A continuous in vitro culture system for Babesia divergens was initiated from a human isolate. It was maintained through 305 subcultures for 3 years using a low concentration of serum and a low haematocrit, with no decrease in the initial virulence. This in vitro system enabled the routine culture of all human and bovine B. divergens isolates thus far tested, with a mean parasitaemia level of 30%-40%. Different cytological aspects observed in the same isolate by optical and electron microscopy were described in parasitized ox, gerbil and human erythrocytes. The sequence of B. divergens antibody responses was determined in man and ox, enabling the precise identification of major B. divergens antigens as candidates for vaccines.

Data on the epidemiology of bovine babesiosis in France were collected from two sources: a questionnaire sent to large animal veterinary surgeons and blood samples collected from cattle treated for clinical babesiosis. Babesia divergens was common and widespread. B major was found in only one sample. The disease was particularly widespread in north west, south west and central France. The mean clinical incidence was 0.4 per cent. The bimodal seasonality of the clinical cases was correlated with that of the tick vector (Ixodes ricinus). Of the affected animals 72.6 per cent were more than three years old.

The paralytic shellfish poison of the giant sea scallop, Placopecten magellanicus (Gmelin), from the Bay of Fundy has been analyzed. Of eight toxins isolated, seven were identified with those previously recognized in various sources including the Atlantic toxic dinoflagellate, Gonyaulax tamarensis cells. The major components were gonyautoxin-I, gonyautoxin-II, and neosaxitoxin; saxitoxin was responsible for only a very small portion of the total toxicity. A minor toxin that was eluted between neosaxitoxin and saxitoxin in the chromatography system was found to be new and designated as gonyautoxin-VII. Key words: paralytic shellfish poisons, gonyautoxins, neosaxitoxin, Gonyaulax tamarensis

The susceptibility of 105 thermophilic campylobacters from human and swine origins to eight macrolides and related compounds was tested. Erythromycin, josamycin, clindamycin, and ASE 136 BS (a new erythromycin derivative) were the most active against the human strains. The swine strains were highly resistant, except to pristinamycin. The human Campylobacter coli strains (except for two strains) behaved like the C. jejuni strains.Campylobacterjejuni and, to a lesser extent, C. coli, are now recognized as a major cause of enteric infections of worldwide distribution. Treatment with an antibiotic shown to be effective in vitro can be of value in that it eradicates the campylobacters in the intestine and so prevents a relapse or cross contaminations (especially between children) or both. It also has an effect on the evolution of the disease. The main antibiotic currently used for this purpose is a macrolide, erythromycin, but few studies comparing erythromycin with the other macrolides have been performed. The aim of this study was to determine the susceptibility of C. jejini and C. coli to macrolides and the related compounds lincomycin, clindamycin, and pristinamycin as well as to a new compound, ASE 136 BS.Seventy-nine strains of human origin were tested: 55 C. jejuni and 24 C. coli isolated in France (32 strains), Vietnam (11 strains), the United States (6 strains), Australia (8 strains), and Hungary (22 strains). Twenty-six C. coli strains from swine origin isolated in France (20 strains) and the United States (6 strains) were also tested. All these strains were isolated from fecal samples on a selective medium except for those from Australia, which were isolated by a filtration technique.The strains were identified by the following characteristics: morphology, oxidase and catalase tests, and growth at 42°C in a microaerophilic atmosphere. The hippurate test was used to differentiate C. jejuni (hippurate positive) and C. coli (hippurate negative) (10 (MIC, . 128 p.g/ml) reacting like the swine C. coli strains. All the C. coli strains resistant at a high level were also resistant to josamycin, clindamycin, and ASE 136 BS, except for two: one was susceptible to clindamycin and ASE 136 BS, and the other was susceptible only to clindamycin.Pristinamycin seemed to have the same activity against all the strains, in contrast to the other compounds tested.We did not notice any special behavior for the human strains from different countries. The two highly resistant C. coli strains of human origin were from France.Data concerning the susceptibility of campylobacters to the macrolides or related compounds are scarce. All of the campylobacter-antibiotic studies included erythromycin, which is the most widely prescribed antibiotic for the treatment of campylobacter enteritis, and sometimes clindamycin, but not the others. This results of our study are in agreement with the fact that these two agents are among the most effective. Josamycin was found to be slightly superior to erythromycin, as [Lg/ml, whereas that ...

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Skin physiology in cats has received little attention. The aim of this study was to evaluate the long-term influence of sex, time and the level of dietary fat and energy on the dynamics and qualities of the hair coat. Twenty-four European short-haired laboratory cats were followed over a 1-year period. They were divided into eight groups of three, according to: sex (12 males and 12 females), sexual status (intact or neutered) and diets [(high energy 4300 kcal/kg as fed, 21% fat) vs. (moderate energy 3500 kcal/kg as fed, 10% fat)]. Both diets were fed for 6 months to all cats following a cross-over design. The following parameters were evaluated throughout the study: thickness of hair coat and hair lengths (neck, rump, lateral, flank), hair regrowth (after periodic clippings of 25 cm 2 areas), and telogen/anagen ratio. The thickness of the hair coat initially varied from 1.2-1.7 cm on the neck, 1-1.4 cm on the rump, 1.8-2.5 cm on the flank, and hair shaft lengths were 1.7-2.5, 3.7-3.9 and 2.5-3.2 cm, respectively. Comparison of values revealed few statistical differences: increase of the thickness of hair coat in neutered cats (male and female) during the study, and increase of the length of lateral hairs in all groups during the study. Over all periods and in all groups, the curve of growth was similar (rapid then slower). Some transient variations were attributed to temporary changes in ambient conditions. In conclusion, neither sex, nutrition or season (in housed cats) influenced the general quality of hair coat, in particular hair regrowth. Funding: Royal Canin. Veterinary Dermatology 2004, 15 (Suppl. 1), 41-69 Ó 2004 ESVD and ACVD 41 Poster Abstracts Poster Abstracts

Skin physiology in cats has received little attention. The aim of this study was to evaluate the long-term influence of sex, time and the level of dietary fat and energy on the dynamics and qualities of the hair coat. Twenty-four European short-haired laboratory cats were followed over a 1-year period. They were divided into eight groups of three, according to: sex (12 males and 12 females), sexual status (intact or neutered) and diets [(high energy 4300 kcal/kg as fed, 21% fat) vs. (moderate energy 3500 kcal/kg as fed, 10% fat)]. Both diets were fed for 6 months to all cats following a cross-over design. The following parameters were evaluated throughout the study: thickness of hair coat and hair lengths (neck, rump, lateral, flank), hair regrowth (after periodic clippings of 25 cm 2 areas), and telogen/anagen ratio. The thickness of the hair coat initially varied from 1.2-1.7 cm on the neck, 1-1.4 cm on the rump, 1.8-2.5 cm on the flank, and hair shaft lengths were 1.7-2.5, 3.7-3.9 and 2.5-3.2 cm, respectively. Comparison of values revealed few statistical differences: increase of the thickness of hair coat in neutered cats (male and female) during the study, and increase of the length of lateral hairs in all groups during the study. Over all periods and in all groups, the curve of growth was similar (rapid then slower). Some transient variations were attributed to temporary changes in ambient conditions. In conclusion, neither sex, nutrition or season (in housed cats) influenced the general quality of hair coat, in particular hair regrowth. Funding: Royal Canin. Veterinary Dermatology 2004, 15 (Suppl. 1), 41-69 Ó 2004 ESVD and ACVD 41 Poster Abstracts Poster Abstracts

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