Evaluation of hyperimmune sera against goat pox viral antigens

Tropical Animal Health and Production -     

Management of avian flock emergencies.

Managing avian flock emergencies requires a thorough history, physical examination, and record review before instituting appropriate therapy. Although the general thought processes are similar between approaching a sick individual bird and a "diseased" aviary, the actual steps are different. Infectious diseases are often a component of aviary emergencies but are rarely the primary cause of flock "disease." Managing flock emergencies typically goes beyond addressing individual pathogens. Recognizing, evaluating, and treating flock emergencies are discussed with the intent to provide a better understanding of flock health medicine principles.     

Clinical natural history of the postsurgical cruciate deficient canine stifle joint: year 1

The aims of this prospective study were to investigate the associations and correlations between individual clinical features of osteoarthritis of the cruciate deficient stifle joint and to document the temporal changes in these features over a 13-month period following surgical treatment. Fifty-eight dogs with osteoarthritis of the stifle joint, secondary to cranial cruciate ligament deficiency, were examined before surgical treatment for cruciate deficiency and at one and a half, seven and 13 months after surgery. At each visit, clinical features were graded using four-point, discontinuous, ordinal grading (Likert) scales and intra-articular pathology was also scored in a similar fashion at arthrotomy. No attempt was made to construct an aggregate score because the relative importance of different disease features and the relationships between them were not understood at the time of writing. At entry, the relationships between background and disease variables and clinical parameters were investigated as well as the relationships between clinical parameters and intra-articular pathology scores. Longitudinal analysis was performed to test for those features which showed significant change over the 13-month follow-up period. At entry, periarticular thickening and degree of crepitus were significantly correlated with disease duration. Several features showed significant change over the study period. Notably, the degree of quadriceps atrophy showed significant decrease from baseline scores at seven and 13 months while remaining different from normal, suggesting that a measure of quadriceps atrophy may be a useful measure of long-term outcome in this disease.     

A Combination Chemotherapy Protocol (VELCAP-L) for Dogs with Lymphoma

Ninety-eight dogs with lymphoma treated with a 5-drug combination chemotherapy regimen (vincristine, L-asparaginase. cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, prednisone [VELCAP-L]) were evaluated for pretreatment characteristics predictive for response and remission duration. The complete remission rate was 69%, with a median remission duration of 55 weeks. Dogs with advanced stage of disease, constitutional signs, dogs that were older, and dogs that were dyspneic were less likely to achieve remission. Once in remission, small dogs and dogs without pretreatment thrombocytopenia were likely to have longer remission duration. Toxicoses were frequent, but rarely fatal, and no predictitive factors were found for a dog developing toxicoses. VELCAP-L is an effective treatment for dogs in stage I-III lymphoma, particularly in young, small animals.     

Lymphoid neoplasia in the koala

Objective Correlation of immunophenotype with history, anatomical and morphological features of lymphoid neoplasia in the koala.
Methods Routine necropsies were performed on 51 koalas with suspected lymphoid neoplasia between 1986 and 1997 in New South Wales and Queensland. Immuno-phenotyping was by an immunoperoxidase method utilising species cross-reactive antibodies raised against human lymphocytes and an antibody raised against koala IgG. Cases were classified according to organs and tissues affected and the morphological features of neoplastic cells.
Results Twenty-six (51%) of the cases were of the T cell immunophenotype, 12 (24%) were of B cell immunopheno-type and 13 (25%) did not stain. The age and sex of koalas did not correlate with immunophenotype (P = 0.686 and P = 1.000, respectively). Thirty-two cases were leukaemic and 36 had multiple organ involvement, probably reflecting presenta tion of koalas at advanced stages of disease. Abdominal tissue involvement was most common (44 cases), followed by nodal (32), atypical (21) and cervicomediastinal (14). The T cell immunophenotype was over-represented among the leukaemic cases (P = 0.013). Generally, the T cell immunophenotype predominated except for many affected atypical tissues. Neoplastic cells were mostly of medium nuclear size with round to oval nuclei. No correlations were found for cell morphology, mitotic index and immunopheno-type.
Conclusion The prognostic value of an immunopheno-typic, anatomical and morphological basis for the classifica tion of lymphoid neoplasia in the koala currently is limited by the need to detect these neoplasms at an early age, the requirement for freshly fixed tissues and the restricted range of available cross-reacting antibodies.     

Isolation of Mycobacterium species from raw milk of pastoral cattle of the Southern Highlands of Tanzania

A study to determine the secretion of Mycobacterium spp. in milk from indigenous cattle was carried out in pastoral cattle reared in the Southern Highlands of Tanzania. The study was aimed at elucidating the dangers associated with milk-borne zoonoses in a society where milk is normally consumed raw. Out of 805 milk samples, 31 (3.9%) were positive for mycobacteria. There was a preponderance of atypical mycobacteria (87%) whereas only two isolates (6.5%) were confirmed as M. bovis. Atypical mycobacteria included: M. terrae (n=7), M. fortuitum (n=2), M. flavescens (n=13), M. gordonae (n=1) and M. smegmatis (n=4). Although the number of M. bovis positive samples was low, the habit of pooling milk may still pose great public health dangers to milk consumers in this part of the world. Moreover, isolation of atypical mycobacteria should also be considered to be a danger to human health in countries such as Tanzania, where the number of people with lowered immunity due to HIV infection is on the increase.     

Some Effects of the Source of Bovine Milk Leucocytes and Strain of Staphylococcus on their Interaction in Vitro

A method is described for the quantitative study in vitro of the bovine milk leucocyte: staphylococci interaction which is capable of demonstrating differences between groups of leucocytes, and, to some extent, stains of Staph. aureus.

By means of this method it has been possible to show statistically, that significant differences can occur, between quarters of the same udder, in the numbers of leucocytes competent to ingest staphylococci, and also in the numbers of staphylococci ingested.

Between 4 strains of Staph. aureus significant differences were noted in their ability to multiply in the presence of milk leucocytes; in the production of leucocidal factors; and in the reduction of Resazurin in whole, normal milk.