Persistence of Salmonella Typhimurium DT120 in abattoir paddocks holding sheep

In the summer of 1999 there was an outbreak of Salmonella Typhimurium DT120 in people in the north of England which was unusual in being sensitive to antimicrobial drugs. The outbreak was linked to mutton and lamb from a local abattoir, and attention focused on four holding paddocks used to retain sheep before slaughter. In November 1999, samples of soil and faeces were taken from these paddocks and samples of faeces were taken from the concrete race leading from them. Salmonella Typhimurium was isolated from 59 of the 100 samples. Between January 2000 and October 2000 seven visits were made to the abattoir at each of which 100 samples were taken from the paddocks and concrete race and examined for the presence of Salmonella. The paddocks remained heavily contaminated with S Typhimurium DT120 until April when there was a marked reduction in the recovery of the organism. By June the contamination was minimal and by August it had disappeared, and the organism was not recovered in September or October.     

Subtotal pericardectomy and epicardial excision for treatment of coccidioidomycosis-induced effusive-constrictive pericarditis in dogs: 17 cases (1999-2003)

OBJECTIVE: To determine the history, clinicopathologic findings, and results of surgery for effusive-constrictive pericarditis associated with Coccidioides immitis infection in dogs. DESIGN: Retrospective study. ANIMALS: 17 client-owned dogs that underwent a subtotal pericardectomy and epicardial excision. PROCEDURE: Hospital records from May 1999 to June 2003 were reviewed. Data collected included history, clinicopathologic findings, treatments, and outcome. Follow-up information was obtained via recheck examination and by use of standardized telephone interviews with referring veterinarians and owners. RESULTS: All dogs were of large breeds, and most were male (mean age, 4.66 years). Ten dogs had no prior history of C. immitis infection, and 7 dogs had chronic infection with C. immitis. Having a chronic C. immitis infection reduced the odds of survival, compared with no previous infection. All dogs had clinical signs of right-sided heart failure. All dogs had serum titers (range, 1:8 to 1:256) for antibodies against C. immitis prior to surgery, and titers were not significantly associated with outcome. Predominant echocardiographic findings were thickened pericardium, reduced right ventricular filling, and pleural or pericardial effusion. All dogs underwent a subtotal pericardectomy and epicardial excision and had fibrosing pyogranulomatous pericarditis in biopsy specimens obtained during surgery. The perioperative mortality rate was 23.5%, and the 2-year postdischarge survival rate was 82%. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Surgical treatment via subtotal pericardectomy and epicardial excision is successful at relieving right-sided heart failure in dogs with effusive-constrictive pericarditis secondary to C. immitis infection, but long-term treatment with antifungal agents may still be required.     

Immunocompetence in organically fed finishing pigs: effect of corn cob mix

Two consecutive experiments were performed to evaluate the effects on the immune response of corn cob mix (CCM) in an organic pig diet. The immunoglobulin (Ig) M, IgA and IgG responses against an intramuscularly injected model antigen, bovine thyroglobulin, were used as indicator. The experiments were performed in an organic barn with nine pens of four crossbred pigs (two barrows and two sows) from 45 kg to slaughter. In the first experiment, the organic concentrate was mixed with organic CCM-silage to obtain three concentrate: CCM ratios of 100:0, 80:20 and 60:40 (w:w). In the second experiment, three concentrates were produced to obtain diets with equal nutrient levels on a dry matter basis after 0%, 20% and 40% CCM inclusion. Higher inclusion rates of CCM in the ration were accompanied by lower thyroglobulin-specific IgG responses. These effects could not be attributed to one specific component of the CCM, such as fatty acid composition, although there was a degree of correlation with lower vitamin A concentrations. Mycotoxin concentrations were absent or minimal. The study indicated that dietary ingredient composition may affect immunocompetence.     

