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Biomedical subjects

M E Fowler

Publications and source records attributed to M E Fowler.

At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources
PubMed1988

Genetic variation in the blood of llamas, Llama glama, and alpacas, Llama pacos.

Blood samples of llamas and alpacas were typed using haemolytic, electrophoretic and isoelectric focusing procedures to assay polymorphism at 13 loci. Blood group variation was assessed using six antibody specificities produced by allo- and heteroimmunizations. Two red cell factors (A and B) behave as autosomal, codominant alleles at a closed A locus. The other four factors (C, D, E and F) behave as autosomal, dominant traits. Biochemical variation was found for red cell enzymes catalase, phosphogluconate dehydrogenase, glucose phosphate isomerase and for plasma proteins transferrin and post-albumin. No variants were found for haemoglobin, phosphoglucomutase and albumin. Estimates of probability of exclusion were 0.883 for llamas and 0.681 for alpacas, which are adequate initial levels of efficacy for purposes of parentage verification. Preliminary estimate of Nei's genetic distance measure (D) suggests that llamas and alpacas are more likely related as subspecies than as separate species.

Alleles↗
PubMed1988

Serological survey for rabies antibodies in raptors from California.

Fifty-three newly captive birds of prey were tested serologically for neutralizing antibodies against rabies virus, using a fluorescent focus inhibition test. No significant antibody titers were detected with this sensitive and specific technique in any of these birds. This study supports the contention that free-ranging birds of prey are of limited importance in the epidemiology of rabies.

Animals↗
PubMed1988

Leprosy in six isolated residents of northern Louisiana. Time-clustered cases in an essentially nonendemic area.

Northern Louisiana has been essentially free of indigenous leprosy, and now it is not. Six new cases of leprosy have been diagnosed: three in 1986, the other three in 1985, 1983, and 1982, respectively. The patients had been lifelong residents of six scattered rural parishes. Leprosy had never been reported from five of them. No patient had had contact with human leprosy. The patients were white; four were women; the mean +/- SD age at onset was 60.3 +/- 16.4 years (age range, 31 to 80 years); and the mean +/- SD interval to diagnosis was 1.2 +/- 1.4 years. One patient had Hodgkin's disease at the age of 25 years and leprosy at the age of 31 years; another patient had cervical carcinoma. All rural northern Louisiana residents coexist with armadillos (Dasypus novemcinctus), some of which are infected with Mycobacterium leprae, the significance of which is unknown. Hypothetically, exposure to an unknown human case, reactivation of "asymptomatic" leprosy through immunosenescence or immunosuppression, or infection from an environmental source might have occurred. Because the patients lacked contact, travel, residence, and exposure risk factors, the origin of leprosy in the new indigenous cases is noteworthy and is not understood.

Adult↗
PubMed1988

Evaluation of a combination of xylazine, ketamine, and halothane for anesthesia in llamas.

Anesthesia induced by use of a combination of xylazine, ketamine, and halothane, under conditions of spontaneous and mechanically controlled ventilation, was evaluated in 5 llamas positioned in dorsal recumbency. Using chronically implanted catheters, systemic arterial blood pressure, pulmonary arterial pressure, right atrial pressure, heart rate and rhythm, cardiac output, blood pH and gas tensions, body temperature, and respiratory rate were measured before anesthesia induction (baseline), throughout the anesthetic period, and for 1 hour into the recovery period. During anesthesia, llamas undergoing spontaneous ventilation developed hypercapnia and respiratory acidosis. Cardiovascular function was decreased during both types of ventilation. The combination of xylazine, ketamine, and halothane in various doses and 2 ventilation procedures (spontaneous and controlled) provided a reliable method for general anesthesia in llamas, but marked cardiovascular depression developed during anesthesia maintenance with halothane. Spontaneous ventilation resulted in potentially clinically important respiratory acidosis.

Anesthesia, General↗
PubMed1982

Evaluation of comparative cervical tuberculin skin testing in cervids naturally exposed to mycobacteria.

A comparative cervical tuberculin skin test was evaluated in cervids with naturally acquired mycobacterial infections. The test exhibited a high degree of sensitivity (84%) and specificity (80%) in detecting infected animals but a low level of accuracy (57%) in differentiating Mycobacterium bovis infections from infections caused by M avium and other Runyon groups III and IV mycobacteria. This phenomenon was attributed to a low recovery rate of more than 1 species of mycobacteria from individuals with mixed infections.

Animals↗
PubMed1980

A Pasteurella sp associated with respiratory disease in captive desert tortoises.

Bacteria isolated from captive healthy desert tortoises were compared with bacteria from captive tortoises with respiratory illness and with bacteria from free-ranging tortoises from the Mojave Desert. Major differences were not observed among these groups when bacteria from the mouth, nares, trachea, lungs, and cloaca were compared. Frequently encountered organisms in all 3 groups included: coagulase-negative, catalase-positive, gram-positive cocci; Corynebacterium sp; members of Enterobacteriaceae, including Proteus spp; and a bacterium apparently belonging to the genus Pasteurella. The Pasteurella sp was consistently found to be associated with respiratory lesions in captive tortoises with signs of respiratory disease but was also found to be part of the gastrointestinal and nasal flora of healthy tortoises. It was hypothesized that respiratory disease in captive desert tortoises involves a commensal bacterium with the potential to be an opportunistic pathogen when the tortoise is stressed by a captive environment.

Animals↗