The role of nuclear technologies in the diagnosis and control of livestock diseases—a review

Abstract

Nuclear and nuclear-related technologies have played an important role in animal health, particularly in relation to disease diagnosis and characterization of pathogenic organisms. This review focuses primarily on how and where nuclear technologies, both non-isotopic and isotopic methods, have made their impact in the past and where it might be expected they could have an impact in the future. The review outlines the extensive use of radiation attenuation in attempts to create vaccines for a multiplicity of pathogenic organisms and how the technology is being re-examined in the light of recent advances in irradiation techniques and cryopreservation/lyophilization that might obviate some of the problems of maintenance of viable, attenuate vaccines and their transport and use in the field. This approach could be used for a number of parasitic diseases where vaccination has been problematic and where investigations into the development of molecular vaccines have still failed to deliver satisfactory candidates for generating protective immune responses. Irradiation of antigens or serum samples also has its uses in diagnosis, especially when the samples need to be transported across international boundaries, or when handling the pathogens in question when carrying out a test presents serious health hazards to laboratory personnel. The present-day extensive use of enzyme immunoassays and molecular methods (e.g., polymerase chain reaction) for diagnosis and characterization of animal pathogens has its origins in the use of isotope-labeled antigens and antibodies. These isotopic techniques that included the use of 75Se, 32P, 125I, and 35S isotopes enabled a level of sensitivity and specificity that was hitherto unrealized, and it is prescient to remind ourselves of just how successful these technologies were, in spite of their infrequent use nowadays. Finally, the review looks at the potential for stable isotope analysis for a variety of applications—in the tracking of animal migrations, where the migrant are potential carriers of transboundary animal diseases, and where it would be useful to determine the origins of the carrier, e.g., Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza and its dissemination by wild water fowl. Other applications could be in monitoring sequestered microbial culture (e.g., rinderpest virus) where in the case of accidental or deliberate release of infective culture it would be possible to identify the laboratory from which the isolate originated.

Amelioration of Myogenin, Bcl-2 expression and DNA damages in myocytes of Trichinella spiralis-infected mice after immunization with gamma radiation-attenuated larvae

“…Vaccination using live-attenuated pathogen h as an advantage of its potent immunogenicity because organisms keep to behave and can be recognized by immune system as a natural infection. This supports the hypothesis that activating multiple innate receptors is better than activating only one receptor (14)(15)(16) .…”

Molecular diagnosis of acute and chronic infection of Trypanosoma evansi in experimental male and female mice

“…Parasitological techniques cannot always detect ongoing infections as the level of parasitaemia is often low and fluctuating, particularly during the chronic stage of the disease, which exhibits very low parasitaemia (Nantulya 1990). Consequently, the sensitivity and specificity of parasitological diagnostic tests are unacceptable in situations where confirmation of presence or absence of T. evansi in livestock is necessary prior to the introduction of new animals or after implementation of control and eradication programmes (Viljoen & Luckins 2012).…”

ICRP Publication 153: Radiological Protection in Veterinary Practice

“…Owners and handlers may benefit both emotionally and economically from improved diagnosis and appropriate treatment of their animals. (103) In addition to individual animals, owners, and veterinary staff benefiting directly from the appropriate use of ionising radiation – or its alternatives – in veterinary practice, society at large will also benefit from such use. Animal and human health are interlinked, and radiological procedures that contribute to animal health may also improve public health, particularly when they contribute to the control of zoonotic diseases (Viljoen and Luckins, 2012; see also Annex B). Furthermore, a healthy population of working animals and livestock will also benefit society, both in terms of public health and the economy.…”