Prevalence of Giardia spp. infection in pre-weaned and weaned calves in relation to management factors

Two hundred and forty calf faecal samples from 16 Malaysian farms were screened by PCR for Giardia spp. The overall prevalence was 12.5% and the overall farm prevalence was 68.8% (11/16 farms). The prevalence in pre-weaned and weaned calves was 16.7% and 8.3%, respectively. Sequence analysis of 25 isolates identified all as G. duodenalis assemblage E. Management factors associated with an increased risk of infection with Giardia spp. included keeping weaned calves in pens with sand floors and calf age. Keeping pre-weaned calves in pens with concrete floors and calving in single cow calving areas decreased the risk.     

Photodynamic therapy for the treatment of periocular squamous cell carcinoma in horses: a pilot study

Objective  Local photodynamic therapy (PDT) is a novel cancer therapy in veterinary ophthalmology. A prospective pilot study seeking to demonstrate proof of principle and safety for the treatment of equine periocular squamous cell carcinoma (PSCC) was therefore conducted. We hypothesized that surgical excision with adjunctive local PDT is an effective and safe treatment for equine PSCC.
Procedures  Nine horses (10 eyes) with PSCC were treated with surgical resection, local infiltration of resulting wound beds with 2-[1-hexyloxyethyl]-2-devinylpyropheophorbide-a (HPPH) and irradiation with 665-nm wavelength diode laser. Regular follow-up ophthalmic examinations were performed.
Results  Surgical resection and PDT yielded disease-free intervals of 25–68 months in our study horses as of January, 2008. These results were obtained following a single treatment in seven horses and two treatments in one horse. In one horse, carcinoma in situ developed 2.5 months after partial surgical excision and PDT, requiring local excision under standing sedation.
Conclusions  Preliminary results suggest that surgical resection and adjunctive local PDT is a safe and effective novel treatment for PSCC in horses. More research is needed before PDT for the treatment of equine PSCC can be adequately compared with other current modalities. Important to future investigations regarding PDT, tumor recurrence rate, length of hospitalization, number of treatment episodes required to effect tumor remission, and total treatment costs should be examined in a controlled manner. Our present results and experiences suggest that this treatment may be useful in the treatment of equine PSCC.     

Bayesian estimation of cluster-level test accuracy based on different sampling schemes

We develop Bayesian models to estimate cluster-level test characteristics, sensitivity, specificity, prevalence, and predictive values, based on four different sampling schemes: a single test case and three sequential test cases. The corresponding cluster-level characteristics are calculated and compared for different sample sizes, sampling schemes, individual-level sensitivities, specificities, and cut-off values. We compared posterior estimates of individual-level and cluster-level characteristics for these four sampling schemes with simulated data. Two illustrations, one for Johne’s disease in cattle and another for Salmonella in pig herds, are used to demonstrate application of the methods.     

Impacts of parasites on marine survival of Atlantic salmon: a meta‐analysis

Parasites can, in theory, have large impacts on the survival of fish populations. One method to evaluate such impacts on anadromous species is to apply manipulative field experiments in which parallel groups of antiparasitically treated and non‐treated fish are simultaneously released and then subsequently recaptured as returning adults. A systematic review and meta‐analysis on all such Norwegian studies on Salmo salar provided a data set for the time period 1996 to 2011 on 118 release groups comprising 657 624 fish released and 3989 recaptured. The overall risk ratio (RR) was estimated to be 1.18 (95% CI: 1.07–1.30). The effect varied strongly between groups, (Higgins I² = 40.1%). Over 70% of this heterogeneity could be explained by the release location, time period and baseline survival. The most important predictor variable was baseline survival. In groups with low recapture in the control group (low baseline survival), the effect of treatment was high (RR = 1.7), while in groups with high recapture in the control group (high baseline survival), there was no effect of treatment (RR ~ 1.00). The most prevalent parasite in the region affected by the drugs administered was Lepeophtheirus salmonis. Hence, the meta‐analysis supports the hypothesis that L. salmonis contributes to the mortality of S. salar during outward migration. However, the effect of treatment was not consistent, but was evidently strongly modulated by other risk factors. The results suggest that the population‐level effects of parasites cannot be estimated independently of other factors affecting the marine survival of S. salar.     

Epidemiology of neoplasia in captive black-footed ferrets (Mustela nigripes), 1986-1996.

The epidemiology of neoplastic disease was studied retrospectively in the captive population of black-footed ferrets (Mustela nigripes). Postmortem reports were reviewed and archived tissues examined from 184 of the 227 adult (>1 yr old) black-footed ferrets that died from the beginning of the current captive propagation program in late 1985 to the end of 1996. A total of 185 neoplasms, of 28 distinct phenotypes, were seen in 102 (55.4%) of these ferrets. There was more than one tumor type present in 51 ferrets. Tumors of the apocrine glands (28.3%), renal tubular neoplasms (20.7%), and biliary cystadenoma or carcinoma (20.1%) were the most common neoplasms. The probability of developing most types of neoplasms increased with age. Neoplasms of the apocrine glands were more common in males and may be hormonally influenced. The unusually high prevalence of biliary cystadenocarcinoma may be secondary to the common occurrence of intrahepatic biliary cysts in this population. Although neoplasia is an important cause of mortality in captive adult black-footed ferrets, its impact on captive propagation of the species, and on the wild population, is probably limited because clinically significant tumors are encountered almost exclusively in postreproductive ferrets (>3 yr old) and because ferrets released into their natural habitat rarely reach susceptible age.