Isolation and identification of Salmonella species from chelonians using combined selective media, serotyping and ribotyping.

Thirty-two faecal samples from various pet chelonians were bacteriologically examined using various combinations of selective media for Salmonella detection. Strains identified as Salmonella were clustered by rRNA gene restriction pattern (ribotyping) analysis prior to serological typing. The combination of selenite broth and Rambach or Salmonella-Shigella agars gave the maximum rate of Salmonella recovery.

Early stages of rabbit haemorrhagic disease virus infection monitored by polymerase chain reaction.

In order to define more accurately the initial events that take place during rabbit haemorrhagic disease virus (RHDV) infection, different organs of experimentally infected rabbits were analysed for the presence of the virus and correlated with histopathological observations. A total of 24 rabbits were intranasally inoculated with a viral suspension, and tissue samples were taken from the liver, spleen, kidney, lung, thymus, lymph node and tonsil at different intervals post-inoculation (2, 4, 6, 12, 18, 24, 30, 36, 48, 50, 51, 70 and 72 h). Histopathological observations revealed the presence of the first significant lesions at 30 h post-inoculation (p.

Detection of rabbit haemorrhagic disease virus isolates and sequence comparison of the N-terminus of the capsid protein gene by the polymerase chain reaction.

At present there is no sensitive method for the detection of rabbit haemorrhagic disease virus (RHDV), a calicivirus causing high mortality in rabbit populations. For this purpose a reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) was established in the N-terminal portion of the RHDV capsid region. The RT-PCR was 10(4)-fold more sensitive than ELISA testing for the detection of the virus and was able to detect as few as 12 copies of template cDNA.

Duck hepatitis B virus infection, aflatoxin B1 and liver cancer in domestic Chinese ducks.

The oncogenicity of Duck hepatitis B virus (DHBV) is unclear since hepatocellular carcinomas (HCCs) have been reported only in domestic ducks in Qidong, an area of China where hepatitis B virus (HBV) and aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) are risk factors for liver cancer in man. In order to better define the association between DHBV infection, AFB1 and HCC we analysed a series of 16 duck liver samples collected from local farms in Qidong. HCC was found in eight and cirrhosis in one of these samples.

Duck hepatitis B virus infection, aflatoxin B1 and liver cancer in ducks.

The association between chronic infection by hepadnaviruses isolated from human (HBV), woodchuck (WHV), ground squirrel (GSHV) and development of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in their respective hosts is well established (reviewed in [11, 15, 17]). By contrast, the association of duck hepatitis B virus (DHBV) infection with HCC is less documented. Pekin ducks congenitally infected with DHBV and followed for several years throughout the world do not develop liver tumors: HCC has been found only in domestic ducks from a single area of China, Qidong.