Animal disease problems in central Hawke's Bay

Extract

Although the diagnostic laboratory of the Central Hawke's Bay Farmers' Veterinary Club was established primarily for work of a purely diagnostic nature, it was felt that a small programme of research dealing with problems of particular local interest should be attempted in parallel with the routine work.     

Dual deficiency of copper and cobalt in Hawke's Bay

The comparative efficacy of 13 of the sheep dips currently registered in New Zealand was investigated using sheep infested with the louse Bovicola ovis and carrying wool which was about 10 cm long at the shoulder.

With the exception of one synthetic pyrethroid “pour-on” formulation, all products were able to effect a significant reduction in louse populations, relative to untreated controls, for 37 days after treatment. Only four products proved capable of “eradicating” lice and preventing their re-establishment up to 37 days after treatment.

Variations in manufacturers' recommendations relating to the length of wool at dipping, and mode of application of dips are discussed in relation to the results.     

The incidence of thoracic trauma in dogs with skeletal injury

One hundred dogs with skeletal injury were evaluated for co-existing thoracic abnormalities. Parameters used to assess thoracic trauma were physical examination, thoracic radiographs, electrocardiograms and arterial blood gas PaO₂. Thoracic abnormalities were found in 57 per cent of the dogs. Within this group, 77 per cent had abnormal thoracic radiographs, 44 per cent had abnormal low PaO₂, and 30 per cent had cardiac arrhythmias. No clinical signs suggestive of thoracic injury were found on physical examination in 79 per cent of the dogs with thoracic lesions.     

The incidence of disseminated intravascular coagulation in dogs with malignant tumor

The incidence of DIC in 208 dogs with a malignant tumor was evaluated. The incidence of DIC was 9.6% in dogs with a malignant tumor which was a solid tumor in all. In 164 dogs with a malignant solid tumor, the incidence of DIC was 12.2%. The incidence of DIC in dogs with hemangiosarcoma, mammary gland carcinoma and adenocarcinoma of the lung was significantly higher than that in dogs with other malignant tumors. These results suggested that special care in looking for DIC should be taken in dogs with a malignant solid tumor.     

The incidence and pathology of Dirofilaria immitis infection in dogs in Nairobi

Six cases of canine dirofilariasis in Nairobi are reported. Adult parasites inhabited mainly the right ventricle and pulmonary arteries, but in one case they were also in the right atrium, the anterior and posterior vena cavae. In one dog there occurred typical pulmonary lesions. The lungs were oedematous, congested, slightly consolidated and had chronic interstitial pneumonia. Pulmonary arteries exhibited endarteritis, occasional thrombosis, thickened vessel wall due to medial fibrosis and perivascular granulo-matous reaction. There was endocarditis, dilatation and hypertrophy of the right heart. Résumé. On rapporte 6 cas de dirofilariase observés à Nairobi. Les parasites adultes habitent surtout le ventricule droit et l'appareil pulmonaire, mais dam un cas, on en a également trouvé dans I'oreillette droite, et les veines caves antérieure et postérieure. Un des chiens a présenté des lesions pulmonaires typiques: les poumons étaient oedématiés, congestionnés, Iégèrement compacts et montraient des lésions de pneumonie interstitielle. Les artères pulmonaires étaient atteintes d'endoartérite, présentaient parfois des thromboses, et un épaississement de la paroi par fibrose de la tunique médiane et granulomatose périvasculaire. On a également noté une en-docardite et une dilatation et une hypertrophie du coeul droit. Zusammenfassung. Es wird über sechs Fälle von Dirofilariasis bei Hunden in Nairobi berichtet. Erwachsene Parasiten waren vor allem im rechten Ventrikel und in Pulmonalgefässen, aber in einem Fall auch im rechten Vorhof und in der vorderen und hinteren Vena cava angesiedelt. Bei einem Hund traten typische Pulmonalläsionen auf. Die Lungen waren ödematös, gestaut, leicht verfestigt und wiesen chronische interstitielle Pneumonie auf. Die Pulmonalarterien zeigten Endarteriitis, gelegentlich Thrombose, verdickte Gefässwand infolge medialer Fibrosis und peiivasculäre Granulomatose. Es bestand Endocarditis, Dilation und Hypertrophie des rechten Herzens.     

Fecal shedding of Salmonella spp. in dogs

Rectal swabs from 100 dogs that were admitted to the veterinary clinic and from randomly selected 100 dogs from one kennel were examined for the presence of Salmonella spp. S. Enteritidis was isolated from a household dog and the strain was susceptible to all antibiotics that were tested. S. Typhimurium was isolated from a dog from the kennel and it was sensitive to all the antibiotics except streptomycin and neomycin. Even though, the occurence of Salmonella spp. in the feces of the dogs in this study was low, attention should always be given when handling canine feces or contaminated materials.     

