Experimentally induced bovine spongiform encephalopathy did not transmit via goat embryos.
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Goats are susceptible to experimental challenge with bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE). This study set out to investigate whether the transmission of BSE could occur in goats following the transfer of embryos from experimentally infected donor females into uninfected recipient females. The results showed no evidence of transmissible spongiform encephalopathy disease in any of the offspring which developed from embryos from infected donors, nor indeed in any of the recipient females used as surrogate dams. In addition, there was no indication of experimental BSE spreading as either a venereal infection to males used in mating or by maternal transmission to offspring born naturally to experimentally infected donors, although numbers were small. (+info)
Serotyping of Cryptococcus neoformans isolates from clinical and environmental sources in Spain.
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We determined biovars and serotypes of 154 isolates of Cryptococcus neoformans from clinical and environmental sources from different areas of Spain. All clinical isolates belonged to C. neoformans var. neoformans. Serotypes showed an irregular distribution. C. neoformans var. gattii serotype B was isolated from necropsy specimens from goats with pulmonary disease. (+info)
Analysis of ruminant respiratory syncytial virus isolates by RNAse protection of the G glycoprotein transcripts.
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Two different respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) radiolabeled probes were used to characterize the genetic heterogeneity of 25 ruminant RSV isolates by the ribonuclease protection assay. A 32P-radiolabeled antisense RNA probe was transcribed from cloned ovine and bovine RSV G glycoprotein genes and then hybridized with total RNA isolated from infected cells with various ruminant RSV isolates. The results of this study, along with previously published nucleotide sequence data of the ovine RSV G glycoprotein gene, suggest the presence of at least 2 ruminant RSV subgroups. One subgroup is represented by RSV isolated from respiratory disease outbreaks from calves and goats, and the other is represented by RSV isolated from sheep. (+info)
A lysosomal storage disease induced by Ipomoea carnea in goats in Mozambique.
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A novel plant-induced lysosomal storage disease was observed in goats from a village in Mozambique. Affected animals were ataxic, with head tremors and nystagmus. Because of a lack of suitable feed, the animals consumed an exotic hedge plant growing in the village that was identified as Ipomoea carnea (shrubby morning glory, Convolvulaceae). The toxicosis was reproduced by feeding I. carnea plant material to goats. In acute cases, histologic changes in the brain and spinal cord comprised widespread cytoplasmic vacuolation of neurons and glial cells in association with axonal spheroid formation. Ultrastructurally, cytoplasmic storage vacuoles in neurons were membrane bound and consistent with lysosomes. Cytoplasmic vacuolation was also found in neurons in the submucosal and mesenteric plexuses in the small intestine, in renal tubular epithelial cells, and in macrophage-phagocytic cells in the spleen and lymph nodes in acute cases. Residual alterations in the brain in chronic cases revealed predominantly cerebellar lesions characterized by loss of Purkinje neurons and gliosis of the Purkinje cell layer. Analysis of I. carnea plant material by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry established the presence of the mannosidase inhibitor swainsonine and 2 glycosidase inhibitors, calystegine B2 and calystegine C1, consistent with a plant-induced alpha-mannosidosis in the goats. The described storage disorder is analogous to the lysosomal storage diseases induced by ingestion of locoweeds (Astragalus and Oxytropis) and poison peas (Swainsona). (+info)
Tick-borne rickettiosis in Guadeloupe, the French West Indies: isolation of Rickettsia africae from Amblyomma variegatum ticks and serosurvey in humans, cattle, and goats.
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Twenty-seven rickettsiae were isolated and/or detected from 100 Amblyomma variegatum ticks collected on Guadeloupe in the French West Indies. In this study, the polymerase chain reaction procedure appeared to be more sensitive in detecting rickettsiae in ticks than the shell-vial technique. Sequencing a portion of the outer membrane protein A-encoding gene showed that these rickettsiae appeared to be identical to Rickettsia africae, a member of the spotted fever group rickettsiae recently described as an agent of African tick-bite fever occurring in sub-Sahelian Africa. A high seroprevalence of antibodies to R. africae was demonstrated among mammals, particularly humans, cattle, and goats. These results and a recently reported case of an infection due to R. africae on Guadeloupe demonstrate that R. africae is present on this island. Although this disease has been underdiagnosed there, it may be frequent and may exist on other Caribbean islands where A. variegatum has propagated dramatically over recent years. (+info)
Inducible nitric oxide synthase is expressed in joints of goats in the late stage of infection with caprine arthritis encephalitis virus.
