Toxoplasmosis in Pallas' cats (Otocolobus felis manul) at the Denver Zoological Gardens.

In May 1996 the Denver Zoological Gardens obtained two male and two female Pallas' cats (Otocolobus felis manul) that were wild-caught in the Ukraine. These animals were part of a group of 16 wild-caught adults (eight male and eight female) imported to the United States and Canada between 1995 and 1996. The Denver Zoological Gardens cats were quarantined at the zoo hospital for approximately I mo. During the quarantine period they were immobilized for physical examination, and sera were obtained from them to evaluate for exposure to Toxoplasma gondii. All cats were positive for T. gondii antibodies by latex agglutination (titers from 1:512 to 1:1,024). After being paired for breeding, one pair produced two litters, and another pair produced four litters, a total of 17 kittens between 1997 and 2001. Four kittens and two young adults died from a disseminated granulomatous and necrotizing inflammation consistent with toxoplasmosis. Toxoplasma gondii infection was confirmed in all six deceased cats by polymerase chain reaction performed on formalin-fixed tissues. An additional five kittens disappeared and were not available for necropsy. The fatality rate from toxoplasmosis was 35.3% (6/17) for cats that were available for necropsy and could have been as high as 64.7% (11/17) if it were assumed that the disappeared kittens were also affected. The Pallas' kitten survival rate at the Denver Zoological Gardens was 35.3%. This article describes the clinical and pathologic features of toxoplasmosis in a group of Pallas' cats at the Denver Zoological Gardens.     

Ionized calcium concentration in horses with surgically managed gastrointestinal disease: 147 cases (1988-1990).

Packed cell volume, total plasma protein, serum sodium, potassium, and ionized Ca2+ concentrations, and blood pH were determined at the time of admission and following surgery in 147 horses with acute abdominal crisis. Horses were allotted to 3 categories on the basis of the surgical lesion: (1) nonstrangulating obstruction of the ascending or descending colon (category A, n = 76), (2) strangulating and nonstrangulating infarction of the cecum or ascending colon (category B, n = 37), and (3) strangulating and nonstrangulating infarction of the small intestine (category C, n = 25). Horses with low serum ionized Ca2+ concentration following surgery were given 23% calcium gluconate (100 to 300 ml) IV to effect, and ionized Ca2+ concentration was determined following treatment. The serum ionized Ca2+ concentrations of horses in categories A, B, and C before and after surgery were lower than our normal laboratory reference range. Prior to surgery, serum ionized Ca2+ concentration measured from horses in category B and C was lower than that in horses in category A. There was no difference in ionized Ca2+ concentration in serum samples obtained before surgery in horses from category B and C, and in serum samples obtained following surgery. There was a decrease in ionized Ca2+ concentration during surgery in horses in category A. There was no change between preoperative and postoperative ionized Ca2+ concentration in the samples obtained from horses in category B and C. After calcium gluconate administration, all horses with low serum ionized Ca2+ after surgery had concentrations within our normal range. Measurement of serum ionized Ca2+ in horses with an acute abdominal crisis is recommended.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

BACTERIAL ENDOCARDITIS WITH THROMBUS FORMATION AND ABSCESSATION IN A HORSE

A 2.5 year old Appaloosa stallion with progressive weight loss and a heart murmur was diagnosed as having vegetative endocarditis of the right atrioventricular valves with a mass in the right atrium. The ultrasonographic appearance of the lesion was characterized by extreme reverberation. On postmortem examination, a 9 cm diameter thrombus was found within the right atrium and auricle, occupying approximately 80% of the chamber volume. Additionally, a lenticular abscess extended throughout the parietal cusp of the right atrioventricular valve. Histologic examination revealed that the lesions were septic with numerous gram positive cocci in short chains, suggestive of Streptococcus equi , and gram negative rods.     

General concepts of virology.

A basic understanding of viruses and how they replicate and produce disease can aid in the management of virus infections. Parameters, such as clinical signs, sample and test selection, prognosis, and control, are implicit in this understanding. Information increases almost daily about known and emerging viruses; this impacts our ability to manage and control infections.     

Preliminary results of an anticircumsporozoite DNA vaccine trial for protection against avian malaria in captive African black-footed penguins (Spheniscus demersus).

Captive juvenile African black-footed penguins (Spheniscus demersus) housed in an outdoor enclosure at the Baltimore Zoo have an average 50% mortality from avian malarial (Plasmodium sp.) infection each year without intense monitoring for disease and chemotherapeutic intervention. During the 1996 malaria transmission season, the safety and efficacy of an anti-circumsporozoite (CSP) DNA vaccine encoding the Plasmodium gallinaceum CSP protein against P. relictum were studied. The goal was to reduce clinical disease and death without initiating sterile immunity after release into an area with stable, endemic avian malaria. The birds were monitored for adverse clinical signs associated with vaccination, the stimulation of an anti-CSP antibody response, and protection afforded by the vaccine. The presence of P. relictum in trapped culicine mosquitoes within the penguin enclosure was monitored to assess parasite pressure. Among the vaccinated penguins, the parasitemia rate dropped from approximately 50% to approximately 17% despite intense parasite pressure, as determined by mosquito infection rate. During the year of the vaccine trial, no mortalities due to malaria occurred and no undesirable vaccination side effects occurred. This is the first trial of an antimalarial vaccine in a captive penguin colony.     

