Serum Sialic Acid Levels in Cattle Inoculated with Fusobacterium necrophorum

Abstract

Fusobacterium necrophorum was inoculated into the portal vein of seven cattle. Multiple necrotic foci were found in the livers of the two cattle which died on 10th and 14th day after inoculation. The remaining cattle autopsied on 12th to 126th day after inoculation were affected with hepatic abscesses. Some of them were affected also with extrahepatic abscesses found mainly in the lung and intercostal space. Serum sialic acid concentration was not elevated even 10 days after the inoculation in one of the two cattle affected with the multiple necrotic lesions in the liver. In the second it began to rise 8 days after the inoculation. In cattle affected with the hepatic abscesses, it began to rise above preinoculation values 3 to 5 days and reached a peak values 7 to 9 days after the inoculation. They remained at this level for 2 or 3 days and then either decreased gradually toward preinoculation values or remained somewhat elevated for more than 4 months. The effects of both hepatic and extrahepatic abscesses on the serum sialic acid level were discussed. Hepatic abscess formation correlated significantly with the rise in serum sialic acid level.