A new species of Cooperia, for which the name Cooperia pigachei n. sp. is proposed, was recovered from a mountain reedbuck, Redunca fulvorufula, from the Sterkfontein Dam Nature Reserve, Free State Province, and is described and illustrated. It is close to Cooperia neitzi Mönnig, 1932 and the South African race of Cooperia rotundispiculum in having more than 14 longitudinal cuticular ridges and in that the lateral cervical synlophe is of the closed type. The new species differs from all the other species of the genus in that the lateral branches of the dorsal ray are large and T-shaped. The spicules are robust, over 0.3 mm long and have large, curved shoes on their tips.

A crossbred calf (3 months old) obtained from a farm where regular control of ticks was practised and found to be free of blood parasites was inoculated with 20 ml pooled blood collected from four field cattle which had very low Trypanosoma theileri parasitaemias (one parasite per 70 µl blood as determined by the haematocrit centrifugation technique). Trypanosoma theileri was present in the blood 6 days after injection and a peak parasitaemia of 42 parasites per 70 µl blood was recorded by day 12. Hyalomma anatolicum anatolicum nymphs were applied on the ears of the calf on day 8 and they dropped engorged by days 13 and 14. The resulting adult ticks were examined for the presence of T. theileri by severing a leg and making a smear of the clear haemolymph which exuded from the wound. The smear was fixed in methanol and stained with Giemsa stain. The infection rate with T. theileri in the ticks was 43.3 % (26 out of 60). The intensity of infection was very high and various developmental stages of the flagellates were observed (epimastigotes, sphaeromastigotes, trypomastigotes and other intermediate stages). The haemolymph from 12 ticks was also collected in tissue culture medium and the trypanosomes survived for 25 weeks before eventually dying. The results demonstrated unequivocally the high vectorial capacity of the tick H. a. anatolicum for T. theileri.

Partial 1D gene characterization was used to study phylogenetic relationships between 17 serotype O foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) viruses in Ethiopia as well as with other O-type isolates from Eritrea, Kenya, South and West Africa, the Middle East, Asia and South America. A homologous region of 495 bp corresponding to the C-terminus end of the 1D gene was used for phylogenetic analysis. This study described three lineages, viz. African/Middle East-Asia, Cathay and South American. Within lineage I, three topotypes were defined, viz. East and West Africa and the Middle East-Asia together with the South African isolate. The Ethiopian isolates clustered as part of topotype I, the East African topotype. Two clades (based on < 12% nucleotide difference) A and B were identified within the East African isolates, with clade A being further classified into three significant branches, A1 (80 % bootstrap support), A2 (89 % bootstrap support) and A3 (94 % bootstrap support). Clade B consisted of two Kenyan isolates. Within topotype I, the 17 Ethiopian isolates showed genetic heterogeneity between themselves with sequence differences ranging from 4.6-14 %. Lineage 2 and 3 could be equated to two significant topotypes, viz. Cathay and South America. Comparison of amino acid variability at the immunodominant sites between the vaccine strain (ETH/19/77) and other Ethiopian outbreak isolates revealed variations within these sites. These results encourage further work towards the reassessment of the type O vaccine strain currently being used in Ethiopia to provide protection against field variants of the virus.

The effect of a continuous disinfection programme, using the non-toxic disinfectant Virukill, in layers, on the spread and impact of infectious coryza, caused by Haemophilus paragallinarum was evaluated. In this experiment, both unvaccinated layers and layers vaccinated against infectious coryza were used. Duplicate smaller groups of vaccinated and unvaccinated chickens were challenged with different serovars of both NAD-dependent as well as NAD-independent isolates of Haemophilus paragallinarum. One group of chickens challenged with each of the different bacterial serovars was treated with the continuous disinfection programme, while the other group remained as the untreated controls. The clinical signs of infectious coryza were evaluated over a period of 20 days in each group. The egg production over this period was also evaluated. It was found in all experimental challenges, that the severity of the symptoms was reduced in the birds receiving the continuous disinfection programme. The drop in egg production was also found to be less severe in the treated groups when compared to the untreated control groups. The duration of infection was found to be either unchanged, or shorter in the birds treated with the continuous disinfection programme. In none of the experimental challenges was the duration or expression of clinical signs of IC increased due to the continuous disinfection programme.

Blood samples from 50 dogs were collected at three veterinary clinics in Ibadan and Abuja, Nigeria and the serum from each sample was evaluated serologically for neutralizing antibodies against canine distemper virus (CDV) by the highly sensitive plaque reduction (PRN) neutralization assay. Thirteen dogs had plaque reduction neutralization titres of 0-100, seven had titres of 100-1 000 while 30 had titres ranging from 1 000-6 000. The PRN titres of vaccinated dogs were found to be significantly higher than unvaccinated dogs. The widespread use of the highly reproducible PRN test for the evaluation of antibody response to CDV may be very important in the generation of international CDV positive serum standards that should help to improve pre-and post-vaccination testing of dogs worldwide.

years, but recently there have been reports of prophylaxis failure under natural conditions. In this study, use of the drug for prophylactic purpose against trypanosomosis in small ruminants was investigated. Forty-two sheep and 44 goats were divided into four treatment groups. Groups 1 and 2 were treated with isometamidium chloride (Samorin(R), Rhone Merieux, Lyon, France) at 3-month intervals while groups 3 and 4 were used as controls. All the animals were exposed to natural tsetse challenge and monitored for serum isometamidium levels and anti-trypanosome antibodies. Seven days after drug administration, isometamidium levels were significantly higher in goats 13.7 + 0.07 ng/mℓ than in sheep 6.2 + 0.06 ng/mℓ. However, the elimination half-life in the sheep was 14.2 + 0.92 days and was significantly higher (P > 0.05) than that of the goats 12 + 0.5 days. This study established that isometamidium metabolism differs between sheep and goats and this difference may have important implications in high tsetse challenge areas.

