Leptospirosis acquisition following the reintroduction of wildlife.

Potential risks posed to domestic animals and human beings by zoonotic diseases in reintroduced animals can reduce the acceptability of reintroductions. The authors investigated the role of endangered water voles, Arvicola amphibius, as a host for leptospirosis, a waterborne zoonosis affecting a range of mammals. Based on samples from 112 individuals from across the UK, a 6.

Measuring animal welfare within a reintroduction: an assessment of different indices of stress in water voles Arvicola amphibius.

Reintroductions are an increasingly common conservation restoration tool; however, little attention has hitherto been given to different methods for monitoring the stress encountered by reintroduced individuals. We compared ten potential measures of stress within four different categories (neuroendocrine, cell function, body condition and immune system function) as proxies for animal welfare in water voles being reintroduced to the Upper Thames region, Oxfordshire, UK. Captive-bred voles were assessed pre-release, and each month post-release for up to five months.

Captive housing during water vole (Arvicola terrestris) reintroduction: does short-term social stress impact on animal welfare?

Background: Animals captive bred for reintroduction are often housed under conditions which are not representative of their preferred social structure for at least part of the reintroduction process. Specifically, this is most likely to occur during the final stages of the release programme, whilst being housed during transportation to the release site. The degree of social stress experienced by individuals during this time may negatively impact upon their immunocompetence.

Effects of forage availability on growth and maturation rates in water voles.

1. In populations of small mammals, food supplementation typically results in higher population densities, body weights, growth rates and reproductive rates. However, few studies have demonstrated a relationship between forage levels and demographic rates in wild populations in the absence of supplementation.

Minocycline treatment results in reduced oral steroid requirements in adult asthma.

The tetracycline antibiotics have pleiotropic anti-inflammatory properties that may explain their therapeutic benefit in rheumatoid arthritis and acne. As these agents suppress both cellular and humoral immune responses, they may be of benefit in treating asthma and other allergic disorders. The purpose of this study was to determine whether minocycline therapy of asthma has steroid sparing effects beyond its inherent antibiotic properties.

Bovine tuberculosis (Mycobacterium bovis) in British farmland wildlife: the importance to agriculture.

Bovine tuberculosis (bTB) is an important disease of cattle and an emerging infectious disease of humans. Cow- and badger-based control strategies have failed to eradicate bTB from the British cattle herd, and the incidence is rising by about 18%per year. The annual cost to taxpayers in Britain is currently 74 million UK pounds.

Infection with Simkania negevensis in Brooklyn, New York.

Background: Simkania negevensis is a Chlamydia-like intracellular organism that is prevalent in populations from a wide range of geographic areas. The role of the organism in respiratory disease in the United States is unknown.

Objective: To study the association between infection with S.

Is Chlamydia pneumoniae infection associated with stroke in children with sickle cell disease?

Background: Stroke is often a devastating complication of sickle cell disease (SCD). Most children with SCD-related stroke have stenotic and occlusive disease of cerebral blood vessels due to intimal hyperplasia. This hyperplasia is hypothesized to result from an inflammatory response similar to that in atherosclerosis and has been attributed to infection by Chlamydia pneumoniae.

Use of polymerase chain reaction for the detection of Chlamydia trachomatis in ocular and nasopharyngeal specimens from infants with conjunctivitis.

Background: Chlamydia trachomatis is the most common identifiable infectious cause of neonatal conjunctivitis. Nonculture tests including enzyme immunoassays and direct fluorescent antibody tests have been shown to perform well for the diagnosis of chlamydial conjunctivitis with sensitivities and specificities > or = 90%. However, the performance with respiratory specimens has been less than satisfactory.

Evaluation of a new optical immunoassay for diagnosis of neonatal chlamydial conjunctivitis.

The BioStar OIA Chlamydia test (BioStar, Inc., Boulder, Colo.) is a novel immunoassay system that uses changes in reflection of light to directly detect chlamydial antigen in clinical specimens.

The association of Chlamydia pneumoniae infection and reactive airway disease in children.

Objective: To determine the possible association of Chlamydia pneumoniae infection and reactive airway disease in children.

Design: Prospective observational study.

Setting: Pediatric emergency department in Children's Medical Center of Brooklyn (NY), Kings County Hospital Center.

Single dose of azithromycin for the treatment of genital chlamydial infections in adolescents.

We compared a single 1 gm dose of azithromycin with the standard 7-day course of doxycycline for the treatment of uncomplicated chlamydial genital infection in sexually active adolescents. Seventy-three adolescents (65 female) with a cervical or urethral culture positive for Chlamydia trachomatis were enrolled in the study; 46 received azithromycin and 27 received doxycycline. Follow-up evaluations were done 1, 2, and 4 weeks after treatment with azithromycin or initiation of treatment with doxycycline.

Comparison of a chemiluminometric immunoassay with culture for diagnosis of chlamydial infections in infants.

The performance of Magic Lite (CIBA-Corning), a chemiluminescent immunoassay (CIA), was compared with that of culture for the diagnosis of neonatal chlamydial conjunctivitis and respiratory infection. We performed a retrospective evaluation of 51 ocular and 96 nasopharyngeal specimens previously collected for culture testing with the CIA. The sensitivities for the ocular and the nasopharyngeal specimens were 91 and 91.

Persistent infection with Chlamydia pneumoniae following acute respiratory illness.

Chlamydia pneumoniae is emerging as a significant cause of respiratory disease, including pneumonia and bronchitis, in humans. In this recently completed study of infection due to C. pneumoniae in patients presenting with pneumonia to SUNY Health Science Center at Brooklyn, we identified two individuals for whom cultures were positive on multiple occasions over a 1-year period.

Infection with Chlamydia pneumoniae in Brooklyn.

Of 91 children and adults with lower respiratory tract infection, 17 (18.7%) had evidence of infection with Chlamydia pneumoniae. Infection was more common in older adolescents and adults than in children.

Role of Chlamydia pneumoniae in acute chest syndrome of sickle cell disease.

Children with sickle cell disease and acute chest syndrome were investigated for infection with Chlamydia pneumoniae and Mycoplasma pneumoniae. Of 30 patients who had 32 episodes of acute chest syndrome, four (13%) had C. pneumoniae isolated from the nasopharynx; two of these also had serologic evidence of acute infection, and one had positive nasopharyngeal isolates on two subsequent occasions during the course of 1 year with stable, elevated titers of anti-C.

Comparison of two enzyme immunoassays to culture for the diagnosis of chlamydial conjunctivitis and respiratory infections in infants.

Data are limited for the performance of enzyme immunoassays for the detection of Chlamydia trachomatis in conjunctival and nasopharyngeal specimens from infants. The only available data are for one assay, Chlamydiazyme (Abbott Diagnostics). The purpose of this study was to compare a new enzyme immunoassay, Pathfinder (Kallestad Diagnostics), with Chlamydiazyme and culture for the diagnosis of chlamydial conjunctivitis and pneumonia in infants.

Comparison of Kodak Surecell Chlamydia Test Kit with culture for the diagnosis of chlamydial conjunctivitis in infants.

The accuracy of the Surecell Chlamydia Test Kit (Kodak Clinical Products, Rochester, N.Y.) in detecting neonatal conjunctival infection caused by Chlamydia trachomatis was determined by comparison of this enzyme immunoassay with the isolation of C.