Frequency of a FAS ligand gene variant associated with inherited feline autoimmune lymphoproliferative syndrome in British shorthair cats in New Zealand

Abstract

AIMS

To determine the frequency of the FAS-ligand gene (FASLG) variant associated with feline autoimmune lymphoproliferative syndrome (FALPS) and the proportion of carriers of the variant in three British shorthair (BSH) breeding catteries in New Zealand.     

Echocardiographic assessment of feline false tendons and their relationship with focal thickening of the left ventricle

Background

False tendons (FTs) are string-like structures in the left ventricle. A FT might produce focal thickening at its insertion region of the left ventricle, which could be mistaken for focal hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.

Comparative evaluation of metallic skin staples or polypropylene sutures for primary closure of teat wounds in sheep

ABSTRACT

Aims

To compare stainless steel staples and polypropylene suture material for primary closure of wounds after teat amputation in ewes and to assess progress of healing in the presence or absence of intramammary infection (IMI).     

Some observations on the pelvic anatomy of ewes with vaginal prolapse

Abstract

Extract

In a previous paper, changes in the pelvic region of normal pregnant ewes were described (Bassett and Phillips, 1955 Bassett, E. G. and Phillips, D. S. M. 1955. N.Z. vet. J., 3: 20–20. [Taylor &; Francis Online] , [Google Scholar]). The dissection techniques developed have now been used to study characteristic changes in pelvic anatomy of a large number of ewes suffering from, or with previous histories of, vaginal prolapse (“bearing trouble”). Dissected pelves have again been observed, and some of the more informative techniques applied to live animals. In addition to these quantitative methods, preliminary investigations have been initiated using a deep-freeze technique to study pelvic anatomy in greater detail.     

Prevalence and risk factors for cats testing positive for feline immunodeficiency virus and feline leukaemia virus infection in cats entering an animal shelter in New Zealand

Abstract

AIMS

To estimate the prevalence of cats testing positive for antibodies to feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV) and feline leukaemia virus (FeLV) antigens in domestic cats entering a New Zealand animal shelter, based on a commercial point-of-care ELISA, to identify risk factors associated with cats testing positive, and to compare the results obtained from the ELISA with those obtained using PCR-based testing.     

Further investigation of equine fescue oedema induced by Mediterranean tall fescue (Lolium arundinaceum) infected with selected fungal endophytes (Epichloë coenophiala)

Abstract

AIMS

To determine if equine fescue oedema (EFO) induced by grazing Mediterranean-type tall fescue (Lolium arundinaceum) infected with selected endophytes (Epichloë coenophiala) could be prevented by treatment with the corticosteroid, methylprednisolone, and anti-histamine, cetirizine, and to determine concentrations of lolines, specifically N-acetyl norloline (NANL), in grasses grazed by horses that did and did not develop EFO.     

The importance of zoonoses

Abstract

Extract

There are approximately 200 infectious diseases of animals, birds, and fish, and almost half of these are zoonoses (Meyer, 1954 Meyer, K. F. 1954. Bull. Epizoot. Dis. Africa, 2: 427–427.  [Google Scholar]). This paper deals with the main points of but a few which are important in the countries of Asia and the Pacific area. These have been stressed recently at a seminar in Japan sponsored by the World Health Organization and Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations. A global picture is given also, as the problems of the zoonoses are greater overseas than they are in New Zealand. To keep the problems in perspective, it should be stated that the zoonoses account for only a small percentage of human illness, partly owing to such notable achievements as pasteurization of milk for human consumption and meat inspection.     

A nervous syndrome in dogs responding to treatment with thiamine

Abstract

Extract

Sir,—Following letters of Mayhew and Stewart 1969) Mayhew, I. G. and Stewart, J. M. 1969. Nervous syndrome in dogs possibly associated with a thiamine deficiency. N.Z. vet. J., 17: 91–92. [Taylor &; Francis Online] , [Google Scholar]and Stirling (1969) Stirling, T. 1969. Possible thiamine deficiency in dogs. N.Z. vet. J., 11: 160–160.  [Google Scholar], I feel that the following case report may be of interest.     

Bovine abortion caused by infection with Leptospira pomona

Abstract

Extract

A gram-negative pleomorphic facultative aerobic organism, indistinguishable morphologically and culturally from that isolated from suppurative epididymitis in rams and described by Dodd &; Hartley (1955) Dodd, D. C. and Hartley, W. J. 1955. N.Z. vet. J., 3: 105–105. [Taylor &; Francis Online] , [Google Scholar], has, over the last five years, been isolated at this laboratory on more than ten occasions from polytenosynovitis and pyaemia in lambs, and on one occasion from mastitis in a ewe. It still remains to characterize and classify this organism, but Roberts has made a detailed comparison of it with his Histophilus ovis (Roberts, 1956 Roberts, D. S. 1956. Aust. vet. J., 32: 330–330.  [Google Scholar]) and considers that the two are indistinguishable (Roberts, 1958, pers. comm.).     

