No abstract

Inclusion body disease, a fatal disorder in Boidae, is reviewed, and three cases in boa constrictors, the first reported cases in Belgium, are described. The snakes showed nervous signs, and numerous eosinophilic intracytoplasmic inclusions, which are considered to be characteristic of the disease, were found in the liver and pancreas. The disease is suspected to be caused by a retrovirus, but transmission electron microscopic examinations of several tissues from one of the snakes did not reveal particles with a typical retroviral morphology.

K. Clhiers, lIV xi, 11t1), IM. Van Heerdeni, Ix 1, (G. Metileiianis, ox xI, Rt. Ducatelle, lI Px lhl), Cvp Illtilat'ilt of Plmhtlolo^\. I...-ilr 11]1(AI' \IIIl liseles, P. I)eprez, 1)\\x1 P'il), I tetiInie titB]bt i iit i1Bt,, A1Niet1 ii tie, K. Baert, Mx xI, S. Crotibels, Pltl), P. De Backer, MAIxi lil), IPit,11 titteOov Pi liiidtliiIi~x ba ,c ol'Vetett'll.ll'' NIxNlcicilite, (herilt tTmaitxet x-itt!t S.alisfitit x tta 33, 198 '() P. Weyens, Ix x.\i, 1) 1) RUI)CItxiSIlIll t 2, 9211 N let.'t .'lhel e I,.elgi iti

N,N-dimethylglycine (DMG) is a tertiary amino acid that naturally occurs as an intermediate metabolite in choline-to-glycine metabolism. The objective of the present trial was to evaluate tolerance, safety and bioaccumulation of dietary DMG in broilers when supplemented at 1 g and 10 g Na-DMG/kg. A feeding trial was conducted using 480 1-d-old broiler chicks that were randomly allocated to twenty-four pens and fed one of three test diets added with 0, 1 or 10 g Na-DMG/kg during a 39 d growth period. Production performance was recorded to assess tolerance and efficacy of the supplement. At the end of the trial, toxicity was evaluated by means of haematology, plasma biochemistry and histopathology of liver, kidney and heart (n 12), whereas bioaccumulation was assessed on breast meat, liver, blood, kidney and adipose tissue (n 8). Carcass traits were similar between the control and 1 g Na-DMG/kg feed groups (P.0·05), but the feed:gain ratio was significantly improved at 1 g Na-DMG/kg feed compared with the control or the 10-fold dose (P¼0·008). Histological examinations showed no pathological effects and results of haematology and plasma biochemistry revealed similar values between the test groups (P. 0·05). Bioaccumulation occurred at the 10-fold dose, but the resulting DMG content in breast meat was comparable with, for instance, wheat bran and much lower than uncooked spinach. In conclusion, DMG at 1 g Na-DMG/kg improved the feed:gain ratio in broilers without DMG being accumulated in consumer parts. Furthermore, dietary supplementation with DMG up to 10 g Na-DMG/kg did not induce toxicity or impaired performance in broilers.Key words: Dimethylglycine: Feed additives: Broilers N,N-dimethylglycine (DMG), a methylated derivative of the amino acid glycine with the chemical formula (CH 3 ) 2 NCH 2 COOH, has been used for various human and animal applications. The molecule was first reported in 1943, and is a naturally occurring intermediate metabolite in plant and animal cells (1,2) . The choline-to-glycine pathway starts with choline being oxidised into betaine. Next, DMG is formed within the mitochondria from betaine (N,N,N-trimethylglycine) by the removal of one methyl group and, after this, it is further demethylated to sarcosine (N-methylglycine) and finally to glycine (3,4) . DMG is claimed to enhance oxygen utilisation and diminish muscle acidification, and for this reason, it is currently used as an enhancer of athletic performance in human athletes as well as in racing dogs and horses. This application is, however, primarily based on anecdotal reports.To date, only a few randomised, controlled studies have been performed and these have failed to demonstrate the aforementioned claims related to athletic performance (5) . A new application of DMG is in its use as a dietary supplement in poultry diets. Dietary supplementation with 167 mg Na-DMG/kg has been demonstrated to improve apparent total tract digestibility corrected for uric acid (ATTD ua ) of crude protein and N-free extract in broiler chicke...

ABSTRACT:The effi cacy of an autogenous vaccine consisting of a whole cell suspension of formalin killed bacteria in sterile buffered saline against Staphylococcus aureus infections was determined, using a well-established rabbit skin infection model. Thirteen 8 wk old rabbits were vaccinated twice subcutaneously with a 2 wk interval while 10 rabbits were injected twice with formalised PBS (sterile phosphate buffered saline). Two weeks after the last injection, 10 vaccinated and all PBS-injected rabbits were inoculated intradermally with 10 8 cfu of a S. aureus strain (KH 171)which had been shown to be highly virulent for rabbits. Three vaccinated animals served as negative controls and were intradermally injected with sterile buffered saline. All rabbits were examined daily for the development of skin lesions until 14 d after the experimental infection when all rabbits were euthanised. All animals experimentally infected with S. aureus developed skin abscesses within 24 h post-inoculation, but in the vaccinated group the maximum abscess diameter was signifi cantly lower than in the non-vaccinated group (P=0.048). This difference between autovaccinated and non-vaccinated groups increased over time (P<0.001). These results indicate that vaccination with an inactivated whole cell bacterin may be useful for control of staphylococcosis in rabbits but does not prevent abscess formation in animals inoculated with a high dose of a highly virulent S. aureus strain.