THE OCCURRENCE OF SETARIA IN REINDEER*
Setaria yehi Desset, 1966, is reported from domestic reindeer (Rangifer tarandus Linnaeus), maintained at College and Cantwell, Alaska. Microfilariae were present in blood from reindeer harboring S. yehi. Gross and microscopic findings in the infected animals revealed a low-grade peritonitis. Caribou, moose, dairy cows, goats, and dogs examined in the local areas were negative for microfilariae.
Outbreak of parasitic peritonitis in reindeer in Finland
In 2003, there was an outbreak of peritonitis in reindeer in the southern and middle part of the Finnish reindeer herding area caused by the filarioid nematode Setaria species. In the province of Oulu, the proportion of reindeer viscera condemned owing to parasitic lesions increased from 4·9 per cent in 2001 to 40·1 in 2003. In 2004, the focus of the outbreak moved approximately 100 km north. A total of 260 adult and pre-adult Setaria species nematodes were collected for morphological and molecular studies. The parasite was indistinguishable in terms of morphology and molecular biology from Setaria tundra. Samples of parasites were also collected from wild cervids. In elk, only a few cases of pre-adult encapsulated S tundra nematodes were detected on the surface of the liver but there was no peritonitis. Two roe deer had S tundra nematodes in their abdomen but no peritonitis. Of 34 wild forest reindeer, 21 had changes associated with S tundra. At meat inspection of the affected reindeer carcases, the changes observed included ascites, green fibrinous deposits, adhesions, and live and dead S tundra nematodes. There were histological lesions of granulomatous peritonitis with lymphoplasmacytic and eosinophilic infiltration. No specific bacterial growth was found. The parasitic infection had no significant effects on the pH or the organoleptic quality of the meat. There was a significant positive correlation between the worm count and the degree of peritonitis (P<0·001) and a negative correlation between the degree of peritonitis and the thickness of the back fat layer (P=0·015).
Susceptibility of broiler chickens to Clostridium botulinum type C toxin.
As broiler chickens aged during the first eight weeks of life, they decreased in susceptibility to the lethal effects of Clostridium botulinum type C toxin. Eight-week-old broilers were 2,000 times less susceptible to the lethal effects of the toxin than hatched chicks. Different broiler crosses showed similar susceptibility to the lethal effects of type C toxin at seven weeks of age, but 2.5 times more toxin was required to produce lethality by oral inoculation than was required by subcutaneous inoculation.