Possible Acute Poisoning by Sinapis arvensis in Sheep: Clinical, Laboratory and Necropsy Findings.

An outbreak of possible acute poisoning by Sinapis arvensis occurred in a flock of 50 fat-tailed sheep located in the Semnan province of Iran. Sinapis arvensis is an annual or winter annual plant of the genus Sinapis in the family Brassicaceae, commonly known as field mustard, wild mustard or charlock. The poisonous constituents are volatile oil of mustard, the alkaloid sinapin, and the alkaloidal glucoside sinalbin. The flock was grazing in land containing high amounts of wild mustard (Sinapis arvensis) in late spring. Seven sheep (aged between 1 and 5 years) died within approximately 3 days. The affected animals displayed signs of depression, reluctance to move, tachycardia, tachypnea, mucoid and hemorrhagic nasal discharges, pale conjunctiva, ataxia, abdominal pain, bruxism, and anorexia. Rectal temperature in these animals was normal to high (39-41.5 °C). Ruminal movements were reduced (1-2/min). Serum biochemical levels in affected sheep showed marked increases of blood urea nitrogen (BUN), Gamma glutamyl transferase (GGT), magnesium (Mg), and phosphorous (P) and a marked decrease in calcium (Ca). In urinalysis, marked hemoglobinuria and proteinuria were observed. Necropsy findings included congestion in lungs and hemorrhage on the epicardial and endocardial heart surfaces, on the surface and medulla of the kidneys, and abomasal mucosa. The liver was also congested with a nutmeg pattern. Rumen contents included digested materials and large quantities of seeds and stems of wild mustard. For the first time, our findings confirmed wild mustard toxicosis in sheep in Iran.

Distribution of Antibiotic Resistance Genes among the Phylogroups of Escherichia coli in Diarrheic Calves and Chickens Affected by Colibacillosis in Tehran, Iran.

Antibiotic resistance occurs in the endogenous flora of exposed population in addition to pathogenic bacteria. This study was conducted to evaluate the distribution of antibiotic resistance genes among 63 isolates of Escherichia coli of Escherichia coli (E. coli) in diarrheic calves and poultry. According to the results, B1 and B2 were the most prevalent phylogroups of E. coli in calves and poultry carcasses, respectively. Antimicrobial resistance was observed in 76% of the isolates, and 62% of the strains were multi-drug resistant. Antibiotic resistance in E. coli strains obtained from calves strains was significantly higher than those obtained from poultries. Additionally, the strains of B1 and D phylogroups had the highest and lowest antimicrobial resistance, respectively. At least one encoding gene for integrone was detected in 23 strains (36.5%) and Class I integron had the highest prevalence. Accordingly, this study gave baseline information on the magnitude of the resistance problem and its genetic background in E. coli from domesticated animals of the Tehran, Iran. Moreover, the power of oligonucleotide array technology in the discrimination of different genotypes during a short time was confirmed in this study.