Listeria associated mural and valvular endocarditis in an alpaca

An alpaca presented for emergency evaluation of respiratory distress. Physical examination revealed weakness, pyrexia, and a grade V/VI left apical holosystolic murmur. Initial thoracic examination and radiographs were consistent with left sided congestive heart failure. Blood cultures, echocardiographic evaluation, and necropsy findings established a diagnosis of bacterial endocarditis associated with a Listeria monocytogenes infection. Left ventricular endocarditis is uncommon in ruminants, and to the authors' knowledge there are no other reports of L. monocytogenes being the causative agent in an alpaca.     

The effect of thiopental sodium, methoxyflurane and halothane on the acid-base status in sheep.

Experiments have been carried out on 20 adult fat-tailed ewes to determine the effects of thiopental sodium, methoxyflurane and halothane on acid-base status of the saliva loss during prolonged surgical anaesthesia. The rate of loss of base in saliva depends on the volume of saliva produced, which fell sharply at the onset of anesthesia with the volatile anaesthesia. Plasma pH and plasma pvCO2 excess were both increased by the volatile anaesthetics but fell sharply during thiopental anaesthesia. Plasma pH and plasma PvCO2 showed no consistent relationship.     

Mycobacterium bovis cultured from commercially pasteurized cows' milk: laboratory cross-contamination

The ability of Mycobacterium paratuberculosis to survive the commercial pasteurization process of raw milk remains controversial. In a study undertaken in Venezuela to culture M. paratuberculosis from commercially pasteurized cows' milk, 83-200 ml containers of milk were processed and cultured on Herrold's egg yolk slants. No M. paratuberculosis was cultured but a total of six colonies of Mycobacterium bovis were isolated from one container each from two different milk providers. Because laboratory cross-contamination was suspected, the laboratory records were reviewed and spoligotyping was carried out on the isolated individual colonies. On the day before these milk specimens were processed, the biological safety cabinet had been used for the isolation of M. bovis from lymph nodes from infected cattle. Spoligotyping showed that that the colonies isolated from the milk all had the same pattern as the strains isolated from the lymph nodes that were processed the previous day. As far as we know, this is the first report of cross-contamination in a veterinary mycobacterial laboratory. False-positive cultures in the mycobacterial laboratory are not rare. In this setting M. bovis was isolated because it is the most common manipulated organism in this laboratory. We believe that reports on the isolation of M. paratuberculosis from commercially pasteurized milk should exclude cross-contamination before reporting, especially when this organism is routinely isolated from animal material in the same lab.     

Detection of differentially regulated genes in ischaemic equine intestinal mucosa

REASONS FOR PERFORMING STUDY: Colic is a serious disease syndrome in horses. Much of the mortality is associated with ischaemic-injured intestine during strangulating obstruction, yet there is limited understanding of the associated molecular events. Identification of differentially expressed genes during ischaemic injury should expand our understanding of colic and may lead to novel targeted therapeutic approaches in the future. OBJECTIVE: To isolate and identify differentially expressed genes in equine jejunum following a 2 h ischaemic event compared to normally perfused jejunum. METHODS: Suppressive subtractive hybridisation was used to clone genes that are differentially expressed in equine jejunum injured by 2 h of complete ischaemia as compared to time-matched control jejunal tissues. Expression of selected clones was further evaluated by northern blot analysis. RESULTS: Of the 384 clones selected, 157 were confirmed to possess cDNAs corresponding differentially expressed genes by dot blot analysis. Two genes, fatty acid binding protein 2 and calcium-activated chloride channel 4 were further confirmed to be differentially expressed by northern blot analysis. CONCLUSIONS: Suppressive subtractive hybridisation can be used to detect changes in expression of a broad array of genes, as confirmed by northern blot analysis of selected genes. POTENTIAL RELEVANCE: These initial results have identified a pool of equine intestinal epithelial genes that are differentially expressed following a 2 h ischaemic event. In particular, genes indicative of deranged metabolic activity and those potentially involved in early repair events were identified and may ultimately provide clues as to the nature of epithelial ischaemic injury in horses.     

Canine mast cell tumours: a review of the pathogenesis, clinical features, pathology and treatment

Mast cells (MCs) are well known for their neoplastic transformation in solitary and multiple cutaneous mast cell tumours (MCTs), as well as visceral and systemic mastocytosis. Dogs have a unique risk of developing cutaneous MCTs, and they account for 7% to 21% of all canine skin tumours. The aetiology of canine MCTs is unknown but is probably multifactorial. This article reviews up-to-date knowledge on the pathogenesis, the clinical presentation, the clinical prognostic factors, the diagnostic workup including clinical staging, cytological findings, histological findings and the various grading systems which have been evaluated based on morphology, the assessment of proliferation markers and other factors such as vessel density. Furthermore, detailed information about current treatment protocols for canine cutaneous MCTs is provided.     

Accuracy of the withdrawal reflex for localization of the site of cervical disk herniation in dogs: 35 cases (2004-2007)

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the accuracy of neurologic examination versus magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in localization of cervical disk herniation and evaluate the usefulness of withdrawal reflex testing in dogs. DESIGN: Retrospective case series. ANIMALS: 35 client-owned dogs with a single-level cervical disk herniation as determined via MRI. PROCEDURES: 1 of 2 board-certified neurologists performed a complete neurologic examination in each dog. Clinical signs of a cervical lesion included evidence of neck pain and tetraparesis. The withdrawal reflex was used for neuroanatomic localization (C1-C5 or C6-T2). Agreement between results of neurologic and MRI examinations was determined. RESULTS: Agreement between neurologic and MRI diagnoses was 65.8%. In 11 dogs in which the lesion was clinically localized to the C6-T2 segment on the basis of a decreased withdrawal reflex in the forelimbs, MRI revealed an isolated C1-C5 disk lesion. In 1 dog, in which the lesion was suspected to be at the C1-C5 level, MRI revealed a C6-T2 lesion. Cranial cervical lesions were significantly associated with an incorrect neurologic diagnosis regarding site of the lesion. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Results suggested that the withdrawal reflex in dogs with cervical disk herniation is not reliable for determining the affected site and that a decreased withdrawal reflex does not always indicate a lesion from C6 to T2.     

Cellular nucleic acids in serum and plasma as new diagnostic tools

Currently, the diagnosis of bovine spongiform encephalopathy is only possible in the brain stem of dead animals. Protease resistant prions are detected in the obex region of the brain stem. However, from a veterinary medical and agricultural point of view the development of an in vivo detection assay is of utmost importance. Because infectious prions are detectable relatively late in the central nervous system during an infection, efforts are made searching for surrogate markers. Besides neuronal proteins that are released into the liquor and blood during neurodegenerative processes or other neuronal diseases, cellular nucleic acids circulating in the plasma or serum are an absolutely new approach for the detection of infectious diseases.