Incidence of Salmonellae in Captive and Wild Free‐Living Raptorial Birds in Central Spain

A total of 595 faecal samples from raptorial birds, either captive or free‐living, residing in GREFA Wildlife Hospital were bacteriologically examined using various selective media and an Automated Diagnostic Assay System for Salmonella detection. Serotype and phage type of the strains identified as Salmonella was determined. In the captive group, of the 285 samples examined, 21 (7.36%) were positive for Salmonella. Serotyping revealed that most of the individuals were infected by Salmonella serotype Havana. This result suggested that there could be a source of contamination in the Hospital although it could not be established. In the wild free‐living group, over 310 samples examined (4.19%) were positive for Salmonella. The Salmonella isolates showed a major variety of serotypes: Enteritidis, Adelaide, Brandenburg, Newport, Typhimurium, Hadar, Saintpaul and Virchow. Most of them are similar to those commonly described in isolates from human and domestic animals. These results indicate that wild birds could be involved in the dissemination of Salmonella in humans or domestic animals or vice versa.     

Severe persistent orf in young goats.

Orf (contagious ecthyma) is a viral disease of small and wild ruminants, humans, and less frequently other species. In sheep and goats, the disease is characterized by the formation of vesiculo-proliferative lesions in the skin of lips and nostril. Here, a form of generalized orf in 16 goat kids from 2 different locations in west Texas is described. The disease was characterized by multifocal, severe, proliferative dermatitis that persisted from about 2 months of age until the goat kids were euthanized 3 months later. All affected goats were Boer or Boer crosses under 1 year of age. The mean immunoglobulin concentration in sera of affected goats was elevated compared with healthy control goats. Severe to moderate lymphadenomegaly of the nodes draining the areas of the skin affected with orf lesions was present in all 16 goat kids. Suppurative arthritis, chronic fibrinous pneumonia, and premature thymic involution were found in 3, 5, and 7 of the goat kids, respectively. The skin lesions of 3 goat kids were infested with larvae of the opportunistic black garbage fly (Ophira sp.). The orf virus was identified in skin lesions by isolation in Marbin-Darby ovine kidney cells, electron microscopy, and amplification of viral DNA by polymerase chain reaction. The orf virus was not detected in peripheral blood or lymph node mononuclear cells of any of the goats. Cross-neutralization experiments showed that an ovine orf virus antiserum raised in sheep was more effective in neutralizing a sheep orf virus isolate than a caprine orf virus isolate. The clinical and epidemiological characteristics of these orf cases may be the result of susceptibility factors within some individuals of the Boer breed of goats.     

Disseminated pythiosis in three horses

Three cases of equine subcutaneous pythiosis with dissemination to the internal organs were investigated. The subcutaneous lesions were observed on the mammary gland, nostrils and limbs of the infected horses. Histopathological analysis of the infected tissues revealed a strong eosinophilic reaction, with macrophages, mast cells and giant cells. Sparsely septated hyphal filaments of 4-6 microm diameter were identified in the center of the eosinophilic areas. Specific fluorescent antibody against Pythium insidiosum confirmed the hyphae in the infected tissues in three examined horses. In one of the three cases, the DNA sequences amplified from the infected subcutaneous tissues and internal organs, revealed that P. insidiosum's 18S SSU rDNA amplicons shared 100% identity with those sequences deposit in GenBank. This is the first report confirming by immunochemical and genetic techniques that P. insidiosum can disseminated from superficial to deep structures.     

