Tobacco spending and children in low income households.

OBJECTIVE: To examine the role of tobacco use in creating financial hardship for New Zealand (NZ) low income households with children. DATA: The 1996 NZ census (smoking prevalence by household types), Statistics NZ (household spending surveys 1988-98), and NZ Customs (tobacco released from bond 1988-98). MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Proportion of children in households with smokers and < or = 15,000 NZ dollars gross income per adult. Proportion of spending on tobacco of second lowest equivalised household disposable income decile and of solo parent households. RESULTS: In < or = 15,000 NZ dollars gross income per adult households with both children and smokers, there were over 90,000 children, or 11% of the total population aged less than 15 years. Enabling second lowest income decile households with smokers to be smoker-free would on average allow an estimated 14% of the non-housing budgets of those households to be reallocated. CONCLUSIONS: The children in low income households with smokers need to be protected from the financial hardship caused by tobacco use. This protection could take the form of more comprehensive government support for such households and stronger tobacco control programmes. A reliance on tobacco price policy alone to deter smokers is likely to have mixed outcomes-for example, increased hardship among some of these households. The challenge for tobacco control is to move from a sole focus on "doing good" towards incorporating the principle of "doing no harm".

Coxiella burnetii infection is associated with placentitis in cases of bovine abortion.

A positive score on a modified acid-fast (MAF)-stained smear test of fresh placenta was used to identify a group of bovine abortion submissions believed to be infected with Coxiella burnetii. Immunohistochemical (IHC) testing for Coxiella and Chlamydia antigens was performed on 14 MAF smear-positive cases as well as 29 MAF smear-negative cases received during the study period. Nine MAF smear-positive cases as well as 1 MAF smear-negative case were Coxiella-positive via the IHC test. No placentas were positive for Chlamydia antigen. Various histopathologic features were categorized for all placentas and the presence or absence of selected risk categories was also graded for each case. The results between Coxiella IHC-positive cases and Coxiella IHC-negative/MAF-negative cases were compared using Fisher's exact test (P value at 95% confidence). Significant associations were found between Coxiella IHC-positive cases and the presence of placental inflammation (P = 0.0027), placental necrosis (P = 0.012), fetal pneumonia (P = 0.0152), and the visibility of Coxiella-like organisms within trophoblasts on hematoxylin and eosin-stained sections (P < 0.0001). Histopathologic features of Coxiella IHC-positive placentas included infiltration of the chorionic stroma by mononuclear cells, necrosis of chorionic trophoblasts, and focal exudation of fibrin and neutrophils. The results indicate that MAF smears are a good screening tool for the presence of Coxiella in placentas from bovine abortion cases and that the detection of this pathogen in aborted placentas via traditional staining or IHC methods is usually associated with placentitis.

Alimentary tract manifestations of bovine adenovirus infections.

Two calves and a feedlot steer with systemic bovine adenovirus infection had hemorrhagic and necrotizing lesions confined to the digestive tract. In one calf there was severe, multifocal, necrotizing, hemorrhagic rumenitis, omasitis, abomasitis, enteritis and colitis. Small intestinal lesions were predominantly in Peyer's patches. Multifocal necrotizing abomasitis was the principal change in the other calf. Large amphophilic intranuclear inclusions typical of bovine adenovirus were common in swollen vascular endothelial cells. Bovine adenovirus was isolated from the former calf. The steer had diffuse hemorrhagic enterocolitis and large numbers of BAV inclusions in vascular endothelial cells of the intestinal lamina propria. Serum-neutralization tests to bovine adenovirus type 3 on acute and convalescent samples from six clinically affected in-contact animals revealed fourfold elevations in two.

Case report: An outbreak of herpesvirus myeloencephalitis in vaccinated horses.

In the foaling season of 1977, five vaccinated horses in a Standardbred breeding stable were affected with herpesvirus myeloencephalitis. Respiratory and abortigenic forms also occurred in other individuals on the premises. Equine herpesvirus type 1 was isolated from the brain of one case of myeloencephalitis and from lungs of two aborted fetuses. Twelve of 16 horses demonstrated fourfold or greater increases in titres to equine herpesvirus type 1.

Chronic enteritis associated with the malabsorption and protein-losing enteropathy in the horse.

Chronic granulomatous enteritis associated with weight loss and hypoproteinemia was identified in 2 horses. Both horses continued to have normally formed feces. Malabsorption of carbohydrate and lipid, with concomitant gastrointestinal protein loss was demonstrated in 1 case. One horse was treated symptomatically and gained 108 kg. In both cases, principal gastrointestinal lesions were partial to total villus atrophy and transmural mononuclear leukocytosis, with lymphocytes and histiocytes predominating. The cause of the condition was not identified in either case.

Endotoxin induced disseminated intravascular coagulation in cattle.

Endotoxin administered intravenously to a group of four calves resulted in disseminated intravascular coagulation. A sublethal dose of piromen, a commercially available Pseudomonas spp endotoxin, was used. Serial measurements of total plasma fibrinogen, soluble fibrin levels, ethanol gelation tests, protamine sulfate tests, fibrinogen-fibrin-related antigen (FR-antigen) and prothrombin and thrombin times were done.Initial depression of plasma fibrinogen with a nadir of about 40% of pre-endotoxin levels at eight to 11 hours post-endotoxin (+8 to +11 hours) followed by an overcompensation to 180% at +60 to +108 hours was shown. Soluble fibrin was demonstrated in plasma from +2 to +22 hours with a peak of 100-114 mg/100 ml at +4 to +9 hours. Positive plasma ethanol gelation and protamine sulfate tests, as well as the presence of serum FR-antigen, occurred consistently following endotoxin administration. Significant increases in prothrombin times (PT) from +4 to +40 hours and in thrombin times (TT) from +4 to +16 hours were demonstrated. The peak increase of PT at +8 to +10 hours was 180%. The peak increase of TT at +6 to +9 hours was 260-290%.

Evaluation of a rapid method of determination of plasma fibrinogen.

An evaluation was made of a rapid semiautomated method of determining fibrinogen levels in bovine plasma. This method, the fibrometer method of Morse, Panek and Menga (8), is based on the principle that when thrombin is added to suitably diluted plasma the time of clotting is linearly related to the fibrinogen concentration. A standard curve prepared using bovine plasma had an r value of .9987 and analysis of variance showed there was no significant deviation from regression. A comparison of the fibrometer method and the biuret method of Ware, Guest and Seegers done on 158 bovine plasma samples showed good correlation between the two methods. It was concluded that the fibrometer method does measure bovine fibrinogen and has considerable merit for use in clinical diseases of cattle.