Infectious load of Aeromonas salmonicida subsp. salmonicida during the initial phase of a cohabitant infection experiment with Atlantic salmon, Salmo salar L.

Abstract The abundances of Aeromonas salmonicida subsp. salmonicida in the water and in the surface microlayer was studied during the initial phase of a cohabitant infection experiment with Atlantic salmon, Salmo salar L., smolt. Aeromonas salmonicida was detected in the water samples only until the intraperitoneally infected smolt were dead and had been removed. In the lipid rich surface microlayer, A. salmonicida was detected in high concentrations from the day of the first fish mortality and throughout the rest of the experiment. The significance of the high cell surface hydrophobicity is discussed as a possible reason for enrichment of A. salmonicida at the air-water interface.     

Use of 64Copper Measurements to Diagnose Canine Copper Toxicosis

Inherited canine copper toxicosis is a serious problem in Bedlington terriers and West Highland White terriers, and may also be a problem in other less-studied breeds. Affected dogs become ill at midlife with progressive and ultimately fatal liver disease. Treatments for removal of copper and prevention of copper accumulation are available, but are most effective if begun before the dog becomes ill. Until recently diagnosis has not been available until the dog is 1 year of age, and then only by an invasive liver biopsy with determination of liver copper concentration. The authors studied the use of 64copper for early diagnosis of canine copper toxicosis. Two procedures were evaluated. The first involved measuring the concentration of 64copper in blood 24 hours after oral administration of the radioisotope. At this time, 64copper was associated primarily with ceruloplasmin secreted into the blood by the liver. This procedure is useful in the diagnosis of the human counterpart, Wilson's disease. However, the authors found it to be nondiscriminatory between affected and unaffected dogs. In contrast, the second procedure, which involved measuring 64copper excreted in stool during 48 hours after an intravenous dose of radioisotope, yielded results that differentiated most affected and unaffected dogs.     

Serum amyloid A protein concentration measured by radial immunodiffusion in Abyssinian and non-Abyssinian cats

Serum amyloid A (SAA) protein concentration was determined by use of radial immunodiffusion (RID) in 4 groups of cats: Abyssinian cats with amyloidosis, healthy Abyssinian cats without clinical evidence of amyloidosis, hospitalized non-Abyssinian cats, and clinically normal non-Abyssinian cats. Mean SAA concentration in Abyssinian cats with amyloidosis was significantly (P = 0.05) higher than mean SAA concentration in healthy Abyssinian cats without clinical evidence of amyloidosis and in hospitalized non-Abyssinian cats. Mean SAA concentration in clinically normal non-Abyssinian cats was significantly (P = 0.05) lower than mean SAA concentration in healthy Abyssinian cats without clinical evidence of amyloidosis and in hospitalized non-Abyssinian cats. Affected and healthy Abyssinian cats, however, could not reliably be distinguished on the basis of SAA concentration, because of the wide range of SAA values in these 2 groups of cats.     

Effects of epidural xylazine on EEG responses to surgical stimulation during isoflurane anaesthesia in dogs

The effects of epidural administration of 250 μg/kg xylazine on EEG responses to surgical stimulation of 5 different intensities were evaluated during isoflurane anaesthesia for an experimental orthopaedic procedure in dogs. The dogs were assigned randomly to one of 2 treatment groups receiving either xylazine (n = 4) or equal volumes of sterile water (n = 4) (control group) epidurally. Intense surgical stimulation during removal of a bone graft from the dorsoiliac spine of the ileum was associated with a significantly (P = 0.0339) higher increase in EEG alpha/delta ratio after epidural administration of sterile water than after epidural injection of 250 μg/kg of xylazine. In addition, the preincision baseline values for 80% spectral edge frequency were significantly (P = 0.0339) lower in the xylazine group compared to control dogs. Our results suggest that epidural administration of 250 μg/kg of xylazine during orthopaedic procedures in dogs exerts antinociceptive effects which may be in part mediated by a supraspinal effect of xylazine.     

Oral fowlpox vaccination in chickens.

Chickens were given various fowlpox vaccines on food pellets--a commercial vaccine (strain M), and the same strain after a single passage on chorio-allantoic membrane or in chicken embryo fibroblasts. All three oral vaccines induced antibodies at levels similar to those induced by commercial strain M administered to the wingweb. The oral vaccine derived from chorio-allantoic membrane gave protection similar to that obtained with vaccine administered by the wingweb, but this required a thousandfold more virus.     

Outbreaks of egg drop syndrome due to EDS-76 virus in quail (Coturnix coturnix japonica).

Two outbreaks of the egg drop syndrome were observed in quail flocks maintained on a farm together with chickens. The decrease in egg production ranged from 10.6 per cent to 50.6 per cent, and the number of soft-shelled eggs increased with the decline in egg production. In both the outbreaks haemagglutination inhibiting antibodies to EDS-76 virus were detected. Fluorescent viral antigen specific to EDS-76 virus was also detected in the lining epithelial and glandular cells of the uterus.