Oiled birds from Shetland, January 1993.
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Animals↗
Biomedical subjects
R Munro
Publications and source records attributed to R Munro.
Infective endocarditis due to nontoxigenic Corynebacterium diphtheriae: report of seven cases and review.
We report seven cases of endocarditis due to nontoxigenic Corynebacterium diphtheriae that occurred between October 1990 and September 1991. The patients all lived in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Three patients had preexisting cardiac abnormalities, and one patient used intravenous drugs regularly. The other three patients had no known risk factors for endocarditis. Notable clinical features were the aggressive nature of the infection, the occurrence of septic arthritis in four patients, and major vascular complications in four patients, one of whom died. One patient required urgent mitral valve replacement. All of the isolates were identified as non-toxigenic C. diphtheriae var gravis. Sporadic cases of endocarditis due to C. diphtheriae have rarely been reported; septic arthritis complicating endocarditis due to this organism has not previously been described. This report highlights the importance of identifying Corynebacterium isolates from normally sterile sites at the species level.
Adult↗
M-6 endocarditis: report of an Australian case.
Neisseria elongata subsp. nitroreducens (formerly CDC group M-6) is a newly-recognized cause of particularly destructive endocarditis, frequently requiring valve replacement. We describe an Australian case of endocarditis caused by this organism, summarizing the clinical and microbiological features of this rarely isolated subspecies.
Adult↗
Disease conditions affecting common seals (Phoca vitulina) around the Scottish mainland, September-November 1988.
Common seal populations around the Scottish coast were less severly devastated by phocine distemper than those on the Continent. Nevertheless, over a 4-month period, 59 common seals were examined postmortem. The macroscopic and histopathological lesions are described. Forty-two per cent of these seals were considered to be suffering from phocine distemper. Serology on 29 of the 59 seals was undertaken and the results are discussed in relation to the histopathological findings. Bordetella bronchiseptica proved to be an important secondary invader in phocine distemper virus infected seals. Verminous pneumonia was shown to be a frequent problem, particularly in juveniles.
Animals↗
The serological response of the common seal (Phoca vitulina) and the grey seal (Halichoerus grypus) to phocine distemper virus as measured by a canine distemper virus neutralisation test.
The application of a canine distemper virus (CDV) neutralisation test revealed that antibody titres of up to 11,620 were present in the sera of common seals during the epizootic of phocine distemper in British waters. However, during the later stages of the epizootic and afterwards, a surprisingly high proportion of animals were still seronegative. Titres of from 90 to 183 were common in diseased animals and were probably indicative of partial immunosuppression. A few animals with proven phocine distemper had titres of less than 64, this being evidence of a more profound immunosuppression. Recovered animals tended to have moderate to high titres and in some cases these persisted for at least 6.5 months. By contrast, the administration of an inactivated CDV vaccine produced antibody which declined rapidly to very low levels within the same period. Infection also occurred in grey seals in 1988 but without severe mortality. Antibody titres in this species nearly always lay in the range 128-734 and persisted at or around this level for at least 12 months. In both common and grey seals, antibody was transferred by suckling from mother to pup but absorption by the pup seemed to take place more slowly than in domestic mammals.
Animals↗
Failure of 500 mg ciprofloxacin therapy in male urethral gonorrhoea.
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Ciprofloxacin↗
The detection of Alcelaphine herpesvirus-1 DNA by in situ hybridization of tissues from rabbits affected with malignant catarrhal fever.
Tissue sections and cultured lymphocytes from rabbits clinically affected following experimental infection with Alcelaphine herpesvirus-1 (AHV-1) were assessed for the presence of viral DNA by in situ hybridization with the cloned major HindII repeat sequence of this virus. Small numbers of virus-infected cells were consistently detected only in submandibular lymph nodes, while other tissues showed no evidence of viral DNA. Virus titration in culture suggested that there were higher titres of virus in the lymph nodes, spleen and lung of infected animals than in the kidney or peripheral blood lymphocytes and confirmed the low level of virus in these animals. Substantially more viral DNA was detected by in situ hybridization in lymphocytes following at least 24 h of culture, suggesting that viral replication is normally repressed by the host.
Animals↗
Isolation of different brain-specific isotypes of alpha-tubulins from chum salmon (Oncorhynchus keta).
An alpha-tubulin cDNA clone, pTUB5 (1496 bp), encoding a protein of 444 amino acids (mol. wt. 48,840), has been isolated from the brain of Pacific salmon, Oncorhynchus keta. Partial sequence data were also obtained for two other alpha-tubulin isotypes, pTUB6 and pTUB9, which are similar in sequence to pTUB5 except in the carboxy region of the protein. This region of alpha-tubulin has previously been shown to be important for the binding of microtubule associated proteins suggesting that the isotypes described in this study may represent differentially controlled elements of the neural tubulin population. The isotypes show brain-specific expression and are the first tubulins to be reported for this tissue in fish.