A sheep mortality survey in Hawke's bay

Abstract

Extract

Disease surveillance systems can take many forms, depending upon what is desired of them. Surveys of mortality can be useful as an integral part of any surveillance system, both as a record of the losses and as an indication as to which conditions may be responsible for lowering the thrift of the population. Both these sources of loss are important in reducing the monetary return from a stock population as a whole. Surveys of mortality can indicate the importance of low incidence diseases and can be used to identify conditions previously unknown in the area. Totally new diseases can also be detected in this manner. Many individual disease conditions as well as surveys of groups of diseases (Hartley and Kater, 1962 Hartley, W. J. and Kater, J. C. 1962. Observations on diseases of the central nervous system of sheep in New Zealand. N.Z. vet. J., 10: 128–142. [Taylor &; Francis Online] , [Google Scholar]; O'Hara and Shortridge, 1966 O'Hara, P. J. and Shortridge, E. H. 1966. Some diseases of the porcine central nervous system in New Zealand. N.Z. vet. J., 14: 1–12. [Taylor &; Francis Online] , [Google Scholar]; Shortridge and Cordes, 1971 Shortridge, E. H. and Cordes, D. O. 1971. Neoplasms in cattle: A survey of 372 neoplasms examined at the Ruakura Veterinary Diagnostic Station. N.Z. vet. J., 19: 5–11. [Taylor &; Francis Online] , [Google Scholar]) have been reported from material submitted to New Zealand laboratories and mortality studies on groups of animals have been undertaken elsewhere (Everitt and Evans, 1970 Everitt, G. C. and Evans, S. T. 1970. Beef production from a dairy herd: an analysis of mortalities. N.Z. vet. J., 18: 132–139. [Taylor &; Francis Online] , [Google Scholar]; Jackson et al., 1972 Jackson, C. A. W., Kingston, D. J. and Hemsley, L. A. 1972. A total mortality survey of nine batches of broiler chickens. Aust. vet. J., 48: 481–487.  [Google Scholar]).     

Pulsed-field gel electrophoresis typing of Campylobacter fetus subsp. fetus from sheep abortions in the Hawke's Bay region of New Zealand

AIM: To type Campylobacter isolates from sheep abortions from the Hawke's Bay region of New Zealand. METHODS: Campylobacter isolates were collected from aborted sheep fetuses from commercial farms in the Hawke's Bay region. Information on the Campylobacter vaccination status of flocks in the study was collected. Isolates were identified to species level using standard phenotypic tests, then typed using pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE). RESULTS: Eighty-one C. fetus subsp. fetus isolates were cultured from aborted sheep fetuses from 25 farms and four C. jejuni isolates were cultured from fetuses from three farms. The C. fetus subsp. fetus isolates were classified into six PFGE groups. A single pulsed-field type predominated amongst isolates from 19 of the 25 farms. The C. jejuni isolates comprised two types. CONCLUSIONS: A range of C. fetus subsp. fetus PFGE types was identified, and one type, B1, was found most frequently. Campylobacter fetus subsp. fetus was only isolated from samples from sheep that had not been vaccinated with C. fetus subsp. fetus vaccine that season.     

Detection of Salmonella spp. in stray dogs in Bursa Province, Turkey: first isolation of Salmonella Corvallis from dogs

The prevalence and antimicrobial sensitivity of Salmonella spp. in stray dogs in Bursa province, Turkey were determined from a total of 82 faecal samples by bacteriological methods. Of the dogs, nine (11%) were positive for salmonellae-carrying. All Salmonella isolates were serotyped as S. Corvallis, and were sensitive to amoxycillin/clavulanic acid, ampicillin, cephalothin, chloramphenicol, enrofloxacin, gentamicin, kanamycin, nalidixic acid, neomycin, oxytetracycline and trimethoprim/sulphamethoxazole, while 66.7% of them were resistant to streptomycin. It was concluded that stray dogs could be an important carrier of salmonellae as well as a source of human salmonellosis in Turkey. Additional studies are needed to clarify the epidemiological relationship between S. Corvallis isolated from dogs and humans with regard to public health. This is the first report on the isolation of S. Corvallis from dogs in the country.     

Hospital incidence of hypospadias in dogs in North America

A review of medical records from 17 North American university veterinary medical teaching hospitals identified 66 dogs with hypospadias. Males predominated (15:1) and cryptorchidism was the most commonly diagnosed second anomaly, often associated with intersexuality. Fifteen cases, diagnosed at 10 different university hospitals, were Boston terriers, strongly suggesting that this breed has a familial predisposition for hypospadias. Male mongrels, as a group, were seen in approximately the same proportion as their representation in the hospital population, suggesting other components in the aetiology of the condition. If maternal histories are obtained as new cases are identified, a better understanding of the factors associated with the aetiology of the condition may be possible.