Abnormal ocular pigment deposition and glaucoma in the dog

The combined occurrence of ocular pigment deposition and glaucoma has been described in Cairn Terriers. Recently, this condition was also observed in two other breeds: the Boxer (two cases) and the Labrador Retriever (one case). Six dogs were referred to the Ophthalmology section of the Department of Clinical Sciences of Companion Animals and to a private referral clinic because of glaucoma or blindness in one or both eyes. In five cases ophthalmic examination showed pigment depositions in the sclera around the entire circumference of the perilimbal zone. Eight enucleated eyes (four eyes of two Cairn Terriers, three eyes of two Boxers and one eye of a Labrador Retriever) were examined microscopically. All eyes showed the same findings: an extensive infiltration of large melanin-containing cells with an eccentric nucleus, located in the iris, ciliary body, retina, choroids and sclera. Transmission electron microscopy of two of the examined eyes revealed that the morphology of most of these cells was consistent with melanophages. While reports in the veterinary literature concerning this condition are limited the cells concerned have been described to be melanocytes. Further research is needed to conclusively identify the cell type. As described in the present report, the histologic and transmission electron microscopic findings suggest a different etiology of the ocular pigment deposition and glaucoma compared with the pigment dispersal syndrome in humans.     

Evaluation of different doses of propofol in xylazine pre-medicated horses

Objective To characterize responses to different doses of propofol in horses pre‐medicated with xylazine. Animals Six adult horses (five females and one male). Methods Each horse was anaesthetized four times with either ketamine or propofol in random order at 1‐week intervals. Horses were pre‐medicated with xylazine (1.1 mg kg^?1 IV over a minute), and 5 minutes later anaesthesia was induced with either ketamine (2.2 mg kg^?1 IV) or propofol (1, 2 and 4 mg kg^?1 IV; low, medium and high doses, respectively). Data were collected continuously (electrocardiogram) or after xylazine administration and at 5, 10 and 15 minutes after anaesthetic induction (arterial pressure, respiratory rate, pH, PaO₂, PaCO₂ and O₂ saturation). Anaesthetic induction and recovery were qualitatively and quantitatively assessed. Results Differences in the quality of anaesthesia were observed; the low dose of propofol resulted in a poorer anaesthetic induction that was insufficient to allow intubation, whereas the high dose produced an excellent quality of induction, free of excitement. Recorded anaesthesia times were similar between propofol at 2 mg kg^?1 and ketamine with prolonged and shorter recovery times after the high and low dose of propofol, respectively (p < 0.05; ketamine, 38 ± 7 minutes; propofol 1 mg kg^?1, 29 ± 4 minutes; propofol 2 mg kg^?1, 37 ± 5 minutes; propofol 4 mg kg^?1, 50 ± 7 minutes). Times to regain sternal and standing position were longest with the highest dose of propofol (32 ± 5 and 39 ± 7 minutes, respectively). Both ketamine and propofol reversed bradycardia, sinoatrial, and atrioventricular blocks produced by xylazine. There were no significant alterations in blood pressure but respiratory rate, and PaO₂ and O₂ saturation were significantly decreased in all groups (p < 0.05). Conclusion The anaesthetic quality produced by the three propofol doses varied; the most desirable effects, which were comparable to those of ketamine, were produced by 2 mg kg^?1 propofol.     

Co-feeding studies of ticks infected with Anaplasma marginale

Ticks often cluster at preferred feeding sites on hosts, and the co-feeding of ticks at the same site has been shown to increase feeding success and the transmission of some pathogens. While the major route of infection of ticks with pathogens is via the bloodmeal during feeding on a parasitemic host, non-systemic transmission of viruses and spirochetes has been shown to occur from infected to uninfected ticks at common feeding sites on uninfected hosts. In this research, two separate studies were done using the tick-borne rickettsial pathogen of cattle, Anaplasma marginale. In one study we tested whether A. marginale could be transmitted non-systemically from infected to uninfected Dermacentor variabilis males while co-feeding on rabbits. Infection of ticks was determined by allowing them to transmission feed on susceptible cattle and by DNA probe and microscopy studies on salivary glands. In the second study, we tested whether the co-feeding of male and female ticks on parasitemic cattle would increase the acquisition and development of A. marginale in males. A. marginale infections in salivary glands were determined by quantitative PCR after the ticks were allowed to transmission feed on susceptible cattle. Non-systemic transmission of A. marginale did not occur from infected and uninfected ticks that fed at the same site on rabbits and, therefore, does not appear to be a means of A. marginale transmission. A. marginale infections in male ticks were not increased while co-feeding with females. Thus, co-feeding of adult Dermacentor spp. does not appear to influence the dynamics of A. marginale transmission.     

