Isolation of Haemophilus somnus from dairy cattle in kwaZulu-Natal. An emerging cause of 'dirty cow syndrome' and infertility?

Haemophilus somnus was consistently isolated from vaginal discharges of dairy cows submitted from field cases of vaginitis, cervicitis and/or metritis in the KwaZulu-Natal Midlands during the period July 1995 - December 2000 and from the East Griqualand area in November/December 2000. The purulent vaginal discharges, red granular vaginitis and cervicitis, and pain on palpation described in these cases was very similar to that reported in outbreaks of H.somnus endometritis syndrome in Australia, Europe and North America. In all the herds involved in these outbreaks, natural breeding with bulls was employed. Although there was a good cure rate in clinically-affected animals treated with tetracyclines, culling rates for chronic infertility were unacceptably high. Employment of artificial insemination in these herds improved pregnancy rates in cows that had calved previously, but many cows that had formerly been infected failed to conceive.

NAD (V-factor)-independent and typical Haemophilus paragallinarum infection in commercial chickens: a five year field study.

An unusual bacterium causing respiratory disease in chickens emerged in South Africa in February 1989. The disease resembled infectious coryza but the organism differed from typical Haemophilus paragallinarum especially in that it did not require V-factor for growth. It has been termed an NAD-independent H. paragallinarum. A study of avian haemophili isolated from diseased chickens in Kwazulu-Natal over the past five years revealed the presence of typical H. paragallinarum, NAD-independent H. paragallinarum and H. avium (now transferred to the genus Pasteurella). Before the end of 1989 the NAD-independent H. paragallinarum had become the predominate isolate and thereafter was isolated from commercial chickens in other regions of South Africa. The disease affected all strains of chickens in an overall age range of 14 days to 64 weeks. The organism was responsible for upper respiratory disease of broilers and layers and implicated in lower respiratory disease of broilers. It was commonly isolated from diseased adult birds previously vaccinated against typical H. paragallinarum. Broilers were most commonly infected from 3 weeks of age and layers within the placement to peak production period. Whole cell protein profiles of NAD-independent H. paragallinarum isolates from five different commercial poultry units were identical but differed from that of a typical isolate.

Bronchopulmonary foregut malformations. A unifying etiological concept.

Two cases of congenital bronchopulmonary foregut malformation are reported and another 27 cases reviewed and the findings analyzed. The left lower lobe and the entire right lung are the most common locations of pulmonary involvement. The distal portion of the esophagus or cardioesophageal junction was the most common site of communication (83%). The majority of the patients (60%) presented in the first eight months of life, and the incidence in females was nearly twice that in males. Chronic cough, recurrent pneumonias and respiratory distress were the most common clinical findings, whereas two patients were totally asymptomatic. The esophagogram was the single most useful diagnostic procedure (82%). The microscopic structure of the congenital fistula resembled esophagus, bronchus or both. Surgical treatment was curative in most instances. Sime deaths occurred prior to corrective surgery, whereas the postoperative deaths in most instances were related to severe associated congenital anomalies. We believe a common embryologic pathogenesis leads to the formation of a variety of bronchopulmonary foregut malformations. These bronchopulmonary foregut malformations include intralobar and extralobar sequestrations, pulmonary sequestration with patent, or involuted--partial or complete--gastroesophageal communication, esophageal or gastric diverticula, and esophageal or bronchogenic duplication cysts.