Fiona Howie

Sulphur-induced polioencephalomalacia in lambs

An outbreak of polioencephalomalacia affected 16 of 46 Swaledale lambs and five of 25 Scottish blackface lambs 15 to 32 days after they were introduced to an ad libitum concentrate ration containing 0.43 per cent sulphur. The clinical signs were acute and included depression, central blindness and head-pressing, but no hyperaesthesia, nystagmus, dorsiflexion of the neck or opisthotonos were observed. Treatment of the affected lambs with vitamin B1, dexamethasone and antibiotics was associated with a prolonged recovery period, though no further cases were identified after vitamin B1 had been given parenterally to all the lambs at risk.

Upper respiratory disease and encephalitis in neonatal beef calves caused by bovine herpesvirus type 1

Retrospective study of 50 dogs with status epilepticus THE medical records of 50 dogs with generalised convulsive tonic-clonic status epilepticus were compared with those of 50 dogs with different types of seizures. There were no significant differences between the mean ages and bodyweights, or the genders of the two groups. The dogs in the non-status epilepticus group were twice as likely to be idiopathically epileptic, whereas the dogs with status epilepticus were 1-57 times more likely to have secondary or reactive epilepsy. The dogs in the status epilepticus group were more likely to have high cell counts and/or protein concentrations in their cerebrospinal fluid, but they were no more likely than the nonstatus epilepticus group to have abnormalities detected by computed tomography. It is suggested that dogs with status epilepticus should be thoroughly investigated for secondary causes. PLATT, S. R. & HAAG, M. (2002) Canine status epilepticus: a retrospective study of 50 cases. Journal ofSmall Animal Practice 43, 151-153

Isolation of Brucella species from a diseased atlanto-occipital joint of an Atlantic white-sided dolphin (Lagenorhynchus acutus)

dehydrated through graded alcohols, embedded in paraffin wax, sectioned at 5 μm, mounted on glass microscope slides and stained with haematoxylin and eosin for histological examination. All remaining soft tissue was manually removed from the skull and atlas bone (National Museums of Scotland register number NMSZ2006.10) after immersion for several days in a saturated solution of commercially available biological washing powder (Persil; Unilever) maintained at 65°C. Gross postmortem examination revealed the animal to be freshly dead, with no evidence of bloating, although some postmortem predator damage was present and there was a single rake mark on the left flank. The carcase weighed 143·0 kg and was 240 cm long from the tip of the upper jaw to the tail notch, with a girth measurement immediately anterior to the dorsal fin of 118·0 cm. It was in good body condition, with dorsal, lateral and ventral midline blubber thicknesses immediately in front of the dorsal fin of 22 mm, 19 mm and 24 mm, respectively. Further examination showed the atlanto-occipital joint to be completely immobile and inseparable using normal techniques and reasonable force. No other joints appeared to be affected. A small number of plerocercoid cysts that were typical in appearance to Phyllobothrium delphini, although not definitively identified, were present in the subcutaneous blubber and testicular mesentery. The trachea contained bloodstained fluid and froth, and the lungs appeared severely oedematous and congested, with persistent rib indentations on the dorsal surfaces after removal from the carcase; there was no gross evidence of pneumonia. The liver was congested and all other organs examined appeared grossly normal. A profuse growth of Brucella species was recovered from the meninges adherent to the atlanto-occipital joint, together with a scant growth from the brain, and a single colony was recovered from the kidney. With the exception of a minor mixed growth of bacteria from the lung, all the other tissues examined showed no growth by 14 days. The isolate did not require increased carbon dioxide for growth and gave uninhibited primary growth on Farrell’s medium, characteristics typical of the proposed new species Brucella cetaceae for strains recovered from cetaceans (Cloeckaert and others 2001). Histological examination of the brain showed mild autolysis and a generalised non-suppurative meningoencephalitis as denoted by a lymphocytic inflammatory infiltrate in the meninges, which was severe in the region around the medulla oblongata and extended into dorsal aspects of the hindbrain in the form of thick perivascular cuffs (Fig 1). A focal non-suppurative choroiditis was also present, and there were small amounts of meningeal serum leakage. A lymphocytic-plasmacytic inflammatory infiltrate, predomin antly associated with blood vessels (especially veins), was present in the meninges adherent to the atlanto-occipital joint. The rest of the findings were consistent with a cetacean that was live*

Lack of evidence for circovirus involvement in bovine neonatal pancytopenia

THE newly described syndrome of bovine neonatal pancytopenia (BNP) (previously known as idiopathic haemorrhagic diathesis or bleeding calf syndrome), reported in the UK by [Penny and others (2009)][1], has caused considerable animal health and welfare interest across Europe. The detection in calves

Idiopathic bovine neonatal pancytopenia in a Scottish beef herd

PANCYTOPENIA, due to hypoplastic or aplastic bone marrow, has historically been uncommon in cattle. Fatal haemorrhagic pancytopenia has been reported in cattle due to the ingestion of trichloroethylene-extracted soya oil meal (TCESOM) ([Rundles 1958][1]), bracken fern ( Pteridium species) ([Hirono