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We have studied the expression of the inducible form of nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) in joints of goats infected with the caprine arthritis encephalitis virus (CAEV). Nitric oxide generated by iNOS is thought to play an important role in the pathogenesis of various types of arthritis, especially rheumatoid arthritis (RA) in humans. Surprisingly, iNOS immunoreactivity was found only in joints of long-term infected goats with severe clinical arthritis, whereas-despite the presence of high numbers of inflammatory cells in the synovial tissue-no iNOS immunoreactivity was detected in mildly arthritic and in short-term experimentally infected goats. Most iNOS-positive cells expressed neither MHC class II nor CD68, which suggests that they were fibroblast-like synoviocytes. In situ hybridization studies showed that there was no correlation between iNOS immunoreactivity and detectable virus expression in the joint. In addition, infection of macrophages in vitro-the major host cells of CAEV in vivo-did not lead to increased iNOS mRNA expression. In response to stimulation, similar levels of iNOS expression were observed in infected and in uninfected macrophages. These findings suggest that the expression of iNOS is a feature of late-stage chronic arthritis and is not involved in the development of the inflammatory lesions. Both the lack of co-localization of iNOS protein and viral transcripts in the joint and the finding that CAEV does not stimulate the expression of iNOS in vitro further suggest that iNOS is not directly induced by the virus or the anti-viral immune response in the joint, that it may well, however, be involved in tissue remodelling or scar formation. (+info)
Disseminated Rhodococcus equi infection in two goats.
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Rhodococcus equi infection was diagnosed in two goats from the same herd. At necropsy, numerous caseating granulomas were disseminated throughout the liver, lungs, abdominal lymph nodes, medulla of right humerus, and the right fifth rib of goat No. 1, and the liver of goat No. 2. Histopathologic examination confirmed the presence of multiple caseating granulomas in these organs. Numerous gram-positive and Giemsa-positive coccobacilli were identified within the cytoplasm of macrophages. Aerobic bacterial cultures of the liver and lung from both goats yielded a pure growth of R. equi. R. equi antigens were immunohistochemically identified in caseating granulomas from both goats. However, the 15- to 17-kd virulence antigens of R. equi were not detected, suggesting possible infection by an avirulent strain of this organism. (+info)
Mycobacterium tuberculosis subsp. caprae subsp. nov.: a taxonomic study of a new member of the Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex isolated from goats in Spain.
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Isolates from the Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex cultured from caprine pathological tissue samples were biochemically and genetically characterized. The isolates were negative for nitrate reduction and niacin accumulation, they weakly hydrolysed Tween 80, were sensitive to pyrazinamide (50 micrograms ml-1) and were resistant to 1 and 2 micrograms tiophene-2-carboxylic acid hydrazide ml-1 but not to 5 or 10 micrograms tiophene-2-carboxylic acid hydrazide ml-1. Sequencing of the pncA gene revealed a polymorphism characteristic of M. tuberculosis, whereas oxyR, katG and gyrA sequences were characteristic of Mycobacterium bovis. The fingerprinting patterns obtained with IS6110, direct repeats and polymorphic G+C-rich sequence-associated RFLP and direct variable repeat-spacer oligonucelotide typing (spoligotyping) segregated these isolates from the other members of the complex. The results of this testing, together with the repeated association of this micro-organism with goats, suggest that a new member of this taxonomic complex not matching any of the classical species had been identified. This unusual mycobacterium may play a role in the epidemiology of animal and human tuberculosis in Spain. The name Mycobacterium tuberculosis subsp. caprae subsp. nov. is proposed for these isolates. The type strain of Mycobacterium tuberculosis subsp. caprae subsp. nov. is gM-1T (= CIP 105776T). (+info)