Two cases of ventricular foreign bodies in the kori bustard (Ardeotis kori).
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Biomedical subjects
Publications and source records attributed to J C Howlett.
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Blood samples were collected from clinically normal male and female houbara (Chlamydotis undulata macqueenii), kori (Ardeotis kori), buff-crested (Eupodotis ruficrista gindiana) and white-bellied bustards (E. senegalensis) to determine serum bile acid concentrations. Bile acid concentrations were determined by analysis with an Ultrospec 3000 ultraviolet/visible spectrophotometer, using an enzymatic bile acid test. The results provided values of serum bile acid concentrations for the four species, with means +/- standard errors of 35.8 +/- 2.8 mumol; 51.1 +/- 5.0 mumol; 18.4 +/- 2.1 mumol and 20.8 +/- 5.4 mumol for the houbara, kori, buff-crested and white-bellied bustard, respectively. Although no gender or age differences were detected within species, the results demonstrated significant differences in concentrations in clinically normal individuals between the different species.
Studies were conducted to monitor the decline of maternal antibodies to paramyxovirus type 1 (PMV-1) in kori bustard chicks (Ardeotis kori), and to determine the antibody response in birds with low levels of maternally derived immunity (MDI) after being given either one or five times the standard domestic fowl dose of a live PMV-1 La Sota vaccine intranasally. The results confirmed that PMV-1 antibodies were transferred to eggs and chicks derived from kori bustard hens immunized with inactivated vaccine 5 to 8 mo previously. The levels of inherited antibody in chicks varied considerably, with 21% of birds having no detectable antibodies at day 14 Chicks hatched from dams with high hemagglutination inhibition (HI) antibody titers had high titers of MDI. Mean antibody levels in seropositive chicks were log2 6.3 and log2 2.9 on days 14 and 42, respectively. The rate of decline of detectable antibodies (1 log2), was estimated to be 5.50 to 6.25 days and 12.25 days in 14 to 21 and 28 to 42 day old chicks, respectively. There was no significant HI antibody response in bustards given a primary vaccination of either one or five times the standard domestic fowl dose of live vaccine intranasally up to 3 wk post-vaccination. High levels of HI antibodies, log2 7.4, were detected in birds given a secondary dose of inactivated vaccine, but not in birds given a secondary dose of live vaccine at 2 wk post-vaccination.
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The effect of three injectable drugs and a combination of two of them was compared in birds. The agents were ketamine hydrochloride, xylazine hydrochloride and the steroid mixture alphaxalone-alphadolone. Ketamine and xylazine were used in combination. One hundred and fifty-four species, all maintained by major zoos in the United Kingdom, were involved in the study. The results indicate that the drugs used produced more widely differing effects in the range of species studied than have previously been reported.
A survey was carried out to describe the normal aerobic bacterial flora of the conjunctiva and nasal cavity of captive houbara bustards (Chlamydotis undulata), kori bustards (Ardeotis kori), and white-bellied bustards (Eupodotis senegalensis) maintained at the National Avian Research Center, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. A total of 58 samples were examined from the nasal cavity and 55 samples from the conjunctiva of healthy bustards. There was no bacterial growth in 45% of conjunctival samples. Bacteria isolated from the conjunctiva of healthy birds included Micrococcus spp., Staphylococcus auricularis, Staphylococcus xylosus, Staphylococcus capitis, Staphylococcus warneri, Bacillus spp., and Enterobacter amigenus. Bacteria isolated from the nasal cavity of healthy birds included Bacillus spp., Micrococcus spp., S. auricularis, S. xylosus, Staphylococcus simulans, Staphylococcus saprophyticus, Staphylococcus hyicus, Staphylococcus cohnii, Staphylococcus sciuri, Aerococcus spp., and Providencia rettgeri. These findings were compared with bacterial isolates from bustards with clinical signs of ocular or upper respiratory tract diseases. Mycoplasma spp., Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Pseudomonas stutzeri, Proteus mirabilis, Escherichia coli, Klebsiella spp., Aeromonas hydrophila, and Staphylococcus aureus were the pathogenic bacteria isolated from the conjunctiva of 34.3% bustards with ocular discharges. Mycoplasma spp., P. aeruginosa, Pseudomonas spp., P. mirabilis, E. coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae, and S. aureus were the pathogenic bacteria isolated from the nasal cavity of 74% bustards with upper respiratory tract diseases.
The findings of 1746 clinical examinations of 594 bustards of six different species are presented, and the differences of causes of morbidity between imported adult, captive adult, and captive juvenile bustards are discussed. Wing tip trauma, keel trauma, and other soft tissue-related traumatic injuries were the most commonly diagnosed clinical conditions in captive adult bustards, accounting for 50.7% of the total findings in this category. Soft tissue-related related traumatic injuries accounted for 26.3% and 5.3% of the findings of imported adult and captive juvenile bustards, respectively. Musculoskeletal disorders were the most commonly diagnosed clinical conditions in captive juvenile bustards, accounting for 61.3% of the total findings in this category. Nutritional bone disease was the single most important musculoskeletal disorder in captive juvenile bustards, accounting for 24% of total findings. Musculoskeletal disorders accounted for 22.9% and 4.9% of findings in captive adult and imported adult bustards, respectively. Parasitic observations accounted for 24.7% of the total findings in imported adult bustards. Infectious viral diseases were almost exclusively confined to the imported adult bustards, making up 20.1% of findings in this group. Opthalmologic conditions accounted for 15.1% of findings in imported adult bustards.
A review was conducted of 236 postmortem examinations of six species of captive and imported bustards in the United Arab Emirates for the period 1979-94. The most common causes of death in adult imported houbara bustards (Chlamydotis undulata macqueenii) were euthanasia due to Newcastle disease, aspergillosis, and post-transportation-related deaths. Helminth parasites were a common finding in imported houbara bustards, and large parasite burdens occasionally caused intestinal obstruction and death. The most common causes of death in adult captive houbara bustards were trauma-related deaths and euthanasia for or death following treatment for capture myopathy. Fatty liver change was an important postmortem finding of captive adult houbara bustards. The main cause of death in juvenile houbara bustards was yolk-sac infection and septicemia. The most common causes of death in adult kori bustards (Ardeotis kori) were capture myopathy and handling injuries or euthanasia following these injuries. The most common causes of death in adult rufouscrested bustards (Eupodotis ruficrista) were post-transportation deaths in imported birds and trichomoniasis and trauma in captive birds. Juvenile rufous-crested bustards appeared to be highly susceptible to gizzard impactions and foreign-body obstructions of the gastrointestinal tract. Nutritional bone disease is an important disease of all juvenile bustards, particularly kori and houbara bustards. Aspergillosis was also a common postmortem finding in captive and imported adult houbara bustards and also caused mortality in juvenile kori and houbara bustards.