An abattoir survey on bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) in Turkey.

The aim of this study was to investigate Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE) in Turkish cattle in the Marmara region which borders the European Union (EU). For this, cattle brought to abattoirs in Istanbul were analysed. The high risk group were selected and therefore 384 cattle above 2 years old were included in the study. They were primarily examined for the presence of any clinical signs of nervous system and also other clinical disorders. The whole brains were taken and analysed for the presence of vacuolar degeneration and prion protein by PLATELIA BSE test kit. Only 5 cattle were found to be nervous and showed aggressive behaviour. There were no cattle showing incoordination or other neurological disorders. Cysts were observed in 3 brains. Histopathologically, no vacuolar degeneration indicative of BSE was found in any cattle examined. However, in 8 brains, few vacuoles were observed in neurons in sections taken from the brain, cerebellum, medulla oblongata and medulla spinalis. Slight mononuclear cell infiltration in 9 brain, intensed mononuclear cell infiltration in 1 brain, haemorrhages in 5 brains and gliosis in 11 brains were also found. No infective prion was detected by ELISA in samples taken from 384 cattle brain.

Crohn's disease in people exposed to clinical cases of bovine paratuberculosis.

Mycobacterium avium subspecies paratuberculosis (Map), the cause of ruminant paratuberculosis, has been proposed as the causative agent of Crohn's disease. The objective of this study was to determine whether exposure to clinical cases of bovine paratuberculosis was a risk factor for Crohn's disease. A questionnaire was sent to dairy farmers living on premises where the occurrence or absence of clinical cases of bovine paratuberculosis had previously been determined. The prevalence of Crohn's disease was found to be similar to that reported in other studies in the United Kingdom and showed no association with bovine paratuberculosis. There was, however, a univariate association with geographical region. Ulcerative colitis showed univariate associations with age, frequency of contact with cattle and with smoking. The results do not support the hypothesis that Map plays a causative role in the aetiology of Crohn's disease.

Comparison of two 3ABC enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays for diagnosis of multiple-serotype foot-and-mouth disease in a cattle population in an area of endemicity.

The development of a serological test for foot-and-mouth disease virus (FMDV) which is quick and easy to use, which can identify all seven serotypes, and which can differentiate vaccinated from convalescing or potential virus carriers would be a major advance in the epidemiological toolkit for FMDV. The nonstructural polyprotein 3ABC has recently been proposed as such an antigen, and a number of diagnostic tests are being developed. This paper evaluates the performance of two FMDV tests for antibodies to nonstructural proteins in an unvaccinated cattle population from a region of Cameroon with endemic multiple-serotype FMD. The CHEKIT-FMD-3ABC bo-ov (CHEKIT) enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) (Bommeli Diagnostics/Intervet) is a commercially available test that was compared with a competitive 3ABC ELISA (C-ELISA) developed in Denmark. The tests were compared with the virus neutralization test as the "gold standard." Diagnostic sensitivity and specificity were examined over a range of test cutoffs by using receiver operating characteristic curves, which allowed comparison of the overall performance of each test. The results indicated that the CHEKIT ELISA kit was 23% sensitive and 98% specific and the Danish C-ELISA was 71% sensitive and 90% specific at the recommended cutoff. These results have important implications if the tests are to be used to screen herds or individual cattle in surveillance programs, at border crossings for import-export clearance, or following emergency vaccination in an outbreak situation.

A study of feline upper respiratory tract disease with reference to prevalence and risk factors for infection with feline calicivirus and feline herpesvirus.

