No abstract

Necropsy of gastrointestinal tract of 125 freerange chickens from a subtropical and humid zone of northwestern India revealed four nematode spp. (Ascaridia galli, Heterakis gallinarum, Capillaria spp. and Cheilospirura hamulosa) and four cestode spp. (Raillietina cesticillus, Raillietina echinobothrida, Raillietina tetragona and Amoebotaenia cuneata) The overall prevalence of the helminth parasites was 72.0%. Amongst various helminth species encountered in the region, A. galli emerged out as the most prevalent, followed by H. gallinarum, R. cesticillus and R. echinobothrida. The impact of helminthic infections on body weight gain in growing chickens was investigated. One hundred growing chickens, aged 40 days were randomly assigned to two groups (treated and untreated controls) of 50 birds each. The birds in treated group were given fenbendazole at 7.5 mg per kg body weight in drinking water, while the birds in other group served as untreated controls. At the end of the 90 days of the field trial, the mean body weight gain of untreated controls was 1232.2 ± 7.28 g (13.7 g/day) compared with 1617.6 ± 5.43 g (18.0 g/day) in the treated group. It was associated with a significantly (P \ 0.05) higher mean worm burden (32.92 ± 6.12) in untreated controls than the treated group (2.46 ± 1.14). The prevalences of helminthic species and their impact on body weight gain in growing backyard chickens have been discussed.

Postoperative retained surgical sponges or other foreign bodies are usually underreported. Radio-opaque materials are usually detected on follow-up radiological investigations, but radiolucent materials such as sponges create diagnostic problems and clinically mimic various abdominal pathologies. Introduction of spiral computed tomography, magnetic resonance imaging and dedicated ultrasonography has enabled clinicians to find these foreign bodies at the earliest opportunity to avoid disastrous complications. Spontaneous transmural migration and expulsion per rectum of more than one sponge without sequelae is also possible. We report one such interesting case.

A total of 1920 faecal samples of sheep (960) and goats (960) of stationary flocks of the middle agroclimatic zone of Jammu province were examined, out of which 67.24 % animals were positive for helminthic infections. The different nematodes observed were strongyles (50.1 %), trichurids (12.1 %) and Strongyloides spp. Two peaks of EPG (the first in May and the second in August) were recorded during the 1 year study period. Infection was significantly (p \ 0.05) higher in young (73.22 %) as compared to adults (61.25 %). Females showed a higher infection (73.33 %) as compared to males (61.14 %). The effect of prevailing agro-climatic conditions on the prevalence of gastrointestinal helminths has been discussed.

Epidemiological studies were conducted on Fasciola giagntica infection in different geo-climatic zones (hills, tarai and plains) in six states of north India during January 2001 to December 2004. Prevalence rates of 10.79, 13.90, 2.78 and 2.35 percent were recorded in cattle, buffaloes, sheep and goats, respectively. Animals in the tarai had the highest prevalence of fasciolosis followed by those in the hills and plains, respectively. The prevalence of infection in cattle and buffaloes was highest during the winters (11.84% cattle, 15.57% buffaloes) followed by summers and rains, respectively. However, the seasonal trends in sheep and goats were the reverse, with the peak prevalence during the rains (4.60% sheep, 2.71% goats). Abattoir studies revealed a higher prevalence in buffaloes (31.14%) than in sheep and goats. Screening of Lymnaea auricularia snails revealed that 5.48% of the snails harboured larval stages of F. gigantica. Also, the snails in the tarai had a higher prevalence (7.28%) of infection compared to those in the plains (1.57%). The results of the present study may help to devise an effective control strategy against fasciolosis in north India.

During the last couple of decades, with standardization and progress in surgical techniques, immunosuppression and post liver transplantation patient care, the outcome of liver transplantation has been optimized. However, the principal limitation of transplantation remains access to an allograft. The number of patients who could derive benefit from liver transplantation markedly exceeds the number of available deceased donors. The large gap between the growing list of patients waiting for liver transplantation and the scarcity of donor organs has fueled efforts to maximize existing donor pool and identify new avenues. This article reviews the changing pattern of donor for liver transplantation using grafts from extended criteria donors (elderly donors, steatotic donors, donors with malignancies, donors with viral hepatitis), donation after cardiac death, use of partial grafts (split liver grafts) and other suboptimal donors (hypernatremia, infections, hypotension and inotropic support). ( J CLIN EXP HEPATOL 2013;3:337-346)

Epidemiology of paramphistomosis in sheep and goats was studied using field and abattoir samples at Jammu, India. Abattoir examination revealed that 36.2 % of sheep and 30.9 % of goats were positive for paramphistomosis. The mean worm counts (±SEM) were 23.5 ± 5.7 in sheep and 19.9 ± 3.5 in goats. On coprological examination, 16.3 % of sheep and 13.6 % of goats were found positive for paramphistomosis. The mean egg counts (±SEM) were 4.4 ± 2.6 in sheep and 3.6 ± 2.1 in goats. Season was found to have a significant (p \ 0.05) influence on the prevalence of paramphistomosis. A higher percentage of animals were found positive in rainy and post-rainy seasons as compared with summer and winter seasons. The distributions of eggs and adult flukes were significantly (p \ 0.01) different among seasons. The prevalences observed according to age and sex of sheep and goats were not significant. The study conclude that the late summer months are major risk period for paramphistomosis in the pasture grazing sheep and goats and the administration of an efficient anthelmintic in May-June and September-October should be strongly recommended to reduce the infection and minimise the perpetuating financial losses to animal owners in the region.

Goat warble fly infestation (GWFI) is a subcutaneous myiasis caused by larvae of Przhevalskiana silenus, an insect belonging to the order Diptera. The diagnosis of GWFI is challenging in the early larval instars (L1 and L2) as they are occult under the skin and hair coat causing prolonged economic loss in form of meat and hide damage. This necessitates early diagnosis for disease control at herd level and its prophylactic management to prevent economic losses. Hypodermins, a class of serine proteases from Hypoderminae subfamily have been used as serodiagnostic antigens for the past four decades for diagnosis of warble fly myiasis. In this study,the immunodominant antigen Hypodermin C (HyC) from P. silenus has been recombinantly expressed in E. coli and immunogenic characterisation of expressed protein was done. The protein shows hallmark residues in conserved cysteine and catalytic triad typical of serine proteases along with similar profile of immunoreactivity towards Hypoderminae infestation. The present study reports an optimised indirect-ELISA based on recombinant HyC derived from P. silenus for early diagnosis of GWFI. The optimised indirect ELISA provides a sensitive and specific immunodiagnostic for mass surveillance of the GWFI with diagnostic specificity and sensitivity of 96% and 100%, respectively and not showing any cross reactivity against other important parasitic and bacterial diseases of goats. This study presents the first report of indirect ELISA based on recombinant Hypodermin C antigen derived from P. silenus for the serosurveillance of goat warble fly disease.