R. J. Higgins

Outbreak of tuberculosis caused by Mycobacterium bovis in golden Guernsey goats in Great Britain.

An outbreak of caprine tuberculosis caused by Mycobacterium bovis was disclosed in June 2008, affecting goats of the golden Guernsey breed kept on 10 separate smallholdings in south-west Wales and the west of England. Following the initial diagnosis at postmortem examination, 30 goats that reacted positively to the single intradermal comparative cervical tuberculin (SICCT) test, together with five in-contact animals, were euthanased and subjected to postmortem examination and mycobacterial culture. Spoligotyping and variable number tandem repeat analysis of isolates showed that they were all of the same genotype, endemic to south-west Wales. Retrospective movement tracings identified a goat herd in south-west Wales, by then completely dispersed, as the probable common source of infection. There was a perfect correlation between the SICCT test and culture results in all slaughtered goats. Grossly visible tubercular lesions were observed at postmortem examination in all but one reactor.

Bovine viral diarrhoea virus infection of alpacas (Vicugna pacos) in the uk

Three alpacas (Vicugna pacos) aged two to 22 months with a history of illthrift and diarrhoea were examined postmortem, and tissues were collected for histology, including immunohistochemical labelling for pestivirus antigen, virus isolation and TaqMan reverse transcriptase-pcr assay. Blood samples from two clinical cases and the remaining herd members were tested for bovine viral diarrhoea virus (bvdv) antibody by serum neutralisation, antigen detection and pcr assay. The three affected alpacas were positive for bvdv by pcr of splenic tissue and/or heparinised blood. Non-cytopathic bvdv was isolated from several tissues and plasma of two of the alpacas. dna sequencing and phylogenetic analysis of the viral genome from the pcr product showed that the bvdv was of subgenotype 1b. Immunohistochemical examination of brain tissue was positive in two cases, consistent with a persistent infection. bvdv antibodies were detected in 16 of 25 clinically unaffected alpacas. There was no evidence of persistent infection in the in-contact animals. The source of the infection was not determined.

BVD virus in a British alpaca

SIR, - We wish to report the detection of bovine viral diarrhoea (BVD) virus infection in an alpaca in the UK. In previous studies of South American camelids evidence for seroconversion to BVD virus has been reported with variable rates up to 14 per cent ([Celedon and others 2001][1], [Wentz and

Use of serological techniques for diagnosis of Mycobacterium bovis infection in a llama herd

Mycobacterium bovis is increasingly being identified in domestic species other than cattle in Great Britain ([Defra 2008][1]). Amendments to the legislation first introduced in 2006 and later incorporated into the current Tuberculosis (TB) Order ([Anon 2007][2]) resulted in the obligation to notify

Assessment of antemortem tests used in the control of an outbreak of tuberculosis in llamas (Lama glama)

An outbreak of tuberculosis (TB) caused by Mycobacterium bovis in a llama herd is described. Over a 25-month period, a total of 70 llamas were selected for postmortem examination using four distinct criteria: clinical suspicion of disease (15 animals), positive tuberculin skin test result (three animals), antibody positive using a novel serological test (Rapid Test, 54 animals) and elective cull (five animals). Some animals qualified on more than one criterion. Gross lesions of TB were detected in 15 animals, with lung and lymph node lesions consistently observed. Samples were collected from 14 of 15 animals with visible lesions as well as those with no visible lesions, for histopathology and mycobacterial culture. All 14 llamas with visible lesions had caseonecrotic granulomatous lesions associated with acid-fast bacteria and variable mineralisation, and M bovis was isolated from 13. There were no histopathological lesions of TB in llamas with no grossly visible lesions, and M bovis was not isolated from any of these. The predictive value of suspicious gross lesions at postmortem examination was therefore high in the herd. Molecular typing results indicated that the outbreak was caused by a single strain likely to have originated from a local reservoir, probably cattle or wildlife. Antemortem indicators of infection assisted control of the outbreak, but no single test accurately identified all TB cases. Visible lesions were detected in nine of 15 llamas with clinical suspicion of disease, in two of three that had positive tuberculin skin test results and in 10 of 54 that were antibody positive; there was none (zero out of five) in llamas that were electively culled.

Suspected transmission of Mycobacterium bovis between alpacas

Tuberculosis (TB) caused by Mycobacteriu M bovis is a recognised disease of South American camelids kept in Britain ([Barlow and others 1999][1], [Twomey and others 2007][2]). Most cases are associated with spillover of infection from local animal reservoirs, possibly wildlife or cattle, as

Malignant catarrhal fever in sika deer (Cervus nippon) in the UK

MALIGNANT catarrhal fever (MCF) is a viral disease characterised by lymphoproliferation, vasculitis and erosive-ulcerative mucosal and cutaneous lesions ([Brown and others 2007][1], [Russell and others 2009][2]); it is commonly fatal. The antigenic 15-A epitope and base similarity in conserved