Investigation of the immediate analgesic effects of extracorporeal shock wave therapy for treatment of navicular disease in horses

OBJECTIVES: To measure the acute analgesic properties of extracorporeal shock wave therapy (ESWT) in horses with navicular disease using objective ground reaction forces (GRF). STUDY DESIGN: Prospective study. ANIMALS: Nine client-owned horses with unilateral forelimb lameness caused by navicular disease. METHODS: Horses were trotted at 3 m/s over a force plate to record pre-treatment GRF of the lame and contra-lateral forelimbs. After ESWT of the lame limb, applied with a radial unit to each of the frog and heel bulb areas with 1500 pulses at 4 bar and 10 Hz, GRF measurements were repeated at 15 minutes and 24-hour intervals for 7 days. From the 5 trials recorded at each time, peak vertical force (PVF) was calculated and averaged. Data were compared between limbs and over time using a 2-way repeated-measures ANOVA. RESULTS: Mean (+/-SD) PVF was significantly different between lame (day 1; 4339+/-626 N) and contra-lateral (day 1; 5236+/-515 N) limbs pre-treatment (P<.05). After ESWT treatment, this difference remained unchanged at 15 minutes and from days 1 to 7. To confirm navicular disease, palmar digital analgesia significantly reduced the lameness (lame 5144+/-430 N; contralateral 5082+/-586 N; P>.05). CONCLUSIONS: Single ESWT treatment applied in this manner does not influence lameness in horses with navicular disease. CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Although many equine regulatory commissions currently ban the use of ESWT before competition, our results suggest that such regulations may be unfounded. Further research is required to determine the long-term analgesic properties of this frequently used treatment modality in equine athletes.     

Immunogenic and protective effects of a DNA vaccine for Mycobacterium marinum in fish

Mycobacteriosis, caused by numerous Mycobacterium spp., can be a devastating disease of both wild and cultured fishes. As no efficacious treatment exists, a vaccine against fish mycobacteriosis is essential for prevention and control of this disease. Thus, a DNA vaccine was constructed using the Mycobacterium marinum Ag85A gene that encodes one of the major secreted fibronectin-binding proteins of Mycobacterium spp., which was isolated and then subcloned into a commercially available eukaryotic expression vector. Juvenile hybrid striped bass (Morone saxatilis x M. chrysops), a species known to be particularly susceptible to this disease, were immunized by i.m. and i.p. injection with the resulting construct and as a result produced specific immune responses towards the Ag85A. Increasing concentrations of humoral antibodies to the Ag85A antigen were generated in all DNA vaccine groups, while macrophage phagocytosis and respiratory burst functions failed to exhibit upregulation after vaccination. In addition, fish receiving the DNA vaccine developed a protective response to a live M. marinum challenge 90 days post-inoculation, as demonstrated by increased survival of vaccinated fish over control fish and by reduced splenic bacterial counts in vaccinated fish. Furthermore, humoral immune responses and protective effects were significantly increased at higher vaccine doses using the i.m. injection route.     

The successful use of work oxen in agricultural development of tsetse infested land in Ethiopia

Summary For the past five years a herd of work oxen, now numbering some 450 individuals, has been maintained under the protection of trypanocidal drugs on a settlement scheme in an area of western Ethiopia infested with tsetse. This paper describes the environmental conditions and the epizootiology of trypanosomiasis in the oxen and in the vector, Glossina morsitans. It is concluded that with the strategic use of drugs, oxen can be kept alive and perform useful agricultural work, in areas of high tsetse challenge, provided reasonable standards of veterinary supervision and management are maintained.

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El Uso Exitoso De Bueyes En El Desarrollo Agricola De Tierras Infestadas De Tsetse En Etiopia

Resumen Se ha mantenido un número aproximado de 450 bueyes, bajo el efecto de drogas contra la tripanosomiasis (quimioprofiláxis), en una concentración rural bajo el flagelo de la mosca tsetse, en el oeste de Etiopía. Este trabajo describe las condiciones ambientales y epizootiológicas de la tripanosomiasis en bueyes y vectores (Glossina morsitans). Se concluye, que el uso estrátegico de drogas preventivas proteje a los bueyes en áreas infestadas por tsetse, siempre y cuando se mantenga una supervisión veterinaria y de manejo animal aceptable.

