To evaluate herd-level risk factors for seropositive status of cattle to 1 or more bluetongue viruses. 110 herds of cattle in Nebraska, North Dakota, and South Dakota. Blood samples were collected before and after the vector season. Samples were tested for antibodies against bluetongue virus by use of a commercially available competitive ELISA. Factors evaluated included descriptors of geographic location and management practices. Trapping of insect vectors was conducted to evaluate vector status on a subset of 57 operations. A multivariable logistic regression model was constructed to evaluate associations. For the full data set, altitude and latitude were associated with risk of having seropositive cattle (an increase in altitude was associated with an increase in risk, and a more northerly location was associated with a decrease in risk of a premise having seropositive cattle). Import of cattle from selected states was associated with an increase in risk of having seropositive cattle. From the subset of herds with data on vector trapping, altitude and latitude were associated with risk of having seropositive cattle, similar to that for the full model. However, commingling with cattle from other herds was associated with a decrease in risk of seropositivity. Findings reported here may be useful in generating additional hypotheses regarding the ecologic characteristics of bluetongue viruses and other vector-borne diseases of livestock. Sentinel surveillance programs are useful for documenting regionalization zones for diseases, which can be beneficial when securing international markets for animals and animal products.

To evaluate site-to-site variation within fecal pats from cattle with regard to detection of Escherichia coli O157 and determine the effect on the accuracy of prevalence estimates of assay of multiple samples collected from the same fecal pat. 120 freshly voided fecal pats collected from 2 beef feedlots. Procedures-5 samples were systematically collected from each fecal pat and analyzed for E coli O157 via selective preenrichment techniques, immunomagnetic separation, and biochemical tests. Presumptive isolates were definitively identified via agglutination assays and polymerase chain reaction techniques. Best estimators of prevalence were calculated from the distribution of E coli O157-positive samples per pat. Of the 120 fecal pats, 96, 13, 4, 2, 3, and 2 fecal pats had 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 E coli O157-positive samples, respectively. The greatest estimate of E coli O157 prevalence (20%) was achieved when all 5 samples were assessed; this estimate represented a 2.4- fold increase in prevalence, compared with that provided via analysis of 1 sample/pat (8.2%). Compared with assessment of 5 sites/pat, the relative sensitivity of detecting an E coli O157-positive fecal pat via analysis of 1 site/pat was 40.1%. Results suggest that estimates of E coli O157 prevalence derived from sampling of 1 location/pat are likely underestimates of the true prevalence of this pathogen in fecal pats (and by extension, cattle). Additional research is warranted to confirm these results in situations of high and low prevalence and across different feedlots.

The effect of a novel bovine mastitis trivalent vaccine, containing Staphylococcus aureus capsular polysaccharide type 5 (T5), 8 (T8), and 336 (T336), on lymphocyte subpopulations, antibody production, and neutrophil phagocytosis was evaluated. Twenty pregnant heifers were immunized with either the trivalent alone, trivalent emulsified in Freund's incomplete adjuvant (FICA), trivalent in aluminum hydroxide, or adjuvant only (FICA). Immunization was done 30 d before the expected calving date followed by 2 boosts in a 2-week interval. Compared to FICA, serum antigen-specific immunoglobulin (Ig)G1 and IgG2 were significantly increased in all the vaccinated groups before parturition and sustained until 3 wk postpartum. In comparison with the trivalent alone, formulation with either adjuvant enhanced production of IgG2, but not IgG1. Immune sera, which contained the highest amount of antibodies, slightly increased neutrophil phagocytosis to the 3 serotypes of killed S. aureus, but most of the differences were not significant due to large variation between the cows. The percentage of CD4+ lymphocyte was significantly higher in vaccinated groups than that of FICA 4 wk after the primary immunization. In comparison with FICA, cows inoculated with trivalent vaccine and adjuvants had an increased percentage of CD8+ lymphocytes at 2 time points, 2 wk before and after calving. Our results indicated that the whole cell trivalent vaccine, with or without adjuvants, is able to elicit antibody responses specific to the 3 capsular polysaccharide antigens. The increase of T8-specific IgG2 was more noticeable when the vaccine was emulsified with adjuvants.

An experimental chlorate product (ECP) developed by the United States Department of Agriculture has been shown to have bactericidal effects against enteropathogens such as Escherichia coli. In studies with broilers and pigs, the bactericidal activity of ECP was enhanced by prior adaptation of gastrointestinal microflora to nitrate. The objective of this study was to examine the effects of nitrate adaptation on the bactericidal activity of ECP against E. coli in Holstein steers. Results indicate that ECP was effective at reducing E. coli. However, ECP did not reduce E. coli in a dose-dependent manner, indicating that the highest ECP dose provided in this study exceeded that needed to be efficacious. Adapting gastrointestinal microflora with nitrate prior to feeding ECP did not improve efficacy of ECP against E. coli. Rapid reduction of nitrate in the rumen is implicated as a possible explanation for why adaptation to nitrate did not enhance the bactericidal effects of ECP in cattle.