Emerging and exotic zoonotic disease preparedness and response in the United States - coordination of the animal health component

For the response to a zoonotic disease outbreak to be effective, animal health authorities and disease specialists must be involved. Animal health measures are commonly directed at known diseases that threaten the health of animals and impact owners. The measures have long been applied to zoonotic diseases, including tuberculosis and brucellosis, and can be applied to emerging diseases. One Health (veterinary, public, wildlife and environmental health) and all-hazards preparedness work have done much to aid interdisciplinary understanding and planning for zoonotic diseases, although further improvements are needed. Actions along the prevention, preparedness, response and recovery continuum should be considered. Prevention of outbreaks consists largely of import controls on animals and animal products and biosecurity. Preparedness includes situational awareness, research, tool acquisition, modelling, training and exercises, animal movement traceability and policy development. Response would include detection systems and specialized personnel, institutions, authorities, strategies, methods and tools, including movement control, depopulation and vaccination if available and appropriate. The specialized elements would be applied within a general (nationally standardized) system of response. Recovery steps begin with continuity of business measures during the response and are intended to restore pre-event conditions. The surveillance for novel influenza A viruses in swine and humans and the preparedness for and response to the recent influenza pandemic illustrate the cooperation possible between the animal and public health communities.     

Identification of glycinin and beta-conglycinin subunits that contribute to the increased protein content of high-protein soybean lines

Seed protein concentration of commercial soybean cultivars calculated on a dry weight basis ranges from approximately 37 to 42% depending on genotype and location. A concerted research effort is ongoing to further increase protein concentration. Several soybean plant introductions (PI) are known to contain greater than 50% protein. These PIs are exploited by breeders to incorporate the high-protein trait into commercial North American cultivars. Currently, limited information is available on the biochemical and genetic mechanisms that regulate high-proteins. In this study, we have carried out proteomic and molecular analysis of seed proteins of LG00-13260 and its parental high-protein lines PI 427138 and BARC-6. Sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis analysis revealed that the high-protein lines accumulated increased amounts of beta-conglycinin and glycinins, when compared with Williams 82. High-resolution two-dimensional electrophoresis utilizing pH 4-7 and pH 6-11 ampholytes enabled improved resolution of soybean seed proteins. A total of 38 protein spots, representing the different subunits of beta-conglycinin and glycinin, were identified by matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry. High-protein was correlated with an increase in the accumulation of most of the subunits representing beta-conglycinin and glycinin. Comparisons of the amino acid profiles of high-protein soybean lines revealed that the concentration of sulfur amino acids, a reflection of protein quality, was not influenced by the protein concentration. Southern blot analysis showed the presence of genotypic variation at the DNA level between PI 427138 and BARC-6 for the genes encoding group1 glycinin, beta-conglycinin, Bowman-Birk inhibitor (BBI), and the Kunitz trypsin inhibitor (KTI). LG00-13260 inherited the allelic variants of the parental line PI 427138 for glycinin, beta-conglycinin, and KTI, while BBI was inherited from the parental line BARC-6. The results of our study indicate that high-seed protein concentration is attributed to greater accumulation of specific components of beta-conglycinin and glycinin subunits presumably mediated by preferential expression of these genes during seed development.     

Hematogenous septic arthritis in the dog: results of five patients treated nonsurgically with antibiotics

This retrospective study evaluates the effectiveness of nonsurgical treatment using antibiotics to treat hematogenous septic arthritis in five dogs. Giant-breed dogs were over-represented, with all dogs <1 year of age. Synovial fluid cultures were positive in all cases, with common bacterial species isolated that included Streptococcus B-haemolytic spp., Pasteurella multocida, and Staphylococcus intermedius. Dogs treated with appropriate duration and selection of antibiotics had clinical resolution with no residual deficits. This report and a previous clinical report demonstrate that hematogenous septic arthritis can be successfully treated nonsurgically with antibiotic therapy.     

