An outbreak of polio-encephalomalacia in cobalt-deficient sheep

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A great deal of evidence has now accumulated that immunity to helminth infection is acquired following natural exposure. Although this immunity is not absolute, animals that have been exposed to infection and survived are able to tolerate a much heavier intake of infective larvae than animals that have never been exposed.     

A note on the evaluation of tuberculin tests

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Sir,—Robertson (1963a Robertson, T. G. 1963a. N.Z. vet. J., 11: 6–6. [Taylor &; Francis Online] , [Google Scholar]), in discussing the evaluation of tuberculin tests, neither distinguishes between absolute and comparative evaluation nor recognizes that the evaluation of an ancillary test is merely a special case of comparative evaluation. The consequence of these shortcomings is his quite unwarranted conclusion (p. 8) that “the use of statistics based on the classification of slaughtered reactors only is of no value whatsoever in evaluating a test”. This statement is true only in the context of absolute evaluation.     

Some investigations into the epidemiology of ovine toxoplasmosis

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Infection by the protozoan parasite Toxoplasma gondii is widespread in sheep in New Zealand and is recognized as the most common cause of intra-uterine infection leading to abortion and stillbirths (Hartley et al., 1954 Hartley, W. J., Jebson, J. L. and McFarlane, D. 1954. New Zealand Type II Abortion in ewes. Aust. vet. J., 30: 216–218.  [Google Scholar]; Hartley and Boyes, 1964 Hartley, W. J. and Boyes, B. W. 1964. Incidence of ovine perinatal mortality in New Zealand with particular reference to intra-uterine infections. N.Z. vet. J., 12: 33–36. [Taylor &; Francis Online] , [Google Scholar]). In view of the prevalence of this infection in New Zealand, trials were set up to investigate some aspects of the epidemiology of this perplexing disease.     

A vitamin e response in a young dog

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This subject will be covered in three sections, first, a brief history of how the idea of using trained dogs to help the blind was conceived, then the present-day methods of training guide dogs, and, finally, how the blind person is trained with their guide dog to work together as a team.     

Potentiated trimethoprim for the therapy of calf scours

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Trimethoprim became generally available 3 years ago, following its original discovery as a unique antibacterial agent for combating diseases of both man and animals (Hitchings and Bushby, 1961 Hitchings, G. H. and Bushby, S. R. M. 5-Benzyl-2, 4-diaminopyrimidines a new class of systemic anti-bacterial agents. 5th Int. Congr. Biochem. Moscow. pp.165–165.  [Google Scholar]; Pugsley et al., 1969 Pugsley, D. G., Mwanje, L., Pearson, C and Blowers, R. 1969. Use of trimethoprim and sulphamethoxazole in tropical Africa: Typhoid fever; Salmonella typhi carriage and Staphylococcus aureus sepsis. Postgrad, med. J., 45: 95–99. Nov. 1969, Suppl. [Google Scholar]; McGuinness, 1969 McGuinness, B. W. 1969. A combination of trimethoprim and sulphamethoxazole in upper respiratory infection. Postgrad, med. J., 45: 99–101. Nov. 1969, Suppl. [Google Scholar]; McCaig, 1970 McCaig, J. 1970. A clinical trial using trimethoprim-sulphadiazine in dogs and cats. Vet. Rec., 87: 265–265.  [Google Scholar]; Barnett and Bushby, 1970 Barnett, Margaret and Bushby, S. R. M. 1970. Trimethoprim and the sulphonamides. Vet. Rec., 87: 43–51.  [Google Scholar]; Rehm and White, 1970 Rehm, W. F. and White, G. 1970. A field trial with trimethoprim and sulphadoxine in bacterial diseases of cattle and pigs. Vet. Rec., 87: 39–42.  [Google Scholar]; Craig 1972 Craig, G. R. 1972. The place of potentiated trimethoprim in the therapy of diseases of the skin in dogs and cats. J. small Anim. Pract., 13: 65–70.  [Google Scholar]).     

