Repellent effects of the essential oil of Lavendula angustifolia against adults of Hyalomma marginatum rufipes

The repellent effects of the essential oil of Lavendula angustifolia on adults of Hyalomma marginatum rufipes was studied at concentrations of 5, 10 and 20% v/v. A suitable tick climbing bioassay based on the questing behaviour of ticks was used to test for repellency. High percentage repellency (range 70-100) was shown at all concentrations of the essential oil of L. angustifolia, although at 5% v/v it only persisted for the first 40 minutes compared with 120 minutes at other concentrations (10 and 20% v/v). The repellent strength of L. angustifolia compared well (P > 0.05) with that of DEET (N,N-diethyl-m-toluamide), a commercial reference repellent, for the 2-hour period of the study.     

Hyperzincaemia in a pet African giant rat (Cricetomys gambianus Waterhouse, 1840)

Presented is an African giant rat (Cricetomys gambianus) following zinc ingestion. The sick rat was lethargic, withdrawn, had soft, mucus-impregnated faeces and diahorrea, foot twitching and icterus. Comparative age, sex and body weight (b.wt.)-matched analyses were made with a healthy giant rat. Twelve-hourly Urine volume (UV), Haematocrit (Hct), urinary glucose, plasma zinc and Alkaline Phosphatase (ALP) were performed over an 8-week period. Full blood counts were performed and differential WBC counts and microscopic observations were made on blood smears obtained from both healthy and sick rats. Consecutive blood samples were drawn at the end of each week (Weeks <2-6 treatment; Weeks 7-8 post-treatment). Treatment involved oral vitamin B12 supplement at 4 microg/day and 2 ml diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid (DTPA) intramuscular injections at 1 ml/450g b.wt./5 wks (Week 2 - 6). Day 1 showed neutropaenia, Heinz bodies on RBCs (reticulocytes and immature forms). Zinc (Day 1 - end Week 7), glucose (Day 1 - end Week 4), ALP (Day 1 -Week 4) and UV were elevated (Day 1 - end Week 6). Indications of moderate zinc toxicosis following ingestion and stress-associated glucosuria were concluded.     

Anaerobic bacterial pericardial effusion in a cat

A 9-year-old male cat was presented for evaluation of chronic weight loss and was subsequently diagnosed with pericardial effusion. The effusion was quantified as a septic exudate caused by the anaerobic bacterium Peptostreptococcus. Antibiotic therapy resulted in complete resolution of the pericardial effusion. As Peptostreptococcus is a common oral bacterium and the cat had a previous dental procedure, it is speculated that the pericardial effusion was secondary to bacteraemia from the dental procedure.     

Synovial fluid analysis and bacterial findings in arthritic joints of juvenile male camel (Camelus dromedarius) calves

Eighteen synovial fluid samples from 11 male dromedarian calves, 9-12 month old, were analysed cytologically and bacteriologically. Calves were lame and all joints were grossly swollen. The mean +/- SD of total nucleated cell count was 7970 +/- 5000 cells/microl (range 2800-20,000 cells/microl). Polymorphonuclear (PMN) leucocytes were the predominant cell type. The mean +/- SD of absolute and percentages of each cell type were as follows: PMN leucocytes 5518 +/- 3600 cells/microl and 68 +/- 19%, monocytes/macrophages 1600 +/- 1120 cells/microl and 26 +/- 17%, lymphocytes 830 +/- 140 cells/microl and 8 +/- 7%, and red blood cell 350 +/- 130 cells/microl. The mean +/- SD of total protein concentration was 3.5 +/- 1 g/dl (range 2.5-5 g/dl). The most commonly isolated bacteria were non-haemolytic streptococci spp., followed by Arcanobacterium pyogenes and Staphylococcus aureus. No bacterial growth was obtained in eight samples and non-revealed Mycoplasma spp.     

Factors affecting the success rate of treatment of recumbent dairy cows suffering from hypocalcaemia

We aimed to investigate the ratio of accompanying diseases in cows suffering from clinical hypocalcaemia and their influence on cure rate. In five veterinary practices in different regions of Germany, all recumbent cows around parturition were included in the study for a period of 1 year. After recording the case history a clinical examination was done and a serum sample was taken to measure the concentrations of calcium and phosphorus magnesium, beta-hydroxybutyrate, total bilirubin, cholesterol, urea, and the activities of ASAT, CK, and GLDH. Only cows with hypocalcaemia entered the statistical analysis. Hypocalcaemia was the major cause of recumbency in cows of the second lactation or elder. Muscle damage was the second frequent diagnose in recumbent cows and the major concomitant disease in hypocalcaemic cows. The overall cure rate was between 89.4% and 94.8%. Calcium and phosphorus concentrations did not have an influence on cure rate. Non-cured cows had higher serum activities of CK (p<0.043) and ASAT (p<0.006). Nevertheless, the activities of CK and ASAT were no good predictors of treatment failure because of their low specificity and the high cure rate of the cows in the five practices.     

