During the mid 1990s a potentially serious, chronic syndrome was reported in well-managed beef and dairy herds from unrelated parts of South Africa. Farmers reported that it manifested as various combinations of decreased production, decreased weaning masses, apparent immune breakdown in previously immunocompetent animals, increased reproductive disorders, various mineral imbalances in non-deficient areas and goitre, noticeable as enlarged thyroid glands. The farmers associated this syndrome with certain batches of sugar cane molasses and molasses-based products. The syndrome was reminiscent of an ''endocrine disruptive syndrome''. The objective of this study was to evaluate the suspected endocrine disruptive effect of molasses included in cattle feed. Using existing in vitro assays, four batches of molasses syrup were screened for possible inclusion in a calf feeding trial. Two batches were selected for the trial. Thirty-two, 4- to 6-week-old, weaned Holstein bull calves were included in the single phase, three treatment, parallel design experiment. In two of the groups of calves, two different batches of molasses were included in their rations respectively. The control group was fed a ration to which no molasses was added, but which was balanced for energy and mineral content. The mass gain of the calves was recorded over the 6-month study period. The calves were clinically examined every week and clinical pathology parameters, immune responses and endocrine effects were regularly evaluated. Even though endocrine disrupting effects were detected with the in vitro screening assays, these could not be reproduced in the calves in the experiment. The two batches of molasses utilized in the calf feeding trial did not induce major differences in any of the parameters measured, with the exception of a lower mass gain in one of the molasses-fed groups (Group 1), which tended towards significance. The results of the study indicate that the two batches of molasses had no endocrine disruptive or immunosuppressive effects in calves.

Research on this economically important disease of ruminants, especially sheep, which had been named bluetongue by farmers in the 19th century, has been part and parcel of the activities at Onderstepoort ever since its establishment in 1908 and therefore covers a full century of the OVI's existence.In view of Onderstepoort's centenary celebration a brief overview of this research is given in terms of the historic milestones which influenced and guided global research on this and other viral diseases of animals.

Twenty goats which served as the experimental group were administered ascorbic acid (AA) per os at a dosage rate of 100 mg/kg body mass, while 20 others served as controls and were given 10 mt each of sterile water. Forty minutes after the administration and loading, the goats were transported for 12 h. Handling and loading of the experimental and control groups of goats decreased (P 0.05) the potassium and sodium serum concentrations. The concentration of serum chloride, sodium and calcium increased significantly (P 0.05) immediately post-transportation, while potassium and magnesium decreased (P 0.05) in the control goats. In AA-treated goats sodium and magnesium concentrations decreased abruptly (P 0.05), while calcium increased significantly (P 0.05) after transportation. Handling, loading and transportation adversely affected the electrolyte balance of the goats which suggested respiratory alkalosis, dehydration and muscular damage in the transported goats, and the administration of AA alleviated the adverse effects of road transportation stress on serum electrolytes.

Investment in disease control should be targeted to critical points that provide the greatest benefit to the livelihoods of livestock-dependent stakeholders. Risk-based targeting should balance the impacts of diseases against the feasibility of their control. This requires sensitive and specific surveillance systems that provide representative overviews of the animal health situation for accurate assessment of disease impact and transmission patterns. Assessment of impact should include household and market effects. The key in surveillance is involving livestock owners using active methods that ensure their disease priorities are addressed. Epidemiological targeting of interventions to critical points in disease transmission cycles should be done to obtain maximal disease reduction. Interventions should be delivered in full partnership with both private and community-based stakeholders to assure high uptake and sustainability. In developing countries, approaches such as participatory disease surveillance and community-based animal health programs have been effective and comply with international animal health standards.

Sir Arnold Theiler's research in 1908/09 led to the discovery of the first rickettsial pathogen, Anaplasma marginale, and set the stage for his development and implementation of an effective live vaccine based on a less virulent strain, A. marginale ss. centrale. His 1910 report, describing A. marginale, is among the classic monographs in infectious disease research, presenting not only observations in exacting detail but also highlighting the deductive reasoning leading to association of a new pathogen with a specific disease. With a centennial perspective and both conceptual frameworks and molecular tools unimaginable in Theiler's time, the significance of several observations in the original report - cyclic bacteremia, strain superinfection, and taxonomic position - is now clear and highlight the broad applicability of key principles of pathogen biology.

Finding appropriate ways of dealing with the problem of tsetse and trypanosomosis will be an important component of efforts to alleviate poverty in Africa. This article reviews the history of economic analyses of the problem, starting with the use of cost to guide choice of technique for tsetse control in the 1950s, followed by work in the 1970s and 1980s linking these to the impact of the disease on livestock productivity, and in the 1990s to its wider impact. In the current situation, with limited resources and a range of techniques for controlling or eliminating tsetse, the cost implications of choosing one technique or another are important and a recent study reviewed these costs. A novel approach to assessing the potential benefits from removing trypanosomosis by creating 'money maps' showed that high losses from animal trypanosomosis currently occur in areas with high cattle population densities on the margins of the tsetse distribution and where animal traction is an important component of farming systems. Given the importance of the decisions to be made in the next decade, when prioritising and choosing techniques for dealing with tsetse and trypanosomosis, more work needs to be done underpinning such mapping exercises and estimating the true cost and likely impact of planned interventions.

