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Biomedical subjects

P T Hooper

Publications and source records attributed to P T Hooper.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed1996

Detection by ELISA of bluetongue antigen directly in the blood of experimentally infected sheep.

An antigen-capture ELISA (Ag-ELISA) was developed to detect bluetongue virus (BTV) antigen directly from blood samples. Four blood preparations [whole blood, buffy coat, washed red blood cells (RBC) and plasma] taken pre-inoculation and on days 6 to 9 post-inoculation (PI) were used in the ELISA to study antigenaemia in forty sheep, each experimentally infected with one of 20 South African BTV serotypes. Seventeen of the 20 serotypes were detected and 27 of the 40 sheep were at some stage Ag-ELISA positive. Over the period of sampling, Ag-ELISA positive results were most frequently returned from whole blood taken on days 6 and 7 PI. However in some instances the quantity and/or duration of BTV antigenaemia was greater in buffy coat and washed RBC preparations. In a selection of samples examined, positive Ag-ELISA results were generally obtained when samples had an infectious virus titre in eggs of > 10(3.2) egg lethal doses (ELD50/ml). The appearance and duration of detectable antigenaemia was compared with the development of clinical signs and antibody responses of infected sheep. On days 6 and 7 PI the presence of fever (> 40 degrees C) was indicative to the likelihood of detectable antigenaemia. After day 5 PI antigenaemia declined and clinical signs of swollen face and inflamed feet appeared together with the first detectable antibody response. The Ag-ELISA, when used in conjunction with clinical observations and serologic data, should be useful as a rapid diagnostic procedure for bluetongue disease.

Animals↗
PubMed1996

Susceptibility of cats to equine morbillivirus.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the susceptibility of cats to equine morbillivirus (EMV) by direct administration of the virus by subcutaneous, intra-nasal or oral routes, and following exposure to infected cats. DESIGN: A disease transmission study, with controls, using ten cats. PROCEDURE: Groups of cats were given the virus by the designated methods and assessed for evidence of infection by clinical examination, plus pathological and virological tests. RESULTS: All cats administered the virus by subcutaneous, intra-nasal or oral routes became infected and developed the disease within 4 to 8 days. One of two cats in contact with affected cats also developed the disease, but two cats kept near to affected cats did not become infected. The virus was isolated from a range of tissues collected from the infected cats, and the lesions observed in affected cats were similar to those previously observed in horses naturally and experimentally infected with the virus. CONCLUSION: This is the first demonstration that animals can be infected with EMV by non-parenteral means, that the virus can transmit naturally between animals and confirms other reports of the similarity of EMV disease in horses and cats.

Administration, Cutaneous↗
PubMed1994

Effect of feeding quandong (Santalum acuminatum) oil to rats on tissue lipids, hepatic cytochrome P-450 and tissue histology.

Quandong kernels are a traditional Aboriginal food item; they are rich in oil and contain large amounts of an unusual fatty acid, trans-11-octadecen-9-ynoic acid (santalbic acid), but it is not known whether this acid is absorbed and/or metabolized. The oil was fed at 12.6% of total energy content in semi-synthetic diets to groups of male Sprague-Dawley rats for 10 and 20 days. Santalbic acid was found in the lipids of plasma, adipose tissue, skeletal muscle, kidney, heart and liver but not in brain. Hepatic microsomal cytochrome P-450 activity in animals fed for 20 days was significantly higher (P < 0.05) than in controls. Histopathological examination did not reveal any lesions in the tissues of any animal fed quandong oil. The fact that santalbic acid was readily absorbed, widely distributed in tissues and was associated with an elevated level of hepatic cytochrome P-450 indicates that further studies are required to investigate whether or not there is a hazard associated with the human practice of consuming quandong kernels.

Adipose Tissue↗
PubMed1993

Polymerase chain reaction and other laboratory techniques in the diagnosis of long incubation rabies in Australia.