Reproductive performance of post-partum anoestrous dairy cows treated with progesterone and oestradiol benzoate

Abstract

Extract

Recent studies have shown that the anoestrous condition of post-partum dairy cows can be treated with a combination of progesterone (for 5–7 days) and oestradiol benzoate (ODB, 1 mg injected at 24 or 48 h after termination of the progesterone treatment)(1) McDougall, S, and Macmillan, KL. 1993. Follicle waves, ovulation and oestrus in the postpartum cow. Proceedings of the 13th Seminar for the Society of Dairy Cattle Veterinarians of the New Zealand Veterinary Association, : 33–47.  [Google Scholar]. However, published data on the performance of this anoestrus treatment programme in commercial dairy herds is limited(2) Macmillan, KL,, Taufa, VK,, Day, AM, and McDougall, S. 1995. Some effects of using progesterone and oestradiol benzoate to stimulate oestrus and ovulation m dairy cows with anovulatory anoestrus. Proceedings of the New Zealand Society of Animal Production, 55: 239–241.  [Google Scholar]. During the 1994–95 and 1995–96 breeding seasons, performance of this anoestrus treatment programme was determined in nine and six spring-calving herds, respectively. In each herd, cows that had not been detected in oestrus using the tailpainting technique by Day -7 (Day 0 = start of the breeding season) were examined per rectum by each herd owner's attending veterinarian for the presence of a palpable corpus luteum (CL) on the ovary. Cows with a palpable CL or with an enlarged or infected uterus were excluded. Throughout the trial period, anoestrous cows were managed together with the cycling cows.     

Massive rupture of the abdominal wall with herniation in a mare at parturition

Abstract

Extract

Roberts (1956) Roberts, S. J. 1956. Veterinary Obstetrics and Genital Diseases, 1st ed., 99–100. Ithaca, N.Y.: Author.  [Google Scholar] refers to this condition as rupture of the prepubic tendon. While the condition he describes is nearly identical with that reported here, there was, in the present case, rupture of individual muscle layers cranial to the prepubic tendon. Another inconsistency is that this was a relatively light hack whereas Roberts describes the condition as occurring most commonly in heavier draught mares.     

Neurological signs associated with coccidiosis in a beef steer

Abstract

Extract

Although neurological signs have been associated with enteric coccidiosis in calves in North America and Australia (Jubb, 1988 Jubb, TF. 1988. Nervous disease associated with coccidiosis in young cattle. Australian Veterinary Journal, 65: 353–354.  [Google Scholar]; Radostits and Stockdale, 1980 Radostits, OM and Stockdale, PHG. 1980. A brief review of bovine coccidiosis in Western Canada. Canadian Veterinary Journal, 21: 227–230.  [Google Scholar]), they have not been described in cattle in New Zealand.     

Postinduction apnoea in dogs premedicated with acepromazine or dexmedetomidine and anaesthetized with alfaxalone or propofol

Objective

To compare incidence and duration of postinduction apnoea in dogs after premedication with methadone and acepromazine (MA) or methadone and dexmedetomidine (MD) followed by induction with propofol (P) or alfaxalone (A).

Typhlocolitis associated with <Emphasis Type="Italic">Clostridium difficile</Emphasis> ribotypes 078 and 110 in neonatal piglets from a commercial Irish pig herd

Background

Clostridium difficile is a recognised cause of typhlocolitis and diarrhoea in neonatal pigs but has never been confirmed in association with pathology and disease in Irish pigs.

Case Presentation

Four neonatal piglets, with a history of diarrhoea were referred to the Central Veterinary Research Laboratory, Backweston for necropsy. They were from a fully integrated, commercial pig farm with approximately 1000 sows. Three piglets had acute, superficial, erosive and suppurative typhlocolitis and the other had mild suppurative mesocolitis. Clostridium difficile (C. difficile) toxins A/B were detected using ELISA in the colonic contents from each piglet. C. difficile isolates from two of the piglets were PCR-ribotyped as 078 and an isolate from a third pig was ribotyped as 110.

Conclusions

This is the first report confirming C. difficile in association with typhlocolitis in Irish pigs.

     

Isolation of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Chlamydia abortus</Emphasis> from a laboratory worker diagnosed with atypical pneumonia

Background

Identifying the aetiological agent of atypical pneumonia in human can sometimes be a tedious process, especially in cases where Mycoplasma pneumoniae, Legionella species and Chlamydia pneumoniae are ruled out. In such cases, a correct anamnesis of the patient is basic to clarify which pathogens might have produced the infection. For this reason, health professionals including veterinarians and laboratory personnel working with zoonotic pathogens should keep their doctors informed.

