[Rabies in bats].

Rabies is a zoonosis ending fatally in all mammals, including humans. Unlike the other mammals, this disease is usually not fatal in bats. Rabies is caused by lyssaviruses which are divided into several distinct phylogroups comprising 15 known viruses.

Mycoplasma gallisepticum infection in the grey partridge Perdix perdix: outbreak description, histopathology, biochemistry and antioxidant parameters.

Background: The grey partridge is an important game bird in Europe that has declined considerably over the last decades. The production and release of farm-bred birds can be threatened by infectious agents. The objective of this study was to describe the outbreak, pathology, and blood and tissue biochemical responses in a flock of grey partridges naturally infected with Mycoplasma gallisepticum.

[An epizootiologic study of an outbreak of equine influenza in the Czech Republic in the fall of 1995].

A mild outbreak of acute respiratory infection was reported in racing horses in the fall of 1995. Four studs were investigated for the sources and routes of infection. In five horses from two herds, virus isolates were obtained which, in preliminary typing experiments, were identified as the influenza A/equi 2 virus.

Development of a disease control programme based on the use of an inactivated vaccine against infectious bovine rhinotracheitis.

Studies to investigate the efficacy of an inactivated vaccine against infectious bovine rhinotracheitis (IBR) suggest that this vaccine can prevent the in utero infection of calves from experimentally infected dams. In an experimental herd the inactivated vaccine induced a humoral immune response in both seropositive and seronegative cattle and, after subsequent intratracheal infection with IBR (BHV-1) virus, prevented development of symptoms in the cows and protected their fetuses against infection. The calves were all healthy and were born at term.

[Detection of herpesvirus serum antibodies in red deer (Cervus elaphus) imported into the Czech Republic].

Antibodies reacting in the virus-neutralisation test with bovine herpesvirus (BHV-1), the causative agent of infectious bovine rhinotracheitis (IBR), were demonstrated in a herd of red deer (Cervus elaphus) imported into the Czech Republic. Sera from the same collection were later tested against a homologous virus, termed herpesvirus cervidae 1 (HVC-1), isolated from red deer in Scotland. Out of 165 imported animals, antibodies to BHV-1 were found in 68% and to HVC-1 in 71% of the animals.

The efficacy of an inactivated IBR vaccine in the prevention of intra-uterine infection and its use in a disease-control programme.

The effects of administration of an established, inactivated IBR vaccine were studied in 30 cows from two herds (one seropositive and one seronegative). All acquired immunity which, after subsequent intratracheal infection with IBR virus, prevented development of symptoms in the cows and protected their foetuses against viral infection in utero. The calves were all healthy and were born at normal term.

Comparative between-laboratory trials of the liquid-phase blocking sandwich ELISA for the detection of antibodies to foot-and-mouth disease virus.

Fifty bovine serum samples were tested for the presence or amounts of antibodies to foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) virus serotypes A, O and C by the liquid-phase blocking sandwich ELISA (lpb-ELISA) using reagents prepared by the World Reference Laboratory for Foot-and-Mouth Disease (WRL) in Pirbright, U.K. Twenty of the sera had been collected before extensive vaccination with a commercial inactivated trivalent FMD vaccine was ceased and the remaining thirty originated from animals which had not been vaccinated for more than one year.

[The effect of short-term isolation of vaccinated chicks on the incidence of Marek's disease].

In chickens immunized by normal and tenfold doses of MARVAK vaccine (100 and 1,000 PFU) we investigated protective effects against the natural contact infection of chickens that were exposed to the infection immediately after vaccination, or at the intervals of 48 and 72 hours, and 7 and 14 days. Studying the elimination of Marek's disease virus by feather follicles, the health condition of chickens, tumor frequency and mortality rate we demonstrated that neither of these doses could protect the chickens from the disease if they were exposed to contact infection just after vaccination. An expressive protective effect was observed in chickens isolated for 7-14 days and there was not recorded any difference in the protection against the disease after the doses of 100 and 1,000 PFU.

[Isolation and identification of the infectious pancreatic necrosis virus in trout].

The first isolation and identification of the infectious pancreatic necrosis virus in trout in Czechoslovakia is described. The RTG-2, PG and CHSE cell lines were used for isolation and the identification was made by the methods of electron microscopy, cross virus-neutralizing test, and immunofluorescence. As demonstrated, all the isolates in the Czechoslovak territory are serologically identical and are closely related (or perhaps congruent) with the Sp reference strain which has the highest frequency in Europe.

Experimental infection of sheep with Bhanja virus.

Seven juvenile sheep were infected subcutaneously (s.c.) or intracerebrally (i.