Toxoplasma gondii in wild cervids and sheep in Finland: north-south gradient in seroprevalence.

A nationwide seroepidemiological study was conducted to estimate the prevalence of Toxoplasma gondii in selected wild and domestic ruminants in Finland. Serum samples from 1367 game cervids collected during the hunting season in 2008-2009 and 1940 sheep sera collected in 2008 were screened with a commercial direct agglutination test at a serum dilution of 1:40. T.

Acute phase protein changes in calves during an outbreak of respiratory disease caused by bovine respiratory syncytial virus.

Bovine acute phase proteins (APPs), lipopolysaccharide binding protein (LBP), serum amyloid A (SAA), haptoglobin (Hp) and alpha(1)-acid glycoprotein (AGP) were evaluated as inflammatory markers during an outbreak of bovine respiratory disease (BRD) caused by bovine respiratory syncytial virus (BRSV). Calves (n = 10) presented mild to moderate signs of respiratory disease. Secondary bacterial infections, Pasteurella multocida and Mycoplasma dispar as major species, were detected in tracheobronchial lavage samples.

Vaccine coverage, herd immunity and occurrence of canine distemper from 1990-1996 in Finland.

Official vaccine sales statistics, the development of the young dog population and the takes of available vaccines were used to calculate the vaccine coverage and herd immunity (HI) against canine distemper, endemic during 1990-1993 and epidemic in 1994-1995 in Finland. Despite the satisfactory vaccine coverage, HI was no more than 50-65% in 1990-1993 because low-take vaccines dominated the market. Replacement of the low-take with high-take vaccines in 1995 raised the HI to 90%, which coincided with the ending of the epidemic.

The prevalence of Trichinella infection in domestic dogs in Finland.

In this study, we examined the prevalence of Trichinella infection in domestic dogs in Finland, which is known to have a high prevalence of Trichinella infection in sylvatic hosts. Altogether 727 dog serum samples were tested serologically by ELISA with ES-antigen in dilutions 1:50, 1:100, 1:200, and 1:400. Additionally, muscle samples from 102 dogs' front leg extensors were tested parasitologically by HCl-pepsin-digestion.