Amino Acid Sequence↗
Intrahepatic biliary cysts in deer.
The gross and histological appearances of intrahepatic cysts in red and roe deer are described. It is suggested that the structures arise as anomalous developments of the biliary tree. Although not of clinical significance, these cysts may pose a problem at meat inspection.
Animals↗
The biological function of hementin in the proboscis of the leech Haementeria ghilianii.
The giant Amazon leech Haementeria ghilianii feeds by inserting an exceedingly long tubular proboscis (up to 10 cm) deep into its mammalian host. The wound from its bite is not associated with prolonged bleeding because all antihaemostatic factors, including the fibrinogenolytic enzyme hementin, appear to be secreted exclusively into the lumen of the proboscis. It is in this narrow lumen that blood first comes into contact with hementin, the secretion of which is under neuronal control from the brain. During feeding, about 15 ml of blood are sucked through the proboscis at the rate of approximately 0.14 ml/min. A complete passage of blood takes less than 1 min, much faster than the approximately 6 min needed for coagulation (fibrin formation). Therefore, it is unlikely that hementin functions in the proboscis simply to prevent fibrin formation. Of greater risk is platelet aggregation which can occur within 1-2 min. The formation of a platelet-rich clot within the proboscis could make the proboscis non-functional. Hementin's unique ability to dissolve platelet-rich clots offers a way of restoring blood flow through the proboscis. Hementin is able to disaggregate platelets by breaking the fibrinogen crosslink between platelets. Hementin's unique cleavage site in the connector region of platelet-bound fibrinogen is thought to be a most effective mechanism for eliminating the crosslinking.
Animals↗
Calin--a platelet adhesion inhibitor from the saliva of the medicinal leech.
The saliva of the medicinal leech, Hirudo medicinalis, contains a potent, hitherto unsuspected, inhibitor of collagen-mediated platelet adhesion/aggregation. Calin, of molecular size approximately 65,000 (reduced), has a rapid (1-10 min) effect on collagen which is reflected in its ability to suppress collagen-induced platelet aggregation, as well as adhesion of platelets to collagen-coated microcarrier beads. It also causes flocculation of Type I collagen fibril suspensions. Calin is differentiated from leech collagenase in two ways: (1) by demonstrating, by SDS-PAGE analysis of the products of incubations of Calin with Type I collagen at 37 degrees C, that Calin binds to but does not cleave collagen; and (2) by showing that Calin cannot be purified using the methods used to isolate leech collagenase. Calin's rapid and unusual interaction with collagen makes it a prime candidate for one of the agents that are the causative factors of the prolonged bleeding phenomenon seen after leech bites.
Animals↗
Yersinia enterocolitica bacteraemia after blood transfusion.
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Adult↗
Establishment of a vascular graft infection model in the sheep carotid artery.
A study was performed to assess whether a model of vascular graft infection could be established in sheep carotid artery. Either a protein sealed Dacron or a polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) graft was used in 22 sheep while a control operation was performed on 4 animals. Staphylococcus aureus in concentrations of 10(2), 10(4), 10(6) or 10(8) colony-forming units (CFU) was inoculated into the wound before closure. No infection occurred with an inoculum of 10(2). The lowest concentration of organism producing infection was 10(4) for PTFE, 10(6) for Dacron and 10(8) for controls. Six of eleven Dacron grafts and seven of ten PTFE grafts became infected. The sheep carotid artery has proven a satisfactory model for studies of vascular graft infection.
Animals↗
Flavimonas oryzihabitans infection of a surgical wound.
An unusual case of a post operative wound infection involving Flavimonas oryzihabitans is described. This organism is rarely isolated from human sources. It can cause infections in patients having continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis. Our patient developed a wound infection 2 months after femoro-popliteal bypass grafting. The source of the organism was unknown.
Humans↗
Sustained bleeding after a leech bite in the apparent absence of hirudin.
The bite of the medicinal leech bleeds for many hours. For decades it has been assumed that the remarkably prolonged bleeding time of a leech bite wound is due to hirudin, a specific anti-thrombin secreted by the leech during feeding. By measuring haematological parameters of blood oozing from a leech bite wound on 15 different occasions in 7 human volunteers, we demonstrate that the hirudin-sensitive coagulation parameters, including thrombin-induced platelet aggregation, are prolonged for only 15 min, after which they return to normal. This suggests that excess hirudin secreted by the leech is washed out during this period. However, bleeding from the leech bite wound persists for a mean of 10 h. Platelets in smears of exuding blood show no evidence of spontaneous aggregation, but in vitro platelet aggregation can be induced by exogenous collagen at any time. In view of sustained bleeding in the apparent absence of hirudin, attention is focussed onto an unsuspected factor or factors which may better explain the prolonged bleeding phenomenon.
Animals↗