[Brucellosis and Aujeszky's disease in a wild boar enclose. Case report]. / Brucellose und Aujeszky-Krankheit in einem Wildschweingatter. Fallbeschreibung.

In wild boars kept in a paddock of approximately 1.7 square miles Brucella suis biotype 2 was isolated and Aujeszky's disease was diagnosed by serological tests. To clear the paddock, the wild boars were lured by offered food and caught using specially built smaller pens. They were then transported to a location far off their original surroundings and euthanized. Of a total of 297 wild boars kept in the paddock, 71% were caught and 28% shot. Three wild boars (= 1%) were found trapped. The described method could also be used in case of epidemics to catch wild boars living outside existing paddocks. In order to avoid killing the boars which stayed in separate quarantine enclosures, a darting gun was used to anaesthetize the animals with tiletamine/zolazepam. Achieved sedation levels were deep enough to allow for blood samples to be taken from the jugular vein without any problems, i.e. without any defence reactions of the boars. The origin of infection could not be identified.

[Sarcocystis phoeniconaii n. sp. Murata, 1986 (Apicomplexa: Sarcocystidae) of the lesser flamingo (Phoeniconaias mirror: Ciconiiformes)]. / Sarcocystis phoeniconaii n. sp. Murata, 1986 (Apicomplexa: Sarcocystidae) des Lesser Flamingo (Phoeniconaias mirror: Ciconiiformes).

The tiny rice-grain like sarcocysts measure 3-5 x 1 mm, they are situated subfascially or in the depth of the muscles. The 50 nm thick irregular primary cyst wall forms towards the inside, small, bubble-like, less osmiophilic invaginations, which partly are concentrated in such a way, that a spongious like structure develops. The so surrounded protrusions are vertically or slightly inclined; they measure 4.25 x 1.7 microns and they are filled with compact fibrils. The cyst wall is underlaid by an average of 7.0 microns thick tape consisting of ground substance, from which an extensive septation runs to the center of the cyst. The so formed chambers are filled with lancet-like merozoites, which measure 15-20 x 1.8-2.5 microns. Their fine structure is identical with merozoites of all other sarcosporidia. A round vacuole, which is placed at the rear end of the merozoite near the nucleus seems to be a characteristic. Metrocytes are found rarely in the periphery and they are usually degenerated. In some cysts cystozoites, ground substance and protrusions show signs of lysis, the septation, however, remains usually unchanged.

Life cycle of Sarcocystis tenella in sheep and dog.

For Sarcocystis tenella, the second microscopic sarcocyst in sheep, the dog was shown to act as final host shedding sporocysts measuring 13.75-15.8 (14.8 +/- 0.8) X 9.7-10.8 (10.1 +/- 0.4) micron after a prepatent period of 8-13 days. The clinical signs and the course of experimental infections in sheep were most similar to S. ovicanis. After high doses of sporocysts sheep had temperatures up to 42 degrees C, anaemia, and paresis; they finally died from haemorrhagic diathesis. The development of S. tenella in sheep was studied and it resulted in microscopic cysts in the musculature that measured 300-650 X 20-50 micron. They showed hair-like delicate protrusions of the cyst wall measuring 6-8 X less than 0.5 micron, by which S. tenella could be clearly differentiated from S. ovicanis from day 60 p.i. onwards. The decreasing number of S. tenella through degeneration of cysts is suggested to be a self-cleaning process.

[Prevalence and development of two Sarcocystis spp. in the horse (author's transl)]. / Vorkommen und Entwicjlung von 2 Sarkosporidienarten des Pferdes.

The prevalence of Sarcocystis spp. in horses was investigated in a survey at the Munich abattoir during 1978/79. Muscle specimens (oesophagus, diaphragm, sublingual muscle, myocardium) were examined using tryptic digestion. Out of 200 horses 31 (15.5%) were found to be carriers of sarcocysts. No parasites were found in the myocardium. In three animals sarcocysts could be isolated and differentiated in fresh preparations. Cysts with 5 to 11 microns by less than 0.5 microns hairlike, unstable protrusions were classified as Sarcocystis equicanis, whereas those with 2.5 to 4.5 microns by 0.8 to 1.0 microns fingerlike, stabile protrusions were assigned to be S. fayeri. Histologically S. equicanis cysts were thin-walled and S. fayeri cysts were thick-walled and often striated. For both species the dog acts as final host. A mixture of sporocysts of both species measured: 12.0--14.4 (13.4 +/- 0.7) X 9.3--10.5 (9.8 +/- 0.4) microns. The prepatent period is 11 to 17 days. Two ponies experimentally infected with 100,000 sporocysts each did not show clinical signs. In fresh preparations and in histopathological examinations of biopsied (111th, 130th, 152th, and 165th day post-infection (p.i.) and postmortem material (167th and 189th day p.i.) different developmental stages of sarcocysts of both species were seen and the following pathological alterations observed: circumscribed non-purulent inflammation, moderate Zenker's degeneration of muscle fibres, and degenerated cysts, of which sometimes only parts of the cyst wall were left. In fresh preparations S. equicanis and S. Fayeri could be differentiated 111 days p.i. The observed disappearance of the sarcocysts is suggested to be a self-cleaning process.

[Light and electron microscopic studies to the development of muscle cysts of Sarcocystis suicanis in experimentally infected pigs (author's transl)]. / Licht- und elektronenmikroskopische Untersuchungen zur Entwicklung von Muskelzysten von Sarcocystis suicanis in Hausschweinen nach experimenteller Infektion.

Six young pigs were experimentally infected with 100000 sporocysts of Sarcocystis suicanis and killed on the 32nd, 47th, 55th, 64th, 81th and 90th day p.i. The ultrastructure of sarcocysts in the muscle cells was studied. Light microscopical preliminary examination on the 32nd day p.i. showed cysts which lay in muscle fibres and were surrounded by a fine membran. On the 55th day p.i. the cyst wall showed radial light and dark stripes of 2.6 micrometer thickness, which reached a thickness of 3.2 micrometer on the 90th day p.i. The electron microscopic study of the cyst wall on the 32nd day p.i. showed a unit membran the numerous small outward projections of which are underlined by osmiophilic material that is absent in the inwardly directed invaginations. During the growth of the cyst, this primary cyst wall became regularly folded, forming many protrusions on the 55th day p.i. These appeared palisade-like and contained 57--62 filamentous elements in a single layer under the primary wall at a distance of 10 nm. In the centre of the protrusions there were 5--8 groups, comprising 2--5 filaments each. They have their origin in the ground-substance. As these filaments maintain their arrangement also in old cysts, they can be regarded as characteristic of Sarcocystis suicanis. The groundsubstance is homogenous; on the 32nd day p.i. it contained only metrocytes, and developed septa towards the interior of the cyst on the 47th day p.i. The parasites were reproduced by endodyogeny and appeared very similar to the structure of all cyst forming coccidians. Some old cysts degenerated fattily and the host cells were destroyed. The cysts of Sarcocystis suicanis with complete development of the protrusions of the primary wall can thus be differentiated from cysts of Sarcocystis suihominis with certainty.