Acute phase protein changes in calves during an outbreak of respiratory disease caused by bovine respiratory syncytial virus.

Bovine acute phase proteins (APPs), lipopolysaccharide binding protein (LBP), serum amyloid A (SAA), haptoglobin (Hp) and alpha(1)-acid glycoprotein (AGP) were evaluated as inflammatory markers during an outbreak of bovine respiratory disease (BRD) caused by bovine respiratory syncytial virus (BRSV). Calves (n = 10) presented mild to moderate signs of respiratory disease. Secondary bacterial infections, Pasteurella multocida and Mycoplasma dispar as major species, were detected in tracheobronchial lavage samples. Concentrations of SAA and LBP increased at week 1 had the highest values at week 3 and decreased at week 4 of outbreak. Some calves had high Hp concentrations at week 3, but AGP concentrations did not rise during respiratory disease. Higher SAA, LBP and Hp concentrations at a later stage of BRD (week 3) were associated with the low BRSV-specific IgG(1) production, suggesting that these calves had enhanced inflammatory response to the secondary bacterial infection. In conclusion, APPs (especially SAA and LBP) are sensitive markers of respiratory infection, and they may be useful to explore host response to the respiratory infections in clinical research.

Toxoplasma gondii in wild cervids and sheep in Finland: north-south gradient in seroprevalence.

A nationwide seroepidemiological study was conducted to estimate the prevalence of Toxoplasma gondii in selected wild and domestic ruminants in Finland. Serum samples from 1367 game cervids collected during the hunting season in 2008-2009 and 1940 sheep sera collected in 2008 were screened with a commercial direct agglutination test at a serum dilution of 1:40. T. gondii-specific IgG antibodies were detected in 116 (9.6%) of 1215 moose (European elk, Alces alces), 36 (26.7%) of 135 white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus), 3 (17.6%) of 17 roe deer (Capreolus capreolus), and 477 (24.6%) of 1940 domestic sheep. Seropositive sheep were found in 74 (76.3%) of the 97 flocks examined. The odds of seropositivity in the adult moose was 2.9 times higher than the odds in calves; in white-tailed deer, the odds ratio was 3.2. The male moose had a significantly lower seroprevalence than the female, whereas the seroprevalence in the male white-tailed deer was higher than in the female; the odds ratios were 0.6 and 2.5, respectively. A clear geographical gradient in the seroprevalence was revealed in moose and sheep. The seroprevalences were lowest (1.6 and 8.6%, respectively) in the north and highest (24.6 and 36.4%, respectively) in the south-western regions, and ranged between these values in the other regions. In fact, the seroprevalence in moose from the south-west was not significantly different from the prevalence in white-tailed deer from the same area. Thus, the Finnish wild cervids and sheep are commonly exposed to T. gondii, especially in the southern part of the country.

Vaccine coverage, herd immunity and occurrence of canine distemper from 1990-1996 in Finland.

Official vaccine sales statistics, the development of the young dog population and the takes of available vaccines were used to calculate the vaccine coverage and herd immunity (HI) against canine distemper, endemic during 1990-1993 and epidemic in 1994-1995 in Finland. Despite the satisfactory vaccine coverage, HI was no more than 50-65% in 1990-1993 because low-take vaccines dominated the market. Replacement of the low-take with high-take vaccines in 1995 raised the HI to 90%, which coincided with the ending of the epidemic. In 1996, the HI was slightly above 70%, which was sufficient to control the disease despite infectious pressure caused by repeated imports.

The prevalence of Trichinella infection in domestic dogs in Finland.

In this study, we examined the prevalence of Trichinella infection in domestic dogs in Finland, which is known to have a high prevalence of Trichinella infection in sylvatic hosts. Altogether 727 dog serum samples were tested serologically by ELISA with ES-antigen in dilutions 1:50, 1:100, 1:200, and 1:400. Additionally, muscle samples from 102 dogs' front leg extensors were tested parasitologically by HCl-pepsin-digestion. The tested dogs originated from the University Veterinary Hospital (244 of the sera and all of the parasitologically tested muscle samples) and from a serum bank of the National Veterinary and Food Research Institute (465 serum samples), representing healthy dogs mostly from southern Finland. As negative controls, we tested sera from 18 experimental dogs known to be negative for Trichinella infection. Trichinella spp. was isolated from one dog (1%) with a low infection intensity. High OD% were found in both groups of serum samples. Of the hospitalized dogs, 4.9% were classified positive, and 8.6% of the healthy dogs were classified positive (7.3% in total). The sex or breed of the tested dogs did not correlate with the positive results, but the age correlated positively in the serum bank group. The serological results suggest that dogs may be exposed to Trichinella spp. in Finland; however, confirmation of low-level infections requires confirmation by direct testing methods.