Bacterial septic arthritis in 19 dogs

OBJECTIVE: To provide information on the clinical features, diagnosis and treatment of bacterial septic arthritis in dogs. DESIGN: A retrospective study examining case records of all dogs diagnosed with bacterial septic arthritis at Murdoch University Veterinary Hospital between 1988 and 1997. RESULTS: Nineteen dogs were diagnosed with bacterial septic arthritis, which most commonly occurred after surgery involving the stifle joint. Haematogenous infection occurred in only five dogs. Diagnosis was based on clinical signs, joint fluid analysis, radiography, microbiology and/or response to treatment. Chronic lameness was the most common problem at presentation. Analysis of joint fluid invariably revealed large number of nucleated cells, which consisted primarily of neutrophils. In all but one case the neutrophils were nondegenerate. Culture of joint fluid was frequently successful. Staphylococcus spp were the most common bacteria isolated. Treatment involved antimicrobial drugs only in five dogs. Other dogs received antimicrobial drugs in combination with surgical procedures such as joint lavage and removal of nonabsorbable suture material (eight), arthrodesis (two) or amputation (one). Two dogs were euthanased. Most dogs responded well to treatment and were free of signs of septic arthritis at follow-up. CONCLUSION: Bacterial septic arthritis may often be mild and manifest as chronic lameness. Analysis of joint fluid will detect an inflammatory arthropathy but the presence of toxic neutrophils should not be relied on as an indicator of sepsis. Culture of infected joint fluid is likely to be successful if antimicrobials are not given prior to collection and if the sample is inoculated into enrichment broth. Treatment should involve antimicrobial drugs, open-joint lavage and removal of joint prostheses if the infection is associated with previous surgery.     

Nanoengineering of inorganic and hybrid hollow spheres by colloidal templating

Hollow silica and silica-polymer spheres with diameters between 720 and 1000 nanometers were fabricated by consecutively assembling silica nanoparticles and polymer onto colloids and subsequently removing the templated colloid either by calcination or decomposition upon exposure to solvents. Scanning and transmission electron microscopy images demonstrate that the wall thickness of the hollow spheres can be readily controlled by varying the number of nanoparticle-polymer deposition cycles, and the size and shape are determined by the morphology of the templating colloid. The hollow spheres produced are envisioned to have applications in areas ranging from medicine to pharmaceutics to materials science.     

Re: Re: Use of Polymerase chain reaction for the differentiation of Group A bovine rotavirus G6, G8, and G10 genotypes in the North Island of New Zealand

Abstract

Extract

The authors of the scientific article entitled “Use of polymerase chain reaction for the differentiation of Group A bovine rotavirus G6, G8, and G10 genotypes in the North Island of New Zealand” (Howe et al. 2008 Howe, L, Sugiarto, H and Squires, RA. 2008. Use of polymerase chain reaction for the differentiation of Group A bovine rotavirus G6, G8, and G10 genotypes in the North Island of New Zealand. New Zealand Veterinary Journal, 56: 218–221. [Taylor &; Francis Online], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]) would like to thank Dr Moffat for his letter of correspondence, and would like to take the opportunity to address the concerns raised by him in the New Zealand Veterinary Journal 57, 68, 2009, entitled, “Re: Use of polymerase chain reaction for the differentiation of Group A bovine rotavirus G6, G8, and G10 genotypes in the North Island of New Zealand”.     

Results of a survey of attitudes of dairy veterinarians in New Zealand regarding painful procedures and conditions in cattle

AIMS: To quantify the range of attitudes and perceptions of cattle practitioners to painful procedures and conditions in cattle, to identify some of the demographic factors affecting those attitudes and perceptions, and to compare results from veterinarians based in New Zealand with those from the United Kingdom (UK) and Europe.