Seroprevalence of antibodies specific for gram-negative core antigens in chickens on the basis of an Escherichia coli J5 enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay

Antibodies directed toward gram-negative core antigens (GNCAs) have been demonstrated in many mammalian species but to date are unexamined in any avian species. An enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay with phenol-killed whole cell Escherichia coli J5 was used to assess the presence of serum antibodies directed toward GNCAs in chickens. The first experiment consisted of collecting blood samples from randomly selected hens at egg laying ranches in northern California. The ages ranged from several days of age to 77 wk of age. Birds were classified into age groups (hatchling [1 day-4 wk], pullet [4-18 wk], pullet cycle [18-60 wk], and postmolt [>60 wk]) and husbandry style for titer comparison. The geometric mean titer (GMT) for all adult hens regardless of age was 2147. The geometric mean titers were 220, 5691, 2304, and 1776 for hatchlings, pullets, pullet cycle hens, and postmolt hens, respectively. The age group titer trends were similar to those of humans rather than those of farm animals in that the highest titers occurred during "adolescence" (pullets) and titers decreased slightly with maturity. The GMTs were 2870 for hens housed intensively and 1872 for those housed extensively. The second experiment looked at the progression of GNCA titers within individual birds over a 1-yr period. Individual titers increased slightly throughout the study time of the second experiment.     

Use of age and milk production data to improve the ability of enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay test results to predict Mycobacterium avium ssp. paratuberculosis fecal culture status.

Cows from 2 California dairies were tested for paratuberculosis at the end of lactation by using fecal culture and a commercially available serum enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) test kit. Individual cow characteristics and production variables were evaluated along with ELISA testing results as predictors of fecal culture status. In multivariable logistic regression analysis, age and a herd-standardized version of 305-day mature equivalent (305 ME) milk production were significant predictors of fecal culture status after adjusting for herd, quarter of the study year, and ELISA sample-to-positive (S/P) ratio. The area under a nonparametric receiver operating characteristic curve was significantly greater for a multivariable model that included age and the level of milk production when compared with a model without these covariates. In conclusion, consideration of cow-level covariates was useful as an aid in predicting Mycobacterium avium ssp. paratuberculosis (MAP) fecal culture status. For a given ELISA S/P ratio, older cows and those with lower 305 ME milk production relative to other cows in the herd were significantly more likely to be shedding MAP in their feces at the end of lactation.     

Effect of whole-body vibration in the vertical axis on cortisol and adrenocorticotropic hormone levels in piglets

Vibration, being a consequence of motion during transport, may impair the welfare of pigs. Therefore, the primary objectives of this study were 1) to evaluate during transport simulation the use of ACTH and cortisol plasma levels, which are part of a basic adaptation mechanism of pigs and 2) to define comfort conditions for pigs related to the frequency and acceleration of vibration. Pigs with a body weight between 20 and 25 kg were vibrated in the vertical direction for 2 h at 2, 4, 8, and 18 Hz, in combination with root mean square acceleration magnitudes of 1 or 3 m/s2. Blood was sampled at regular intervals before, during, and after vibration as the pig's behaviors were recorded. Data on ACTH, cortisol, and behavior could be collected from 104 vibrated pigs and 21 controls. In addition, eight animals (3 controls, 5 vibrated) were treated with 0.1 mg of dexamethasone/kg BW, eight animals (3 controls, 8 vibrated) with 0.1 mg naloxone/kg BW, and six (2 controls, 4 vibrated) with a physiological salt solution. Blood samples were taken and products were administrated via an intravenous catheter. The pigs spent less time lying during both hours of vibration treatment than during control conditions. Compared with 2 and 4 Hz, time spent lying was 10 times shorter at 8 Hz and 18 times shorter at 18 Hz. At 1030, ACTH levels were significantly higher than basal levels in animals vibrated at 2 (P < 0.0001), 4 (P < 0.002), and 18 Hz (P < 0.0006). After 1 h, levels returned to basal values. Cortisol levels increased very rapidly after the beginning of vibration (P < 0.0001) and remained higher until 1 h after cessation of vibration (P < 0.003). An inferrence of the lines of equal responses for ACTH and cortisol indicated that, in the beginning of vibration exposure, pigs were extremely susceptible to vibrations at lower frequencies (2 and 4 Hz), whereas at the end of vibration exposure the responses were higher at 18 Hz. The application of dexamethasone and naloxone underpinned the emotional component of the response strategy of pigs to vibration. Hence, vibration during transport should be minimized in order to enhance the adaptive capacities of pigs.     

Unity in function in the absence of consensus in sequence: role of leader peptides in export

Passage of proteins across membranes during export from their site of synthesis to their final destination is mediated by leader peptides that paradoxically exhibit a unity of function in spite of a diversity of sequence. These leader peptides act in at least two stages of the export process: at entry into the pathway and subsequently during translocation across the membrane. How selectivity is imposed on the system in the absence of a consensus among the sequences of leader peptides is the main issue discussed here.