Dicer, an ribonuclease type III type endonuclease, is the key enzyme involved in biogenesis of microRNAs (miRNAs) and small interfering RNAs (siRNAs), and thus plays a critical role in RNA interference through post transcriptional regulation of gene expression. This enzyme has not been well studied ...

Q fever is a zoonosis of world-wide significance caused by the obligatory intracellular bacterium Coxiella burnetii. Although the spread of this agent in nature is mediated by blood-sucking arthropods (mostly ticks), domestic animals (cattle, sheep and goats) represent the most frequent source of...

The length and width of 1297 Fasciola hepatica ova shed in cattle hosts, 337 in sheep and 199 in nutria (Myocastor coypus), were measured from several parts of France. The data were compared with those obtained from other studies in Spain, France (where rats were also investigated), Germany and the ...

A brief account is given of a meeting of COST 89 (a European Community-coordinated project on basic research on coccidioses of poultry and farm animals) held in Bochum, Germany, 30 September-1 October 1991. Topics covered included: culture, immunity, vaccines, genome organization and molecular...

Toltrazuril is a new anti-coccidial drug unrelated to any other. Chemically, it is a symmetrical triazinetrione. Its efficacy has been demonstrated against Eimeria spp. in chickens, turkeys, geese, pigeons and other fowl as well as in cattle, sheep, pigs, rabbits, rats and mice. It is said to be...

Flukes were recovered from 4 of 5 guineapigs and 1 of 5 rabbits after oral infection with F. hepatica metacercariae. Flukes developed from 3.3% of metacercariae given to guineapigs and 2% of those given to rabbits. Mice were refractory to infection. None of the flukes recovered was mature, even in...

A bibliography is given for protozoan species of the Phylum Sarcomastigophora recorded in domestic animals in Mexico. The hosts listed include fish, anthropophilic rodents, domestic cattle, Musca domestica, domestic dog and the Mexican rabbit.

Experiments on rats, mice and rabbits, which were given Hexichol C [hexachloroparaxylene] suspensions enterally, showed that its LD₅₀ was above 10 000 mg/kg bwt, confirming that the anthelmintic was of low toxicity. Furthermore, the toxicity coefficient was shown to be 40 for cattle and 60 for...

Antibodies in blood serum detected by the immunofluorescence of cryptosporidial oocysts were present in all the pigs, 94% of horses, 92% of cattle, 84% of sheep, 40% of rabbits and 30% of guinea pigs. The total number of serum samples tested was 50. Antibody titres and the excretion of ...