Bovine asymmetric hind limb paresis, a presumptive in-utero plant poisoning.

A new locomotory disturbance of cattle is described. The condition has occurred sporadically since the mid-1980s. Affected herds had all grazed flood plain pastures in a restricted area of north-western New South Wales.

The clinical differentiation of nervous and muscular locomotor disorders of sheep in Australia.

Many of the nervous and muscular locomotor disorders that affect sheep throughout Australia are commonly referred to as "staggers" syndromes. The range of clinical signs displayed by sheep suffering these disorders is sufficiently diverse to enable each syndrome to be graded into one of 5 progressive clinical groups. The first group, the limb paresis syndromes, includes the primary myopathies associated with the ingestion of Ixiolaena brevicompta, Malva parviflora, and Trachymene ochracea, as well as selenium and Vitamin E disorders, Paroo virus staggers, congenital progressive muscular dystrophy, humpy back, hypocalcaemic muscle weakness, Tribulus terrestris staggers and tetanus.

The effect of sub-lethal doses of bromadiolone on the breeding performance of house mice (Mus domesticus).

Both laboratory and field strains of Mus were exposed to wheat containing 0.0001% bromadiolone under laboratory and outdoor conditions, respectively. While both strains readily consumed the poisoned wheat, ad libitum sub-lethal doses of this anticoagulant equating to between 20% and 70% of the acute LD50 per feed had little apparent effect on the breeding performance of these mice.

Treatment with ivermectin of sarcoptic mange in pigs.

Ivermectin injectable solution (1% w/v) was highly effective against Sarcoptes scabiei var suis when administered subcutaneously once to swine at 300 mcg/kg body weight. There were significantly (P < 0.05) fewer Sarcoptes mange mites counted on pigs treated with ivermectin than on untreated pigs at each count up to day 56 after treatment.

Ovine nasal zygomycosis caused by Conidiobolus incongruus.

About 700 sheep died on 52 farms in north-western New South Wales and south-western Queensland over a 3 mo period. Affected animals had a marked asymmetrical swelling of the face, extending from the nostril to just anterior to the eyes. They lost condition rapidly and died within 7 to 10 days.

Mechanisms underlying Phalaris aquatica "sudden death" syndrome in sheep.

Twenty outbreaks of Phalaris aquatica "sudden death" syndrome in sheep were investigated between 1981 and 1991. Four were confirmed and one was suspected, to be a cardiac disorder; 5 were confirmed and 3 were suspected, to be a polioencephalomalacic disorder; the aetiology of the remaining 7 outbreaks could not be determined. Potentially toxic levels of hydrocyanic acid (20 to 36 mg/100 g) were measured in the 3 toxic phalaris pastures tested.

Locomotor effects in sheep of alkaloids identified in Australian Tribulus terrestris.

Fresh, mature, ungrazed Tribulus terrestris plant material was subjected to a standard alkaloid extraction procedure. The extract was fractionated by thin layer chromatography (TLC) and high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Two major alkaloid fractions were demonstrated.

Pasteurella multocida septicaemia in fallow deer (Dama dama).

Thirteen of 100 fallow deer, aged between 6 months and 10 years, died over a 5 week period. The deaths occurred in 2 outbreaks 3 weeks apart. Both outbreaks were preceded by at least 3 days of cold wet and windy weather, and were associated with water-logged pastures.

An outbreak of Equid herpesvirus abortion in New South Wales.

Thirty-three of the 44 mares on a Thoroughbred stud in New South Wales aborted or lost foals within one day of birth. Gross pathological and histological changes were in keeping with Equid herpesvirus I (EHV-1) abortion. In the six foals that underwent virological examination, EHV was isolated and typed as EHV-1 by restriction endonuclease analysis.

The pathogenesis of the nervous syndrome of Phalaris aquatica toxicity in sheep.

The clinical signs displayed by 96 sheep affected by the nervous syndrome of Phalaris aquatica toxicity and 10 normal sheep injected intravenously with the phalaris alkaloid, 5-methoxy dimethyltryptamine (dose range 0.01 to 5.0 mg/kg), were observed.

Upper motor neurone effects in sheep of some beta-carboline alkaloids identified in zygophyllaceous plants.

The beta-carbolines harmane, norharmane, tetrahydronorharmane, harmine, harmaline and harmol were administered to sheep to assess their effects on upper motor neurone function. Harmane at a dose rate of 54 mg/kg induced hypomotility, head tremors, pelvic limb paresis, hypermetria and a wide based stance. A range of similar effects were observed with norharmane at the same dose rate.

The pathology of Johne's disease in sheep.

The clinical, gross and histopathological findings in 50 sheep affected with Johne's disease are described. Clinically 90% were emaciated and 20% showed severe diarrhoea. On necropsy there was thickening of the walls of the intestines, particularly of the ileum, caecum and less frequently the jejunum, but in 36% of sheep the changes were only mild.

Toxigenic type D Pasteurella multocida in New South Wales pig herds--prevalence and factors associated with infection.

Between March and July 1987, a study was undertaken to determine the prevalence of and factors associated with toxigenic type D Pasteurella multocida infection in New South Wales pig herds. Toxigenic type D P. multocida was isolated from the nasal cavities of pigs in one (2%) of 50 randomly selected herds.

Investigations into the toxicity of Echium plantagineum in sheep. 2. Pen feeding experiments.

In a pen feeding trial fresh Echium plantagineum was fed as the sole diet to crossbred sheep with or without a history of previous access to the plant. Control groups received a diet of lucerne chaff and oats. During the trial, sheep on the Echium diet lost weight and deaths occurred with histological evidence of excessive copper accumulation, usually accompanied by pyrrolizidine alkaloid damage, in the liver and biochemical evidence of liver toxicity.

Investigations into the toxicity of Echium plantagineum in sheep. 1. Field grazing experiments.

A field grazing trial was undertaken to monitor the health and production of crossbred sheep grazing pasture where Echium plantagineum constituted a considerable proportion of the available forage. The trial, conducted for 19 months over successive grazing seasons, demonstrated a significant difference in production, with sheep on the E. plantagineum pasture being lighter and growing less wool compared with sheep on Echium-free pasture.

Experimental evidence that tryptamine alkaloids do not cause Phalaris aquatica sudden death syndrome in sheep.

The acute toxicity for sheep of 3 alkaloids that occur in Phalaris acquatica was examined by intravenous and oral administration. The lowest tested dose rates that produced clinically observed signs were, for 5-methoxy dimethyltryptamine, 0.1 mg/kg body weight intravenously and 40 mg/kg orally; for gramine, 10 mg/kg intravenously and 500 mg/kg orally; and for hordenine, 20 mg/kg intravenously and 800 mg/kg orally.