Biomedical subjects

N A Forbes

Publications and source records attributed to N A Forbes.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2006

Ixodes frontalis and avian tick-related syndrome in the United Kingdom.

OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to characterise tick species responsible for avian tick infestations in the UK, to analyse various risk factors for tick-related syndrome in tick-infested birds and to test samples for the presence of certain tick-transmitted pathogens. METHODS: Ticks, blood, splenic tissue and tick attachment site tissue from birds with attached ticks were requested from veterinarians and wildlife sanctuaries around the UK. Ticks were identified according to standard keys, and samples were analysed via DNA PCR test for Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato, Babesia species, Bartonella species and Ehrlichia species. RESULTS: Ixodes frontalis was the most commonly identified tick, and an association of adult female I frontalis with tick-related syndrome in birds was demonstrated. Tick infestation was markedly seasonal. I frontalis was found on 32 species of birds. DNA PCR testing was uniformly negative. Of the birds known to have been treated, 75 per cent (nine of 12) survived. CLINICAL SIGNIFICANCE: Tick-related syndrome is a poorly understood syndrome, with sporadic distribution, both geographically and seasonally. This study confirms I frontalis as the most common cause of this syndrome in the UK and identifies some features of the tick life cycle in this country. The benefit of treatment in affected birds is highlighted. Risk factors for tick-related syndrome are examined and preventive strategies discussed.

Animals↗

PubMed2005

Field trial of a Caryospora species vaccine for controlling clinical coccidiosis in falcons.

A Caryospora species vaccine was prepared and used in an attempt to prevent infection and associated morbidity in falcons. A blind field trial was conducted, involving a vaccinated group of 20 birds and two control groups of seven and four birds, which were subsequently challenged with a live mixed-species vaccine. There was a statistically significant reduction in morbidity and shedding of oocysts in the vaccinated group compared with the control groups.

Animals↗

PubMed2004

Pulsed-wave Doppler-derived velocity of diastolic ventricular inflow and systolic aortic outflow in raptors.

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Animals↗

PubMed2003

Pulsed-wave Doppler echocardiography in birds of prey.

Pulsed-wave spectral Doppler echocardiography was applied to 111 diurnal and nocturnal raptors of both sexes weighing between 190 and 4200 g. In the first stage, 40 birds were examined without special preparation; in the second stage, 15 birds were examined first when they were not anaesthetised and then when they were anaesthetised; in the third stage, 41 birds were examined after they had been fasted for different periods of time; and finally 15 birds, in which echocardiography had not been possible by using standard (dorsal) restraint and positioning, were examined after being placed in lateral and ventral recumbency. Doppler-derived diastolic inflow into the ventricles was detectable in approximately 80 per cent of the birds weighing between 190 and 2300 g independently of their weight, heart rate and whether they had been anaesthetised or fasted, and aortic blood flow was detected in about 50 per cent of them. It was possible to apply the technique under standard conditions of dorsal recumbency to only one of the birds weighing more than 3000 g and to about 80 per cent of those weighing between 190 and 2300 g. In 11 of 15 birds in which the technique could not be applied under standard conditions, blood flow could be detected in the ventricles and/or the aorta after the birds had been repositioned. No systolic blood flow through the pulmonary artery was detectable in any of the birds.

Anesthesia↗

PubMed2000