Distribution of lesions in fetal brains following experimental infection of pregnant sheep with Toxoplasma gondii

Six ovine fetal brains were harvested 33 to 35 days postchallenge from 5 ewes, each of which was given 3000 Toxoplasma gondii oocysts on day 90 of pregnancy. Histopathologic examination of transverse sections taken at 13 levels in the fetal brains revealed the presence of toxoplasmosis-related lesions in all 6 brains. However, lesions were not randomly distributed (P = .007); they were most numerous at the level of the optic tract, the rostral margin of the pons, and 4 mm caudal to the ansate sulcus and were absent in all sections at the level of the caudal cerebellum. Lesion distribution may be due to hemodynamic factors, differences in the expression of endothelial surface receptor molecules at the level of the blood-brain barrier, or the presence of localized permissive/inhibitory factors within the brain. The results have implications for the selection of areas of brain from aborted ovine fetuses to be examined histopathologically for laboratory diagnosis.     

Blindness and convulsions associated with vitamin A deficiency in feedlot steers

Blindness and convulsions were the predominant clinical signs in a group of feedlot steers inadvertently fed a vitamin-A deficient diet. Although vitamin A had been added to the feed at the time of preparation, it was believed that the vitamin A had been destroyed by heat, humidity, and minerals mixed in the feed. Feedlot heifers fed the same high-grain diet were clinically normal, and one heifer from which a blood sample was obtained had normal serum vitamin A content. The ingestion of sparse grasses and weeds found along the fence row of the heifers' pens was thought to have provided sufficient vitamin A to these animals. This episode demonstrated the importance of monitoring vitamin A and vitamin A precursor concentrations in stored feeds, especially those stored under adverse conditions and those fed to animals ingesting only a high-grain diet.