Securing access to personnel and materials in transboundary animal disease responses.

A lack of human and material resources can limit effective responses to animal disease emergencies. Drawing upon examples from Australia and New Zealand, this paper proposes a framework for identifying human and material resources and securing the necessary personnel and materials before or during an animal disease emergency. This staged process involves: a) assessing the nature of the risks to be managed, b) identifying the types of resources required, c) assessing available resources and identifying gaps and d) developing arrangements to ensure availability of resources. It discusses the advantages and disadvantages of different strategies to secure access to human and material resources, including whole-of-government arrangements to access other government resources, national and international reserve models for responders, just-in-time employment and purchase of materials, and purchase of stockpiles.

La disponibilité insuffisante des ressources tant humaines que matérielles peut limiter l'efficacité des interventions en cas d'urgence zoosanitaire. À partir de l'expérience acquise par l'Australie et la Nouvelle-Zélande, les auteurs proposent un cadre permettant d'inventorier les ressources humaines et matérielles et de garantir la disponibilité des personnels et des équipements nécessaires avant ou pendant une urgence zoosanitaire. Le processus par étapes proposé prévoit : a) d'évaluer la nature des risques qu'il conviendra de traiter ; b) d'identifier les types de ressources à mobiliser ; c) d'évaluer les ressources disponibles et les lacunes ; d) de prendre les dispositions nécessaires pour garantir la disponibilité opérationnelle des ressources. Les auteurs examinent les avantages et les inconvénients respectifs de diverses stratégies visant à se doter des ressources humaines et matérielles nécessaires, en particulier les dispositions gouvernementales permettant de réquisitionner d'autres ressources publiques, les schémas nationaux et internationaux d'intervenants réservistes, les dispositifs d'emploi et d'achats de matériel à flux tendus et la constitution de stocks stratégiques.

La cantidad de recursos humanos y materiales disponibles puede ser un factor limitante a la hora de responder eficazmente a las emergencias zoosanitarias. Partiendo de ejemplos tomados de Australia y Nueva Zelanda, los autores proponen un marco de referencia para determinar los recursos humanos y materiales necesarios y asegurarse de contar con ellos antes o en el curso de una emergencia zoosanitaria. Se trata de un proceso por etapas, que pasa por: a) evaluar la naturaleza de los riesgos que hay que manejar; b) determinar los tipos de recursos que se requieren; c) determinar los recursos disponibles y los faltantes; y d) concebir e implantar disposiciones para asegurarse de tener disponibles todos esos recursos. Los autores pasan revista a las ventajas e inconvenientes de distintos procedimientos para asegurarse el acceso a recursos humanos y materiales, tales como: la aplicación de disposiciones que, abarcando todas las instancias gubernamentales, garanticen el acceso a recursos de otras instancias públicas; los modelos de personal reservista nacional e internacional; los métodos de contratación y compra de material «justo a tiempo¼ (just-in-time); o la adquisición por adelantado de existencias de reserva.

Abortion in a heifer associated with the intra-uterine transmission of Cowdria ruminantium-like organisms following heartwater vaccination.

A Nguni heifer aborted a 6-month-old foetus 35 days after intravenous inoculation with Onderstepoort heartwater vaccine. Histopathological examination of the brain revealed numerous suspected Cowdria ruminantium organisms in the endothelial cells of the blood vessels. The organisms were ultrastructurally and immunohistochemically compatible with Cowdria ruminantium, although, owing to autolysis and cross-reactions, the possibility that they represent another rickettsial or related organism could not be completely excluded. As far as we could ascertain this is the first recorded case of suspected intra-uterine transmission of Cowdria ruminantium in ruminants.

First report of field outbreaks of ergot-alkaloid toxicity in South Africa.

Outbreaks of clinical disease caused by the ingestion of ergotized Lolium rigidum (annual ryegrass), which resulted in a substantial loss in production, have been reported. A number of outbreaks of a hyperthermia syndrome in cattle, characterized by severe loss in milk production, loss of body mass and reduced fertility, are described. In one major outbreak in March to April 1994, a milling company reported that 2,646 dairy cows on 29 farms had developed clinical signs. In this outbreak, significant levels of ergotamine, ergosine, ergocornine and ergocryptine were found in the milled dairy rations fed to the affected cows. Barley screenings containing ergotized annual-ryegrass seed was identified as the toxic component and probable source of the ergot alkaloids in the ration. The clinical syndrome was reproduced experimentally by feeding suspected feed to a group of nine high-producing Ayrshire cows. An outbreak of gangrenous necrosis of the extremities in young cattle in the winter of 1987 was also suspected of having been caused by ergot alkaloids in grain screenings.

Cyanobacterial (blue-green algae) poisoning of livestock in the western Cape Province of South Africa.

