An adult female budgerigar (Melopsittacus undulatus) presented with abdominal enlargement. The condition of the bird deteriorated after needle aspiration for cytological examination. The budgerigar was euthanatized and a complete necropsy was performed. Microscopic sections were prepared and stained with hematoxylin and eosin, Gram staining, periodic acid-Schiff (PAS) and acid-fast staining. Escherichia coli was isolated in pure culture. Necropsy revealed the pres­ence of granulo­matous lesions of varying sizes at different locations and hepatomegaly, oviduct impaction and oophoritis. Histopathologically, typical granuloma with a central area of coagulation necrosis and bacterial colonies surrounded by lymphocytes, macrophages and multinucleated giant cells were found. These granulomas were present in the liver, oviduct and intestinal tract. A sheet of neoplastic cells and disruption of the normal hepatic architecture was seen. The diagnosis was lymphoid leucosis and coligranuloma.

Various forms of intensive sport place stress on the musculoskeletal system of the horse, during both racing and training. The musculoskeletal system of the horse has an inherent ability to adapt to the demands of high speed exercise, but exceeding the threshold of adaptive capacity may result in some form of damage. Continuing racing or training may delay the repair process and put the horse at risk of more serious musculoskeletal injury. This study investigated injury in different breeds of horses involved in various types of activity in riding clubs in Tehran. Of the 400 horses that took part in various events during the race season from March 2008 to September 2009, 26 were injured. The most common injury was to the musculoskeletal system of the fore limbs (64%). The hind limbs suffered 16% of the injuries and the head and neck 4%. From a gender aspect, incident rates were higher in mares (54%) than in stallions (46%). From a breed point of view, Thoroughbred and Arab horses had higher incident rates (100% and 85% respectively) than a hybrid horse (50%). Findings of this study also showed the relationship between gender, breed and age of the horses to the injury site, type and outcome, and type of the events.

The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of bacterial inoculation on the fermentation and aerobic stability of corn silage and on the dry matter degradability and milk composition when fed to sheep or cows. Four male sheep were selected to measure dry matter degradability of uninoculated (UCS) and inoculated (ICS) corn silage. Milk composition was measured for 22 Holstein cows, separated into two treatment groups and fed with either UCS or ICS diets. Similar lactic acid concentrations but higher propionic and lower acetic acid concentrations were recorded for ICS diets compared to UCS diets (p < 0.05). Aerobic stability was 12 h and 32 h for UCS and ICS, respectively. Values of in sacco dry matter loss were higher for ICS than for UCS (p < 0.05). Lactose and solid non-fat content was higher in the milk of cows fed with ICS than UCS (p < 0.05). We conclude that the Lalsil bacterial inoculant containing propioni bacterium acidipropionici and Lactobacillus plantarum can be used as an additive due to its positive effect on fermentation, aerobic stability and dry matter degradability of corn silage. The slight positive effect of inoculcation on the nutritional value of silage appears to be limited to milk production improvement in dairy cows.

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.

Leptospirosis is a zoonosis with numerous reservoir hosts. The disease is caused by infection with various serovars of Leptospira interrogans sensu lato. This study was conducted to evaluate the seroprevalence of leptospiral infection in stray cats in Ahvaz (south-western Iran) from April 2007 to June 2008. Blood samples were collected from 102 stray cats and screened for leptospiral infection using the microscopic agglutination test (MAT). Five of the 102 cats (4.9%) were serologically positive for at least one serovar of L. interrogans. The greatest number of reactors was for L. interrogans serovar balum (five serum samples). Antibodies against more than one serovar (namely, serovars balum and australis) were detected in one sample. All positive titers were detected at 1:100 dilution. The prevalence of leptospiral infection was 5.3% and 4.4% in male and female cats, respectively. There was no significant difference in positive titer prevalence between different sexes but prevalence was significantly different between age groups (P = 0.021), as all cats with positive titers were three years of age or more. This is also the first report of infection with L. interrogans serovars balum and australis from cats in Iran.

Infectious bronchitis (IB) is an economically important disease of chickens. Due to the emergence of new variants of infectious bronchitis virus (IBV), the control of IB has become a serious problem for the poultry industry worldwide. In the present study, the nucleocapsid gene (N) and 3' untranslated region (UTR) of two IBVs isolated from Iranian poultry farms were sequenced and compared with other IBV strains. Based on nucleotide identity, the N gene and 3' UTR sequences of Iranian IBVs showed 90% similarity to the commonly used IBV vaccine strains, H52 and H120. However, based on phylogenetic analyses, Iranian IBVs were found to cluster separately from the IBV vaccine strains used in Iran as well as other IBVs isolated in China, Australia and the United States. It was concluded that IBVs circulating in Iran are genetically distinct from IBV vaccine strains that have been used in Iran for many years. Therefore, it is important to develop a new vaccine based on these newly identified strains for controlling IB in Iranian poultry farms.