Blood and post-mortem tissues from a 10-years-old girl were submitted to the Australian Animal Health Laboratory. Clinical signs and histopathological lesions had suggested a diagnosis of rabies, but, an unusually long incubation period of at least 5 years did not encourage such a diagnosis. Serological examinations by the rapid fluorescent focus inhibition test revealed a dramatic increase in rabies virus-neutralising antibody during the 10-day period of hospitalisation. The results of a fluorescent antibody test on brain smears, and an immunoperoxidase test on formalin-fixed sections of brain were also consistent with a diagnosis of rabies. Attempts to isolate virus were unsuccessful. Polymerase chain reactions (PCRs) were conducted on a 10% suspension of a post-mortem sample from the patient's brain, using primers based on the published sequence of the Pasteur virus strain of rabies virus. 413 and 513 bp fragments from the nucleoprotein gene and a 403 bp fragment from the glycoprotein gene were amplified. Subsequent sequencing of these fragments, and comparison with equivalent regions of known rabies viruses, confirmed that the fragments originated from a virus belonging to the rabies virus serotype. This case demonstrated the advantage of using a range of laboratory techniques to obtain a definitive diagnosis. In particular, a PCR-based test may allow a diagnosis, even in the face of conditions that preclude virus isolation such as apparently occurred in this case. Finally, this case demonstrated that an unusually long incubation period should not discourage a tentative clinical diagnosis of rabies.

Antigens, Viral↗
PubMed1992

A comparison of the pathogenicity of two strains of hog cholera virus. 1. Clinical and pathological studies.

The virulence of a strain of hog cholera virus isolated during an outbreak of mild disease in pigs in New South Wales in 1960/61 (the NSW strain) was compared over 11 days with that of a virulent strain by inoculating 8 pigs with each virus and comparing the ensuing clinical signs and pathology. Both viruses caused persistent pyrexia and leukopenia, the NSW strain 4 to 5 days and the virulent strain 3 days, after inoculation. Few other clinical signs were observed in the pigs inoculated with the NSW strain. In contrast, all pigs inoculated with the virulent strain became progressively depressed and incoordinated, and were killed between days 6 and 9. Bronchopneumonia and swollen, reddened lymph nodes were observed in pigs inoculated with both viruses. Few other gross lesions were observed with the NSW strain, but some pigs receiving the virulent strain had pustules in the tonsil and the anterior oesophagus, petechial haemorrhages in the kidney, and small infarcts at the margins of the spleen. There were marked differences in the histopathology, both in the variety of organs affected and the severity of lesions in individual organs. Suppurative bronchopneumonia occurred in both groups. Other changes in the pigs affected with the NSW strain were colitis, mild cerebral vasculitis, necrosis, haemorrhage and neutrophil infiltration in some lymph nodes and spleens. In pigs infected with virulent virus the cerebral vasculitis was so severe that there was necrosis of cells within the vessel walls.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Animals↗
PubMed1990

Disease of geese caused by a new herpesvirus.

A goose flock farmed outdoors in south-eastern Queensland suffered an outbreak of peracute disease with high death rate (97%). Small button ulcers and large plaques overlying lymphocyte aggregates were present on the mucosa of the small intestine of affected birds. Small white foci of necrosis and focal haemorrhages were seen in the livers. Numerous intranuclear inclusion bodies were observed microscopically in hepatocytes and a herpesvirus which grew rapidly in chicken kidney cells was isolated from tissues. Duck virus enteritis (DVE) was suspected but DVE antiserums failed to neutralise the virus. Further serological studies with a limited range of known avian herpesviruses have failed to identify the virus. Experimental transmission resulted in high mortality in geese (100%), lower mortality in ducklings and nil mortality in chickens. Surveillance studies showed no evidence of infection in domestic and wild birds beyond the original farm and the infection appears not to have been established in the area. Wild ducks, which were frequent visitors to the farm dam, were considered the most likely source of the infection.

Animals↗
PubMed1987

Focal spongy changes in the central nervous system of sheep and cattle.

A focal form of vacuolation in the white matter of the thalamus of 13 sheep and 2 cattle is described. The individual vacuoles were similar in appearance to those reported in other forms of spongy degeneration, but they were differentiated by their consistent neuroanatomical localization in the thalamic radiation of all 15 animals. Thirteen of these were sheep used in toxicity experiments and 11 had shown signs of convulsive activity.

Acetates↗