Mannosidosis — A cause of neonatal mortality in angus calves

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Mannosidosis, a lethal inherited neurological disease associated with a deficiency of the lysosomal enzyme α-mannosidase (Hocking et al., 1972 Greene, H. J., Leipold, H. W., Hibbs, C. M. and Kirkbridge, C. A. 1974. Congenital osteopetrosis in Angus calves. J. Am. vet. med. Ass., 164: 389–395.  [Google Scholar]) has been described clinically as affecting Angus calves usually in their firstyear of life (Whittem and Walker, 1957 Hocking, J. D., Jolly, R. D. and Batt, R. D. 1972. Deficiency of α-mannosidase in Angus cattle. Biochem. J., 128: 69–78.  [Google Scholar]; Jolly, 1970 Jolly, R. D. 1970. Diagnosis and control of pseudolipidosis of Angus calves. N.Z. vet. J., 13: 228–229.  [Google Scholar], 1975 Jolly, R. D. 1975. “Mannosidosis of Angus cattle: A prototype control program for some genetic diseases”. In Advances in Veterinary Science and Comparative Medicine, Edited by: Brandly, C. A. and Cornelius, C. E. Vol. 19, London and New York: Academic Press. In [Google Scholar]). Although it has been suspected as a significant cause of neonatal mortality in herds at risk, figures and diagnosis supporting such an hypothesis have not been available.     

Examination and control of lameness in dairy herds

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Lameness is a significant problem in dairy herds in New Zealand. It affects production and causes cows to lose weight. If antibiotics are used, milk has to be withheld from the vat. Cows may go into extended anoestrus and some which fail to conceive have to be culled. Even in its mildest form lameness is an inconvenience to the normal management of the herd.     

Red urine from red deer grazed on pure red clover swards

Twenty-four red deer hinds with their calves were released on to a newly established pure red clover sward and, 2 days later, red staining of the tail, perineum and hocks was observed. This was presumed to be of urinary origin. Observation of micturition showed that when urine was passed, it was a normal straw colour but it turned scarlet-red about 1 hour after exposure to air. Midstream urine remained the normal colour when held under a pure nitrogen atmosphere immediately after micturition, but it turned red when held in air in the dark, suggesting that the colour change was due to an oxidative rather than a photosensitive reaction. All deer grazing red clover were affected but this did not occur in deer grazing ryegrass/white clover swards. No adverse effects were observed in the deer grazing the red clover, and calf growth was significantly higher than on ryegrass/white clover, suggesting that the red urine had no effect on health or productivity.

Blood and urine analyses showed no signs of haemolysis, haematuria or haemoglobinuria. Preliminary chemical analyses suggest that the compounds involved are not those found in the urine of sheep grazing oestrogenic clover. The nature of the compounds have yet to be determined.     

Leptospirosis in a lamb

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Recently, we reported on outbreaks of Leptospira interrogans serovar pomona infection in newly weaned lambs(1) Vermunt, JJ, West, DM, Cooke, MM, Alley, MR and Collins-Emerson, J. 1994. Observations on three outbreaks of Leptospira interrogans serovar pomona infection in lambs. New Zealand Veterinary Journal, 42: 133–6. [Taylor &; Francis Online], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]. It was suggested that wet environmental conditions played an important role in the pathogenesis of the disease in that class of sheep. This communication presents observations on another case of ovine leptospirosis, one that occurred under different circumstances, i.e. different season, age and environmental conditions.     

Effects of Bacillus subtilis B10 spores on viability and biological functions of murine macrophages

This study was conducted to investigate the effects of Bacillus subtilis B10 spores on the viability and biological functions of murine macrophage. RAW 264.7 cells were stimulated both with and without B. subtilis B10 spores for 12 h. Then cell viability was determined to evaluate the cytotoxic effect of B. subtilis B10 spores to the cells, and the activities of acid phosphatase (ACP) and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), the production of nitric oxide (NO) and inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS), and the secretion of inflammatory cytokines were measured to analyze the functions of macrophages. The results showed that B. subtilis B10 spores were not harmful to RAW 264.7 cells and they also strongly enhanced the activities of ACP and LDH (P < 0.01), remarkably increased NO and iNOS production (P < 0.01), and significantly stimulated the secretion of pro‐inflammatory cytokines, including tumor necrosis factor‐alpha (TNF‐α), interferon‐gamma (IFN‐γ), interleukin‐1 beta (IL‐1β), IL‐6, IL‐8 and IL‐12 (P < 0.01) while they reduced anti‐inflammatory cytokine IL‐10 (P < 0.01). The outcomes suggest that B. subtilis B10 spores are not only safe for murine macrophages, but also can activate these cells and enhance their immune function. The above findings suggest that B. subtilis B10 spores are potentially probiotic.