International journal of zoonoses最新文献

A survey of the dog and cat population at New Bussa revealed a significant high frequency of potential helminths of public health importance. This include hookworm Ancylostoma spp.; Echinococcus granulosa, Dipylidium caninum in dog; and Opisthorchis felineus, Toxocara cati and Capillaria hepatica in cat. The rural conditions of the area is an important factor in understanding the role cat and dog may play in spread of uncommon human parasites.

An examination of 338 dogs for fleas in Anambra State revealed that 28.7% of the dogs were infested. While 2.1% of the dogs harboured the poultry flea Echidnophaga gallinacea, 26.3% harboured the dog flea Ctenocephalides canis. It was considered that Ctenocephalides canis could be of great public health significance in this area in view of the high population of the flea. Elimination of the flea was therefore recommended. The populations of fleas on dogs in other areas and the distribution of Ctenocephalides species of veterinary importance in Nigeria are briefly discussed.

Toxoplasma antibody prevalence was studied in four specialized groups of human population at Hissar, Haryana to study the influence, if any, of the degree of animal contact. While seropositivity among 64 persons of general population was 28.1 per cent, that in livestock and pet owners was found to be higher (35.0 per cent). Among other groups the overall positivity was similar to that in the general population, but there was greater concentration of higher serotitres among the laboratory animal handlers and postmortem attendants. It appears that the intimacy of animal contact is more important than the duration.

In a serological survey of latent Toxoplasma prevalence on 3761 animals in northern India by the microtitre indirect haemagglutination test, 23.7 per cent were found to have antibody titres ranging from 1:4 to 1:1024. Seropositivity was recorded in 25.3 per cent of 1227 sheep, 30.3 per cent of 961 goats, 11.8 per cent of 603 horses, 19.3 per cent of 243 cattle, 15.7 per cent of 108 water buffaloes, 31.5 per cent of 178 pigs, 30.9 per cent of 175 dogs, 33.7 per cent of 80 cats and in 9.7 per cent of 186 bandicoot rats. Relevant epidemiological data has been furnished. High seropositivity in food animals and frequent isolations of Toxoplasma highlight the likely public health implications of the findings.

In order to determine the presence of rabies virus in different segments of Central nervous system (CNS) of rabid animals, 31 naturally infected dogs and 6 experimentally injected ones by masseter inoculation were studied by means of Fluorescent Antibody (FA) technique and mouse intracerebral inoculation (MI) test. In the naturally infected group, the positivity by FA technique was 100.0% for the segments of Ammon's horn, cerebellum, bulb and for cervical, lumbar and sacral cord and 96.7%; for thoracic cord. Mouse inoculation test of corresponding materials was 100.0% positive for Ammon's horn, cerebellum, bulb and lumbar cord; 96.7% for cervical cord; and 93.5% for sacral cord. All examined segments of experimentally infected animals were 100.0% positive for both FA and MI tests. No clear-cut relationship could be found between the site of virus inoculation and the presence of the virus in the spinal cord. The results presented in this paper corroborate previous suggestions for the use of the spinal cord as one of the alternative laboratory diagnostic specimens for the canine rabies diagnosis.

Cell-mediated immune responses in cattle infected with Brucella abortus Strain 544, cattle infected with Yersinia enterocolitica serotype 09 and non exposed cattle were studied by an in vitro whole-blood lymphocyte stimulation procedure. A soluble Brucella polypeptide containing some lipopolysaccharide prepared from Brucella abortus strain 99 was used as antigen while Concanavalin A was used as mitogen. Results were assayed for (6-3H) thymidine incorporation into deoxyribonucleic acid. All the cattle from which Brucella abortus was recovered developed very high lymphocyte transformation responses while cattle infected with Yersinia enterocolitica 09 and non exposed cattle did not develop high lymphocyte stimulation reactions. The animals infected with Yersinia enterocolitica 09 were strongly positive to the Rose Bengal, serum agglutination, Complement fixation and Coombs' antibovine globulin tests. One lactating cow infected with Yersinia enterocolitica 09 was positive to the Brucella milk ring test. It was concluded that the lymphocyte stimulation assay could be used to differentiate bovine brucellosis from yersiniosis.

The serum agglutinin titres of six heifers experimentally inoculated with live Br. abortus strain 45/20 were similar to those produced in six bullocks inoculated with virulent Br. abortus strain 544. However, the agglutinin response appeared slowly and disappeared earlier in the heifers than in the bullocks. It is concluded that Br. abortus strain 45/20 is an unstable strain, could revert to the smooth form and become highly agglutinogenic in non-pregnant heifers. The significance of using an unstable rough strain of Br. abortus vaccine in the diagnosis of bovine brucellosis is briefly discussed.

In order to assess the clinical, laboratorial and epidemiological aspects of feline leptospirosis, ten female and male adult cats were experimentally inoculated with pathogenic and autochthonous field isolate of Leptospira interrogans. Five of them were inoculated subcutaneously with serovar icterohaemorrhagiae (R-192) and the others five with serovar canicola. No clinical and laboratorial alterations were found in these animals. Antileptospiral agglutinins were detected in 90% of the infected cats, shortly after the 1st week after inoculation. The leptospiral agglutinins were detected for 8 to 12 weeks and the elimination of leptospires through urine was observed only in animals infected with serovar canicola, beginning 2 to 4 weeks after inoculation and lasting for 2 to 8 weeks. Isolations of leptospires from blood and kidneys were unsuccessful.

In the course of a study to determine the nature and type of secondary bacterial infection in dracunculiasis. The most common organisms cultured from lesions were Escherichia coli, Enterobacter and Staphylococcus aureus. E. coli and Enterobacter which were found to carry high morbidity were sensitive to Gentamycin, Claforan and Septrin.