Epidemiology of Mycoplasma agalactiae infection in free-ranging Spanish ibex (Capra pyrenaica) in Andalusia, southern Spain.

Mycoplasma agalactiae is the main causal agent of contagious agalactia syndrome in Spain. It is a severe disease of small ruminants, endemic in Mediterranean countries, that is characterized by mastitis, arthritis, and keratoconjunctivitis. This paper investigates the temporal, spatial, and host-related factors in the distribution of M. agalactiae infection from October 1996 to November 1998 and March 2002 to May 2003 in Spanish ibex (Capra pyrenaica) populations from Andalusia, in southern Spain. The predisposing factors to infection among previously selected factors (year of sampling, climatic season, geographic origin according to province, mountain range and metapopulation, sex, year of life, presence of scabies, and phase of the reproductive cycle) were established. We collected conjunctival and ear-canal swabs from 411 free-ranging ibexes. The frequency of infected ibexes was 11.2%. The peak frequency of infection occurred in 1998 and in summer. Granada was the province with greatest risk (odds ratio = 2.6) of carriers (18.8% infected). The predisposing factors were sex (females), age (young animals), and metapopulation (Sierra Nevada). We identified a higher number of infected ibexes in the metapopulation "Sierra Nevada" (34/ 256) and significant differences among the three established metapopulations (P<0.01). Mycoplasma agalactiae infection represents a risk for population density and maintenance of these wild populations; infections can result in blindness, malnutrition, and polyarthritis leading to numerous deaths.

[Photoablation using Excimer laser irradiation--a suitable concept for microneurosurgery?]. / Photoablation mittels Excimer-Laserstrahlung--ein geeignetes Konzept für die Mikroneurochirurgie?

The suitability of Excimer laser beam for microneurosurgery was investigated in an animal experimental study. Cranial bones, cortex and the nervus ischiadicus of the rat were irradiated with 193 nm argon fluoride, 248 nm krypton fluoride, 308 nm xenon chloride and 351 nm xenon fluoride. After survival times of up to 30 days microscopic and electron optic findings of laser lesions at the tissues mentioned above, were studied. By means of the Excimer laser beam high precision tissue effects without or with only low thermal damage to the surrounding tissue were produced with any desired depth of penetration or extension. In analogy with the experiences gathered from animal experiments, a possible use is discussed for the removal of bone tissue around cranial nerves or vascular structures, of epileptogenic foci, or for cutting off pathways in pain surgery (e.g. the zone of entry of the dorsal root of spinal nerves).