Myotonia Congenita in Australian Merino Sheep with a Missense Variant in .

Myotonia congenita is a hereditary, non-dystrophic skeletal muscle disorder associated with muscle stiffness due to delayed muscle relaxation after contraction. We review myotonia congenita in domesticated animals and humans and investigated suspected myotonia congenita in a flock of Merino sheep in Australia. In 2020, a property in New South Wales reported a four-year history of lambs that would fall on disturbance before rapidly recovering, with 13 affected sheep identified in 2020.

Experimental Infections of Pigs with Japanese Encephalitis Virus Genotype 4.

The emergence of Japanese encephalitis virus (JEV) in eastern Australia in 2022 caused extensive reproductive disease in pigs and is a threat to public health. Groups of weaned piglets were experimentally infected with the Australian outbreak strain of JEV (genotype 4). All pigs challenged at 5 weeks of age were infected after an intradermal injection of 1 × 10 ( = 4) or 1 × 10 TCID/pig ( = 5).

Scoliosis and kyphosis in blue-spotted and marbled flathead fish associated with a -like parasite.

Spinal deformities in finfish have the potential to impact aquaculture industries and wild populations by increasing morbidity, mortality, and reducing growth rates. has been implicated in causing scoliosis and lordosis in various aquatic species in Japan. We investigated 4 cases of spinal deformity in 2 flathead () species that were submitted to the Elizabeth Macarthur Agricultural Institute (EMAI) in New South Wales (NSW), Australia, between 2015 and 2021.

Sporadic bovine encephalopathy caused by Chlamydia pecorum secondary to bovine viral diarrhoea virus infection in calves in South Australia.

Background: Despite bovine viral diarrhoea virus and Chlamydia pecorum being important endemic diseases of cattle, there are limited reports of theirco-occurrence.

Case Report: Several 12-18-week-old, weaned Hereford calves presented with ill-thriftiness and neurological signs on a mixed cattle and sheep farm in South Australia in July 2021. Immune suppression resulting from transient infection with bovine viral diarrhoea virus (BVDV) is implicated in predisposing to infection with Chlamydia pecorum, the causative agent of sporadic bovine encephalopathy (SBE).

Encephalomyocarditis virus infection in alpacas.

Encephalomyocarditis virus (EMCV) infection was detected by real-time reverse transcription PCR (qRT-PCR) in four adult alpacas (Vicugna pacos) from two properties on the Far North Coast of New South Wales (NSW) in April and May 2018 and in two adult alpacas from a third property on the Central Coast of NSW in October 2018. Viral RNA was detected in a range of samples, including blood, fresh body organs and mucosal swabs. EMCV was isolated from the blood and body organs of five of these alpacas.

Mass mortalities of unknown aetiology in Pacific oysters Crassostrea gigas in Port Stephens, New South Wales, Australia.

From January to June 2013 and November to January 2014, mass mortalities were reported in Pacific oysters Crassostrea gigas cultivated in Port Stephens estuary, New South Wales, Australia. In some cases, 100% mortality was reported in both triploid and diploid C. gigas, although native species of oyster cultivated in the same areas remained unaffected.

Ichthyosis fetalis in Polled Hereford and Shorthorn calves.

Inherited forms of ichthyosis, or generalized scaling of the skin, have been reported in many animal species, including cattle, and are characterized by an autosomal recessive mode of inheritance. We investigated 2 calves affected with ichthyosis fetalis, a Polled Hereford and a Shorthorn. Both cases had hard white plaques on the skin consistent with excessive keratinization.

A fish kill associated with a bloom of in a coastal lagoon in Sydney, Australia.

We report on a dense bloom (~1.80 × 10 cells mL) of the marine dinoflagellate species (Genotype 2) in a shallow, small intermittently open coastal lagoon in south eastern Australia. This bloom co-occurred with the deaths of >300 individuals of three different species of fish.

Longitudinal study of winter mortality disease in Sydney rock oysters Saccostrea glomerata.

Winter mortality (WM) is a poorly studied disease affecting Sydney rock oysters Saccostrea glomerata in estuaries in New South Wales, Australia, where it can cause significant losses. WM is more severe in oysters cultured deeper in the water column and appears linked to higher salinities. Current dogma is that WM is caused by the microcell parasite Bonamia roughleyi, but evidence linking clinical signs and histopathology to molecular data identifying bonamiasis is lacking.

Identification and characterisation of an ostreid herpesvirus-1 microvariant (OsHV-1 µ-var) in Crassostrea gigas (Pacific oysters) in Australia.

Between November 2010 and January 2011, triploid Crassostrea gigas (Pacific oysters) cultivated in the Georges River, New South Wales, experienced >95% mortality. Mortalities also occurred in wild diploid C. gigas in the Georges River and shortly thereafter in the adjacent Parramatta River estuary upstream from Sydney Harbour.

Detection of Minchinia occulta in samples of pearl oysters Pinctada maxima infected by Haplosporidium hinei.

Objective: To determine if juvenile pearl oysters (Pinctada maxima) infected with Haplosporidium hinei are also infected with another haplosporidian parasite, Minchinia occulta.

Design: Archived samples of pearl oysters infected with H. hinei were examined using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assays and in situ hybridisation (ISH) to analyse and identify haplosporidians.

Intracellular ciliated protozoal infection in silverlip pearl oysters, Pinctada maxima (Jameson, 1901).

The pathology associated with an intracellular ciliate infection in the digestive gland of pearl oysters Pinctada maxima (Jameson, 1901) is described. Histopathological and transmission electron microscopic examination were used to characterise the organism and its location within host cells. The parasite is tear-drop shaped measuring 5.

Spore ornamentation of Minchinia occulta n. sp. (Haplosporidia) in rock oysters Saccostrea cuccullata (Born, 1778).

A Minchinia sp. (Haplosporidia: Haplosporidiidae) parasite was identified infecting rock oysters and morphologically described by Hine and Thorne (2002) using light microscopy and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The parasite was associated with up to 80% mortality in the host species and it is suspected that the parasite would be a major impediment to the development of a tropical rock oyster aquaculture industry in northern Western Australia.

Spore ornamentation of Haplosporidium hinei n. sp. (Haplosporidia) in pearl oysters Pinctada maxima (Jameson, 1901).

An infection of pearl oysters, Pinctada maxima, attributed to a Haplosporidium sp. by Hine and Thorne (1998) has been detected on 3 occasions and is considered to represent a serious concern to the pearling industry in Australia. The spore ornamentation of the parasite was determined by scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy.

Detection of Minchinia sp., in rock oysters Saccostrea cuccullata (Born, 1778) using DNA probes.

Haplosporidian parasites infect various invertebrate hosts including some commercially important shellfish. Haplosporidium nelsoni (along with Perkinsus marinus) has severely affected Eastern oyster production on the eastern seaboard of the United States and flat oyster production in Europe has been severely impacted by Bonamia ostreae. These parasites are also often present at a very low prevalence and there are a variety of morphologically similar species that can be difficult to differentiate during cytological or histological diagnosis hence the need to develop specific tests.

Molecular characterisation of a haplosporidian parasite infecting rock oysters Saccostrea cuccullata in north Western Australia.

A haplosporidian parasite was identified in rock oysters (Saccostrea cuccullata Born, 1778) from the Montebello Islands (latitude -20.4'S longitude 115.53'E) off the northern coast of Western Australia by histopathological examination, PCR amplification and DNA sequencing of a segment of the SSU region of the parasite's rRNA gene.