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Abstract
OBJECTIVE To identify clinical or clinicopathologic variables that can be used to predict a positive PCR assay result for Anaplasma phagocytophilum infection in equids.
ANIMALS 162 equids.
PROCEDURES Medical records were reviewed to identify equids that underwent testing for evidence of A phagocytophilum infection by PCR assay between June 1, 2007, and December 31, 2015. For each equid that tested positive (case equid), 2 time-matched equids that tested negative for the organism (control equids) were identified. Data collected included age, sex, breed, geographic location (residence at the time of testing), physical examination findings, and CBC and plasma biochemical analysis results. Potential predictor variables were analyzed by stepwise logistic regression followed by classification and regression tree analysis. Generalized additive models were used to evaluate identified predictors of a positive test result for A phagocytophilum.
RESULTS Total lymphocyte count, plasma total bilirubin concentration, plasma sodium concentration, and geographic latitude were linear predictors of a positive PCR assay result for A phagocytophilum. Plasma creatine kinase activity was a nonlinear predictor of a positive result.
CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE Assessment of predictors identified in this study may help veterinarians identify equids that could benefit from early treatment for anaplasmosis while definitive test results are pending. This information may also help to prevent unnecessary administration of oxytetracycline to equids that are unlikely to test positive for the disease.
Abstract
OBJECTIVE To evaluate changes in behavior and surfactant protein (SP) A and D concentrations in serum and bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) samples of calves experimentally infected with Mannheimia haemolytica.
ANIMALS Twelve 4- to 5-month-old Holstein steers.
PROCEDURES Calves were divided into 2 treatment groups and instrumented with a data logger to collect behavioral data. After 10 days of acclimation, calves were experimentally inoculated with 3 × 109 CFUs to 5 × 109 CFUs of M haemolytica suspended in approximately 5 mL of PBS solution (infected calves; n = 6) or 5 mL of PBS solution without M haemolytica (control calves; 6) through a catheter into the right accessory lung lobe. Calves were clinically evaluated twice daily for 7 days after inoculation. Blood and BALF samples were collected from all calves at predetermined times for determination of serum and BALF SP-A and SP-D concentrations. Serum and BALF concentrations of SP-A and SP-D and behavioral data were evaluated over time and between treatment groups.
RESULTS Compared with control calves, infected calves spent more time lying in general and more time lying on the right side during the 24 hours and 6 days after inoculation, respectively. Mean rectal temperature for infected calves (41.3°C) was significantly greater than that for control calves (39.2°C) 12 hours after inoculation. Mean respiratory rate for infected calves (52.5 breaths/min) was significantly greater than that for control calves (45.4 breaths/min) throughout the observation period.
CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE Results indicated continuous behavioral monitoring may improve detection of calves with respiratory tract disease.
Abstract
OBJECTIVE To evaluate the effect of serum antibody abundance against bovine coronavirus (BCV) on BCV shedding and risk of bovine respiratory disease (BRD) in beef calves from birth through the first 5 weeks in a feedlot.
ANIMALS 890 natural-service crossbred beef calves from 4 research herds.
PROCEDURES Serial blood samples for measurement of serum anti-BCV antibody abundance by an ELISA and nasal swab specimens for detection of BCV and other viral and bacterial BRD pathogens by real-time PCR methods were collected from all calves or subsets of calves at predetermined times from birth through the first 5 weeks after feedlot entry. Test results were compared among herds, over time, and between calves that did and did not develop BRD. The associations of various herd and calf factors with test results were also evaluated.
RESULTS At the calf level, serum anti-BCV antibody abundance was not associated with BCV shedding, but BCV shedding was positively associated with BRD incidence before and after weaning. The mean serum anti-BCV antibody abundance at weaning for a group of calves was inversely related with the subsequent incidence of BRD in that group; however, the serum anti-BCV antibody abundance at weaning for individual calves was not predictive of which calves would develop BRD after feedlot entry.
CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE Results indicated that serum anti-BCV antibody abundance as determined with ELISA were not associated with BCV shedding or risk of BRD in individual beef calves from birth through the first 5 weeks after feedlot entry.
Abstract
OBJECTIVE To develop a noninvasive biomarker-based detection system specific for Mycobacterium bovis for monitoring infection in wild animals.
SAMPLE Serum samples from 8 experimentally infected yearling white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) and 3 age-matched control deer and from 393 Minnesota Department of Natural Resources hunter-harvested white-tailed deer in northwest Minnesota.
PROCEDURES 8 yearling deer were inoculated with 2 × 108 CFUs of virulent M bovis strain 1315 (day 0), and sera were obtained on days 0, 19, 48, and 60; sera were obtained from 3 uninoculated control deer on those same days. Sera from these deer and 9 M bovis-positive hunter-harvested deer were tested for 3 Mycobacterium-specific biomarkers (MB1895c, MB2515c, and polyketide synthase 5) by use of an indirect ELISA. That same ELISA was used to test sera obtained from 384 exposed noninfected deer in northwest Minnesota from 2007 through 2010, concurrent with an outbreak of tuberculosis involving cattle and deer in that region.