A cross-sectional survey of a convenience sample of cats was carried out to determine the prevalence of and risk factors for respiratory tract disease, feline calicivirus (FCV) infection and feline herpesvirus (FHV) infection. Seven hundred and forty cats were studied; samples for isolation of FCV and FHV were obtained from 622 (84%). Data on individual cat and household variables were obtained by questionnaire for each cat and analysed using univariable and logistic regression analysis. Thirty-eight percent (282/740) of cats surveyed had respiratory tract disease. Eighteen of 24 predictor variables were found to be significantly (P<0.05) associated with the presence of respiratory tract disease in a cat on univariable analysis. Following logistic regression, several factors retained significance including isolation of FCV and FHV, younger cats (4-11 months of age) and multiple cat households. A negative association was found with breeding catteries and other types of household in comparison with rescue catteries. Overall, feline calicivirus was isolated from 162/622 (26%) of cats sampled; 33% of the cats with respiratory tract disease were FCV positive compared to 21% of healthy cats. Variables significantly associated with FCV isolation on logistic regression were the presence of respiratory tract disease and contact with dogs with and without respiratory tract disease. Feline herpesvirus was isolated from 30/622 (5%) of all cats sampled; 11% of cats with respiratory tract disease were FHV positive compared to 1% of healthy cats. Variables significantly associated with FHV isolation on univariable analysis included age, gender, and the presence of respiratory tract disease. Vaccination showed a negative association. Logistic regression analysis of the data for FHV was limited by the sample size and the low prevalence of FHV.

Lameness and foot lesions in adult British dairy goats.

In the first population-based study of lameness and foot lesions in adult goats in the UK, a random sample of 307 adult goats from four large commercial dairy farms was examined. The overall proportion of lame goats was 9.1 per cent (2.6 to 24.4 per cent). The abnormalities detected were horn separation (29.6 per cent), white line lesions (13.0 per cent) slippering (10.1 per cent), abscess of the sole (4.2 per cent), foreign body, and granulomatous lesions (1.0 per cent). Between 83.1 and 95.5 per cent of the goats had overgrown horn on at least one foot. The number of feet of individual goats with horn separation followed a Poisson distribution suggesting that it was associated with environmental rather than genetic or nutritional factors. Horn separation, abscess of the sole and footrot were significantly associated with lameness, but white line lesions, slippering and granulomatous lesions were not. There were differences between the farms in the prevalence of lameness and foot lesions. Routine foot trimming was associated with a lower prevalence of lameness.

Preliminary study of the effect of iron dextran on a non-regenerative anaemia of housed lambs.

A study of the effects of iron dextran supplementation on anaemia in indoor lambs was carried out on one commercial flock of 525 lambs from January to June 1993. The lambs were randomly allocated into two groups, one of which was given a parenteral injection of 300 mg iron dextran and the other was left untreated. Blood was collected from 22 12-day-old lambs and 106 24-day-old lambs, in each case half treated and half untreated. The supplemented lambs had significantly improved haematological values than the unsupplemented lambs. There were also significant differences in the total serum iron concentration, the unsaturated iron binding capacity and the percentage serum saturation with iron between the treated and untreated lambs. At 12 days, the untreated lambs had a total serum iron below the accepted normal range for sheep whereas the treated lambs had values within the normal range. At weaning, lambs injected with iron dextran were significantly heavier (1.0 kg) than those not injected. The daily liveweight gain to slaughter was greater and the proportion of deaths was lower in the treated lambs but these differences were not statistically significant.

Cross-reactivity of ovine IgE with anti-human IgE.

Cross-reactivity between ovine and human IgE was investigated using monoclonal antibodies to human IgE heavy chain. Western immunoblotting, reverse cutaneous anaphylaxis (RCA), passive cutaneous anaphylaxis inhibition (PCAI) and reverse passive cutaneous anaphylaxis (RPCA) tests were all used to assess cross-reactivity between the monoclonals and ovine IgE. No cross-reactivity was demonstrated using Western immunoblotting, RCA and PCAI tests. However, evidence for homology in the region of the molecule concerned with mast cell binding was demonstrated by RPCA performed in sheep skin primed with human myeloma IgE.

Obtention of ovine IgE from heterohybridoma.

Mesenteric and bronchial lymph node cells from sheep immunized with Ascaris suum antigens in combination with Bordetella pertussis vaccine were fused with mouse myeloma cell lines, P3-X63-Ag8.653, NSO.U and NS1.1.Ag1.1. One heterohybridoma cell line (NS1.1.Ag1.1 x sheep) producing ovine immunoglobulin E was detected by the passive cutaneous anaphylaxis test.

Neuromata in docked lambs' tails.

Docked and undocked lambs tails obtained after slaughter were examined grossly and histopathologically. Stump and complex neuromata were identified in docked tails.