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Ten Albino rats were each infected intraperitoneally with 0.5 million Trypanosoma strain 8/18 organisms. Cerebral lesions were absent in all rats and mice injected with brain tissue and choroid plexus homogenates from group A rats were aparasitaemic over anobservation period of 30 days. However, infected rats developed intermittent (parasitaemia, lost weight progressively and became anaemic with death intervening in one case. We conclude that T. bricci strain 8/18 infection in rats produces moderate to severe disease which may lead to death; but the organism is is not pushed across the blood-brainbarrier by berenil treatment in the acute stage.

The development of pelleted food–based vaccine against Newcastle disease (ND) using a thermostable NDVI2 strain in Acha (Digitalia iburua) is reported. The Acha cereal was subjected to rigorous processing of washing, soaking, boiling, roasting and grinding into fine powder prior to virus incorporation. The mixture which was passed through a locally fabricated pelleting machine resulted in fine pellets. The virus content in the pellets determined by inoculation of susceptible embryonated chicken eggs showed appreciable titres above 108 Egg Infective Dose 50% end points (EID50) per g of feed. These titres appear to be higher than the recommended minimum immunizing dose of 105.5 EID50 per ml of vaccine. Further in-vitro and in-vivo assessment of the pelleted vaccine is advocated. Key words: Pelleted, NDVI2, food vaccine, Digitalia iburua, high virus titres.

Un foyer de bursite infectieuse (IBD) est apparu en même temps qu'une colibacillose septicémique aiguë chez des poulettes âgées de 15 semaines. La septicémie a été précédée par une IBD subclinique. Dans ce foyer, la mortalité a commencé par des cas de septicémie et Escherichia coli a été isolé du sang du cœur des oiseaux. Après traitement antibiotique, les mortalités se sont poursuivies en augmen-tant, puis, après un pic, ont décliné et enfin ont cessé. L'IBD a été confirmée par des lésions des bourses caractérisées par une lymphocytose importante et une dégénération cystique des follicules lymphoïdes. Sur les 253 volailles, 42 (16,60 %) sont mortes dans une période de huit jours. Les éléments liés à ce foyer laissent à penser que l'absence de vaccination de rappel contre IBD a favorisé l'établissement d'IBD subclinique, diminuant fortement l'immunité et prédisposant les volailles à la septicémie colibacillaire.

A slaughterhouse survey for rabies virus infection among apparently healthy dogs slaughtered for human consumption was carried out in Maiduguri, Nigeria. Formalin-fixed and paraffin-embedded tissues (salivary gland, hippocampus, cerebrum, medulla, and trigeminal ganglion) were obtained from a total of 52 head samples from slaughtered dogs. The paraffin-embedded tissues were analysed histologically using the haematoxylin and eosin (HE) method for the presence of inclusion bodies and histochemically by streptavidin - biotin peroxidase staining method for detection of rabies virus antigens. Prior to fixation of tissue, impression smears were made from the hippocampus and stained by Sellers method to detect the presence of Negri bodies. Rabies virus antigen was detected in tissues from 16 (31% ) of the 52 dog heads. Histological diagnosis by HE revealed various degrees of inflammatory changes in the salivary gland and brain tissues with few Negri bodies from 10 (19% ) of the 52 dogs tested. However, all tissues positive by HE were also positive by immunoperoxidase method using the streptavidin- biotin peroxidase staining procedure. Ten (30% ) of the 33 male and 6 (32% ) of the 19 female dogs tested were positive for presence of rabies virus antigen. There was no significant difference between sexes in relation to rabies virus infection. The application of immunoperoxidase staining technique in the localization of rabies virus antigen in the submaxillary salivary gland was more sensitive (based on the relative number of positive tissues) when compared with the application of the method to other organs. Apparently healthy dogs may be important in the epidemiology and control of rabies in this environment.