METHODS: A questionnaire, based on one used for similar surveys in Europe, was sent to all 455 members of the Society of Dairy Cattle Veterinarians (DCV) of the New Zealand Veterinary Association. This questionnaire included a section on demographic data, e.g. gender, year of graduation, and preveterinary school background, and a section which asked the respondents to rate on a scale of 1 to 10 how painful they thought 24 procedures and conditions would be without any analgesia.

RESULTS: A total of 166 questionnaires were returned, a response rate of 37%. From the range of procedures and conditions outlined in the questionnaire, those perceived as most painful were claw amputation, then Caesarean section, followed by surgery for left-displaced abomasum (LDA). The two least painful were mastitis with milk clots only, and the effect on a calf of dystocia.

There were significant differences between the pain scores assigned by men and women and by respondents who had graduated in different decades. Female respondents and more recent graduates tended to give a higher pain score for most conditions. These effects remained, even after the potential interaction between age and gender had been assessed. The effect on pain score of either background or time spent treating cattle was much less marked than the effect of age and gender.

Overall, the results were very similar to results from similar surveys undertaken in the UK and Europe.

CONCLUSIONS: The responses to this survey indicate that, as in the UK and Europe, dairy cattle practitioners in New Zealand have a wide range of attitudes to pain in cattle. The estimates of the severity of pain were subjective, but such a survey allows the majority opinion of a considerable number of informed assessors to be quantified.

CLINCAL RELEVANCE: The wide range of results suggests that more needs to be done to disseminate up-to-date knowl- edge of pain in cattle to veterinarians to ensure they provide appropriate levels of analgesia. In particular, the baseline data from this study can be used by practitioners to identify whether they are underestimating pain in cattle and, if they are, to assess whether they are using analgesia appropriately. Additionally, this dataset provides an informed and independent assessment of the pain associated with husbandry procedures, and could be used to better guide legislation concerning pain control of such procedures.     

Differential Expression of IGF Family Members in Heat‐Stressed Embryos Produced In Vitro from OPU‐Derived Oocytes of Nelore (Bos indicus) and Holstein (Bos taurus) Cows

The IGF system is related to embryo quality. We aim to determine the effect of the heat stress on the mRNA expression of IGF1 and IGF2, IGFR1 and IGFR2, IGFBP2 and IGFBP4, and PAPPA in in vitro production (IVP) blastocysts from Nelore and Holstein after ovum pick up (OPU) to better understand the differences between these breeds. Oocytes from four Nelore and seven Holstein were collected in six OPU sessions. Following in vitro maturation and fertilization using six Nelore or Holstein sires, embryos were divided into control (cultured at 39°C) and heat stress (HS; exposed to 41°C for 9 h). Blastocysts were submitted to RNA extraction. The IGF1 expression was higher in blastocysts under HS in both breeds, and the expression of IGFBP2 and IGFBP4 was higher in Holstein blastocysts under HS. The high PAPPA expression and the low expression of IGFBP2 and IGFBP4 are associated with a more efficient degradation of IGFBPs, which results in greater IGF bioavailability in Nelore blastocysts and may contribute to the superior HS tolerance in Nelore, when compared to Holstein.     

Efficacy of ivermectin jetting fluid against strike by some primary and secondary blowflies of sheep

SUMMARY Merino sheep, which were hand jetted with ivermectin jetting fluid, and untreated sheep were challenged with larval implants of Lucilia cuprina, Lucilia sericata, Calliphora noclva and Chrysomya ruflfacles at intervals of about 2 weeks from 6 to 16 weeks after treatment. Both Lucilia species produced strike rates of about 90% in untreated sheep; the respective rates were lower for Chr rufifacies (55%) and C nociva (60%). Strike rates for the treated group were about 17, 11, and 9% for L cuprina, L sericata, and Chr rufifacies, respectively. Only 1 implant site in the treated group was struck by C nociva. Treated sheep had significantly (P < 0.01) longer time to first strike than did untreated ones for each species of fly. L sericata, Chr rufifacies, and C nociva larvae implanted on treated animals had significantly (P < 0.05) longer time to first strike than did L cuprina larvae.