Duck plague outbreak in a Chara-Chemballi duck farm.

BACKGROUND: Duck rearing is one of the important livelihoods of rural people. Duck plague is one of the diseases causing heavy mortality resulting in economic losses. CASE DESCRIPTION: An outbreak of duck plague in a farm in Kadavakathi Village near Tenkasi, Tirunelveli Dt., is reported. FINDINGS/TREATMENT AND OUTCOME: Two thousands out of 4500 Chara-Chemballi breed of ducks which were recently purchased from Chenganacherry in Kerala died, with a mortality rate of 44.4%. Clinical signs of inappetence, partial closure of eyelid, conjunctivitis, corneal opacity, oculo-nasal discharge, soiled vent with green white watery diarrhoea, ataxia, incoordination and sudden death were observed. Necropsy examination revealed diphtheritic membrane in the oesophagus, congestion, petechial haemorrhages and multifocal gray white areas on the surface of the liver, epicardial haemorrhages, congested trachea, lung, kidneys, splenomegaly with mottled appearance and enteritis. Microscopical examination revealed presence of eosinophilic intranuclear and intracytoplasmic inclusions in the epithelial cells of the intestine and hepatocytes, degeneration and necrosis of enterocytes, dilated crypt epithelial cells with presence of eosinophilic intranuclear and intracytoplasmic inclusions, congestion and lymphoid cell depletion in the spleen, vasculitis, congestion, and haemorrhages in the trachea and lungs, proventriculitis, and congested kidneys. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) also confirmed the duck plague viral infection by the amplification of polymerase gene fragment (446 bp). CONCLUSION: Based on the above findings, the Chara-Chemballi duck disease outbreak was diagnosed as duck viral enteritis infection.

[Autoimmune reactions in diseases of streptococcal etiology]. / Autoimmunnye reaktsii pri zabolevaniiakh streptokokkovoi étiologii.

In this work 98 cases of streptococcal tonsillitis and 361 cases of erysipelas were studied. As revealed in this study, in relapsing forms of streptococcal infection antibodies to cross-reacting antigens of the infective agent appear in the blood. The synthesis of antibodies to the basal layers of skin epithelium was accompanied by an increase in the concentration of medium-size immune complexes, 0-cell population and by a decrease in the number of T suppressors. The mechanism of the development of the autoimmune process in relapsing forms of streptococcal infection is discussed.

[Changes in the complement system in acute streptococcal infection]. / Izmeneniia sistemy komplementa pri ostroi streptokokkovoi infektsii.

Results are reported of a study of relationship of complement level, unspecific adaptative reactions, number of circulating immune complexes and some cellular parameters of the immunogram in patients with different forms of streptococcal infection. Different changes were found in acute and chronic forms of the disease. The possible mechanisms of development of these disorders are discussed.

[The characteristics of a streptococcal-etiology angina in an industrial center]. / Osobennosti anginy streptokokkovoi étiologii v usloviiakh promyshlennogo tsentra.

Results are presented of a study of the clinical picture of angina of streptococcal etiology in conditions of a large industrial center. The authors analyzed the state of unspecific adaptative reactions of the body at different periods of the disease. Conclusions on the characteristic aspects of sanogenesis in this type of pathology are made.

[Secondary immunopathology in patients with an acute streptococcal infection]. / Vtorichnaia immunopatologiia u bol'nykh s ostroi streptokokkovoi infektsiei.

The authors studied the activity of complement, nonspecific adaptive reactions of the body, the presence of antibodies to cross-reacting antigens of Streptococcus, the concentration of circulating immune complexes, some cellular characteristics of the immunogram in patients with different forms of streptococcal infection. The changes revealed allow a conclusion about the presence of autoimmune processes, most pronounced in chronic and recurrent forms of diseases. In the formation of streptococcal infection relapses, of the role is pathology of the complement system in combination with disorders in other components of nonspecific anti-infection resistance.

[Circulating immune complexes in the pathogenesis of recurrent erysipelas]. / Tsirkuliruiushchie immunnye kompleksy v patogeneze retsidiviruiushchei rozhi.

The dynamics of circulating immune complexes (CIC) in comparison with the level of SH-groups of serum deproteinate and other characteristics of cell-mediated and humoral immunity (the reaction of the inhibition of antibodies, the levels of T-cells and their main subpopulations) was studied in 103 erysipelas patients and in 46 persons having had the disease at the acute period of this infection and at the periods between relapses. The elevated levels of CIC and SH-groups of serum deproteinate were found to be directly correlated with the inhibition index. The study showed that, as a rule, in patients with the elevated level of CIC the frequently relapsing form of erysipelas, accompanied by the formation of relative hypersuppressor-type secondary immunodeficiency and by a decrease in the functional activity of dermal macrophages, was observed.