Risk factors for outbreaks of infectious salmon anemia in farmed Atlantic salmon, Salmo salar

Infectious salmon anemia (ISA) is a viral disease occurring in farmed Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) that is characterized by lethargy, anorexia, anemia and death. To control the disease in New Brunswick, Canada, 7.5 million fish from outbreak cages have been destroyed since 1997. Despite changes made by farmers, 2002 was the worst year ever for ISA losses in the region.

We evaluated the associations between potential risk factors and ISA outbreaks in the Atlantic-salmon sites in New Brunswick. This was a multilevel study in which the site-level design was a retrospective cohort study while the cage-level design was a modified case-cohort study. The questionnaire was divided into site-level questions, cage-level questions and hatchery information.

The important factors identified by this study can be categorized as environmental, farmer controlled or industry controlled according to the capacity to change or eliminate them. Environmental risk factors such as increasing the depth of the net (if nets were ≤9 m, odds ratio (OR) = 3.34) and decreasing the depth of water underneath the net (if depth of water underneath the net >3 m, OR = 3.34) are for the most part dictated by site location. Wild pollock (Pollachius virens) in the cage reflects the number of wild pollock that live in the site location. If there were ≥1000 pollock in the cage, the odds of disease in the cage increased 4.43-fold. Risk factors that are under farm control include increasing the number of times that the salmon are treated for sea lice (OR = 3.31 if lice treatments are ≤2 times), transferring small smolts into seawater (OR = 2.40 if smolts weighed >99 g) and improving on the adaptation of smolts to seawater to reduce post-transfer mortalities (OR = 4.52 if there was at least one cage with post-transfer mortalities >5%). The industry-controlled factors need to be addressed by the industry as a whole. Organizing boat travel to minimize the time and frequency of boats travelling to or by sites currently is being reviewed. This will be extremely important because the OR = 9.43 if processing boats travel within 1 km of the site and the OR = 4.03 if the site has dry feed delivered by the feed company. Because the hazard ratio increased stepwise from 1 if the nearest neighbor with ISA was ≥5 km up to 5.5 if the nearest site with ISA was within 0.5 km, increasing the distance between sites might be necessary for effective control.     

关于马传染性子宫炎及其病原菌的研究进展

本文对马传染性子宫炎的病原、流行病学、临床症状、病理变化、诊断、治疗以及防疫对策等进行了综述。     

Hepatic abscesses in cats: 14 cases (1985-2002)

In this retrospective study, we describe 14 cats diagnosed with hepatic abscesses. The objective of the study was to report the clinical signs, physical examination findings, clinicopathologic findings, and outcomes in affected cats. These findings were then compared with those previously reported in dogs and humans. Clinical signs were vague and included anorexia, lethargy, and weight loss. Only 23% of cats had fever, whereas 31% were hypothermic. Increases in serum activities of alanine aminotransferase and alkaline phosphatase were found in 45 and 18%, respectively, of the 11 cats that had laboratory work performed. Abdominal ultrasound examinations were performed in 7 cats, and abnormalities were found in 71% of them. Four cats had solitary abscesses, all of which were located in the right liver lobes. The other 10 cats had multifocal small abscesses or microabscesses, and all of these cats had clinical signs suggestive of sepsis. Cytologic evaluation of samples obtained by abdominocentesis indicated septic inflammation in 67% of cats in which peritoneal fluid was analyzed. Hepatic abscess cultures yielded polymicrobial growth in 66% of the cats: Escherichia coli was the most commonly cultured organism. Overall mortality rate was 79%. All survivors underwent exploratory laparotomy for partial hepatectomy to resect the abscess followed by medical management. Hepatic abscesses should be considered in cats with signs consistent with sepsis. More routine use of ultrasonography may aid in earlier diagnosis of hepatic abscesses, potentially improving prognosis and outcome.     

