Combination of competitive exclusion and immunization with an attenuated live Salmonella vaccine strain in chickens

To use the advantages of both the competitive exclusion (CE) technique and immunization with a live Salmonella vaccine, the combination of these methods was studied. Specific-pathogen-free chickens were pretreated by combined or single administration of a CE culture and a commercial live Salmonella typhimurium vaccine on days 1 and 2 of life and challenged with Salmonella typhimurium on day 3 to study the exclusion effect by both the CE preparation and the Salmonella vaccine. The exclusion effect by the CE culture combined with the immunologic effect by the live vaccine was studied after challenge of the birds on day 43 of age. The number of challenge organisms in ceca was used to evaluate the efficacy of the pretreatment. The protective exclusion effect of the CE culture was substantial in very young chicks and still detectable in 6-wk-old birds. The attenuated Salmonella typhimurium vaccine produced only an initially occurring exclusion effect. Because the exclusion effect of the CE culture was considerably stronger than the exclusion effect of the attenuated Salmonella typhimurium vaccine, the combination of both did not result in an additive protective effect. In order to exploit the exclusion potential between Salmonella strains and to attain an additive exclusion effect by a CE culture and a vaccine strain, live Salmonella vaccines are needed that are sufficiently attenuated without affecting genes essential for colonization exclusion of other Salmonella organisms. In 6-wk-old birds, the exclusion effect by the CE culture combined with the immunologic effect by the live Salmonella vaccine resulted in a degree of protection considerably beyond that generated by the exclusive use of the two methods. The administration of the live Salmonella vaccine strain prior to or simultaneously with the CE culture revealed the best protective effect because such combinations ensure an adequate persistence of the vaccine strain as prerequisite for the expression of an exclusion effect in very young chicks and the development of a strong immune response affording protection in older birds.     

General adaptation syndrome (Selye) in the calf. 5. Effect of increased glucocorticosteroid values on the phagocytosis activity of luekocytes, the function of RHS and the morphology of lymphatic organs]

Studies were conducted with the view to elucidating the correlations between increased glucocorticosteroid levels in the blood and the defense potential of calf organism against infectious diseases. The test animals were exposed to several substances (ACTH, cortisol, colibacteria, coliendotoxin), and even one to two days of increased 11-OHKS values were followed by marked decline in phagocytosis activity of leucocytes. In addition, RHS function was considerably reduced, after ten to thirteen days of application had elapsed, since at that point the disappearance of intravenously applied bacteria from circulating blood of test animals took place at rates which were much lower than those recorded from untreated calves. Differentiated length of stress or action (four to thirteen days) was followed by conspicuous changes in the lymphatic tissue of calf organism, with severe involution of thymus and follicular atrophy of intestine-associated lymphatic tissue having been the major findings. The results seem to suggest that rise in adrenocortical hormone level under stress may reduce potential organic defense to infection.     

Estimating the prevalence of Salmonella spp. in swine herds--influence of sensitivity and specificity of Salmonella detection

Information about the proportion of truly Salmonella-free herds is required for an evaluation of the epidemiological situation, the development of control strategies and their implementation. Findings regarding the presence of salmonellas in faeces and intestinal lymph nodes as well as the presence of Salmonella antibodies in meat juice from slaughtered pigs were obtained in the context of a study conducted by a number of institutes. These data were used for an analysis of the validity of data on the prevalence of infected animals within herds and on the prevalence of infected herds. The proportion of batches or herds with exclusively negative individual findings was found to depend not only on the true proportion of truly Salmonella-free animals within herds but quite essentially also on the distribution of the proportion of infected animals within herds, the sensitivity of the methods of examination and sample sizes. When taking into account the existing dependencies, it was found that among the swine, the real numbers of Salmonella carriers were much higher than shown by bacteriological and serological examination. Regarding salmonellosis in swine, also a number of contaminated herds must be expected which is far higher than that shown by the number of herds with positive findings in at least one animal. Even a low contamination of all or almost all herds would result in the numbers of 'negative' batches observed, i.e. batches with exclusively negative individual findings. A rating of the salmonella exposure of herds as high, low, or very low is possible and may, and should be, used for measures of consumer protection, irrespective of the proportion of truly Salmonella-free herds.     

新年祝辞

全国兽医药品行业的全体同仁： 新年好! 在兽药事业发展和改革取得显著成绩的进程中，我们迎来了新的一年。值此辞旧迎新之际，我谨代表中国兽医药品监察所，向全国工作在兽药管理、监察、科研、生产、检验、销售一线的全体同仁致以诚挚的问候和节日的祝福!对所有关心、支持和帮助我们工作的各位领导和朋友们表示衷心的感谢!衷心地祝愿大家在新的一年里，工作顺利，身体健康，阖家幸福，万事如意!     

Food safety and residues in Australian agricultural produce

SUMMARY A brief history of food safety in Australia in the context of the development of scientific knowledge is presented. Australia's food and food commodity residue and contamination surveillance and monitoring programs are outlined. Although chemical residues are perceived as a major health risk by the general community, the risk of food causing illness or death because of chemical residues is low. The major threat to human health from food is microbiological contamination, in terms of deaths, sickness and economic loss. The emerging influences in food safety are scientific and technical developments, deregulation, social and demographic factors, and the media. The risk of disruption of domestic and export markets by food safety issues is considerable. The emergence of international standards for food production and processing will enable commercial contractual arrangements to minimise the frequency of disruptive food safety incidents.