The major histocompatibility complex (MHC) plays a central role in the control of disease resistance and immune response. Extensive genetic diversity in MHC genes provides a valuable source for genetic improvement, via selection, in many domestic animals. Exon 2 of the class II MHC, termed Ovar-DRB1 in domestic sheep (Ovis aries), has been suggested as important disease resistance and immune response gene. We characterized Ovar-DRB1 in DNA samples from 138 individuals of a population of the Iranian Sangsari sheep breed using PCR-RFLP. Eight DRB1 alleles were identified among Iranian Sangsari sheep, including one previously unrecognized allele. Eight homozygous genotypes were observed: a, b, c, d, f, g, h and N. Genotype bb was the most common pattern (46 of 138). Heterozygous genotypes (ag, cb, cd, bf, and bN) were also observed. The observed homozygosity and heterozygosity values were 0.6377 and 0.3623, respectively, vs expected values of 0.220 and 0.779. Iranian Sangsari population deviate significantly from the theoretical proportions (FIS = 0.5283; p = 0.0005). In conclusion, PCR-RFLP analysis allows rapid identification of Ovar-DRB1 types and discrimination of homozygous and heterozygous genotypes. This study indicates that the exon 2 region of the Ovar-DRB1 gene is highly polymorphic in the Iranian Sangsari sheep breed.

Ticks are important acarina that infest animals. They are obligatory blood sucker arthropods which economically impact cattle industry by reducing weight gain and production. Moreover, they are important vectors of viral, bacterial, rickettsial and parasitic pathogens infecting humans and animals. In view of the importance of Hyalomma anatolicum anatolicum in pathogen transmission, including Theileria lestoquardi in Iran, the accurate identification of this tick is critical. Although many keys are available as aids, morphological identification of tick species such as Hyalomma anatolicum anatolicum (Koch, 1844; Hoogstral and Kaiser, 1959) is difficult and expert knowledge is required. False morphological identification at the level of species and subspecies is common, particularly for Hyalomma excavatum complex members which are prevalent in Iran. For example, the high similarity between Hyalomma anatolicum anatolicum and Hyalomma anatolicum excavatum is the cause of confusion in the identification of these species. In this study, polymerase chain reaction (PCR) techniques were used for identification of Hyalomma anatolicum anatolicum based on analysis of the gene sequence of the Second Internal Transcribed Spacer (ITS2) of this tick. The ITS2 nucleotide sequence of Hyalomma anatolicum anatolicum was 963 base pairs (bp) in length and exhibited 93% homology with other GenBank registered ITS2 sequences of this subspecies (accession no: FJ593700.1). The complete ITS2 region sequence was identified in this study and registered in GenBank under accession number HQ123320.

Hair samples from 58 healthy camels were examined for the presence of saprophytic fungi. One -hundred and seventy-four samples were obtained from three different locations of dromedary camel's body. Several fungal specific media were used for isolating and identifying the saprophytes. Fungal isolates belonged to 15 genera. The most common in order of frequency were members of the genera Aspergillus (48% of the total examined camels), Penicillium (16.1%), Mucor (14.2%), Alternaria alternata (5.6%), Rhizopus (3.1%), Chrysosporium (2.7%), Acremonium (1.1%), Scoupolariopsis (1%), Cladosporium (0.8%), Fusarium, Psuedallescheria boydii and Stachybotrys atra (0.2%). The highest frequently yeasts isolated were related to Candida species (6%), followed by Geotrichum candidum (0.6%) and Malassezia species (0.2%). Skin infections caused by any of the contaminants were not encountered. The study demonstrates that Aspergillus, Penicillium and Mucor species were the common components of healthy camel skin mycoflora, and that camel hair analyzed in this study was free from true dermatophyte.

This present study is the first to report the presence of Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) in buffaloes in Iran. A total of 360 fecal samples were collected from buffaloes from different regions in the west Azerbaijan province of Iran and cultured for the isolation of E. coli using routine biochemical tests. From the fecal samples, 340 E. coli were isolated and, of these, 26 STEC isolates were identified. The STEC isolates were further analyzed for the presence of specific virulence genes. Among the STEC isolates, 11 (42.3%) isolates were positive for the stx1 gene, nine (34.6%) were positive for the stx2 gene and six (23%) were positive for both of these genes. Six (23%) STEC isolates harbored the hly gene and two (7.6%) isolates were positive for the eae gene. Based on serotyping, only one (3.8%) isolate was of the O157 serotype, while the other 25 (96.1%) belonged to non-O157 serotypes. The results of the present study provide the first evidence that buffaloes could be a reservoir for STEC in Iran, especially those belonging to non-0157 serotypes.