Chicken parvovirus and its associations with malabsorption syndrome.

Malabsorption syndrome (MAS) is a multifactorial syndrome which is characterized by enteric disorders and reduced growth rates of broilers. Such condition is responsible for significant economic losses to the poultry industry. A possible association between chicken parvovirus (ChPV) infections and the occurrence of MAS has been proposed. However, such association has not to date been elucidated in view that ChPV has been detected in healthy as well as in MAS-affected chickens. This study aimed to detect and quantify ChPV loads in sera and tissues of MAS-affected, as well as in healthy broilers. Fifty nine, 39-day-old broilers (50 diseased, 9 healthy birds), obtained from the same flocks, were examined. The highest ChPV DNA loads were detected in MAS-affected broilers, particularly in fecal samples and intestinal tissues (~5500 genomic copies/300ng of total DNA). The average viral genome load in serum in MAS-affected birds was 1134copies/mL, whereas no viral DNA was found in sera and thymus tissues from healthy animals. These findings reveal that MAS-affected broilers consistently carry ChPV DNA is serum, whereas healthy animals do not. In addition, viral loads in tissues (bursa of Fabricius, spleen, intestine and liver) of MAS-affected birds were significantly higher in comparison to the same tissues from healthy broilers. Although preliminary, the results obtained here indicate an association between the detection of ChPV DNA in serum, in addition to high ChPV viral loads in tissues, and the occurrence of MAS in broilers. Further experiments should be performed to confirm such results.

[Heparinization control by activated coagulation time in cardiac surgery with extracorporeal circulation]. / Controle da heparinização através do tempo de coagulação ativado em cirurgia cardíaca com circulação extracorpórea.

The authors studied 20 patients undergoing cardiac surgery with extracorporeal circulation using a protocol proposed by Bull for the control of heparinization using the activated coagulation time of whole blood proposed by Hattersley. The patients, alterations in the coagulation and in red cell values were evaluated comparing the pre-operatory values with the post-operatory ones. The activated coagulation time (ACT) was evaluated as to its variability in different periods (pre, trans, and post-surgery). All the results were compared with world literature. They conclude that it is an excellent method for the control of the monitoring of heparin therapy and neutralization with protamine sulfate, which was used in lower doses than those referred to in literature. No post-operatory complications due to alterations in the coagulation system were observed. The total doses of heparin and protamine per kilogram were, respectively, 5.85 mg and 4.34 mg. There was significant variation between the erythrocytes, the hemoglobin and the platelets (p less than 0.001). As to the prothrombin time, the partial thromboplastin time, the coagulation time and the fibrinogen, none showed significant variation. The ACT did not show significant variation between the values obtained during perfusion, and neither between the basal value and the value post-protamine, the basal and the 30 minutes post-protamine, and the post-protamine and 30 minutes post-protamine.