Case presentation

A human case of atypical pneumonia linked to Chlamydia abortus is reported. A 47-year-old male, a veterinarian researcher into chlamydiae, developed respiratory symptoms, breathing problems and high fever. Serological analyses ruled out the involvement of several respiratory pathogens, such as M. pneumoniae, Legionella pneumophila, Rickettsia conorii and C. pneumoniae, and Chlamydia abortus was identified as the possible aetiological agent of the infection. The isolation of C. abortus from the patient’s sputum and subsequent molecular analysis confirmed the presence of this microorganism.

Conclusion

As far as we know, although C. abortus has not been previously described as capable of causing pneumonia in humans, this is the first reported case of atypical pneumonia in which C. abortus is thought to have played an aetiological role.

     

Cardiopulmonary effects of pleural insufflation with CO2 during two-lung ventilation in dorsally recumbent anesthetized horses

Objective

To record the cardiopulmonary effects of pleural CO₂ positive pressure insufflation in anesthetized horses.

Hydroxyethyl starch 130/0.4 compared with 0.9% NaCl administered to greyhounds with haemorrhagic shock

Objective

To determine the cardiovascular and acid-base effects of 6% hydroxyethyl starch (HES) 130/0.4 and 0.9% sodium chloride (NaCl) administered to anaesthetized greyhounds with haemorrhagic shock.

Genetic diversity of ruminant <Emphasis Type="Italic">Pestivirus</Emphasis> strains collected in Northern Ireland between 1999 and 2011 and the role of live ruminant imports

Background

The genus pestivirus within the family Flaviviridae includes bovine viral diarrhoea virus (BVDV) types 1 and 2, border disease virus (BDV) and classical swine fever virus. The two recognised genotypes of BVDV are divided into subtypes based on phylogenetic analysis, namely a-p for BVDV-1 and a-c for BVDV-2.

Methods

Three studies were conducted to investigate the phylogenetic diversity of pestiviruses present in Northern Ireland. Firstly, pestiviruses in 152 serum samples that had previously tested positive for BVDV between 1999 and 2008 were genotyped with a RT-PCR assay. Secondly, the genetic heterogeneity of pestiviruses from 91 serum samples collected between 2008 and 2011 was investigated by phylogenetic analysis of a 288 base pair portion of the 5’ untranslated region (UTR). Finally, blood samples from 839 bovine and 4,437 ovine animals imported in 2010 and 2011 were tested for pestiviral RNA. Analysis of animal movement data alongside the phylogenetic analysis of the strains was carried out to identify any links between isolates and animal movement.

Results

No BVDV-2 strains were detected. All of the 152 samples in the first study were genotyped as BVDV-1. Phylogenetic analysis indicated that the predominant subtype circulating was BVDV-1a (86 samples out of 91). The remaining five samples clustered close to reference strains in subtype BVDV-1b. Out of the imported animals, 18 bovine samples tested positive and 8 inconclusive (Ct ≥36), while all ovine samples were negative. Eight sequences were obtained and were defined as BVDV-1b. Analysis of movement data between herds failed to find links between herds where BVDV-1b was detected.

Conclusion

Given that only BVDV-1a was detected in samples collected between 1968 and 1999, this study suggests that at least one new subtype has been introduced to Northern Ireland between 1999 and 2011 and highlights the potential for importation of cattle to introduce new strains.

     

Experimental Ascuris-induced airway hypersensitivity in sheep: no serological evidence of association with Toxocara canis infection

Abstract

Extract

The finding that 70% of sheep from the Manawatu district were hypersensitive to challenge by inhalation of Ascaris suum antigen, regardless of their previous history of exposure to pigs(1 Chen, W, Pack, RJ, Alley, MR, Carr, DH and Manktelow, BW. 1990. Airway hypersensitivity induced by Ascaris scum extract in New Zealand Romney sheep. New Zealand Veterinary Journal, 38: 5741–5741.  [Google Scholar]), has raised the possibility that these sheep had been sensitised by exposure to the common dog nematode Toxocara canis.     

Absence of a vitamin B12 weight gain response in two trials with growing red deer (Cervus elaphus)

Abstract

Extract

Madam:- Cobalt deficiency has long been recognised in New Zealand as a disease in sheep and cattle which may occur when they graze pastures of low cobalt content <0.08 mg/kg DM and >0.04 mg/kg DM respectively. (2 Clark, R.G. and Millar, K.R. 1983. “Cobalt”. In The Mineral Requirements of Grazing Ruminants, Edited by: Grace, N.D. 27–37. NZ Society of Animal Production. Occasional publication No. 9 [Google Scholar]) In recent years the farming of red deer (Cervus elaphus) on soil types known to be marginally, moderately or severely deficient(1 Andrews, E.D. 1971. Cobalt deficiency in sheep and cattle, New Zealand Department of Agriculture. Bulletin 180 [Google Scholar]) has raised the question of how susceptible these species are to cobalt deficiency. To the authors' knowledge there is no published information on the susceptibility of red deer to cobalt deficiency.