Phylogenetic analysis of rabbit haemorrhagic disease virus (RHDV) strains isolated between 1988 and 2003 in eastern Hungary.

To define the genetic variability of RHDV strains collected in eastern Hungary, liver samples from rabbits that had died of RHD were collected between 1988 and 2003. The phylogenetic analysis of a 528-nucleotide-long portion of the gene encoding the VP60 capsid protein assigned the strains into three genogroups. The first group contained viruses from 1988-1993, and a second group comprised isolates from 1994-2002. A third group comprised all of the tested representatives of the RHDVa subtype and a Hungarian isolate from 2003. These findings were supported by the alignments of the deduced amino acid sequences of the VP60 gene and strongly suggest the presence of the RHDVa subtype in Hungary.

Bovine abortion associated with Neospora caninum in Hungary.

The authors report the first case of bovine neosporosis in Hungary based on investigations made on an aborted fetus. The diagnostic methods included traditional as well as molecular techniques. This record extends further the geographic range of the disease.

New pig disease in Hungary: postweaning multisystemic wasting syndrome caused by circovirus (short communication).

Postweaning multisystemic wasting syndrome (PMWS), a new disease in Hungary, was recognized in a swine herd located in Southeast Hungary, during the early winter of 1999. The first clinical signs of paleness, anaemia, and leanness appeared immediately after weaning, at the age of 40-50 days. Pustules were frequently observed on the skin of the trunk, and signs of necrotic dermatitis were also visible. A syndrome of poor growth and wasting was characteristic of the affected pigs. A porcine circovirus (PCV), the suspected causative agent, was detected by polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Sequencing data and restriction endonuclease (RE) analysis of the PCR products suggested that the virus belonged to the PCV-II group where all the causative agents of PMWS are also grouped.

Disease caused by Mycoplasma mycoides subspecies mycoides LC in Hungarian goat herds.

The occurrence of a goat disease caused by Mycoplasma mycoides subsp. mycoides LC in Hungary is reported. The disease occurred in two goat herds in the spring of 1999. In one herd 25% of the 4-12 weeks old kids (10 animals) while in the other herd 33% of the 6-12 weeks old kids (20 animals) became affected. The goat kids developed polyarthritis. The most severe lesions developed in the carpal joints. All animals died after 3-8 days of disease. Four dead kids were necropsied. All of them had serofibrinous and purulent polyarthritis, and in two animals bronchopneumonia, fibrinous pleuritis and meningitis were also found. In the articular exudates the presence of mycoplasmas was detected by PCR using a general mycoplasma primer. Mycoplasmas were cultured from the joints of all animals, from the abdominal parenchymal organs of two kids and from the lungs of one animal. The cultured mycoplasmas grew in strikingly large colonies, proved to be glucose positive, arginine negative and phosphatase positive, and liquefied the coagulated serum. They survived incubation at 45 degrees C for more than 24 h. Based upon their biochemical properties, the results of the immunofluorescence (IF) and growth inhibition tests and the sequence analysis of the PCR product, the cultured strains were identified as M. mycoides subsp. mycoides LC. Animals purchased in the previous autumn had been introduced to both farms. The disease may have been introduced with asymptomatic carrier animals, as earlier no similar disease had been observed at either farm.

Fumonisin B1 contamination of maize and experimental acute fumonisin toxicosis in pigs.

The fumonisin B1 content of 69 visibly mouldy and 23 mould-free maize samples grown in Hungary in 1993-1995 was determined by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Fumonisin B1 was found to occur in 70-73% of the mouldy samples. The mycotoxin level increased from year to year: the highest fumonisin B1 concentration was 75.1 mg/kg. The samples that were mould-free on visual inspection showed a much lower prevalence of fumonisin B1 contamination (30%) and contained fumonisin B1 in markedly lower concentrations (average, 1.52 mg/kg; maximum concentration, 5.1 mg/kg). Using the Fusarium moniliforme strain designated 14/A, isolated from the sample that had the highest mycotoxin concentrations, fumonisin B1 toxin was produced on maize by an internationally accepted procedure. Subsequently, two weaned piglets were fed a diet containing 330 mg fumonisin B1 per kg of feed. The experimental animals developed hydrothorax and pulmonary oedema, and died in 5-6 days. The clinical symptoms and pathological lesions were consistent with those of porcine pulmonary oedema (PPE) diagnosed in the USA in 1989-1990, as well as with those of a disease entity that had already been described in Hungary in the 1950s as the so-called fattening or unique pulmonary oedema of pigs but considered to be of unknown aetiology. The results of the feeding trial confirm that this pig disease, which has occurred in Hungary for a long time, is caused by the mycotoxin fumonisin B1.

Bacterial contamination of the uterus after parturition and its effect on the reproductive performance of cows on large-scale dairy farms.

The bacteriological status of the uteri of 150 cows was examined on 14 large-scale dairy farms 10 to 20 d after parturition and then twice again in 2-wk intervals during uterine involution. The degree of bacterial contamination and the proportion of the infected uterus as well as the composition of the isolated flora were determined. The antibiotic sensitivity of the important bacterium strains was also studied. The relationship between the reproductive data and bacterial contamination of the uteri was analyzed, and the influence of certain environmental and genetic factors on the rate of infection was examined. The proportion of cows having moderate or more serious uterine infection remained above 30 % at the end of involution on more than 35 % of the farms. Infections were caused mainly by streptococci, E. coli and corynebacteria. The bacterium strains showed broad resistance against commericially available antibiotics. There were significant differences in the length of time from the parturition to the first insemination and conception among cows at the various farms. There was a significant correlation between these differences and the bacteriological status of the uteri. Reproductive data were the lowest in the group of cows infected with Corynebacterium pyogenes. The rate of the infected uteri was considerably higher after the third parturition and in cows producing less than 20 l of milk per day. No connection was found between the bacteriological status of the uteri and the breed, type of housing, and season of the parturitions.

Isolation of satratoxins from the bedding straw of a sheep flock with fatal stachybotryotoxicosis.

During a period of several weeks, more than 100 sheep died at a Hungarian farm. The animals exhibited fleece loosing, and hemorrhaging was the most important autopsy finding. Pasteurella haemolytica was cultured from various organs. The bedding straw was abundantly covered with Stachybotrys atra, and removal of the straw stopped the disease. Methanol extraction of the bedding straw followed by solvent partitioning, column chromatography, preparative thin-layer chromatography, and high-pressure liquid chromatography led to the isolation of satratoxins G and H, which were characterized by thin-layer chromatography, high-pressure liquid chromatography, and mass spectroscopy. This is the first isolation and characterization of toxins from a field sample of material responsible for an outbreak of stachybotryotoxicosis.