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Biomedical subjects

D Tuntasuvan

Publications and source records attributed to D Tuntasuvan.

4 recordsLinked to original sources

Chemotherapy of surra in horses and mules with diminazene aceturate.

During June-July 2000, an outbreak of surra occurred on an equine breeding farm in Khonkaen Province, Thailand. Forty-two percent of pregnant mares aborted or gave stillbirth and 40% (19/47) of horses and 10% (1/10) of mules died from surra. In August 2000 Trypanosoma evansi were detected in the remaining animals (28 horses and nine mules) on the farm by blood smear and/or the haematocrit centrifuge technique. All animals were treated with diminazene aceturate at 3.5 mg/kg body weight by intramuscular injection on days 0 and 41 of the study. Blood samples of eight randomly selected horses and mules were collected on days 0, 1 and once a week until day 56 and examined for T. evansi by various parasitological techniques. The sera were tested for antibodies against T. evansi using an indirect enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA).The results revealed that diminazene aceturate at 3.5 mg/kg appeared to be effective in the first treatment of horses and mules infected with T. evansi. Parasites were cleared from the peripheral blood of horses on days 1 and 7 and mules on days 1 and 14. Thereafter the number of positive animals increased. After the second treatment, 50% of horses and 25% of mules were still positive to surra 24 h after treatment demonstrating that diminazene had no protective effect. Mild to severe toxicity of diminazene was seen in the horses and mules after injection.

Animals↗

Seroprevalence of Toxoplasma gondii in elephants (Elephus maximus indicus) in Thailand.

Serum samples from captive 156 elephants (Elephus maximus indicus) from Thailand were examined for antibodies to Toxoplasma gondii using the modified agglutination test (MAT) and the latex agglutination test (LAT). Antibodies to T. gondii were found in 45.5% of 156 elephants by MAT (> or = 1:50) and 25.6% of 156 elephants by LAT (> or = 1:64). This is the first report of T. gondii infection in E. maximus indicus from Asia.

Animals↗

Detection of Trypanosoma evansi in brains of the naturally infected hog deer by streptavidine-biotin immunohistochemistry.

Twenty-four percent of hog deer (Cervus porcinus) that ranged free on a farm in Samut Prakarn province, Thailand, died showing nervous signs between September 1997 and February 1998. The nervous signs shown by most of them included ataxis, paresis of hind limbs, lateral recumbency, excitation and convulsion. Six animals and one carcass were submitted for diagnosis at the National Institute of Animal Health, Bangkok. Trypanosoma evansi was detected in blood and cerebrospinal fluid of four and five animals, respectively. Antibodies to T. evansi were found in all the hog deer by indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Histopathological observation revealed a generalised non-suppurative meningoencephalitis affecting the white and grey matter at all levels of the brain. Typically, there were broad perivascular cuffs of mononuclear inflammatory cells, including lymphocytes, and some Mott cells. No trypanosomes were found in any tissue examined by conventional histopathology. However, numerous T. evansi were demonstrated by streptavidine-biotin immunohistochemistry in neuropil and Virchow-Robin spaces of brain in three animals.

Animals↗

Cerebral trypanosomiasis in native cattle.

During the late rainy season and winter season in 1990, outbreaks of suspected trypanosomiasis in native cattle (Bos indicus) occurred on 13 farms in Petchaboon province, Thailand. Forty-two cattle presented with nervous symptoms including circling, excitation, jumping, aggressive behavior, lateral recumbency, convulsion and finally death. Blood samples from 39 cattle on the two farms in which the outbreaks occurred were collected and examined for the presence of Trypanosoma evansi. It was found that all 16 blood samples from cattle on farm A were positive of T. evansi by mouse inoculation and indirect fluorescent antibody test (IFAT). In cattle from farm B, on the other hand only 37.5% and 39% of the samples were positive by mouse inoculation and IFAT, respectively. T. evansi was detected on impression smears of organs from the three cattle which died with nervous symptoms and also in smears made from their cerebrospinal fluid. In addition, trypanosomes were isolated from the cerebrum, cerebellum, pons and spinal cord by mouse inoculation.

Animals↗