RESULTS ELISA results revealed that tuberculosis infection could be detected as early as 48 days after inoculation in experimentally infected deer. Results for 384 deer sera revealed that prevalence of tuberculosis decreased over the 4-year period.
CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE Results suggested that the prevalence of tuberculosis in Minnesota deer decreased after 2009 but tuberculosis may have persisted (as subclinical disease) at extremely low levels, as indicated by the presence of low concentrations of circulating biomarkers. Biomarker-based diagnostic tests may offer a specific approach for early identification of M bovis infection.
Abstract
OBJECTIVE To determine the survivability of Mycobacterium bovis on salt and salt-mineral blocks in typical weather conditions in Michigan over two 12-day periods at the height of summer and winter.
SAMPLE 4 salt (NaCl) and 4 salt-mineral blocks inoculated with pure cultures of a strain of M bovis currently circulating in Michigan livestock and wildlife.
PROCEDURES In the summer and again in the winter, inoculated blocks were placed in secured outdoor facilities where equal numbers of each block type (2/type/season) were exposed to shade or sunlight. Samples were collected from randomly selected areas on the surface of each block beginning within 1 hour after placement (day 0) twice a day for the first 4 days and once a day from days 7 through 11. Bacterial culture of samples was performed to detect viable M bovis.
RESULTS Depending on the exposure conditions, salt blocks yielded viable M bovis for up to 2 days after inoculation and salt-mineral blocks yielded viable M bovis for > 3 days. Survival time was greatest on salt-mineral blocks kept outdoors in the shade during the winter. The odds of recovering viable M bovis from salt-mineral block samples were 4.9 times as great during the winter (vs the summer) and 3.0 times as great with exposure to shade (vs sunlight).
CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE Results from this study indicated that salt and salt-mineral blocks should be considered potential sources of bovine tuberculosis when designing risk mitigation programs for cattle herds in areas with wildlife reservoirs of M bovis.
Abstract
OBJECTIVE To evaluate the effects of treatment of horses with standard platelet inhibitors on ex vivo inhibition of platelet activation by equine herpesvirus type I (EHV-I).
ANIMALS II healthy adult horses.
PROCEDURES In a double-blinded, placebo-controlled crossover study, horses were treated orally for 5 days with theophylline (5 mg/kg, q 12 h), pentoxifylline (10 mg/kg, q 12 h), clopidogrel bisulfate (4 mg/kg, q 24 h), acetylsalicylic acid (20 mg/kg, q 24 h), or placebo. Horses received all treatments, each separated by a 3-week washout period. Platelet-rich plasma was prepared from citrated blood samples obtained before each treatment session and 4 hours after each final drug dose. Platelets were exposed to 2 EHV-I strains (at I plaque forming units/cell) or positive (thrombin-convulxin) and negative control substances for 10 minutes, then platelet activation was assessed by determining the percentages of P-selectin–positive platelets and platelet-derived microparticles (PDMPs; small events positive for annexin V) with flow cytometry. Platelet aggregation in response to 10μM ADP was also assessed.
RESULTS No significant differences in median percentages of P-selectin–positive platelets and PDMPs in EHV-I-exposed platelets were identified between measurement points (before and after treatment) for all drugs, nor were differences identified among drugs at each measurement point. Only clopidogrel significantly inhibited platelet aggregation in response to ADP in platelet-rich plasma samples obtained after that treatment session.
CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE Treatment of horses with standard platelet inhibitors had no effect on EHV-I-induced platelet α-granule exteriorization or microvesiculation and release of PDMPs ex vivo, suggesting these drugs will not prevent platelet activation induced directly by EHV-I in vivo.
Abstract
OBJECTIVE To determine the minimum infectious dose of porcine epidemic diarrhea virus (PEDV) in virus-inoculated feed.
ANIMALS 30 crossbred 10-day-old pigs.
PROCEDURES Tissue culture PEDV was diluted to form 8 serial 10-fold dilutions. An aliquot of stock virus (5.6 × 105 TCID50/mL) and each serial PEDV dilution were mixed into 4.5-kg batches of feed to create 9 PEDV-inoculated feed doses; 1 virus-negative dose of culture medium in feed was also created. Pigs were challenge exposed via oral administration of PEDV-inoculated feed, and fecal swab specimens were collected. All pigs were euthanized 7 days after challenge exposure; fresh tissues were collected and used for PCR assay, histologic examination, and immunohistochemical analysis.
RESULTS The PCR cycle threshold (Ct) decreased by approximately 10 when PEDV was added to feed, compared with results for equivalent PEDV diluted in tissue culture medium. Pigs became infected with PEDV when challenge exposed with the 4 highest concentrations (lowest concentration to cause infection, 5.6 × 101 TCID50/g; Ct = 27 in tissue culture medium and 37 in feed).
CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE In this study, PEDV in feed with detectable Ct values of 27 to 37 was infective. The Ct was 37 for the lowest infective PEDV dose in feed, which may be above the limit of detection established for PEDV PCR assays used by some diagnostic laboratories. Overall, results indicated 5.6 × 101 TCID50/g was the minimum PEDV dose in feed that can lead to infection in 10-day-old pigs under the conditions of this study.
Abstract
OBJECTIVE To develop and validate a real-time quantitative PCR (qPCR) assay for the detection and quantification of Mycoplasma ovis in goats and investigate the prevalence and risk factors for hemoplasma infection of goats located in Indiana.
ANIMALS 362 adult female goats on 61 farms.
PROCEDURES Primers were designed for amplification of a fragment of the dnaK gene of M ovis by use of a qPCR assay. Blood samples were collected into EDTA-containing tubes for use in total DNA extraction, blood film evaluation, and determination of PCV. Limit of detection, intra-assay variability, interassay variability, and specificity of the assay were determined.
RESULTS Reaction efficiency of the qPCR assay was 94.45% (R2, 0.99; slope, −3.4623), and the assay consistently detected as few as 10 copies of plasmid/reaction. Prevalence of infection in goats on the basis of results for the qPCR assay was 18.0% (95% confidence interval, 14% to 22%), with infected goats ranging from 1 to 14 years old, whereby 61% (95% confidence interval, 47% to 73%) of the farms had at least 1 infected goat. Bacterial load in goats infected with M ovis ranged from 1.05 × 103 target copies/mL of blood to 1.85 × 105 target copies/mL of blood; however, no bacteria were observed on blood films. Production use of a goat was the only risk factor significantly associated with hemoplasma infection.
CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE The qPCR assay was more sensitive for detecting hemoplasma infection than was evaluation of a blood film, and production use of a goat was a risk factor for infection.
Abstract
OBJECTIVE To investigate the effects of specific cysteine protease (CP) inhibitors on cytopathic changes to porcine intestinal epithelial cells induced by Tritrichomonas foetus isolated from naturally infected cats.
SAMPLE T foetus isolates from 4 naturally infected cats and nontransformed porcine intestinal epithelial cells.
PROCEDURES T foetus isolates were treated with or without 0.1 to 1.0mM of the CP inhibitors antipain, cystatin, leupeptin, and chymostatin and the vinyl sulfone inhibitors WRR-483 and K11777. In-gel gelatin zymography was performed to evaluate the effects of these inhibitors on CP activity of T foetus isolates. Each treated or untreated isolate was also cocultured with monolayers of porcine intestinal epithelial cells for 24 hours, and cytopathic effects of T foetus were evaluated by light microscopy and crystal violet spectrophotometry.
RESULTS Results of in-gel gelatin zymography suggested an ability of WRR-483, K11777, and cystatin to target specific zones of CP activity of the T foetus isolates. These inhibitors had no effect on T foetus growth, and the cytopathic changes to the intestinal epithelium induced by all 4 T foetus isolates were significantly inhibited.
CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE This study revealed that certain protease inhibitors were capable of inhibiting regions of CP activity (which has been suggested to cause intestinal cell damage in cats) in T foetus organisms and of ameliorating T foetus–induced cytopathic changes to porcine intestinal epithelium in vitro. Although additional research is needed, these inhibitors might be useful in the treatment of cats with trichomonosis.
Abstract
OBJECTIVE To describe the antimicrobial resistance patterns of Salmonella isolates obtained from horses in the northeastern United States and to identify trends in resistance to select antimicrobials over time.
SAMPLE 462 Salmonella isolates from horses.
PROCEDURES Retrospective data were collected for all Salmonella isolates obtained from equine specimens that were submitted to the Cornell University Animal Health Diagnostic Center between January 1, 2001, and December 31, 2013. Temporal trends in the prevalence of resistant Salmonella isolates were investigated for each of 13 antimicrobials by use of the Cochran-Armitage trend test.
RESULTS The prevalence of resistant isolates varied among antimicrobials and ranged from 0% (imipenem) to 51.5% (chloramphenicol). During the observation period, the prevalence of resistant isolates decreased significantly for amoxicillin—clavulanic acid, ampicillin, cefazolin, cefoxitin, ceftiofur, chloramphenicol, and tetracycline and remained negligible for amikacin and enrofloxacin. Of the 337 isolates for which the susceptibility to all 13 antimicrobials was determined, 138 (40.9%) were pansusceptible and 192 (57.0%) were multidrug resistant (resistant to ≥ 3 antimicrobial classes). The most common serovar isolated was Salmonella Newport, and although the annual prevalence of that serovar decreased significantly over time, that decrease had only a minimal effect on the observed antimicrobial resistance trends.
CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE Results suggested that current antimicrobial use in horses is not promoting the emergence and dissemination of antimicrobial-resistant Salmonella strains in the region served by the laboratory.
