Fungal agents, especially yeasts, are resident in digestive system as microflora and they can invade the mucosal tract in animals with predisposing factors. The prevalence of the resident fungal flora in the digestive tract of healthy broilers and layers during April to September 2008 was investigated. The samples were taken from the preventriculus, jejunum and cecum contents of 120 birds and cultured on Sabouraud glucose agar. Both filamentous fungus and yeasts were isolated and a predominance of the Candida species was found, followed by Trichosporon beigelii, Geotrichum candidum, Rhodotorula rubra and Saccharomyces cerevisiae species, which were found in 84.6%, 5.5%, 4.6%, 3.3% and 0.5% of cultures, respectively. Among the yeast isolates, Candida albicans (45.8%) was the most prevalent fungal agent, representing a significant proportion when compared to the other fungal isolates (P

Cases of minimally-invasive surgery are gaining acceptance among surgeons and animal owners. One type of minimally-invasive surgery is total splenectomy, which is indicated for splenic tumors, trauma, torsions, and for dogs that require blood transfusion. To assess the safety of the technique, experimental laparoscopic splenectomies were performed in dogs for the first time in Iran. Three adult male mixed-breed dogs were placed in dorsal recumbency at a 45° angle in the right lateral position, under aseptic condition and general anesthesia. Three trocars were placed; at the umbilicus, 3 cm cranial to the umbilicus and in the right caudolateral abdomen. The spleen was rotated 90° laterally and thermal coagulation of the blood vessels was performed by bipolar electrocautery. The pedicles were checked to ensure hemostasis. The spleen was morcellated and removed from the umbilical port using a retrieval bag. The mean surgery time was 42 minutes, and all dogs survived the surgery without complications. Laparoscopic splenectomy via three portals was found to be easy and safe.

The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence and type of ophthalmic diseases among horse populations in the suburbian riding clubs of Tehran. Ophthalmologic examinations were performed in 901 horses and ocular lesions were diagnosed in 40 (4.4%) animals. In the 54 eyes of these horses that had ocular defects, 103 ocular abnormalities were detected. Of those horses affected, 65% showed abnormalities in one eye and 35% had abnormalities in both eyes. Various sequelae to ocular trauma and periodic ophthalmia were the most common and recognizable causes, which comprised 25% and 15% of horses with ocular defects, respectively.

Campylobacter jejuni is a major cause of food-borne diarrhea in many countries. Poultry and poultry products are known as important sources of human campylobacteriosis. In this study, conventional culture and multiplex PCR methods were compared for the detection of C. jejuni isolated from poultry carcasses. A total of 100 samples, representing 20 broiler flocks, were collected from poultry carcasses after the evisceration stage in the processing line at a commercial broiler slaughtering facility in Mashhad, Iran. In the conventional culture method, samples were processed by enrichment followed by selective plating, and then suspected colonies were isolated on sheep blood agar and tested for morphology, motility, Gram staining, biochemical properties and hippurate hydrolysis activity. For the identification of the Campylobacter genus and its jejuni serovar by molecular methods, a multiplex PCR assay (m-PCR) with two sets of specific primers was used. In the hippurate hydrolysis test of suspected colonies, 76% of the samples were determined as positive, while in the m-PCR assay 28% of cultures harvested were identified as C. jejuni. Two percent of hippurate hydrolyze negative colonies were found positive in the m-PCR test. It appears that the conventional method, based on the hippurate hydrolysis test for detection of C. jejuni, is a less reliable test. The use of the m-PCR method, based on amplification from conserved genes, allows reliable detection and identification of C. jejuni.

To determine the effect of bilateral uterine artery ligation (BUAL) on mast cell (MC) distribution, 24 mature female rabbits were studied. The rabbits were ovariohysterectomized on day 23, 43 or 63 following BUAL. Histological sections were stained with toluidine blue to determine the MC distribution. In rabbits that had undergone BUAL, MCs were present extensively in the helium of the treated ovaries, in dense groups close to the blood vessels. In the control group, MCs were observed at a medium density around the blood vessels and the number of MCs in the reproductive tract was significantly (P ? 0.01) lower than in the test groups. This study demonstrates that, after BUAL, the distribution and numbers of MCs differ between different parts of the reproductive system.

Due to the range of its constituents, colostrum has been considered as a supplement for various diverse purposes. This study was conducted to examine the effect of supplementary bovine colostrum on serum malondialdehyde (MDA), antioxidant activity (AOA) and glucose in a diabetic rodent model. Sixty male Wistar rats were divided into 10 groups of six rats each for 40 days as follows: non-diabetic; diabetic; diabetic with 10%, 20% or 30% colostrum intake; non-diabetic with 10%, 20% or 30% colostrum intake; diabetic treated with insulin; and diabetic treated with glibenclamide. Although serum MDA levels showed a significant decrease in response to insulin (2.56 ± 0.31 µmol/L) and 10%, 20% or 30% colostrum intake (0.46 ± 0.04, 0.29 ± 0.06, 0.37 ± 0.09 µmol/L, respectively), the decrease was greater in the diabetic rats (3.92 ± 0.29 µmol/L) (p < 0.01). Significant changes were seen in the AOA of both insulin (0.78 ± 0.11 mmol/L) and glibenclamide (0.7 ± 0.08 mmol/L) treated rats compared to the diabetic rats (0.69 ± 0.1 mmol/L); however, AOA showed a significant increase in response to 10% (1.78 ± 0.11 mmol/L), 20% (1.57 ± 0.02 mmol/L) and 30% (1.75 ± 0.02 mmol/L) colostrum (p < 0.001). All treated groups showed a significant decrease in serum glucose levels compared to the diabetic group (391 ± 39.79 mg/dL) (p < 0.01). It seems that colostrum might be a beneficial dietary supplement for reducing serum MDA and glucose levels while increasing serum AOA in type1 diabetes mellitus.

