Paratuberculosis with special reference to cattle. A review

Paratuberculosis is a chronic, granulomatous enteritis caused by Mycobacterium avium subspecies paratuberculosis affecting domestic and wild ruminants. The symptoms of clinical paratuberculosis are chronic diarrhoea and progressive weight loss while subclinically infected animals mainly have decreased production. The infection is widespread throughout the world and causes substantial financial losses for the farming industry. One of the major obstacles in the control of this disease, is the difficulty of identifying subclinically infected animals. This review gives a summary of several aspects of paratuberculosis including clinical importance, pathology, immunology and properties of the infectious agent. Special emphasis will be on the available diagnostic methods, their use and limitations.     

Degenerative lumbosacral stenosis in the dog: A review of 30 cases

Lumbosacral disorders were diagnosed in 43 dogs over a five-year period. Degenerative lumbosacral stenosis was found to be the cause in 30 dogs. The clinical, radiographic and myelographic findings in these dogs are reviewed and the results of conservative and surgical treatment presented. Low back pain was found to be the most important presenting sign. Only seven dogs (23 per cent) presented with a significant neurological abnormality and 15 dogs (50 per cent) showed no detectable neurological deficit. The problems associated with the definitive diagnosis of this disorder and its significance as a cause of pain and lameness in the hindquarters of large dogs are discussed.     

Prenatal development of the caudal vena cava in mammals: review of the different theories with special reference to the dog

Several items of the development of the caudal vena cava in domestic animals are still controversial. In particular, the origin of the lumbar segment of the caudal vena cava is equivocally described. According to different theories it originates from the right-sided supracardinal, caudal cardinal, sacrocardinal, lateral sympathetic or subcardinal veins. In this review, all five theories are compared with each other and discussed in the light of anatomical variations observed in eight dogs. Species-specific diversity, erratic observations because of technical artefacts, and biased interpretation of the original data are three major reasons for the dissimilarity between the five theories, but they cannot explain all differences. Further studies by using modern techniques such as microvascular corrosion casting and non-invasive three-dimensional microtomography are necessary to better understand the normal development and to explain the variations in domestic animal species.     

Borrelia burgdorferi infections with special reference to horses. A review

This review discusses the literature on B. burgdorferi infections in view of the rising incidence of this infection in general and the increasing concerns of horse owners and equine practitioners. Lyme disease, the clinical expression of Borrelia infections in man is an important health problem. The geographic distribution of B. burgdorferi infections in equidae should resemble that of human cases because the vector tick involved, Ixodes ricinus, feeds on both species and, indeed, the infection has been established many times in horses. However, a definite diagnosis of the disease "Lyme borreliosis" in human beings as well as in horses and other animals is often difficult to accomplish. Although a broad spectrum of clinical signs has been attributed to B. burgdorferi infections in horses, indisputable cases of equine Lyme borreliosis are extremely rare so far, if they exist at all.     

Borrelia burgdorferi infections with special reference to horses. A review

Summary This review discusses the literature on B. burgdorferi infections in view of the rising incidence of this infection in general and the increasing concerns of horse owners and equine practitioners. Lyme disease, the clinical expression of Borrelia infections in man is an important health problem. The geographic distribution of B. burgdorferi infections in equidae should resemble that of human cases because the vector tick involved, Ixodes ricinus, feeds on both species and, indeed, the infection has been established many times in horses. However, a definite diagnosis of the disease "Lyme borreliosis" in human beings as well as in horses and other animals is often difficult to accomplish. Although a broad spectrum of clinical signs has been attributed to B. burgdorferi infections in horses, indisputable cases of equine Lyme borreliosis are extremely rare so far, if they exist at all.     

Arthrosis with special reference to the elbow joint of young rapidly growing dogs. I A review of the literature.

The terms arthrosis, arthritis, osteochondrosis, osteochondritis dissecans and dysplasia are defined. A short review of the pathological anatomical changes seen in primary and secondary arthrosis is given, and the anatomy of the elbow is briefly described. The literature concerning elbow lesions leading to arthrosis in young, rapidly growing dogs is reviewed.     

Immunocytochemical diagnosis of skin tumours of the dog with special reference to undifferentiated types

Immunoperoxidase techniques for S-100 protein, keratin, cytokeratin, vimentin and desmin were applied to 65 canine skin tumours. These included eight squamous cell carcinomas, eight fibrosarcomas, eight melanomas, eight mastocytomas, eight haemangiosarcomas, eight leiomyosarcomas, five liposarcomas and 12 poorly differentiated tumours. Consistent results were obtained within each group. Cytokeratin and keratin immunoreactivity was detected only in squamous cell carcinomas. Vimentin was present in fibrosarcomas, melanomas, haemangiosarcomas, mastocytomas, leiomyosarcomas and liposarcomas. S-100 protein immunoreactivity was detected in melanomas, haemangiosarcomas, liposarcomas and leiomyosarcomas. Only leiomyosarcomas were positive for desmin. According to these results the 12 anaplastic tumours were diagnosed either as carcinomas, fibrosarcomas or malignant melanomas.     