Involvement of Parachlamydia in bovine abortions in Scotland

Bovine abortion represents a major animal welfare issue and a cause of substantial economic loss yet the rate of successful diagnosis remains low. Chlamydia-related organisms including Parachlamydia have recently emerged as putative cattle abortifacients. Placental tissue samples and fetal lung from bovine abortion submissions across Scotland in Spring 2011 were investigated by histopathology for the presence of suspect Chlamydia-related organisms. Evidence of Chlamydia-related organisms was observed in 21/113 (18.6%) placenta samples. Thirteen of the suspect cases and 18 histopathology negative cases were analysed by molecular and immunohistochemical methods. All samples were PCR positive for Parachlamydia but sequencing revealed high homology between identified environmental 16S sequences in all but three cases. Parachlamydial antigen was detected in 10/31 placental samples (32.2%) with pathology consistent with chlamydial infection. This work supports the need for further surveillance investigations and experimental studies to determine the role of Parachlamydia in bovine abortion.

Factors Associated with Bovine Neonatal Pancytopenia (BNP) in Calves: A Case-Control Study

Bovine neonatal pancytopenia (BNP; previously known as idiopathic haemorrhagic diathesis and commonly known as bleeding calf syndrome) is a novel haemorrhagic disease of young calves which has emerged in a number of European countries during recent years. Data were retrospectively collected during June to November 2010 for 56 case calves diagnosed with BNP between 17 March and 7 June of the same year. These were compared with 58 control calves randomly recruited from herds with no history of BNP. Multivariable logistic regression analysis showed that increased odds of a calf being a BNP case were associated with its dam having received PregSure® BVD (Pfizer Animal Health) vaccination prior to the birth of the calf (odds ratio (OR) 40.78, p<0.001) and its herd of origin being located in Scotland (OR 9.71, p = 0.006). Decreased odds of a calf being a BNP case were associated with the calf having been kept outside (OR 0.11, p = 0.006). The longer that a cattle herd had been established on the farm was also associated with decreased odds of a calf in that herd being a BNP case (OR 0.97, p = 0.011).

Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli as a perennial cause of abortion in a closed flock of Suffolk ewes

of E coli and Salmonella enterica serotype Derby was isolated from the stomach contents of a lamb that had died shortly after birth. No diagnosis was made in six lambs due to bacterial overgrowth of fetal stomach content cultures (Table 1). E coli isolated from the stomach contents of an aborted and an unborn lamb, submitted during January 2003 and December 2004, respectively, were identified at the Veterinary Laboratories Agency – Weybridge as serotype O15:K. The Verocell toxicity test (Konowalchuk and others 1977) demonstrated the expression of Shiga-like toxins. The identity of genes encoding virulence factors stx1 and stx2 was confirmed by multiplex PCR. The putative diagnosis of E coli as a perennial cause of abortion is supported by its isolation in pure culture from the stomach contents of 38 per cent of the fetuses or lambs submitted for laboratory diagnosis between December 2002 and January 2005, and by the consistent failure to identify any of the major recognised causes of ovine abortion, despite routine screening for Toxoplasma gondii, Chlamydophila abortus, Salmonella species, Campylobacter species and other bacteria. The roles of S Derby and C jejuni as causes of ovine abortion within the flock are unproven, and bacterial overgrowth of cultures precluded positive diagnoses in 46 per cent of the submissions. A study of non-O157 STEC isolated from healthy cattle faeces collected from Scottish farms, identified O15 serotypes in seven of 423 samples (Jenkins and others 2002). In another study, serotype O15 was identified in only one of 384 ovine STEC strains (Blanco and others 2003), although there have been fewer studies on STEC carriage in sheep than in cattle. The O15 serotype of the STEC identified from stomach contents of aborted fetuses or lambs in January 2003 and December 2004 was similar to, or possibly the same as, that identified during January 2001. This recurrence of an unusual serotype of STEC is unlikely to be coincidental and indicates the presence of a reservoir of a potential pathogen on the farm, most likely in the intestinal tract of healthy carrier sheep (Ramachandran and others 2001). This short communication shows that STEC, which are usually considered to be non-pathogenic in their ruminant reservoir hosts (Beutin and others 1993), but of greater importance as latent zoonoses (Beutin and others 1996), can, under certain circumstances cause serious production losses in sheep. Application of the basic principles of immediately isolating aborting ewes, disposing of the abortion products, strict hygiene precautions and biosecurity were ineffective. Furthermore, whole-flock antibiotic treatment proved inefShiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli as a perennial cause of abortion in a closed flock of Suffolk ewes

Fatal mycotic encephalitis caused by Aspergillus fumigatus in a northern bottlenose whale (Hyperoodon ampullatus)

THE northern bottlenose whale ( Hyperoodon ampullatus ) is a deep-diving species found in the North Atlantic Ocean and some of its adjacent seas, occurring in mainly cold temperate to subarctic waters. It is purported to be the most extensively studied of the beaked whales owing to its long history

Encephalitis in a northern bottlenose whale.

SIR — We wish to report a case of fungal encephalitis due to Aspergillus fumigatus infection in a juvenile male northern bottlenose whale ( Hyperoodon ampullatus ) that stranded on the north-east coast of Scotland at North Kessock, Highland, in October 2006. The whale was sighted circling and in