Detection of bacterial DNA in synovial fluid from horses with infectious synovitis

Standard culturing techniques are often unrewarding in confirming diagnosis of synovial infection in the equine patient. Several human studies report the use of sensitive polymerase chain reaction (PCR) techniques for the detection of bacterial involvement in acute synovitis. However, successful extraction of bacterial DNA directly from clinical samples from horses without prior culture has not been reported yet. The goal of this study was to develop a sensitive and reliable method for molecular detection and identification of bacterial species in synovial fluid from horses with infectious synovitis. Synovial fluid samples from 6 horses with culture confirmed synovial infection were used for broad range 16S rRNA gene PCR. Synovial aspirates of 2 healthy horses were used as negative controls. Following extraction and purification of synovial fluid DNA, all samples were processed by touchdown PCR. Amplicons were detected by reverse line blot hybridisation and visualised with chemiluminescence. Pathogen-specific detection of 16S rRNA gene sequences was successful in all 6 synovial fluid samples. No bacterial DNA was detected in the aspirates from the negative control horses using touchdown PCR followed by 25 additional cycles of amplification. The identity of the pathogens was confirmed by DNA sequencing of the amplicons. It can be concluded that broad range 16S rRNA gene PCR followed by reverse line blot hybridisation is a promising technique for detection of bacterial DNA in synovial fluid samples. Further research should aim at the detection of bacterial DNA in synovial fluid samples suspected of infection but having negative culture results. When the 16S PCR proves to be reliable and more sensitive than standard culturing techniques, it may become a powerful tool in the diagnosis of synovial infection.     

Pathological and aetiological studies of multifocal interstitial nephritis in wasted pigs at slaughter

Multifocal interstitial nephritis in pigs has been associated with several infectious agents. The objective of the present study was to investigate several different potential infectious agents associated with "white-spotted" kidneys in pigs suffering from wasting at slaughter (aged 6-8 months). Twenty-nine case kidneys (with a "white-spotted" gross appearance) classified into 3 macroscopic lesional grades, and 15 control kidneys (lacking gross lesions), were obtained from a pig abattoir. Laboratory analyses to detect potential associations with the aforementioned pathological condition with Leptospira spp., porcine circovirus type 2 (PCV2), porcine parvovirus (PPV), porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV), and bacteria, were carried out. Microscopically, interstitial nephritis with a lymphofollicular inflammatory pattern (follicular nephritis) was observed in both case and control kidneys, with a higher frequency seen in the former ones. No leptospires were identified, although antibodies to the Pomona and Bratislava serovars were detected. Some pyogenic bacteria were also isolated from both case and control kidneys. PCV2 nucleic acid was only detected in 1 case kidney. PRRSV antigen was not found in any tested sample. Some pigs were tested positive for PPV by serology. Apparently, none of the studied agents were specifically associated as being the potential cause of the renal lesions in the studied wasted pigs. The fact that these chronic lesions may have been the consequence of a previous infection with one of these studied microorganisms, or more, and eventually with other non-tested infectious agents during the growing-finishing period, cannot be ruled out.     

芪芍增免散对鸡法氏囊病疫苗免疫增强作用的研究

将520只7日龄海兰灰蛋鸡雏随机分成4组,分别设为3个剂量组（0．5％组、1.0％组和1．5％组）和-个空白对照组,给药组分别于14日龄常规剂量滴鼻点眼免疫法必要（鸡传染性法氏囊病中等毒力活疫苗）,28日龄2倍剂量饮水法必妥。通过测定法氏囊病抗体水平、脾指数、法氏囊指数、外周血液酸性-醋酸萘酯酶（ANAE）阳性淋巴细胞...     

鸡传染性支气管炎H120、W93株活疫苗生产工艺的改进

分别以鸡传染性支气管炎病毒(In-fectiousbronchitisvirus,IBV)H120株、W93株不同病毒量接种10、12日龄SPF鸡胚,并改变后孵化温度生产抗原液,接种后不同时间收获胚液,根据鸡胚的早死率以及胚液的收获量、病毒滴度,选择最佳的生产工艺。结果表明,IBVH120株、W93株以102.7EID50/0.1mL的病毒量接种12日龄鸡胚尿囊腔,在34.5℃孵育35h,可较为显著地降低早死胚率,提高产毒量,且抗原液病毒滴度符合疫苗制备规程的要求。     

甘草酸二钾抗鸡传染性法氏囊病毒机制初步研究

建立体外CEF培养模型,分为空白细胞对照组、甘草酸二钾（DG）组（药物组）、IBDV组（阴性对照组）和利巴韦林组（阳性药物对照组）,利用间接免疫荧光技术和荧光定量PCR技术以及蛋白质免疫印迹技术检测DG对IBDV VP1基因和蛋白表达的影响.结果表明,在IBDV复制过程的分子机制中,DG对IBDV VP1基因、蛋白表达有显的抑制作用,是DG发挥抗IBDV功效的主要机制之一.