Research notes: passive integrated transponder tags as markers for chicks.

Passive integrated transponder (PIT) tags have been used to mark a variety of organisms and have potential for marking poultry chicks. We examined the effects of PIT tags subcutaneously implanted in 3- and 7-d-old Leghorn chicks and found no significant differences over 40 d in survival or rate of daily body mass gain among tagged chicks and controls. The PIT-tagged birds were not more susceptible to pecking by other chicks than controls. No birds died, but 1 of 20 chicks lost its tag during the study. We believe that PIT tags provide a viable technique for marking individual juvenile birds, if tag loss can be reduced. Costs may be prohibitive in studies involving large numbers of birds.

Gastrointestinal helminths and protozoa from two raccoon populations in Kansas.

A survey in Kansas compared the prevalence of gastrointestinal helminths and protozoa in 2 raccoon (Procyon lotor) populations; a population in a typical rural setting and a relatively undisturbed population on a military reservation. Gastrointestinal tracts of 128 raccoons were examined. Freeze storage of alimentary tracts prevented collection of data on trematode prevalence. Helminth infections other than trematodes included 1 acanthocephalan, 2 cestodes, and 3 nematodes. Helminths were found in all raccoons from the population on the military installation and 96% of those from the rural population. Prevalence of helminths was generally greater in raccoons from the population living in the rural setting. Eimeria spp. and Sarcocystis sp. were also found, whereas Giardia spp. and Cryptosporidium parvum were not.

A case-control study of soft-tissue sarcoma.

The roles of nonagricultural occupations, tobacco use, beverage consumption, medical history, and other factors in the development of soft-tissue sarcoma were examined in a population-based case-control study in Kansas. Based on 133 cases diagnosed between 1976-1982 and 948 controls, there were significant excesses associated with use of the drug chloramphenicol (odds ratio (OR) = 5.4, 95% confidence interval (Cl) 1.2-23.9) and chewing tobacco or snuff (OR = 1.8, 95% Cl 1.1-2.9). The risk associated with smokeless tobacco varied with the location of the tumors; greater risks were observed for tumors of the upper gastrointestinal tract (OR = 3.3), the lung, pleura, and thorax (OR = 3.1), and the head, neck, and face region (OR = 2.4) than other regions of the body (OR = 1.4). A nonsignificant excess was seen with the use of cholesterol-lowering drugs, such as clofibrate (OR = 1.7). Four cases reported histories of prior radiation treatment to the same area of their bodies as their tumors. Soft-tissue sarcoma was also associated with employment in woodworking occupations (OR = 1.7, 95% Cl 0.9-3.2) and risk increased with increasing duration of employment. Persons with first-degree blood relatives with a history of Hodgkin's disease, lymphoma, or cancers of the pancreas, prostate, brain, or skin were at increased risk. Many of the associations observed in this study, notably the risk of soft-tissue sarcoma with smokeless tobacco and medications such as chloramphenicol, deserve further evaluation.

A case-referent study of soft-tissue sarcoma and Hodgkin's disease. Farming and insecticide use.

A population-based case-referent study in Kansas examined the relationship between exposure to insecticides and the development of soft-tissue sarcoma (STS) and Hodgkin's disease (HD). Data from telephone interviews for 133 STS cases, 121 HD cases, and 948 referents indicated that STS was associated with use of insecticides on animals, but not on crops. HD was not significantly associated with either use. STS risk was higher among the farmers who themselves mixed or applied insecticides to animals than among farmers who did not. Farmers who failed to use any protective equipment to reduce insecticide exposure were at a significantly elevated risk of STS. Risk rose with early calendar year of first use. The excess risk appeared to be primarily among fibrous and myomatous sarcomas with little association seen for lipomatous or other STS neoplasms. Myomatous sarcomas increased significantly with duration and time since first use of insecticides on animals. If the reported association between STS and insecticides is causal, the data suggest that exposure to the agent(s) responsible may have been reduced in the mid-1950s or the agent(s) have an average latency period for STS of at least 20 years.

Agricultural herbicide use and risk of lymphoma and soft-tissue sarcoma.

A population-based case-control study of soft-tissue sarcoma (STS), Hodgkin's disease (HD), and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL) in Kansas found farm herbicide use to be associated with NHL (odds ratio [OR], 1.6; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.9, 2.6). Relative risk of NHL increased significantly with number of days of herbicide exposure per year and latency. Men exposed to herbicides more than 20 days per year had a sixfold increased risk of NHL (OR, 6.0; 95% CI, 1.9, 19.5) relative to nonfarmers. Frequent users who mixed or applied the herbicides themselves had an OR of 8.0 (95% CI, 2.3, 27.9) for NHL. Excesses were associated with use of phenoxyacetic acid herbicides, specifically 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid. Neither STS nor HD was associated with pesticide exposure. This study confirms the reports from Sweden and several US states that NHL is associated with farm herbicide use, especially phenoxyacetic acids. It does not confirm the case-control studies or the cohort studies of pesticide manufacturers and Vietnam veterans linking herbicides to STS or HD.

Blood characteristics of white-tailed deer from northeastern Kansas.

Blood samples were collected from 118 white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) shot on the Fort Riley Military Installation in northeastern Kansas. Values for these deer for hematocrit, glucose, alkaline phosphatase, uric acid, total protein, albumin, and calcium were within the ranges reported in previous studies for undrugged white-tailed deer. Abnormally high concentrations of serum glutamic oxaloacetate transaminase (SGOT) and lactic dehydrogenase (LDH) were attributed to general trauma and tissue damage caused by shooting the deer. Fawns had higher concentrations of alkaline phosphatase than adults and had lower concentrations in winter than at other times of the year. Serum urea nitrogen (SUN) concentrations fluctuated seasonally. Elevated concentrations of SUN in adult males killed in December were attributed to an increased catabolism of muscle protein caused by low dietary intake and high energy requirements during the rut. Cholesterol concentrations varied seasonally without regard to age or sex.

Increased susceptibility of bobwhites (Colinus virginianus) to Histomonas meleagridis after exposure.

Bobwhites given heterakid eggs but no Sevin became infected with cecal histomonads, but there was no pathological histomoniasis. Quail given 50 microgram of Sevin (10 microgram/day) behaved normally, but at necropsy they had slightly discolored livers. Quail given various doses of heterakid eggs and Sevin (Sevin increasing from 2.5 to 50 microgram) and those given various doses of heterakid eggs and 10 microgram/day of Sevin developed pathological histomoniasis and mortality rates of 36 and 63%, respectively.

Effects of dieldrin on operant behavior of bobwhites.

Bobwhites (Colinus virginianus) were trained to peck a green lighted key to receive food. Bird response performance was monitored for 14 days, then birds were dosed with five levels of dieldrin (50 to 300 micrograms every other day) for 42 days while their response performance was monitored. At the end of the 42-day dosage period, mean brain concentrations of dieldrin ranged from 2.6 ppm to 11.8 ppm; lower concentrations associated with lower dosage levels. All dieldrin dosage levels altered cage behavior of bobwhites, dieldrin dosage levels greater than 100 micrograms resulted in slower and less accurate responses by dosed birds during the 42-day trial period.