This study describes the distribution and aspects of the ecology of Lamproglena hoi. Bushveld smallscale yellowfish, Labeobarbus polylepis (Boulenger, 1907) were collected during June 2006 from the Phongolo and Assegaai rivers, March 2005 and October 2006 from the Elands River, and January 2007 and June 2008 from the Komati River in Mpumalanga, South Africa and examined for the presence of parasites. Lamproglena hoi specimens were collected from the gill filaments of the host. Specimens were fixed with warm AFA (alcohol-formaldehyde-acetic acid) and preserved in 70 % ethanol. The identification of parasites took place in the laboratories of the University of Johannesburg. Twenty-five copepods (prevalence 21 %, mean intensity = 4.17, abundance = 0.86) were collected on 29 fish in the Phongolo River and 46 copepods (prevalence 40 %, mean intensity = 3.83, abundance = 1.53) were collected on 30 fish in the Assegaai River. One hundred and sixty eight copepods (prevalence 52 %, mean intensity = 12.92, abundance = 6.72) were collected on 25 fish in 2005, and 527 copepods (prevalence 95 %, mean intensity = 27.74, abundance = 26.35) were collected on 20 fish in the Elands River. One hundred and sixteen copepods (prevalence 75 %, mean intensity = 7.73, abundance = 5.80) were collected on 20 fish in 2007, and 273 copepods (prevalence 63 %, mean intensity = 16.06, abundance = 10.11) were collected on 27 fish in 2008 in the Komati River. Labeobarbus polylepis from these four rivers was found to have a relatively high L. hoi infection. Inseminated L. hoi females (immature) attach to the host in winter and their ovaries become conspicuous (mature). In spring fertilized eggs are stored in egg sacs hanging from the body (gravid), indicating that fertilized eggs start to hatch in spring and continued hatching into summer. Parasites prefer the median part of the second gill arch for attachment. No correlation exists between the number of parasites recorded on the gills and the sizes (total lengths) of yellowfish sampled.

Veterinary education commenced in South Africa in 1920 at the Onderstepoort Veterinary Institute in South Africa in association with the Transvaal University College, now the University of Pretoria. Sir Arnold Theiler, Director of Veterinary Research and Education, was the first Dean. Today there are 46 veterinary training institutions in Africa of which 21 are in sub-Saharan Africa.Veterinary services are indispensable to the sustained health and wellbeing of animals and humans, and agricultural economies of countries worldwide. Veterinary education, postgraduate training, and research, and adequate numbers of veterinarians, are essential to satisfy the millennium development goals, the objectives of NEPAD and the African Union, and the agreements regulating international trade.

The first detailed description of the pathology of tuberculosis, caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis, in springbok is reported. The springbok were part of a semi-free-ranging herd kept on the grounds of iThemba Laboratory for Accelerator Based Science (LABS) in the Kuils River district of the Western Cape Province, South Africa. Mycobacterium tuberculosis was isolated from three animals out of a total of 33 sampled, with two animals showing tuberculosis lesions. The index case was an adult ewe that showed advanced miliary tuberculosis with marked macroscopic and microscopic lesions in the lungs, pleura and respiratory lymph nodes, and numerous acid-fast bacilli. Six healthy rams were sampled nine months later and a pilot study indicated miliary tuberculosis lesions in one ram, which again were macroscopically most prominent in the lungs, pleura and respiratory lymph nodes. Macroscopic lesions were also noted in the sternal, iliac, prefemoral and retropharyngeal lymph nodes. Microscopy in this animal revealed lesions in the macroscopically affected organs as well as numerous other lymph nodes, and suspected lesions occurred in the testicle and colon. Acid-fast bacilli were scarce to moderate in affected organs. Because of the miliary nature of the lesions in both affected animals, the route of infection could not be established conclusively. The lesions in most affected organs of both animals resembled classical tuberculous granulomas. A main study conducted on healthy animals 19 months after the pilot study failed to find any animal with tuberculosis lesions in the group of 25 sampled, and all were negative for mycobacteria via mycobacterial culture.

Monthly total body tick collections from 13-20 camels were conducted for 2 consecutive years (2000-2001) in Northern Sudan. Tick populations were correlated with locality, season, predeliction site, sex and coat colour. Hyalomma dromedarii was found to be the predominant (89 %) tick species infesting the camels. Other tick species found in very low numbers were Hyalomma impeltatum (7.7 %), Hy alomma anatolicum anatolicum (3.3 %), Hyalomma truncatum (0.29 %), Hyalomma marginatum rufipes (0.25 %), Rhipicephalus praetextatus (0.30 %) and Rhipicephalus sanguineus group (0.09 %). Nymphs of the genus Hyalomma were collected in significant numbers. Adult ticks significantly preferred to attach to the lower parts of the camel's body for feeding while the nymphs preferred the back of the animal.