Status of wildlife health monitoring in the United Kingdom

There is a clear need to monitor the health of wildlife in the UK, to help to understand the population dynamics of endangered species and to detect any harm to the welfare of wild animals caused by human beings. Despite previous proposals, there has been little progress in the development of a national programme of monitoring. With notable exceptions, the current schemes for investigating the morbidity and mortality of wild animals cover only limited groups of animals and are fragmented and uncoordinated. They consist of statutory schemes of restricted scope, and studies in universities, institutes and wildlife rehabilitation centres with limited funding. As a result, significant disease incidents may remain undetected and others may not be investigated fully, posing risks to the welfare and conservation of wildlife, the welfare of domestic animals, and in some cases to human health. Coordinated national schemes for the surveillance of the health of wildlife are already established in France, the USA and Canada and their best characteristics could be used to develop a scheme for the UK.     

Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay for the detection of antibodies to the sheep scab mite Psoroptes ovis

An enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay has been shown to detect antibodies in the circulation of sheep infected with Psoroptes ovis. Strong positive reactions were obtained from 19 sheep with four-month-old infections. No cross reaction was observed with sera obtained from sheep infected with either Fasciola hepatica, Nematodirus battus, Ostertagia circumcincta or Damalinia ovis.     

Individual tumors of multifocal EB virus-induced malignant lymphomas in tamarins arise from different B-cell clones

Cotton-top tamarins were inoculated with sufficient Epstein-Barr virus to induce multiple tumors in each animal within 14 to 21 days. The tumors consisted of large-cell lymphomas that contained multiple copies of the Epstein-Barr virus genome and generated Epstein-Barr virus-carrying cell lines showing no detectable consistent chromosomal abnormality. Hybridization of tumor DNA with immunoglobulin gene probes revealed that each lymphoma was oligo- or monoclonal in origin and that individual tumors from the same animal arose from different B-cell clones. Thus the virus induced multiple transformation events in tamarins in vivo to cause malignant tumors resembling the Epstein-Barr virus-associated lymphomas of patients with organ transplants.     

Supplementation of diets for lactating sows with zinc amino acid complex and gastric nutriment‐intubation of suckling pigs with zinc methionine on mineral status,intestinal morphology and bacterial translocation in lipopolysaccharide‐challenged weaned pigs

Sixty‐four pigs from 16 sows were used to evaluate addition of zinc amino acid complex (ZnAA) to lactating sows and gastric nutriment‐intubation of zinc methionine (ZnMet) to suckling pigs on mineral status, intestinal morphology and bacterial translocation after weaning. Sows were fed a barley‐based diet supplying 120 ppm zinc (Zn; control) or the control diet supplemented with 240 ppm Zn from ZnAA. At birth, day‐10 and day‐21 (weaning) of age, pigs from each litter were nutriment‐intubated with 5 ml of an electrolyte solution without or with 40 mg Zn from ZnMet. At weaning, 24 h prior to the collection of small and large intestinal lymph nodes and sections of the duodenum, jejunum and ileum, the pigs received an intramuscular injection of saline without or with 150 μg/kg body weight of Escherichia coli O26:B6 lipopolysaccharide (LPS). With the exception of a tendency (p = 0.09) for lower serum concentration of copper in pigs at weaning from ZnAA‐supplemented sows, there were no differences (p > 0.1) than for pigs from control‐fed sows for mineral status or intestinal morphology. Nutriment‐intubation of ZnMet increased serum (p = 0.001) and liver (p = 0.003) Zn concentrations, number of goblet cells per 250 μm length of jejunal villous epithelium (p = 0.001) and tended (p = 0.06) to enhance jejunum mucosa thickness. Interactive effects (p < 0.05) for higher jejunal villi height and villi:crypt ratio and increased ileal goblet cell counts were apparent for pigs from ZnAA‐supplemented sows that also received nutriment‐intubation of ZnMet. Challenge with LPS increased (p = 0.05) ileal villous width. Nutriment‐intubation of ZnMet decreased (p = 0.05) anaerobic bacteria colony forming unit counts in the large intestinal mesenteric lymph nodes. In conclusion, nutriment‐intubation of ZnMet increased serum and liver tissue concentrations of Zn and resulted in limited improvement to intestinal morphology of weaned pigs.     

Role of Luteinizing Hormone in Primiparous Sow Responses to Split Weaning

In 45 primiparous sows, we examined endocrine, ovarian and reproductive responses to split-weaning or five injections per day of 800 ng GnRH from 18 to 21 days of lactation. There was no effect of treatment on absolute or changes in sow weight or backfat depth during lactation. Average piglet growth rates were similar among treatments except that piglets suckling split-weaned sows grew faster (p < 0.05) during days 18–21. On day 18, mean plasma LH concentrations and LH pulse frequency remained relatively stable in conventionally weaned sows but increased (p < 0.01) in response to split-weaning and GnRH. Prior to weaning on day 21, mean plasma LH concentrations remained elevated in GnRH-treated sows but had returned to control levels in split weaned sows. There was no treatment effect on preweaning LH pulse frequency noted on day 21. Weaning was associated with an increase in plasma LH concentrations in all the treatment groups. Mean plasma IGF-I remained relatively constant in conventionally weaned and GnRH sows, decreased in response to split weaning on day 18 (p < 0.02), but were elevated (p < 0.03) in split wean sows on day 21. On the day after weaning, split wean sows had more (p < 0.04) ovarian follicles ≥3 mm than conventionally weaned sows, with GnRH sows being intermediate. The wean-to-oestrus interval was reduced in split-wean sows compared with those conventionally weaned (p < 0.01), with GnRH sows being intermediate. There was no effect of treatment on ovulation rates, numbers of embryos, or embryonic survival rates. These data indicate that split-weaning of litters results in a more rapid return to oestrus after weaning and that this effect is associated with a transient acute increase in circulating gonadotrophins and earlier resumption of ovarian follicular development.     

Changing trends in mastitis

The global dairy industry, the predominant pathogens causing mastitis, our understanding of mastitis pathogens and the host response to intramammary infection are changing rapidly. This paper aims to discuss changes in each of these aspects. Globalisation, energy demands, human population growth and climate change all affect the dairy industry. In many western countries, control programs for contagious mastitis have been in place for decades, resulting in a decrease in occurrence of Streptococcus agalactiae and Staphylococcus aureus mastitis and an increase in the relative impact of Streptococcus uberis and Escherichia coli mastitis. In some countries, Klebsiella spp. or Streptococcus dysgalactiae are appearing as important causes of mastitis. Differences between countries in legislation, veterinary and laboratory services and farmers' management practices affect the distribution and impact of mastitis pathogens. For pathogens that have traditionally been categorised as contagious, strain adaptation to human and bovine hosts has been recognised. For pathogens that are often categorised as environmental, strains causing transient and chronic infections are distinguished. The genetic basis underlying host adaptation and mechanisms of infection is being unravelled. Genomic information on pathogens and their hosts and improved knowledge of the host's innate and acquired immune responses to intramammary infections provide opportunities to expand our understanding of bovine mastitis. These developments will undoubtedly contribute to novel approaches to mastitis diagnostics and control.