Twelve left camel forelimbs were collected, and ultrasonography was performed at five different levels around the metacarpal region. Limbs were then cut in the transverse plane at levels corresponding to the ultrasound images. Transverse and sagittal plane images were taken at each of the five levels, keeping all ultrasound imaging factors constant. Echogenicity, diameter, width and cross sectional area of the superficial digital flexor tendon (SDFT), deep digital flexor tendon (DDFT) and suspensory ligament (SL) were evaluated. Characteristics of echogenicity and different tendon and ligament sizes were measured and discussed

Pelecaniformes are large water birds feeding by hunting fish and living usually in the sea and in fresh water. Ectoparasitic lice of the genus Piagetiella are interesting from an ecological standpoint as they are found in the pouches of pelicans. Unlike chewing lice, which live on the body surface of the host, P. titan lives in the oral cavity of white pelicans (Pelecanus nocrotalus, L.). This study aimed to determine the infestation of white pelicans with P. titan in Urmia Lake, Northwest Iran, between June and August from 2004 to 2006. Sixty-two juvenile white pelicans at three different age groups of < 1 (n = 8), 1-2 (n = 23) and 3-7 (n = 31) weeks were investigated and 59 birds were found infested with lice. A total of 1637 lice were collected from the oral cavity and body of the birds, with the number of lice ranging from one to 112 per bird. P. titan were identified according to the criteria described by Price (1970), including the number of setae in various parts of body, the structures of prosternal, mesosternal and metasternal plates, the structures of female and male genitalia, presence of two ventral stout subapical setae on tibia II-III and the number of the ctenidia on femur III. This report describes P. titan on pelicans for the first time from Iran.

As lactating cows in severe negative energy balance have poor reproductive performance, the effect of dietary fat supplementation (fish oil, soybean oil) on PGFM secretion, ovarian function and blood metabolites is investigated. In this experiment, the effects of dietary polyunsaturated fatty acids on plasma metabolites, ovarian function and prostaglandin secretion of 20 primiparous Holstein cows was studied. The cows were randomly allocated to one of four groups that were fed either: 1) a control diet; 2) a diet with 3% (Feed dry matter basis) fish oil; 3) a diet with 3% soybean oil; or 4) a diet with 1.5% fish oil and 1.5% soybean oil. Groups were synchronized using the heat-synch method and were fed their respective diets for 35 days, allowing 14 days for dietary adaptation and 21 days for data collection. Concentration of plasma glucose, triglycerides and low density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol were not affected by the treatments, but plasma total cholesterol and high density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol concentrations were significantly higher in cows that consumed the oil-containing diets (p < 0.05).The number of follicles, corpus luteum size and plasma estradiol, progesterone and prostaglandin F2? metabolite (PGFM) concentrations were similar across all treatments. However, the size of the largest follicle was significantly greater in cows that consumed a diet containing fish oil or soybean oil (p < 0.05). These results suggest that polyunsaturated fatty acids can influence both ovarian and uterine function in cows, but further studies are required to test their effects on dairy cow reproduction.

Samples of water, sediment and shrimp obtained from hatcheries and culture ponds were collected over a period of four months and were analyzed for Vibrio parahaemolyticus. Samples included the following: two samples of shrimp larva from two hatchery ponds (WLH); 14 samples of water, sediment and shrimp from 14 culture ponds supplied with shrimp larvae from the same hatchery ponds that were obtained one month after farm stocking (WC1, SeC1, and SC1, respectively); 14 samples of water, sediment and shrimp from the same 14 culture ponds, obtained 3 months after farm stocking (WC3, SeC3, and SC3, respectively); and 14 shrimp samples, from the same 14 culture ponds, collected from market (SM). Twelve samples of Persian Gulf Shrimp (SPM) were also obtained from the market and analyzed. V. parahaemolyticus was detected in 21.4% (3/14) WC1, 7.1% (1/14) SeC1, 35.7% (5/14) SC1, 42.8% (6 out of 14, of which one was Kanagawa-positive) WC3, 14.3% (2/14) SC3, 35.7% (5/14) SM, and 12% (3/12) SPM. No instance of WLH and SeC3 was detected. The isolation of V. parahaemolyticus, especially if Kanagawa positive, suggests a probable health risk for people wishing to consume raw or under-cooked shrimp.