Prevalence of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus colonization in horses in Saskatchewan,Alberta, and British Columbia

This study estimated the prevalence of methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) in nasal swabs of 458 horses in western Canada. The rate of colonization was 1.3% ± 5.84% [95% confidence interval (CI)], a rate similar to those reported elsewhere. Colonization tended to be transient and seemed unrelated to stress or administration of antimicrobials. Five of the 6 isolates were Canadian epidemic MRSA-5, a human clone that appears to predominate in horses in North America. The other isolate was spa type 539 (t034), a sequence type 398 strain, and this is the first report of this clone in horses in North America. Surveillance is warranted because of the potential of MRSA to cause disease in horses and humans.     

Comparison of agar gel immunodiffusion test, rapid slide agglutination test, microbiological culture and PCR for the diagnosis of canine brucellosis

The performance of the rapid slide agglutination test, with and without 2-mercaptoethanol (RSAT and 2ME-RSAT) and agar gel immunodiffusion test (AGID) was evaluated for the diagnosis of brucellosis in naturally infected dogs. The microbiological culture, PCR and clinical parameters were used as reference. A total of 167 dogs were clinically examined and tested by blood culture, culture of semen/vaginal swab and PCR in blood and semen/vaginal swab. According to the results observed the 167 dogs were divided into three groups: Brucella canis infected dogs (Group 1), B. canis non-infected dogs (Group 2) and dogs with suspected brucellosis (Group 3). The dogs were then tested by RSAT, 2ME-RSAT and AGID. Groups 1 and 2 were used to calculate the diagnostic sensitivity and specificity of the serological tests and the results observed in Group 3 were also discussed. The diagnostic sensitivity of RSAT, 2ME-RSAT and AGID was respectively 70.58%, 31.76%, and 52.94%. The diagnostic specificity of RSAT, 2ME-RSAT and AGID was respectively 83.34%, 100%, and 100%. In dogs with suspected brucellosis 15% were RSAT positive, none was 2ME-RSAT positive and 5% were AGID positive. Although the serological tests are the most commonly used methods for brucellosis diagnosis, a significant proportion of false-negative results were observed highlighting the importance of the direct methods of diagnosis, like blood culture and PCR to improve the diagnosis of canine brucellosis.     

An Integrated Population Model From Constant Effort Bird-Ringing Data

Data from annual bird-ringing programs, in which catch effort is standardized, are routinely used to index abundance, productivity, and adult survival. Efficient models have been developed for each. Such monitoring schemes, based on ringing across a number of sites, are perhaps unique in providing this combination of demographic information and make the data particularly amenable to an integrated approach to population modeling. We develop a Bayesian approach and a deterministic population model uniting abundance, productivity, and survival. The method is applied to sedge warbler Acrocephalus schoenobaenus data from the British Trust for Ornithology’s Constant Effort Sites scheme. The possibility of “transient” birds needs to be incorporated within this analysis. We demonstrate how current methodology can efficiently be extended to use additional data from multiple within year recaptures when controlling for transience. Supplemental materials for this article are available online.     

Towards a spatially explicit risk assessment for marine management: Assessing the vulnerability of fish to aggregate extraction

Management of human activities in the marine environment increasingly requires spatially explicit risk assessments that link the occurrence and magnitude of a pressure to information on the sensitivity of the environment. We developed a marine spatial risk assessment framework for the UK continental shelf assessing the vulnerability of 11 fish and shellfish species to aggregate extraction. We calculated a sensitivity index (SI) using life-history characteristics and modelled species distributions on the UK shelf using long-term monitoring data and indicator kriging. Merging sensitivity indices and predicted species distributions allowed us to map the sensitivity of the selected fish to aggregate extraction. The robustness of the sensitivity map was affected primarily by widespread species with a low to medium level of sensitivity, while highly sensitive species with more restricted distributions had a limited effect on the overall sensitivity. The highest sensitivity in the case study occurred in coastal regions, and where nursery and spawning areas of four important commercial species occur. To test the framework, we overlaid the estimated sensitivity map with the occurrence of aggregate extraction activity in inshore waters, including sediment plume estimations, to describe species vulnerability to dredging. We conclude that our spatially explicit risk assessment framework can be applied to other ecosystem components and pressures at different spatial scales and it is therefore a promising tool that can support the sustainable development of marine spatial plans.     

Severe systemic hypertension in a cat with pituitary-dependent hyperadrenocorticism

A seven-year-old Burmese cat was presented with sudden onset blindness. On physical examination, the cat had bilateral retinal detachment and severe systemic hypertension. Further clinical investigations revealed pituitary-dependent hyperadrenocorticism. Antihypertensive therapy was discontinued when the hypertension resolved after bilateral adrenalectomy. Systolic blood pressure remained normal until 19 months post-operatively when systemic hypertension recurred and was attributed to chronic kidney disease. The cat was euthanased 47 months after initial presentation. A pituitary adenoma was identified at post-mortem examination. This case illustrates that systemic hypertension can occur secondary to hyperadrenocorticism in the cat.     

Glycan moiety modifications of feline alpha1-acid glycoprotein in retrovirus (FIV, FeLV) affected cats

alpha1-Acid glycoprotein (AGP) is considered one of the major acute phase proteins in cats. In humans, AGP is a heavily glycosylated protein that undergoes several modifications of its glycan moiety during acute and chronic inflammatory pathologies. In this paper we present the feline AGPs (fAGP) glycan moiety modifications in the course of two prevalent feline diseases, the FIV (feline immunodeficiency virus) dependent feline acquired viral immunodeficiency and the feline leukemia virus (FeLV) associated lymphoma. The glycan moiety of fAGP was investigated by means of the binding of its oligosaccharides residues with specific lectins. Four lectins were used: Sambucus nigra agglutinin I and Maackia amurensis agglutinin lectins were used to detect sialic acid residues, Aleuria aurantia lectin was used to detect L-fucose residues and Concanavalin A was used to evaluate the degree of branching. It was found that fAGP undergoes several post-translational modifications of its glycan pattern: in particular the degree of sialylation is increased in FeLV-positive cats diagnosed with lymphoma, while FeLV-positive that did not presented any specific clinical signs cats do not present any increase of expression of sialic acid on the surface. Furthermore, FIV induced a modification of the glycan moiety of fAGP, which however varied widely among individuals. In order to determine the number and the position of oligosaccharide chains, the cDNA sequence of fAGP was also determined. The translation of the mature fAGP coding sequence gave rise to a sequence of 183 residues, with five potential N-glycosylation sites, but also with seven potential phosphorylation sites.