Full pedigree quantitative trait locus analysis in commercial pigs using variance components

In commercial livestock populations, QTL detection methods often use existing half-sib family structures and ignore additional relationships within and between families. We reanalyzed the data from a large QTL confirmation experiment with 10 pig lines and 10 chromosome regions using identity-by-descent (IBD) scores and variance component analyses. The IBD scores were obtained using a Monte Carlo Markov Chain method, as implemented in the LOKI software, and were used to model a putative QTL in a mixed animal model. The analyses revealed 61 QTL at a nominal 5% level (out of 650 tests). Twenty-seven QTL mapped to areas where QTL have been reported, and eight of these exceeded the threshold to claim confirmed linkage (P < 0.01). Forty-two of the putative QTL were detected previously using half-sib analyses, whereas 46 QTL previously identified by half-sib analyses could not be confirmed using the variance component approach. Some of the differences could be traced back to the underlying assumptions between the two methods. Using a deterministic approach to estimate IBD scores on a subset of the data gave very similar results to LOKI. We have demonstrated the feasibility of applying variance component QTL analysis to a large amount of data, equivalent to a genome scan. In many situations, the deterministic IBD approach offers a fast alternative to LOKI.     

High level of treatment failure with commonly used anthelmintics on Irish sheep farms

Background

In 2013 a Technology Adoption Program for sheep farmers was established to encourage the implementation of best management practices on sheep farms in Ireland. There were 4,500 participants in this programme in 2013. As part of this programme, farmers had the option to carry out a drench test to establish the efficacy of their anthelmintic treatment.

Results

Flock faecal samples were collected before and after treatment administration and gastrointestinal nematode eggs enumerated. In total there were 1,893 participants in the task, however only 1,585 included both a pre- and post-treatment faecal sample. Of those, 1,308 provided information on the anthelmintic product that they used with 46%, 23% and 28% using a benzimidazole (BZ), levamisole (LEV) and macrocyclic lactone (ML) product respectively. The remaining farmers used a product inapplicable for inclusion in the task such as a flukicide or BZ/LEV combination product. Samples were included for analysis of drench efficacy if the pre-treatment flock egg count was ≥200 eggs per gram and the interval post-sampling was 10–14 days for BZ products, 4–7 days for LEV products and 14–18 days for ML products. These criteria reduced the number of valid tests to 369, 19.5% of all tests conducted. If the reduction post-treatment was ≥95% the treatment was considered effective. Only 51% of treatments were considered effective using this criterion. There was a significant difference in efficacy between the anthelmintic drug classes with BZ effective in only 30% of treatments, LEV effective in 52% of cases and ML effective in 76% of cases.

Conclusions

Gastrointestinal nematode anthelmintic treatments, as practiced on Irish farms, have a high failure rate. There was a significant difference between the efficacies of the anthelmintic classes with BZ the least effective and ML the most effective.     

Mapping genomic regions for reproductive traits in beef cattle: Inclusion of the X chromosome

Although the second largest chromosome of the genome, the X chromosome is usually excluded from genome-wide association studies (GWAS). Considering the presence and importance of genes on this chromosome that are involved in reproduction, the aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of its inclusion in GWAS on reproductive traits (scrotal circumference [SC], early pregnancy [P16] and age at first calving [AFC]) in a Nelore herd. Genotype data from 3,263 animals with the above-mentioned phenotypes were used. The results showed an increase in the variances explained by the autosomal markers for all traits when the X chromosome was not included. For SC, there was an increase of more than 10% for the windows on chromosomes 2 and 6. For P16, the effect was increased by almost 20% for windows on chromosome 5. The same pattern was found for AFC, with an increase of more than 10% for the most important windows. The results indicate that the noninclusion of the X chromosome can overestimate the effects of autosomes on SC, P16 and AFC not only because of the additive effect of the X chromosome itself but also because of its epistatic effect on autosomal genes.