Cell-mediated immunity in the dog in relation to disease: A review

Canine cell-mediated immunity and its in vitro testing is reviewed. Lymphocyte stimulation tests and the leukocyte migration inhibition test are discussed as corollaries of in vivo cell-mediated immunity. Cloning of progenitor populations, characterization of cell surface markers and DL-A typing for studies of canine immunity are also reviewed.     

Evaluation of serum osteocalcin and CTX-I in Ardenner horses with special reference to juvenile interphalangeal joint disease

The first aim of this study was to establish a profile of age-related normal serum concentrations of osteocalcin (OC) in Ardenner horses. For this first part, blood samples from 49 healthy Ardenner horses were collected. The second aim was to study two biochemical markers of bone metabolism, OC and a carboxy-terminal cross-linking telopeptide of type I collagen (CTX-I), in 30 young Ardenner horses during 1 year. Amongst them, 17 showed lesions of juvenile degenerative joint disease in the distal forelimbs. A specific radioimmunoassay for equine OC was used to measure the serum concentration of the marker. The serum concentration of CTX-I was measured using a commercially available human assay validated for use in the horse. The effect of age, sex, season and health status (with or without lesions) was assessed. Levels of OC fall between birth and the adult stage: this decrease being most marked between birth and 1 year of age. This age-related decrease of OC was confirmed in the 30 young Ardenner horses, but CTX-I levels remained constant in this group. The Levels of the two markers changed significantly with the season with higher concentrations during the winter. No significant difference was shown either between the two sexes or between the two health statuses.     

Meningioma in a dog in Iran: a case report, together with a review of the literature and special reference to the aetiology

Over a period of 1 year, a 9-year-old female Spitz developed ataxia, anorexia, insomnia, stiffness of the left fore and left hind legs, bilateral mydriasis, persistent torticolis to the left, tachycardia and tachypnea. At post-mortem, a meningioma was found protruding into the space between the left cerebellar hemisphere and medulla oblongata. This is the first report of canine meningioma in Iran.
Résumé. Une chienne de race 'loulou' de 9 ans, présentait depuis 1 an de l'ataxie, de l'anorexie, de l'insomnie et de la raideur des membres antérieur et postérieur gauches, une mydriase bilatérale, un torticolis persistant (tourné vers la gauche), de la tachycardie et de la tachypnée. A l'autopsie, on a trouvé un méningiome pénétrant dans l'espace entre l'hémisphère cérébelleux gauche et le bulbe. Il s'agit de la première observation d'un méningiome crânien en Iran.
Zusammenfassung. Im Zeitraum von 1 Jahr zeigte eine 9 Jahre alte Spitzhündin Ataxie, Anorexie, Schlaflosigkeit, Steifheit des linken Vorder- und Hinterbeins, bilaterale Mydriasis, persistenten Torticollis nach links, Tachycardie und Tachypnoe. Bei der Sektion wurde ein Meningiom gefunden, das in den Raum zwischen der linken Hirnhälfte und der Medulla oblongaia hineinragte. Dies ist der erste Bericht eines Meningioms bei einem Hund im Iran.     

Noise in animal housing--a review with special reference to pig housing

The interpretation of research on noise assessment in animal housing is difficult as goals and methodology of assessment differ substantially between studies. Besides the differences in housing conditions and technology used for measuring noise, a lack of knowledge exists for intra- and interspecies communication, hearing ability and assessment of detrimental consequences following noise exposure. Due to the development of intensive production systems, pigs in all stages of housing are exposed to monotonous chronic noise as well as to a variety of intense noise events. The intention of this review is to document and compare the results of previous studies on noise assessment, in particular housing situations and to demonstrate the impact and significance of the noise problem for farm animal welfare, housing, design and management.     

Small electric currents affecting farm animals and man: A review with special reference to stray voltage

The literature on the electrical properties of the body and sensitivity to steady electric current in humans and farm animals is reviewed and the problem of stray voltage is examined. Stray voltage poses a problem to animal health and protection in cattle and pigs and possibly also in other animals. Dairy cattle can perceive alternating currents exceeding 1 mA between the mouth and all four hooves. Behavioural effects in cows usually occur above 3 mA. In practice, the major influence on dairy cows appears to be behavioural. In experimental research on sensitivity to electric current, the effects studied should be related primarily to the actual current densities or electric fields in the affected tissues rather than to the total voltages applied. Under normal conditions, herdsmen are less likely to be affected by stray voltage than their animals.     

Small electric currents affecting farm animals and man: A review with special reference to stray voltage

The literature on the influence of small, steady electric currents on animal health, especially cardiovascular and endocrinological functions and milk let-down, and the effects on milk production is reviewed, with special reference to the problem of stray voltage.Direct physiological effects in cows may occur above 4 mA. How the long-term effects may contrast with the acute effects is not known. Habituation may occur. The altered behaviour and physiological changes due to exposure to stray voltage may be termed a stress response. The type of stress most likely to be encountered is chronic. Whether or not stress occurs depends on the timing and context of exposure and on individual cognition. Hence stray voltage may threaten farm animal health and production wherever modern animal housing is applied.