SUMMARYTwenty-eight pigs died in an outbreak of streptococcal meningitis in an East Anglian herd. Most were 10–14 weeks old. The outbreak lasted from January to April and was finally controlled by antibiotic therapy. A similar number of losses had occurred in the previous year though no diagnosis had then been made.The causal agent appeared to be a haemolytic streptococcus belonging to group D and provisionally designatedStreptococcus suistype 2. It is probably identical with de Moor's group R streptococcus which causes a similar disease in the Netherlands. It is serologically distinct fromStreptococcus suistype 1 which causes meningitis in piglets. Type 2 infection in pigs appears to be widespread in England and Wales and to occur in animals up to the age of at least 14 weeks.A comparison is drawn betweenStr. suismeningitis in pigs and group B streptococcal meningitis in human infants.
Contagious bovine pleuropneumonia (CBPP) caused by the Mycoplasma mycoides subspecies mycoides SC is one of the major plagues affecting cattle. With the imminent eradication of rinderpest from Africa, CBPP will become the major epidemic disease on the continent, because the majority of countries in sub‐Saharan Africa have the infection in their cattle. There is an enclave of CBPP on the borders of Angola, Botswana, Namibia, and Zambia. There has been endemic infection in the cattle herds on the borders of Angola and Namibia for more than 100 years, with irregular spread from these animals to the cattle of Botswana or Zambia. However, much of Angola and Namibia and all of Botswana and Zambia are currently free from the disease. This paper explains the origins of the problem and describes the current disease situation. A plan for the eradication of CBPP from this area is proposed and discussed. If this plan is successful it will release valuable resources to tackle other constraints on livestock and food production. Furthermore, it will act as a model for the eradication of CBPP from the remainder of the continent.
Contagious bovine pleuropneumonia (CBPP) caused by Mycoplasma mycoides subspecies mycoides small colony (M. mycoides) has been endemic in many parts of Africa for the greater part of this century. Because of an international vaccination campaign the disease was almost eliminated from the continent. With the deteriorating economic situation of many countries, vaccination programs have been allowed to slip; drought conditions have resulted in great movements of livestock and the disease has spread rapidly to the east and south. For Government Veterinary Departments, the implications of this resurgence of CBPP, are serious. The costs threaten to overwhelm completely under-funded government, services. Where cost-recovery measures are introduced, the charging for vaccines may damage rapport with communities and erode the credibility of the government services. Farmers may find the loss of cattle and the costs of vaccine severe burdens which threaten their livelihoods and social well-being (Zambia) and even, in extreme cases, their survival (Botswana). Controlling the disease today presents new possibilities which include increased cross-border collaboration (Malawi/Tanzania), increased emphasis on monitoring (N. Zambia) and the greater involvement of communities in disease control (W. Zambia).
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