Three outbreaks of cyanobacterial (blue-green algae) poisoning involving cattle and sheep are described. In 2 of these acute mortality was followed by photodermatitis in some of the surviving animals. In all 3 outbreaks the hepatotoxicity of the water collected from the dams where the animals had been drinking was confirmed following the intraperitoneal administration to mice. Nodularia spumigena was the dominant cyanobacterium in the first 2 outbreaks, and Microcystis aeruginosa in the third. The presence of the heptapeptide toxin microcystin-LR in the third outbreak was demonstrated by high pressure liquid chromatography.

The identification of Mycoplasma conjunctivae as an aetiological agent of infectious keratoconjunctivitis of sheep in South Africa.

Ovine keratoconjunctivitis was successfully reproduced in lambs under 1 year of age, in four separate transmission trials, by the use of mycoplasma isolates obtained from field outbreaks of ovine infectious keratoconjunctivitis. Mycoplasma isolates used in one of these trials, were identified as M. conjunctivae by means of immunofluorescence. Mycoplasma was isolated from approximately 87% of field cases examined. Branhamella ovis was isolated from 22% of field cases examined. No Chlamydia sp. or viruses were isolated from any of the outbreaks.

Causes of perinatal lamb mortality amongst Dormer and SA Mutton Merino lambs.

Perinatal lamb deaths were investigated in Dormer (n = 290) and SA Mutton Merino (n = 306) progeny born to 166 and 147 ewes respectively. Causes of mortality were investigated by autopsy in 30 Dormer and 61 SA Mutton Merino lambs that died during the perinatal period. Perinatal lamb deaths were higher (P < or = 0.01) in SA Mutton Merino lambs than in Dormers (0.199 vs 0.103). Anteparturient deaths (APD) were confined almost exclusively to triplet lambs, and contributed 10-12% of the overall perinatal lamb mortalities in both breeds. This category was closely associated with prolonged parturition, with 86% of the 7 ewes involved needing assistance after more than 4 h. The majority of parturient deaths (PD) were associated with stressful births, which contributed a higher (P < or = 0.05) proportion of total perinatal deaths in SA Mutton Merino lambs than in Dormers (0.508 vs 0.267). Ewes giving birth to litters consisting of one or more lambs in the birth stressed PD or birth stressed post parturient death (PPD) categories (also including APD deaths because of their obvious relationship to prolonged births), furthermore had longer (P < or = 0.05) parturitions than contemporaries that lost one or more lambs as a result of other causes, or ewes that reared all lambs born through the perinatal period (214 vs 98 and 74 min respectively). Uncomplicated starvation/mismothering/exposure (SME) syndromes mostly contributed to the PPD category, and constituted 21-27% of perinatal lamb deaths in the 2 breeds. Deaths with clinical signs of SME could mainly be related to udder malfunction, which was observed in nearly 60% of the cases.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

An outbreak of narasin poisoning in swine.

An outbreak of narasin poisoning in swine is described. Forty nine out of 108 lactating sows died over a period of one month after being fed a ration accidentally contaminated with narasin. Clinical signs included anorexia, respiratory distress, lethargy and posterior paresis, progressing to lateral recumbency and death. Necropsy examination in 3 pigs revealed extensive myocardial and skeletal muscle damage. Analysis of the feed confirmed the presence of high concentrations of narasin.

An outbreak of suspected Phalaris staggers in sheep in the western Cape Province.

An outbreak of suspected Phalaris staggers in South Africa is described. Approximately 40 out of 600 sheep that had been grazing for 3 weeks on a wheat stubble land heavily infested with Phalaris grass, were affected. Clinical signs included nervous tremors, ataxia and convulsions. New cases occurred even after removal from the affected pasture. The most prominent microscopic lesion seen in the 2 sheep autopsied, was an accumulation of intracytoplasmic brown pigment in the neurons of the brain.

A field outbreak of chronic aflatoxicosis in dairy calves in the western Cape Province.

An outbreak of mortality in Friesland dairy calves in which 7 out of 25 calves died in the western Cape Province, Republic of South Africa is described. Clinical signs included a loss in body mass, staring hair coat, diarrhoea and rectal prolapse. Histopathological changes in the liver were characterised by severe portal fibrosis with bile duct proliferation and mild portal round cell infiltration. The calves were fed a ration containing locally-produced maize. The implicated maize was infested with Aspergillus flavus and contained aflatoxins B1, B2, G1 and G2 with total aflatoxin levels as high as 11,790 ng g-1. This is the first report of a field outbreak of bovine aflatoxicosis in South Africa.

Dermatosparaxis in White Dorper sheep.

A diagnosis of dermatosparaxis in a lamb with clinical signs of extreme skin fragility was based on the gross changes as well as on light and scanning electron microscopical observations. Similar cases had occurred on the same farm during the previous year.