The mass of residual yolk sac expressed as a percentage of initial mass of the egg from which the chick hatched decreased sharply in the first 2 days post-hatching. A gradual reduction occurred between 3 and 10 days after which a sharp decline was noted between 11 and 13 days post-hatching. The highest number of chicks with unabsorbed yolk sac was noted on day 5 post-hatching followed by days 6 and 7. Chick mortality followed the same pattern. The dynamics, causes and clinical consequences of yolk sac utilization are discussed.

White-tailed deer are susceptible to heartwater (Ehrlichia [Cowdria] ruminantium infection) and are likely to suffer high mortality if the disease spreads to the United States. It is vital, therefore, to validate a highly specific and sensitive detection method for E. ruminantium infection that can be reliably used in testing white-tailed deer, which are reservoirs of antigenically or genetically related agents such as Ehrlichia chaffeensis, Anaplasma (Ehrlichia) phagocytophilum (HGE agent) and Ehrlichia ewingii. Recently, a novel but as yet unnamed ehrlichial species, the white-tailed deer ehrlichia (WTDE), has been discovered in deer populations in the United States. Although the significance of WTDE as a pathogen is unknown at present, it can be distinguished from other Ehrlichia spp. based on 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis. In this study it was differentiated from E. ruminantium by the use of the pCS20 PCR assay which has high specificity and sensitivity for the detection of E. ruminantium. This assay did not amplify DNA from the WTDE DNA samples isolated from deer resident in Florida, Georgia and Missouri, but amplified the specific 279 bp fragment from E. ruminantium DNA. The specificity of the pCS20 PCR assay for E. ruminantium was confirmed by Southern hybridization. Similarly, the 16S PCR primers (nested) that amplify a specific 405-412 bp fragment from the WTDE DNA samples, did not amplify any product from E. ruminantium DNA. This result demonstrates that it would be possible to differentiate between E. ruminantium and the novel WTDE agent found in white tailed deer by applying the two respective PCR assays followed by Southern hybridizations. Since the pCS20 PCR assay also does not amplify any DNA products from E. chaffeensis or Ehrlichia canis DNA, it is therefore the method of choice for the detection of E. ruminantium in these deer and other animal hosts.

A survey on the prevalence and intensity of infection with gastrointestinal helminths of Dorper sheep in relation to age and weather factors was carried out on a ranch in Kajiado district, a semi-arid area of Kenya for a period of 13 months (May 1999 to May 2000). Faecal samples from lambs (3 months to 1 year), yearlings (1-2 years) and adult breeding ewes (2-4 years) were examined for helminth egg output and helminth genus composition at 3-week intervals. The results indicated that the prevalence of strongyle and tapeworms infections were highest for lambs, followed by the adult breeding ewes and then for the yearlings. In all age groups the proportions of infected animals were higher during the wet season than in the dry season for both nematodes and tapeworms. The mean strongyle egg counts were higher during the dry season for lambs, but were higher during the wet season for the other age groups. Mixed strongyle infections were detected, with Trichostrongylus (55 %), Haemonchus (28 %), Cooperia (10.5 %) and Oesophagostomum (6.5 %) being the most frequently encountered genera throughout the study period. The trends in strongyle faecal egg counts indicated the occurrence of hypobiosis, with resumption of development towards the end of the dry season and at the onset of the short rains in October and November. Self-cure was also observed in September and November in all age groups, although less frequently in lactating ewes. The prevalence and intensities of infection with gastrointestinal helminths in this area appeared to be influenced by the age of the host and weather factors.

The protective efficacy of isometamidium chloride (ISMM) and diminazene aceturate (DIM) against Trypanosoma brucei, Trypanosoma congolense and Trypanosoma vivax infections in cattle under a suppressed tsetse population was assessed in southeast Uganda. A total of 66 and 57 trypanosome-infected cattle were treated with ISMM and DIM, respectively together with 177 trypanosomefree animals not treated were followed for 12 months, checked every 4 weeks. There was no statistical difference in the mean time to infection with any trypanosome species in animals treated with ISMM or DIM. However, the mean time to trypanosome infection was significantly longer for treated animals than controls. The mean time to infection with each of the three trypanosome species differed significantly, with the average time to T. vivax infection the lowest, followed by T. congolense and then T. brucei. The protective efficacy of DIM was as good as that of ISMM; implying curative treatments against trypanosomosis are sufficient for combination with tsetse control. Isometamidium chloride or DIM had the highest impact on T. brucei and T. congolense infections in cattle.