Forty-two of 46 sera (91%) from turtles (Pseudenzys scripta-elegans) in Georgia had microscopic agglutination titers of 200 or greater to Leptospira serotype tarassovi. Leptospires were isolated from eight of ten hamsters (80%) inoculated with surface water collected from the settling ponds of the untreated sewage disposal system in which the turtles lived. Leptospires were also isolated from 12 of 20 hamsters (60%) inoculated with turtle kidney suspensions and six of 20 hamsters (30%) inoculated with turtle cloacal suspension. Hamster brain appeared to be the best tissue for recovering leptospires since 24 of the 41 isolates (59%) from the 26 culture-positive hamsters were from the brain and 17 (41%) were from the kidney. Six of the 41 isolates from hamsters that had been injected with surface water and turtle kidney and cloacal tissue were identified as being identical to serotype tarassovi.

In Trinidad, six Leptospira isolates were made from 957 febrile patients between 1968 amd 1972. In addition, CF antibodies were detected in 6-6% of febrile patients and human survey sera collected during this period. In 1972 alone, 10-4% (38/363) of sera examined had CF titres consistent with positive exposure to the disease. Grenada does not report leptospirosis, but the disease is common in mongooses in both Trinidad and Grenada. Serogroups Icterohaemorrhagiae, Pomona and Canicola are present in Grenada with 35-2% of mongooses examined being seropositive. Five Canicola strains of Leptospira were isolated from mongooses in Trinidad and serological studies showed that this was the most common serogroup from mongooses on the island. A total of 31 strains recorded from at least seven different serogroups and eight named serotypes have been isolated from humans, rats and mongooses in Trinidad. Human leptospirosis is probably more common in the Caribbean than the medical records indicate.

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Recent advances in biology and technology have significantly improved our ability to produce veterinary biologicals of high purity, efficacy and safety, virtually anywhere in the world. At the same time, increasing trade and comprehensive trade agreements, such as the Uruguay Round of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT: now the World Trade Organisation [WTO]), have put pressure on governments to use scientific principles in the regulation of trade for a wide range of products, including veterinary biologicals. In many cases, however, nations have been reluctant to allow the movement of veterinary biologicals, due to the perceived threat of importing an exotic disease. This paper discusses the history of risk analysis as a decision support tool and provides examples of how this tool may be used in a science-based regulatory system for veterinary biologicals. A wide variety of tools are described, including qualitative, semi-quantitative and quantitative methods, most with a long history of use in engineering and the health and environmental sciences.

The bond between animals and humans has existed for a long time. Humans are entrusted with the stewardship for animal care and well-being as a part of their use. Legislation has addressed humane care of animals in the United States since 1873. The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is responsible for administering many of these laws, including the Animal Welfare Act. Recent amendments to the Animal Welfare Act require regulations to be established for the exercise of dogs and the psychological wellbeing of primates. It also requires the establishment of an Institutional Animal Committee, training for scientists, consideration of alternatives by the principal investigator, and the establishment of an information service at the National Agricultural Library. I solemnly swear to use my scientific knowledge and skills for the benefit of society through the protection of animal health, the relief of animal suffering, the conservation of livestock resources, the promotion of public health, and the advancement of medical knowledge.

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A presumptive hemagglutination test for the serological diagnosis of leptospirosis in humans is described. The antigen was prepared from a soluble alcohol extract of an andamana strain sorbed to human O-negative erythrocytes and preserved by pyruvic aldehyde fixation. In this study, the overall sensitivity of the hemagglutination test was 92% in contrast to 69% for the presumptive slide agglutination test. The specificity was 95% for the hemagglutination test in comparison with 83% for the slide test.