Analysis of a Secreted Aspartic Peptidase Disruption Mutant of Glomerella cingulata

Peptidases have been implicated in the pathogenicity of fungi that cause disease in plants. Expression of the secreted aspartic peptidase gene (gcsap), of a Glomerella cingulata isolate pathogenic on apples, is induced during appressorium formation. To determine whether the secreted aspartic peptidase (GcSAP) is essential to pathogenicity, gcsap was disrupted using a vector containing a 637 bp fragment of genomic DNA that encodes the sequence spanning the two active site aspartic acid (Asp) residues. To ensure that the truncated gcsap gene products could not have residual peptidase activity the codons for the active site residues Asp¹¹² and Asp²⁹⁷ were both mutated to histidine residues. Both PCR and Southern analysis confirmed disruption of gcsap. Neither gcsap mRNA nor GcSAP activity was detected in the disruption mutant. Pathogenicity tests on fruit from three apple cultivars showed that GcSAP was not required for pathogenicity. The disruption mutant grew on medium containing protein as the sole source of nitrogen because G. cingulata secretes a previously undetected peptidase(s). A serine peptidase that had a pH optimum between pH 7.0 and 8.0 and a K _m of 0.25 mM for the synthetic substrate succinyl-Ala–Ala–Pro–Phe-p-nitroanilide was identified.     

Interfertility of Two Mating Populations in the Gibberella Fujikuroi Species Complex

Gibberella fujikuroi and Gibberella intermedia(mating populations ‘C’ and ‘D’ of the G. fujikuroi species complex) can be distinguished by differences in the spectrum of mycotoxins produced, the lack of sexual cross-fertility and diagnostic differences in their DNA sequences. Some isolates from these two biological species, however, can interbreed and complete meiosis to produce viable progeny. Analysis of marker segregation amongst such hybrid progeny can be used to estimate the degree of genomic rearrangement and genetic incompatibility that has accumulated since these sibling species diverged. Recombinant progeny were isolated from crosses of the standard tester strains for these two species and from crosses between these standard testers and a field isolate (KSU X-10626) that was cross-fertile with tester strains of both species. Progeny in all of the crosses segregated for amplified fragment length polymorphisms (AFLPs). Segregation of AFLP loci deviated from 1:1 for two thirds of the loci amongst the progeny of the cross between the ‘C’ and ‘D’ mating population tester strains, but <20% of the polymorphic loci in the cross of either tester with KSU X-10626 showed such distortion. It was concluded that G. intermedia and G. fujikuroi are sufficiently interfertile to belong to the same biological species, but that changing the nomenclature to reflect this interfertility requires more evidence for the natural occurrence of a continuum in fertility than is presently available.     

小黑麦基础日粮对育肥猪生产性能和猪肉品质的影响

小黑麦是硬质小麦和黑麦杂交的一种谷物,粗蛋白质含较量较玉米高,且其氨基酸组成更能满足育肥猪的氨基酸需要。与玉米基础饲粮相比,用小黑麦作为猪的饲粮,可以减少豆粕的用量。有关饲喂小黑麦对育肥猪的影响的研究结果并不一致,有研究报道当小黑麦代替玉米作为猪的日粮谷物源时,生产性能与玉米饲粮组相近,然而也有报道使其生产性能降低。     

Evaluation of concurrent perineal hernia in adult male dogs presenting with nontraumatic,acquired inguinal hernias

A possible association between the development of nontraumatic, acquired inguinal hernias (NAIH) and perineal hernias (PH) has been postulated in adult dogs. The objective of this study was to evaluate the frequency of concurrent diagnosis of PH in dogs presented with NAIH and determine potential risk factors for concurrent PH and NAIH. Medical records of adult male dogs presented for NAIH to 4 hospitals between 2007 and 2017 were retrospectively reviewed. Twenty-one dogs with NAIH were included, 8 of which had concurrent PH. There were no significant differences between dogs with and without PH; however, among dogs with both conditions, intact dogs (8.1 ± 1.4 years) were younger than neutered dogs (11.7 ± 1.0 years; P = 0.007). Thirty-eight percent of male dogs presenting for NAIH had concurrent PH, indicating that these conditions commonly occur together. Dogs presenting for NAIH should be carefully evaluated for concurrent PH before surgical intervention.