 nM. For the untreated parasites, complete growth inhibition occurred at 1000 nM of atovaquone, whereas the recurrent parasites were inhibited by only 39.52 +/- 8.34% and 31.31 +/- 8.14% at this concentration after 48 h of incubation. Thus, the recurring parasites were less sensitive to atovaquone than the untreated originally isolated parasites.     

Anesthesia and acoustic stress-induced intra-uterine growth retardation in mice

Stress interferes with reproduction, adversely influencing implantation and fetal growth, and sometimes even leading to abortion. Here, we attempted to evaluate the early gestational effects of uncomfortable sound on pregnant mice and their offspring. Ten-week-old pregnant Jcl:ICR mice were exposed to sound (100 dB, random frequency between 9-34 kHz) for 8 hours on the 3(rd), 5(th) and 7(th) gestational days (GD). The effects of general anesthesia were also investigated, with or without acoustic stress. All groups were examined on the 18(th) GD for fetal growth. Fetal weight, number of ossified sacrococcygeal vertebrae and placental weight were all significantly reduced (P<0.0001) when stress was induced on the 7(th) GD, but not on the 3(rd) or 5(th) GD. This intra-uterine growth retardation (IUGR) was significantly inhibited by general anesthesia (P<0.0001), although general anesthesia alone induced significant IUGR (P<0.0001) when compared with control mice. This suggests that acoustic exposure indirectly exerts an effect on fetal growth, possibly via a psycho-maternal pathway. We also found that analysis of the number of ossified sacrococcygeal vertebrae is the most sensitive tool for the study of IUGR.     

Comparative Analysis of Japanese and Foreign Strains of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Ralstonia solanacearum</Emphasis> Based on 16S Ribosomal RNA Gene Sequences

We determined nearly the complete sequences of the 16S ribosomal RNA gene (rDNA) for Japanese strains of R. solanacearum. The comparison of 1471 nucleotide positions separated the Japanese strains into two groups, group 1 with biovars 1, 2, 3 and 4 strains which belonged to race 1, and group 2 with biovar 2 strains corresponding to race 3. Group 1 strains all had identical sequences, and strains representing the four biovars within the group did not differ from each other. Group 2 strains had characteristic nucleotides which differed at seven positions from group 1 strains. Comparative analysis of Japanese and foreign strains based on 16S rDNA sequences showed that Japanese group 1 was closely related to Asian and Australian biovars 3, 4 and 5, and belonged to the known division 1. Japanese group 2 was homogeneous to Indonesian biovars 2 and N2 in subdivision 2b. Since the differences in the nucleotides corresponded to restriction sites for the AluI, RFLP analysis of PCR-amplified 16S rDNA efficiently differentiated not only Japanese group 1 from group 2, but also differentiated three types of foreign strains which differed in biovar and geographic origin. Received 26 July 1999/ Accepted in revised form 19 November 1999     

Contraceptive effect of a gonadotropin-releasing hormone vaccine on a captive female African Lion (Panthera leo): a case study

Lions (Panthera leo) breed well under captivity, so contraception has been commonly conducted for population management, leading to a demand for a less invasive and reversible contraceptive approach in lions. In this study, we examined the efficacy of a commercial gonadotropin-releasing hormone vaccine as a method of suppressing reproductive activity in a sexually matured female lion. Under behavioral restraint, the vaccine was injected twice (days 0 and 109). After the initial vaccination, ovarian activity is still observed. After the second vaccination, contraceptive effect was confirmed for 246 days until restart of estrous cycles. We confirmed only a slight swelling around the injection site after the second vaccination. This study may suggest an alternative option for a contraceptive method in lions.