Bovine borreliosis in Botswana

Clinical Borrelia theileri infection was reported for the first time in cattle from Botswana concurrent with Babesia bovis and Theileria mutans infections. Two animals, an ox and a cow of the Tswana breed demonstrated clinical signs of fever, haemoglobinuria, inappetance, diarrhoea, pallor of mucous membranes, enlarged superficial lymph nodes and rough hair coats. Examination of the blood smears from the affected animals revealed numerous B. theileri, and very few B. bovis and T mutans organisms. Oxytetracycline was administered parenterally to all the animals in the herd. The ox, being extremely weak and recumbent for the previous 4-5 days, succumbed to death the day after the examination. The clearance of spirochaetes from the blood circulation and recovery of the cow three days after treatment with oxytetracycline suggest an involvement of B. theileri in producing clinical disease.The articles have been scanned in colour with a HP Scanjet 5590; 600dpi. Adobe Acrobat v.9 was used to OCR the text and also for the merging and conversion to the final presentation PDF-format.mn201

Protection against Tuberculosis in Eurasian Wild Boar Vaccinated with Heat-Inactivated Mycobacterium bovis

Tuberculosis (TB) caused by Mycobacterium bovis and closely related members of the Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex continues to affect humans and animals worldwide and its control requires vaccination of wildlife reservoir species such as Eurasian wild boar (Sus scrofa). Vaccination efforts for TB control in wildlife have been based primarily on oral live BCG formulations. However, this is the first report of the use of oral inactivated vaccines for controlling TB in wildlife. In this study, four groups of 5 wild boar each were vaccinated with inactivated M. bovis by the oral and intramuscular routes, vaccinated with oral BCG or left unvaccinated as controls. All groups were later challenged with a field strain of M. bovis. The results of the IFN-gamma response, serum antibody levels, M. bovis culture, TB lesion scores, and the expression of C3 and MUT genes were compared between these four groups. The results suggested that vaccination with heat-inactivated M. bovis or BCG protect wild boar from TB. These results also encouraged testing combinations of BCG and inactivated M. bovis to vaccinate wild boar against TB. Vaccine formulations using heat-inactivated M. bovis for TB control in wildlife would have the advantage of being environmentally safe and more stable under field conditions when compared to live BCG vaccines. The antibody response and MUT expression levels can help differentiating between vaccinated and infected wild boar and as correlates of protective response in vaccinated animals. These results suggest that vaccine studies in free-living wild boar are now possible to reveal the full potential of protecting against TB using oral M. bovis inactivated and BCG vaccines

The resurgence of trypanosomosis in Botswana : short communication

No sleeping sickness or nagana cases have been reported in Botswana since 1985. In view of several confirmed clinical cases of nagana and reports of heavy bovine mortality, a parasitological survey was conducted to determine the prevalence of trypanosome infection in cattle in Maun and Shakawe areas of Ngamiland district. Wet blood films, buffy coat and Giemsa-stained thick and thin blood smears were used to detect trypanosomes in animals. Overall,trypanosome infection rate was 15.98%, with 5.94% and 27.29% in Maun and Shakawe respectively. The urgent need to combat trypanosomosis in Ngamiland, particularly in the Shakawe area, is highlighted, and a 3-phase integrated tsetse control strategy for this disease problem is discussed

Traitement De La Peripneumonie Contagieuse Bovine Par L’oxyteTracycline Longe Action Et Transmission Experimentale de la Maladie A Partir de Bovins Traites.

La présente étude visait à évaluer l’effet de l’oxytétracycline longue action (oxytétracycline LA) dans le traitement des bovins atteints de péripneumonie contagieuse bovine (PPCB) et de déterminer le risque de transmission de la maladie à partir d’animaux traités. Une transmission expérimentale a été conduite par la mise en contact de 16 bovins cliniquement sains et séronégatifs vis-à-vis des anticorps contre M. mycoides subsp. mycoides Small Colony (MmmSC) avec 14 bovins naturellement infectés de la maladie et traités avec l’oxytétracycline LA. L’expérimentation a duré 10 mois pendant lesquels tous les animaux ont été suivis cliniquement et prélevés à intervalles réguliers pour analyses de laboratoire. Des examens post mortem ont été réalisés sur tous les animaux afin de déceler des lésions caractéristiques de PPCB et aussi de prélever des échantillons pour analyses de laboratoire. Le traitement des animaux infectés par l’oxytétracycline LA a cliniquement guéri la grande majorité d’entre eux (12/14). Tous les 14 animaux ont séroconverti et l’analyse post-mortem a montré la présence des lésions chroniques dont des séquestres pulmonaires chez 4 d’entre eux; MmmSC a été seulement isolé à partir de ces séquestres. Toutefois les 16 animaux sains mis en contact avec ces 14 animaux sont demeurés cliniquement sains durant toute la période d’expérimentation; à l’autopsie aucune lésion caractéristique de la PPCB n’a été notée et les analyses de laboratoire sont restées négatives. Les résultats de la présente étude peuvent avoir des implications importantes dans le contrôle de la PPCB en Afrique.Mots-clés: Péripneumonie contagieuse bovine - Antibiothérapie - Oxytétracycline -Transmission expérimentale - Séquestres pulmonaires - MaliThis study evaluated the effect of long-acting oxytetracycline (Oxytetracycline LA) in the treatment of cattle infested with contagious bovine pleuropneumonia (CBPP) and to determine the risk of disease transmission from animals treated. Experimental transmission was conducted by contacting 16 cattle clinically healthy and seronegative vis-à-vis the antibodies against M. mycoides subsp. mycoides Small Colony (MmmSC) 14 cattle naturally infected with the disease and treated with oxytetracycline LA. The experiment lasted 10 months during which all animals were monitored clinically and sampled at regular intervals for laboratory analysis. Post-mortem examinations were performed on all animals to detect lesions characteristic of CBPP and also take samples for laboratory analysis. The treatment of animals infected with oxytetracycline LA clinically cured a large majority of them (12/14). All 14 animals were seroconverted and post-mortem analysis showed the presence of chronic lesions including pulmonary sequestrations in 4 of them; MmmSC was only isolated from these receivers. However the 16 healthy animals in contact with these 14 animals remained clinically healthy throughout the experimental period, at autopsy no lesions characteristic of CBPP has been noted and laboratory tests were negative. The results of this study may have important implications in the control of CBPP in Africa.Keywords: Contagious bovine pleuropneumonia - Antibiotic - Oxytetracycline-Experimental transmission - Pulmonary lesions -Mal