1/8. Presumptive babesia ovis infection in a spanish ibex (Capra pyrenaica). On December 29 1995, a 13-year old, male Spanish ibex was easily captured by hand, with depression, weakness and severe tick infestation, mainly in the periocular and auricular regions. Blood and serum samples were collected and haematological analysis and serum iron levels were determined. Red blood cell count, haematocrit, haemoglobin concentration and mean corpuscular haemoglobin concentration (MCHC) were decreased and mean corpuscular volume (MCV) increased (macrocytic-hypochromic anemia). serum iron and transferrin saturation were decreased and total and unbound iron-binding capacity were increased. Piroplasms were observed within parasitized erythrocytes and presumptively identified as babesia spp. ticks were identified exclusively as Ripicephalus bursa. The animal was treated with imidocarb but died after 15 days of capture. Histopathological examination revealed congestion of pulmonary capillaries and spleen, glomerulonephritis, hemoglobinuric nephrosis and generalized hemosiderosis. An indirect fluorescent antibody test was performed using a babesia ovis isolate of ovine origin as antigen and the animal was positive with a titre of 1:640. ( info) |
2/8. Characterization of mycobacterium bohemicum isolated from human, veterinary, and environmental sources. Chemotaxonomic and genetic properties were determined for 14 mycobacterial isolates identified as members of a newly described species mycobacterium bohemicum. The isolates recovered from clinical, veterinary, and environmental sources were compared for lipid composition, biochemical test results, and sequencing of the 16S ribosomal dna (rDNA) and the 16S-23S rDNA internal transcribed spacer (ITS) regions. The isolates had a lipid composition that was different from those of other known species. Though the isolates formed a distinct entity, some variations were detected in the features analyzed. Combined results of the phenotypic and genotypic analyses were used to group the isolates into three clusters. The major cluster (cluster A), very homogenous in all respects, comprised the M. bohemicum type strain, nine clinical and veterinary isolates, and two of the five environmental isolates. Three other environmental isolates displayed an insertion of 14 nucleotides in the ITS region; they also differed from cluster A in fatty alcohol composition and produced a positive result in the Tween 80 hydrolysis test. Among these three, two isolates were identical (cluster B), but one isolate (cluster C) had a unique high-performance liquid chromatography profile, and its gas liquid chromatography profile lacked 2-octadecanol, which was present in all other isolates analyzed. Thus, sequence variation in the 16S-23S ITS region was associated with interesting variations in lipid composition. Two of the isolates analyzed were regarded as potential inducers of human or veterinary infections. Each of the environmental isolates, all of which were unrelated to the cases presented, was cultured from the water of a different stream. Hence, natural waters are potential reservoirs of M. bohemicum. ( info) |
3/8. anthrax in Wabessa village in the Dessie Zuria district of ethiopia. In 2002 an investigation of sudden death in a goat in Wabessa village in the Dessie Zuria district of ethiopia was undertaken using fresh blood brought to the Kombolcha Regional Veterinary Laboratory. The sample was examined using standard bacteriological techniques and animal pathogenicity tests were also performed. The laboratory investigation revealed bacillus anthracis as the cause of sudden death. Information gathered from stockowners in the same village revealed other similar recent cases and deaths, both in animals and humans, with farmers clearly describing the clinical signs and necropsy findings of anthrax. The disease occurs annually in this area in May and June, and in the 2002 outbreak mortality rates of 7.7%, 32.7% and 47.1% were observed in cattle, goats and donkeys, respectively. This study indicates that the community of this particular village neither knows of, nor practises, any of the conventional methods for anthrax control. The cutaneous form of the disease in humans and the environmental contamination associated with the practise of opening cadavers are briefly described and the findings are discussed with reference to the epidemiology of anthrax in both ethiopia and elsewhere. Control strategies are also recommended. ( info) |
| BACKGROUND: chlamydophila abortus (formerly chlamydia psittaci serovar 1) is a rare but severe cause of gestational septicemia, with particular problems in diagnosis and clinical management. CASE: A 32-year-old woman in her fourth pregnancy (16th week of gestation) presented with progressive septicemia after extensive contact with abortive material from her goat flock. Treatment with levofloxacin could not prevent abortion. Multiorgan failure requiring catecholamines and artificial ventilation developed in the patient. After the agent was identified by polymerase chain reaction from acute-phase serum, macrolides were administered and yielded clinical improvement. The patient fully recovered. There were no sequelae in the subsequent 6 months. CONCLUSION: Cp abortus must be considered in gestational septicemia after contact with ruminants. polymerase chain reaction from acute-phase serum is a quick and easy way to establish the diagnosis. Macrolide antibiotics are still the treatment of choice. ( info) |
