Response of domestic geese to lentogenic and velogenic strains of Newcastle disease virus

A total of 54 domestic white meat-type geese were included in vaccination/challenge trials to evaluate susceptibility to disease and humoral immune responses using the haemagglutination inhibition (HI) and virus neutralization (VN) tests against Newcastle disease (ND). Two groups of twenty geese, five weeks of age, were conjunctivally vaccinated with either 100 x 10(6) or 2.5 x 10(6) EID50 (egg infectious dose 50 per cent) per bird of live La Sota virus, respectively, and 14 geese remained unvaccinated. At 15 weeks of age all vaccinated geese and seven unvaccinated geese were subcutaneously injected with 0.5 ml of inactivated oil emulsion ND vaccine, whereas seven geese remained as negative controls. At an age of 20 weeks, all 54 geese were challenged with 10(8.0) EID50 per bird of the viscerotropic velogenic NDV strain Herts 33/56. Live virus application as well as the oil emulsion vaccine did not induce discernible clinical signs and have no detrimental effect on body weight gains. At days 1, 3, 5, 8, 13, 16, 20, 23 and 27 after the application of lentogenic vaccine pharyngeal and cloacal swabs were taken, after challenge samples were taken at days 2, 5 and 8. Lentogenic as well as velogenic virus were never reisolated. Low and shortlived antibody responses post vaccination were equally well measured in HI and VN tests. Only two out of seven unvaccinated but challenged geese developed signs of ND whereas all vaccinated/challenged geese remained normal but developed high to moderate levels of HI and VN antibodies. Since domestic geese do not readily excrete NDV's in detectable amounts and since they do not contain detectable amounts of the challenge virus fourteen days post challenge in their tissues the assumption is promoted that geese do not play a major role in the epidemiology of Newcastle disease.     

Vaccination of ostriches (Struthio camelus, Linnaeus, 1758) against Newcastle disease: evidence for vaccine compatibility and seroconversion after vaccinations using the hemagglutination inhibition and virus neutralization tests

Newcastle disease (ND) remains to be the worldwide most important infectious disease of poultry. This epizootic is in Germany and many other countries a notifiable disease. Prophylactic vaccination is the major tool for the control of ND in poultry and other birds. Eighty-three ostriches (Struthio camelus) which were kept on farms in Germany were checked for the presence of NDV-specific antibodies. Some of these birds are said to be vaccinated against Newcastle disease. Only some of these ostriches contained antibodies which were measurable in haemagglutination inhibition and virus neutralisation tests. Twenty-three previously unvaccinated ostriches were vaccinated with commercially available vaccines. Both the LaSota live and inactivated oil emulsion vaccines were well tolerated following conjunctival or subcutaneous application, respectively. Neither local nor systemic side reactions were observed. After the vaccinations high antibody titres were detected in hemagglutination inhibition and virus neutralisation tests. A strong correlation between both established methods (r = 0.92; < 0.001) were noted.     

Population-based study of fecal shedding of Clostridium perfringens in broodmares and foals

OBJECTIVE: To determine the percentage of broodmares and foals that shed Clostridium perfringens in their feces and classify the genotypes of those isolates. DESIGN: Prospective cross-sectional study. ANIMALS: 128 broodmares and their foals on 6 equine premises. PROCEDURES: Anaerobic and aerobic bacteriologic cultures were performed on feces collected 3 times from broodmares and foals. All isolates of C. perfringens were genotyped. RESULTS: Clostridium perfringens was isolated from the feces of 90% of 3-day-old foals and 64% of foals at 8 to 12 hours of age. A lower percentage of broodmares and 1- to 2-month-old foals shed C. perfringens in their feces, compared with neonatal foals. Among samples with positive results, C. perfringens type A was the most common genotype identified (85%); C. perfringens type A with the beta2 toxin gene was identified in 12% of samples, C. perfringens type A with the enterotoxin gene was identified in 2.1% of samples, and C. perfringens type C was identified in < 1% of samples. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Clostridium perfringens was identified from the feces of all but 6 foals by 3 days of age and is likely part of the normal microflora of neonatal foals. Most isolates from broodmares and foals are C. perfringens type A; thus, the clinical relevance of culture results alone is questionable. Clostridium perfringens type C, which has been associated with neonatal enterocolitis, is rarely found in the feces of horses.     

Isolation of Vibrio cholerae from the brain of a feedlot heifer with meningoencephalitis.

A 700-pound, 9-month-old Angus heifer from a feedlot presented with acute neurologic signs, characterized by circling, posterior weakness, and nonresponsiveness, followed by death. Histologically, the frontal lobe and the thalamus contained multiple foci of liquefaction that contained numerous degenerative neutrophils and foamy macrophages. Some of these foci were centered on blood vessels that contained fibrin thrombi and exhibited varying degrees of fibrinoid necrosis of the vessel wall. There was adjacent axonal degeneration and neuronal necrosis characterized by pronounced cytoplasmic eosinophilia, peripheralization of the nuclei, and loss of Nissl substance. Aerobic culture of the brain yielded moderate growth of Vibrio species, which was determined to be Vibrio cholerae by polymerase chain reaction analysis of a 438-base pair fragment of the 16 S ribosomal RNA gene. V. cholerae are motile, gram-negative, curved rod-shaped bacteria. Some strains of V. cholerae are important food- and water-borne bacterial pathogens that produce an often fatal diarrhea in humans. This is the first known case report of V. cholerae meningoencephalitis and cerebral abscessation in a bovine.     

Retracted: Effect of Post‐Thaw Storage Time on Motility and Fertility of Cryopreserved Beluga Sturgeon (Huso huso) Sperm

The aim of this study was to test the influence of post ‐ thaw storage time on the duration of sperm motility, percentage of motile sperm, and fertilization and hatching rates of fresh sperm and sperm stored for 0, 30 and 60 min at 4°C post‐thawing. After being frozen in liquid nitrogen and then thawed, the percentage of motile sperm and duration of motility were not affected by 30 min of storage at 4°C, whereas a significant decline in these parameters was observed after 60 min of storage. Similarly, fertilization and hatching rates were significantly affected within 60 min of storage at 4°C, and the fertility of frozen‐thawed sperm was significantly lower than that of fresh sperm. We conclude that cryopreserved sperm of beluga sturgeon could be stored for 30 min without the loss of sperm quality. This described procedure for beluga sturgeon cryopreservation is reliable and efficient and therefore can be recommended for hatchery practice after scaling up this technique.     

Rhodococcus equi-associated osteomyelitis in foals

Two cases of Rhodococcus equl infection in foals are described, in which osteomyelitis was a feature. Because rhodococcal infection is usually low grade and chronic, and because the signs of early metaphysitis can be subtle, any articular or periarticular swelling in a foal from a farm with a history of rhodococcosis should be strongly suspected to be associated with R equl until proven otherwise.