Demonstrating freedom from disease using multiple complex data sources 2: case study--classical swine fever in Denmark

A method for quantitative evaluation of surveillance for disease freedom has been presented in the accompanying paper (Martin et al., 2007). This paper presents an application of the methods, using as an example surveillance for classical swine fever (CSF) in Denmark in 2005. A scenario tree model is presented for the abattoir-based serology component of the Danish CSF surveillance system, in which blood samples are collected in an ad hoc abattoir sampling process, from adult pigs originating in breeding herds in Denmark. The model incorporates effects of targeting (differential risk of seropositivity) associated with age and location (county), and disease clustering within herds. A surveillance time period of one month was used in the analysis. Records for the year 2005 were analysed, representing 25,332 samples from 3528 herds; all were negative for CSF-specific antibodies. Design prevalences of 0.1-1% of herds and 5% of animals within an infected herd were used. The estimated mean surveillance system component (SSC) sensitivities (probability that the SSC would give a positive outcome given the animals processed and that the country is infected at the design prevalences) per month were 0.18, 0.63 and 0.86, for among-herd design prevalences of 0.001, 0.005 and 0.01. The probabilities that the population was free from CSF at each of these design prevalences, after a year of accumulated negative surveillance data, were 0.91, 1.00 and 1.00. Targeting adults and herds from South Jutland was estimated to give approximately 1.9, 1.6 and 1.4 times the surveillance sensitivity of a proportionally representative sampling program for these three among-herd design prevalences.     

Echinococcus multilocularis and Toxocara canis in urban red foxes (Vulpes vulpes) in Brussels, Belgium

During the last decades, European red foxes (Vulpes vulpes) have been implicated in the transmission of several viral or parasitic pathogenic agents to domestic animals and humans. In urban areas, risks of zoonoses transmission are likely to increase as a result of a higher rate of intra- and inter-species contacts. Foxes occur on 35% of the Brussels-Capital Region area and local densities reach up to 4 family groups per square kilometre. According to the directive 2003/99/ECC, a first survey for the presence in foxes of Echinococcus multilocularis and Toxocara canis was conducted in Brussels from 2001 to 2004. None of 160 foxes were found to be infected with E. multilocularis and 24 of 134 foxes were found to be infected with T. canis. Considering numbers of examined foxes, the sensitivity and the specificity of tests used for diagnosis, the 95% credibility intervals for the true prevalence of E. multilocularis and T. canis were estimated in a Bayesian framework to be 0 to 1.87% (median value of 0%) and 12.7 to 26% (median value of 18.7%), respectively. For T. canis, a significantly higher risk to be a carrier occurs in cubs and a significantly lower risk in adults.     

Tsetse control in cattle from pyrethroid footbaths

In Burkina Faso, we assessed the efficacy of treating cattle with a footbath containing aqueous formulations of pyrethroids to control two tsetse-fly species, Glossina tachinoides Westwood, 1850 (Diptera, Glossinidae) and Glossina palpalis gambiensis Vanderplank 1949. Legs were the most targeted parts of the body for tsetse-fly blood meals: 81% (95% CI: 73, 89) for G. tachinoides and 88% (81, 95) for G. palpalis.

The in-stable efficacy of footbath treatments was compared with manual full spraying with a 0.005% alphacypermethrin (Dominex, FMC, Philadelphia, USA) formulation (250 mL versus 2 L). The proportions of knocked-down flies were the same with footbath and full spray but the latter was more protective against fly bites. In field use, the efficacy of both methods should be similar given the recommended treatment frequency: 3 days for footbath versus 7 days for full spray.

Among 96 cattle drinking at the same water point in Dafinso (Burkina Faso), 68 (71%) were treated with a footbath containing a 0.005% deltamethrin formulation (Vectocid, CEVA SA, Libourne, France). We observed the effect of this live-bait technique on the one hand on released cohorts of reared, irradiated flies, and on the other hand on wild tsetse flies. In both cases, the footbath treatment was associated with a reduction of the apparent fly density probably related to an increased mortality.     

Efficacy and safety of cefovecin (Convenia) for the treatment of urinary tract infections in dogs

OBJECTIVES: To determine the efficacy and safety of cefovecin (Convenia); Pfizer Animal Health) in the treatment of urinary tract infections in dogs. METHODS: A multi-centre, blinded, randomised study was conducted in 129 dogs with urinary tract infections. Cephalexin (Rilexine) administered twice daily at 15 mg/kg bodyweight orally for 14 days was compared with a single, subcutaneous injection of cefovecin (Convenia) in dogs. The primary efficacy parameter assessed was bacterial elimination of the pretreatment uropathogen. RESULTS: One hundred and twenty-nine dogs were included in efficacy assessments. Escherichia coli was eliminated in 90.5 per cent of cefovecin-treated dogs compared with 52.9 per cent of cephalexin-treated dogs (P=0.0004). Overall cure rates for dogs with Escherichia coli infections were 79.1 per cent for cefovecin and 36.4 per cent for cephalexin-treated dogs (P=0.0003). There were no suspected adverse drug reactions attributed to treatment with cefovecin or cephalexin. CLINICAL SIGNIFICANCE: Cefovecin was shown to be an effective and safe treatment for urinary tract infections.     

Digital analysis of ulnar trochlear notch sclerosis in Labrador retrievers

OBJECTIVES: To compare ulnar trochlear notch bone radiopacity in Labrador retrievers with and without fragmented medial coronoid process using quantitative analysis of film density on digitised radiographs. METHODS: Mediolateral view elbow radiographs from Labrador retrievers (n=34) aged between six and 18 months were obtained and digitised. Images from dogs with an arthroscopic diagnosis of fragmentation of the medial coronoid process (n=17) were compared with that of a control population (n=17), and this data subject to statistical analysis. RESULTS: A statistically significant relationship between the presence of increased trochlear notch radiopacity and a fragmented medial coronoid process was identified. Fractional analysis of this area shows the region of greatest difference in radiopacity between normal and fragmented medial coronoid process cohorts to be in the trochlear region of the medial coronoid process of the ulna. A decrease in radiopacity values in the dysplastic group versus the normal cohort was observed for the region of the proximo-caudal ulnar trochlear notch. CLINICAL SIGNIFICANCE: An increase in ulnar trochlear notch radiopacity is a finding associated with fragmentation of the medial coronoid process in Labrador retrievers.