Interleukin-10 production at the early stage of infection with foot-and-mouth disease virus related to the likelihood of persistent infection in cattle.

The factors leading to persistent infection of foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) virus in ruminants are not well defined. This paper provides evidence of the presence of interleukin-10 (IL-10) early in the course of infection (1-4 days) as a factor in the development of persistence of FMD virus in cattle. Results showed that serum IL-10 in carrier cattle infected with FMD virus type O (n = 4) was detected and peaked at 1 or 2 days post infection and rapidly declined thereafter.

Characteristics of a foot-and-mouth disease virus with a partial VP1 G-H loop deletion in experimentally infected cattle.

Previous work in cattle illustrated the protective efficacy and negative marker potential of a A serotype foot-and-mouth disease virus (FMDV) vaccine prepared from a virus lacking a significant portion of the VP1 G-H loop (termed A(-)). Since this deletion also includes the arginine-glycine-aspartate (RGD) motif required for virus attachment to the host cell in vivo, it was hypothesised that this virus would be attentuated in naturally susceptible animals. The A(-) virus was passaged three times in cattle via needle inoculation of virus suspension delivered into the intradermal space of the tongue (intradermolingual: IDL).

Normal variation in thermal radiated temperature in cattle: implications for foot-and-mouth disease detection.

Background: Thermal imagers have been used in a number of disciplines to record animal surface temperatures and as a result detect temperature distributions and abnormalities requiring a particular course of action. Some work, with animals infected with foot-and-mouth disease virus, has suggested that the technique might be used to identify animals in the early stages of disease. In this study, images of 19 healthy cattle have been taken over an extended period to determine hoof and especially coronary band temperatures (a common site for the development of FMD lesions) and eye temperatures (as a surrogate for core body temperature) and to examine how these vary with time and ambient conditions.

Phenotypic and molecular characterisation of Brucella isolates from marine mammals.

Background: Bacteria of the genus Brucella are the causative organisms of brucellosis in animals and man. Previous characterisation of Brucella strains originating from marine mammals showed them to be distinct from the terrestrial species and likely to comprise one or more new taxa. Recently two new species comprising Brucella isolates from marine mammals, B.

Quantitative analysis of foot-and-mouth disease virus RNA duration in tissues of experimentally infected pigs.

Quantitative analysis of the duration of foot-and-mouth disease virus (FMDV) RNA in tissues was carried out in pigs experimentally infected with FMDV O UKG 34/2001 and O SKR 1/2000. The results showed that the viral RNA was still detectable in cervical lymph nodes, mandibular lymph nodes and tonsils collected from both inoculated and contact pigs at 28 days post infection. There was no detectable viral RNA in the soft palate or pharynx, which are thought to be tissue sites for viral persistence in cattle.

Cytokine mRNA responses in bovine epithelia during foot-and-mouth disease virus infection.

Foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) remains the single most important constraint to international trade in live animals and animal products. The factors which regulate the pathogenesis and persistence of foot-and-mouth disease virus (FMDV) are poorly understood. mRNA levels of the inflammatory cytokines interleukin (IL)-1alpha, tumour necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha and the antiviral cytokines interferon (IFN)-alpha, beta and gamma in microdissected epithelium from cattle acutely infected with FMDV O UKG 34/2001 were quantified using laser microdissection in combination with a quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction assay.

Significance of arginine 20 in the 2A protease for swine vesicular disease virus pathogenicity.

Pathogenic and attenuated strains of swine vesicular disease virus (SVDV), an enterovirus, have been characterized previously and, by using chimeric infectious cDNA clones, the key determinants of pathogenicity in pigs have been mapped to the coding region for 1D-2A. Within this region, residue 20 of the 2A protease is particularly significant. Inoculation of pigs with mutant viruses containing single amino acid substitutions at this residue leads to the appearance of revertants, often containing an arginine at this position encoded by an AGA codon, one of six codons for this residue.

Detection of Mycoplasma mycoides subspecies mycoides SC in bovine lung and lymph node tissues by culture, sandwich ELISA and polymerase chain reaction systems.

Cattle from Northern Portugal, many with pulmonary lesions typical of contagious bovine pleuropneumonia, were investigated for the presence of Mycoplasma mycoides subspecies mycoides small colony (MmmSC), which is the causative agent of CBPP, with several detection tests. Sandwich ELISA that included a culture enrichment stage, and 2 different PCR diagnostic systems were used to detect MmmSC in lung and mediastinal lymph node tissues from these animals. The comparison of typical CBPP pathology with the results of detection revealed that no single one of these methods provided a perfect match to the pathological data.

Evaluation of PCR systems for the identification and differentiation of Mycoplasma agalactiae and Mycoplasma bovis: a collaborative trial.

Diagnostic differentiation between the ruminant pathogens Mycoplasma agalactiae and Mycoplasma bovis is known to be problematic when only conventional serological and biochemical tests are used. The main reason for this is that both agents share a considerable number of related proteins and common epitopes. DNA-based detection methods offer advantages in terms of specificity and sensitivity.