RESUMO
A comparative cervical skin test using 1.0 mg/ml bovine purified protein derivative and 0.5 mg/ml avian purified protein derivative was evaluated as a method for detecting tuberculosis in farmed deer. A positive comparative cervical skin test reaction was defined as a bovine response with a 2 mm or greater increase in skin thickness which was greater or equal to the avian response. Estimates of the sensitivity of the comparative cervical skin test were obtained from a series of experiments conducted on 60 deer intratracheally inoculated with Mycobacterium bovis. Prior tuberculin skin testing was found to suppress the skin reactivity to a subsequent comparative cervical skin test. This effect was most pronounced at short intervals of 3-7 days, but could still be measured 60 days after the previous test. When the test interval was greater than 60 days, the sensitivity of the comparative cervical skin test was 91.4%. The specificity of the comparative cervical skin test was 98.7% when 1157 deer from 17 uninfected herds with a history of nonspecific skin test reactions were examined. There was no statistical difference in the mean skin thickness increases of three groups of infected animals tested with 2 mg/ml, 0.2 mg/ml and 0.02 mg/ml of bovine purified protein derivative respectively.
RESUMO
Two groups of 26 red deer (Cervus elaphus) were tuberculin skin tested for 41 weeks at three and six week intervals respectively, except at 17 weeks when the internal was two and five weeks. Seventeen weeks after the start of the experiment 36 deer were inoculated intratracheally with Mycobacterium bovis, and the remaining 16 were run in-contact. At six weeks post inoculation, 35 of the 36 inoculated deer reacted to the skin test with a mean skin thickness difference (STD) of 6.3 mm. In inoculated deer further testing led to a suppression of skin sensitivity which was significantly greater in the three-weekly tested group. There was no statistical difference in skin thickness response between 1 and 2 mg/ml bovine purified protein derivative (PPD). Of 454 tests on noninoculated deer (noninfected), 107 produced reactions. These reactions were small and 96% had a STD of less than 2 mm.
RESUMO
This study was designed to investigate experimental Mycobacterium bovis infection of red deer (Cervus elaphus). Three intravenously inoculated deer (dose 10 microg-1000 microg) developed miliary tuberculosis of the lungs and all died within 28 days of being infected. No clinical illnesses were observed in four subcutaneously (dose 1 microg-1000 microg) and three intratracheally (dose 10 microg-100 microg) inoculated deer. At the conclusion of the experiment six weeks post inoculation, these seven animals reacted to 2 mg/ml of bovine purified protein derivative. The principal lesions in the intravenously inoculated deer were in the lungs which had multiple foci of necrosis containing very large numbers of acid fast bacilli. A gradation of changes was seen in the subcutaneously inoculated deer. The animal receiving the 1 microg dose only had lesions at the injection site and the draining prescapular lymph node. Deer receiving higher doses also had histopathological changes in the lungs and liver. Microscopic changes in the intratracheally infected animals were restricted to the thoracic cavity. The ability of the deer to controlled infection was related to the route of inoculation.
RESUMO
Bovine Leukaemia Virus (BLV) infection in New Zealand cattle was investigated. In a national survey of 5000 sera from 500 herds, BLV antibody was not detected. An additional 1062 sera from 140 herds were tested and 3 sera were positive. In the herd of origin of one of these 3 sera, 22.6% of cattle were serologically positive for BLV. Where cases of bovine lymphosarcoma had been diagnosed, 38 of 39 herds tested were negative for BLV antibody. Within the remaining herd, 36% of cows tested were serologically-positive. BLV was isolated from 2 serologically positive cows in this herd.
