latrogenic lipoid pneumonia in an adult horse

A 20-year-old gelding presented with a history of acute respiratory distress which began immediately after administration of a mineral oil and water mix, via nasogastric intubation, for treatment of suspected gastrointestinal dysfunction. An initial presumptive diagnosis of acute lipoid pneumonia was made; this was further supported by evidence of arterial hypoxaemia and oxygen desaturation on arterial blood gas analysis, ultrasonographic signs of bilateral ventral lung consolidation and a mixed bronchoalveolar-interstitial lung pattern seen on thoracic radiographs. Despite intensive supportive therapy the horse's condition continued to deteriorate and the decision was made for humane euthanasia. Gross necropsy findings supported the clinical diagnosis of lipoid pneumonia.     

First report of the use of meglumine antimoniate for treatment of canine leishmaniasis in a pregnant dog

Canine leishmaniasis during pregnancy is rarely reported, even in countries where the infection in dogs is endemic. The authors report a case of a 4 yr old bitch with leishmaniasis treated with meglumine antimoniate during pregnancy. The pregnancy and delivery were normal and the bitch presented improvement of the infection during treatment. Three puppies died within 2 days of birth and tested negative via real-time PCR for L. infantum. The two surviving puppies were followed clinically, serologically, and by real-time PCR until 1 yr of age with no evidence of congenital leishmaniasis. L. infantum DNA was detected with real-time PCR analysis of uterine tissue from the bitch at the time of ovariohysterectomy. PCR analysis was performed after an ovariohysterectomy of the bitch that was performed two months after parturition. Meglumine antimoniate use in the pregnant bitch may have prevented vertical transmission of leishmaniasis.     

Comparison of bacterial culture, polymerase chain reaction, and a mix-enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay for the detection of Salmonella status in grow-to-finish pigs in western Canada with a Bayesian approach

Among grow-to-finish pigs from 10 herds in Alberta and Saskatchewan, 23 (16%) of 144 fecal samples were culture-positive and 40 (28%) of 144 pigs were seropositive for Salmonella. With a Bayesian model specifying dependence between the 2 tests, the sensitivity (Se) of culture and real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) was 79% to 86%, depending on the cut-off value for the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Culture specificity (Sp) was assumed to be 100%; RT-PCR Sp was found to be 94%. The ELISA Se was 76% and 51% at optical density cut-off values ≥ 20% and ≥ 40%, respectively; the Sp was 94% at each cut-off value. The model showed some sensitivity to ELISA prior information, the ELISA Se being approximately 8% lower when informative prior information was specified in the model. When there was no adjustment for dependence between culture and RT-PCR, the posterior estimates for both culture and RT-PCR Se were 11% higher than with the conditional-dependence model and had considerably narrower probability intervals, which suggests that correlation between culture and PCR is important and should be adjusted for in future studies.     

Retrospective evaluation of laboratory data on canine vector-borne infections from the years 2004-2008

The detection and therapy of canine vector-borne diseases in imported dogs are of major importance in small animal practice. Over the last years, the import of dogs from the Mediterranean region and Southeast Europe has increased, countries often endemic for a variety of vector-borne diseases such as babesiosis, hepatozoonosis, leishmaniosis, dirofilariosis or ehrlichiosis. This retrospective study presents the evaluation of data from our diagnostic laboratory on vector-borne infections in imported dogs from the years 2004-2008. Specific antibodies were detectable in 20.5% of all samples with individual detection rates of 8.9%, 9.6% and 10.8% for Babesia canis ssp., Leishmania spp. and/or Ehrlichia canis. A total of 5.5% of all samples tested by direct methods were positive. Up to 1.1% of Giemsa-stained blood/buffy coat smears were positive for B. canis ssp., Rickettsia spp. or Hepatozoon spp. Microfilariae were detectable by the Knott's Test in 6.4% and heartworm antigen was detectable using the DiroChek-ELISA in 3% of the examined samples. EDTA-blood samples were positive for Leishmania spp.-(14.9%), E. canis- (5.3%) and A. phagocytophilum-DNA (5.0%) by PCR. Therewith, imported dogs have a high chance of being carriers of pathogens. As some diseases may also be of a zoonotic concern, in case of the availability of competent vectors, the key focus in the future should be aimed at the prevention of importing infected dogs or at compulsory diagnostic screening and treatment of infected dogs at the time of import.     

Frequency of Salmonella detection in a broiler flock depending on different litter materials--a field study

During the fattening period of a broiler flock four different litter materials (peat, chopped straw, shavings, silage) were tested simultaneously.The separated sections were tested for the presence of Salmonella bacteria using the sock-sampling method as described in the regulation EC No. 646/2007 with slight modifications in the sampling technique and the laboratory protocol. In addition, some chemical and physical parameters regarding litter quality and house climate were analysed. Samples were taken at day 0 (housing of animals), day 14, and day 30. At the end of the fattening period Salmonella Paratyphi B (d-tartrate +), representing a common strain in German broiler flocks, were isolated from culture. According to the various types of bedding materials some differences in the frequency of Salmonella detection were found. With three samples out of six samples being positive, wood shavings showed the highest Salmonella prevalence, followed by peat with two positive results. Corn silage was found to be a suitable alternative for common litter materials and revealed only one positive sample. Chopped straw was found to be free of Salmonella in our study. However, the latter had a higher risk for negative side effects concerning animal health and house climate. The study showed that the choice of an appropriate litter material might be of considerable importance in order to decrease the Salmonella burden within poultry flocks.