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Biomedical subjects

C A Wilkins

Publications and source records attributed to C A Wilkins.

8 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1988

Occurrence of Clostridium tetani in soil and horses.

The annual incidence of tetanus in the RSA is up to 300 cases with more than 50% of these coming from Natal/KwaZulu. The condition of playing fields and the excretion of Clostridium tetani by horses was therefore investigated. The overall contamination rate of soils in the Durban area is lower than that of published data from other parts of the world, for instance 28% for Durban in comparison with 31-42% for Japan and Quebec. A rugby field in the Transvaal showed 40% contamination and a pasture used for horses for more than 20 years 65%. No case of human or equine tetanus has ever been reported from either the playing field or the pasture. A permanent carrier state in horses could not be established; the organisms were only excreted for 3-4 days. At any one time only 2 out of 27 horses in a stable were excreting C. tetani. Only 7 of 118 faeces samples were positive over a period of 4 months (5-9%).

Animals↗
PubMed1988

Enumeration of anaerobic bacterial microflora of the equine gastrointestinal tract.

Samples from the duodenum, jejunum, and ileum, as well as from the cecum and colon, were obtained from 11 mature grass-fed horses. Viable counts of total culturable and proteolytic bacteria were made on habitat-simulating media containing 40% clarified ruminal fluid. The mean pHs in the duodenum, jejunum, and ileum were 6.32, 7.10, and 7.47, respectively; the mean pH decreased to 6.7 in the hindgut. The acetate concentration increased along the length of the small intestine and was the only volatile fatty acid present in this gut segment. Molar proportions of acetate, propionate, and butyrate in the hindgut were 85:10:3. Differences in bacterial counts on habitat-simulating media containing equine cecal fluid or clarified ruminal fluid were negligible. Bacterial counts showed a substantial population in the duodenum (ca. 2.9 x 10(6) per g [wet weight] of sample), and this increased to 29.0 x 10(6) in the jejunum and 38.4 x 10(6) in the ileum. Proteolytic bacteria formed a high proportion of the total culturable bacteria, especially in duodenal samples. Counts of proteolytic bacteria per gram (wet weight) of sample were 3.0 x 10(6), 15.6 x 10(6), and 22.0 x 10(6) in the duodenum, jejunum, and ileum, respectively. There was a close relationship between lumenal and mucosal bacterial counts, although actual values were lower in mucosal samples. The mucosal bacterial population in the duodenum was high relative to the lumenal population. Although the comparison of bacterial populations in the hindgut of the horse and white rhino was limited to a single animal, the results were of interest. Counts were higher in the cecum than in the colon for both the horse and the white rhino.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Animals↗
PubMed1988

A review of Legionella pneumophila in horses and some South African serological results.

An examination of the sera of 329 horses for L. pneumophila antibodies revealed a much lower exposure rate than that reported in the United States of America. Further serological investigations of persons closely associated with a sero-positive horse indicated that the horse could not be considered to be a source of infection but that both humans and animals were probably exposed to a common source of infection. The results showed that 192/329 (58.4%) of the sera tested negative, 114/329 (34.7%) had end-point titres of 1/2, 22/329 (6.7%) end-points of 1/16 and one an end point of 1/256 (0.3%). Serological testing of the people closely associated with horses showed that out of 22 people, 3 had a positive end-point titre of 1:64 and only one person showed an end-point titre of 1:256.

Animals↗
PubMed1987

The control of Parafilaria bovicola transmission in South Africa.

Ivermectin treatment of all cattle on a badly infected farm failed to interrupt the transmission of P. bovicola, even though ovipositional blood spots were drastically reduced in numbers for an entire summer season following treatment. Regular weekly to fortnightly dipping of all cattle in 50 ppm deltamethrin immediately reduced vector fly numbers to less than 1 fly per cow face. Sustained dipping for 9 months effectively reduced P. bovicola transmission from approximately 50% to less than 2%. However, cessation of fly control led to a return to predipping P. bovicola infection levels. Ovipositional blood spot counts and the ELISA technique for evaluating P. bovicola infection in a herd were compared and were both effective methods. Best results for the blood spot method, however, are obtained in spring at the peak of the bleeding season whereas the ELISA method does not have this limitation.

Animals↗
PubMed1980

Treatment of psoroptic mange with avermectins.

Good control of Psoroptes cuniculi was achieved in rabbits treated with various avermectin analogues by topical application or by subcutaneous injection of the 22,23-dihydroavermectin B1.

Administration, Topical↗
PubMed1978

The divided dosage/low dosage concept using fenbendazole.

Fenbendazole was administered as an anthelmintic to cattle and sheep by incorporation into feed blocks. The therapeutic dose of 5 mg/kg live mass for sheep and 10 mg/kg for cattle was administered in divided dosages over periods of 4 d and in some cases 5 d. The periods were limited to obviate possible development of resistance. The anthelmintic effect was equal to, or better than, the standard therapeutic dose administered as a single dose in the form of the commercially available fenbendazole suspensions, when comparing the results obtained by the modified non-parametric method of evaluating anthelmintics.

Administration, Oral↗