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Succes De L'Utilisation Des Boeufs De Travail Dans Le Developpement De L'Agriculture D'Une Region D'Ethiopie Infestee De Tse-Tse

Résume Au cours des cinq dernières années, un troupeau de boeufs de travail, maintenant au nombre de quelque 450 têtes, a été maintenu sous protection de produits trypanocides à l'occasion d'un essai d'implantation du bétail dans une région de l'Ouest de l'Ethiopie infestée de tsé-tsé. Ce document traite des conditions de l'environnement, de l'épizootologie des trypanosomoses du bétail ainsi que du vecteur:Glossina morsitans. La conclusion est qu'avec l'utilisation des trypanocides, les boeufs peuvent vivre et donner les performances habituelles au niveau des travaux agricoles dans les zones à haute infestation glossinaire pourvu du'un encadrement vétérinaire et de gestion suffisant soit maintenu.

     

Benzimidazole pesticides: Analysis and transformations

Some properties, analysis and transformations by plants, animals, soil and light of benomyl, carbendazim, thiabendazole, fuberidazole, cypendazole and fenazaflor are discussed.     

Hematologic Toxicosis Associated with Doxorubicin Administration in Cats

The hematologic toxicity of doxorubicin, 30 mg/m2 body surface area (BSA) every 21 days to a cumulative dose of 300 mg/m2, was evaluated in six cats. Complete blood and platelet counts were performed daily during the first treatment cycle. They were monitored before treatment for all remaining cycles, and at the average neutrophil nadir (day 8) starting with cycle 4. Significant poikilocytosis developed after the first treatment and remained throughout the study, although anemia did not occur. No other red blood cell abnormalities were seen. Platelet counts remained within the reference range throughout the first treatment cycle, but mild thrombocytopenia (88,000-288,000/uL) was found in 11.3% of subsequent complete blood counts (CBCs). Thrombocytosis was seen in 30.9% of CBCs. Neutropenia did not occur during the first treatment cycle although neutrophil counts did decrease, with the nadir occurring between days 8 and 11. All neutrophil counts returned to pretreatment values by day 14. Neutropenia was documented after 14 of 46 (30.4%) doxorubicin treatments, and was associated with fever in 5 cats (10.9%). All fevers responded to oral antibiotic therapy. Neutropenia that lasted more than 14 days developed in two cats, necessitating dosage reduction to 25 mg/m2 BSA. At the dose used in this study, doxorubicin administration was associated with acceptable hematologic toxicosis in most cats.     

Efficacy of fenbendazole against inhibited larvae of Ostertagia ostertagi in yearling cattle

Efficacy of fenbendazole, at doses of 7.5 and 10.0 mg/kg of body weight, against inhibited early 4th-stage larvae of Ostertagia ostertagi and other nematodes of the abomasum and intestinal tract, was investigated in naturally infected yearling heifers in late May 1982. In Louisiana, this is near the end of the period (March to May) in which maximal numbers of inhibition-prone larvae are acquired. The mean numbers of O ostertagi in 10 untreated control cattle were: adults, 4,880; developing 4th-stage larvae, 12,546; and inhibited early 4th-stage larvae, 167,931. At the 7.5 mg/kg dose level (10% liquid suspension) in 10 cattle, percentage reduction of O ostertagi in comparison with controls was: adults, 95.7%; developing 4th stages, 91.1%; and inhibited 4th stage, 55.0%. Percentage reductions of other genera were as follows: abomasum--Trichostrongylus axei, 99.6%; Haemonchus sp, 95.1%; intestinal tract--Cooperia spp, 97.8%; Trichostrongylus colubriformis, 100.0%; and Oesophagostomum radiatum 4th stage and adults, 100.0%. At the 10.0 mg/kg dose (10% liquid suspension) in 11 cattle, the percentage reduction of O ostertagi in comparison with controls was: adults, 98.6%; developing 4th stages, 92.9%; and inhibited 4th stage, 80.0%. Percentage reductions of other genera were: abomasum--T axei, 99.9%; Haemonchus sp, 98.8%; intestinal tract--Cooperia spp, 99.3%; T colubriformis, 100.0%; and Oes radiatum 4th stage and adults, 100.0%. Variability of efficacy against inhibited larvae was observed, particularly at the 7.5 mg/kg dose; at this dose, 7 of the 10 heifers in the group yielded in excess of 54,000 surviving larvae.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

Crop protection--what will shape the future picture?

The drivers which influence the types of crop protection most needed by agriculture are changing. A polarisation of approaches has resulted in the needs of organic agriculture and biotechnological agriculture, which can be identified as the current extremes of the spectrum, becoming very different. The main requirements of these two sectors are identified here and used as the basis for questioning future EU research requirements in crop protection. Factors affecting/influencing organic farming and the use of genetically modified crops are discussed in some detail.