5/8. A fatal case of listeria endocarditis in a man following his tending of goats suggests an epidemiological link which is not supported by the results. A man died in endocarditis due to listeriosis in the late autumn. He had been looking after two goats during the summer. listeria monocytogenas was isolated from a rectal swab from one of the goats. The goat faeces isolate and the human blood isolate were of identical serovar. The two isolates, however, were shown to be different by multilocus electrophoretic enzyme analysis and ribotyping, as well as by biotyping. Thus, these results do not support the hypothesis that the man was infected by the goat. ( info) |
6/8. Crimean-congo haemorrhagic fever virus infection in the western province of saudi arabia. In 1990, an outbreak of suspected viral haemorrhagic fever involving 7 individuals occurred in Mecca in the Western Province of saudi arabia. congo-Crimean haemorrhagic fever (CCHF), not previously known to be present in saudi arabia, was incriminated. A study of the epidemiology of this virus was therefore carried out in Mecca, and in nearby Jeddah and Taif in 1991-1993; 13 species of ixodid ticks (5 Hyalomma spp., 5 rhipicephalus spp., 2 Amblyomma spp., 1 Boophilus sp.) were collected from livestock (camels, cattle, sheep, goats), and of these 10 were capable of transmitting CCHF. camels had the highest rate of tick infestation (97%), and H. dromedarii was the commonest tick (70%). Attempts to isolate virus from pools of H. dromedarii and H. anatolicum anatolicum were unsuccessful. The source of infection in 3 confirmed cases of CCHF was contact with fresh mutton and, in a suspected case, slaughtering sheep. An investigation in Mecca, which included a serological survey of abattoir workers, identified 40 human cases of confirmed or suspected CCHF between 1989 and 1990, with 12 fatalities. Significant risk factors included exposure to animal blood or tissue in abattoirs, but not tick bites. It is suspected that the CCHF virus may have been introduced to saudi arabia by infected ticks on imported sheep arriving at Jeddah seaport, and that it is now endemic in the Western Province. ( info) |
7/8. hemolysis associated with water administration using a nipple bottle for human infants in juvenile pygmy goats. A 4-month-old, 6.8-kg, castrated male pygmy goat was examined for recurrent episodic fever and red urine of 7 days' duration. A second, 3-month-old, 7-kg, intact female pygmy goat was presented for similar clinical signs. The red discoloration of the urine in each case was determined to be due to hemolysis with subsequent hemoglobinuria. In both cases, hemolysis and hemoglobinuria were closely associated with the goats consuming large volumes of water from a human infant's nipple bottle. A diagnosis of water intoxication-induced hemolysis and hemoglobinuria was made. Episodes of hemoglobinuria in the first case were consistently associated with dilute (specific gravity < 1.010) urine. water intoxication has been associated with bottle-feeding in human infants and is also widely reported in human psychiatric patients. The small erythrocytes in goats appear to be the most sensitive of the domestic species to hypotonicity-induced hemolysis. ( info) |
8/8. Caprine mucopolysaccharidosis-IIID: clinical, biochemical, morphological and immunohistochemical characteristics. Several animal models have been developed for the mucopolysaccharidoses (MPSs), a group of lysosomal storage disorders caused by lysosomal hydrolase deficiencies that disrupt the catabolism of glycosaminoglycans (GAG). Among the MPS, the MPS-III (Sanfilippo) syndromes lacked an animal counterpart until recently. In this investigation of caprine MPS-IIID, the clinical, biochemical, morphological, and immunohistochemical studies revealed severe and mild phenotypes like those observed in human MPS III syndromes. Both forms of caprine MPS IIID result from a nonsense mutation and consequent deficiency of lysosomal N-acetylglucosamine 6-sulfatase (G6S) activity and are associated with tissue storage and urinary excretion of heparan sulfate (HS). Using special stains, immunohistochemistry, and electron microscopy, secondary lysosomes filled with GAG were identified in most tissues from affected goats. Primary neuronal accumulation of HS and the secondary storage of gangliosides were observed in the central nervous system (CNS) of these animals. In addition, morphological changes in the CNS such as neuritic expansions and other neuronal alterations that may have functional significance were also seen. The spectrum of lesions was greater in the severe form of caprine MPS IIID and included mild cartilaginous, bony, and corneal lesions. The more pronounced neurological deficits in the severe form were partly related to a greater extent of CNS dysmyelination. These findings demonstrate that caprine MPS IIID is a suitable animal model for the investigation of therapeutic strategies for MPS III syndromes. ( info) |