Evaluation of genetic and metabolic predispositions and nutritional risk factors for pasture-associated laminitis in ponies

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate genetic and metabolic predispositions and nutritional risk factors for development of pasture-associated laminitis in ponies. DESIGN: Observational cohort study. ANIMALS: 160 ponies. PROCEDURES: A previous diagnosis of laminitis was used to differentiate 54 ponies (PL group) from 106 nonlaminitic ponies (NL group). Pedigree analysis was used to determine a mode of inheritance for ponies with a previous diagnosis of laminitis. In early March, ponies were weighed and scored for body condition and basal venous blood samples were obtained. Plasma was analyzed for glucose, insulin, triglycerides, nonesterified fatty acids, and cortisol concentrations. Basal proxies for insulin sensitivity (reciprocal of the square root of insulin [RISQI]) and insulin secretory response (modified insulin-to-glucose ratio [MIRG]) were calculated. Observations were repeated in May, when some ponies had signs of clinical laminitis. RESULTS: A previous diagnosis of laminitis was consistent with the expected inheritance of a dominant major gene or genes with reduced penetrance. A prelaminitic metabolic profile was defined on the basis of body condition, plasma triglyceride concentration, RISQI, and MIRG. Meeting > or = 3 of these criteria differentiated PL- from NL-group ponies with a total predictive power of 78%. Determination of prelaminitic metabolic syndrome in March predicted 11 of 13 cases of clinical laminitis observed in May when pasture starch concentration was high. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Prelaminitic metabolic syndrome in apparently healthy ponies is comparable to metabolic syndromes in humans and is the first such set of risk factors to be supported by data in equids. Prelaminitic metabolic syndrome identifies ponies requiring special management, such as avoiding high starch intake that exacerbates insulin resistance.     

Estimation of the ideal ratio of true ileal digestible sulfur amino acids:lysine in 8- to 26-kg nursery pigs

Four experiments were conducted to determine the ideal ratio of true ileal digestible (TID) sulfur AA to Lys (SAA:LYS) in nursery pigs at two different BW ranges using both DL-Met and 2-hydroxy-4-(methylthio)-butanoic acid (HMTBA) as Met sources. In Exp. 1, 1,549 nursery pigs (Triumph 4 x PIC Camborough 22; initial BW 8.3 +/- 0.08 kg) were allotted to one of nine dietary treatments. The basal diet (Diet 1) was a semicomplex corn-soybean meal-based diet (1.32% TID Lys) with no supplemental HMTBA or DL-Met (47.7% TID SAA:LYS). Diets 2 to 9 consisted of the basal diet supplemented with four equimolar levels of DL-Met or HMTBA (52.7, 57.7, 62.7, and 67.7% TID SAA:LYS). In Exp. 2, 330 nursery pigs (Triumph 4 x PIC Camborough 22; initial BW 11.4 +/- 0.10 kg) were allotted to one of nine dietary treatments. The basal diet (Diet 1) was a corn-soybean meal-based diet (1.15% TID Lys) with no supplemental HMTBA or DL-Met (49% TID SAA:LYS). Diets 2 to 9 consisted of the basal diet supplemented with four equimolar levels of DL-Met or HMTBA (54, 59, 64, and 69% TID SAA:LYS). In Exp. 3, 1,544 nursery pigs (Triumph 4 x PIC Camborough 22; initial BW 12.4 +/- 0.13 kg) were allotted to one of nine dietary treatments as in Exp. 2. In Exp. 4, 343 nursery pigs (Genetiporc; initial BW 12.8 +/- 0.56 kg) were allotted to one of six dietary treatments. The basal diet (Diet 1) was a corn-soybean meal-based diet (1.05% TID Lys) with no supplemental DL-Met (49% TID SAA:LYS). Diets 2 to 5 consisted of the basal diet supplemented with four levels of DL-Met (54, 59, 64, and 69% TID SAA:LYS), and Diet 6 was the basal diet supplemented with one equimolar level of HMTBA to satisfy 59% TID SAA:LYS ratio. In all experiments, increasing the TID SAA:LYS ratio resulted in quadratic improvements in ADG (P < or = 0.09) and G:F (P < or = 0.05). Three different methods were used to estimate the optimal TID SAA:LYS ratio for each experiment. The two-slope broken-line regression model, x-intercept value of the broken-line and quadratic curve, and 95% of upper asymptote across the four experiments indicated that the average optimal TID SAA:LYS ratios were 59.3, 60.1, and 57.7% for ADG and 60.6, 61.7, and 60.1% for G:F, respectively. Thus, the optimal TID SAA:LYS ratio for 8- to 26-kg pigs based on the average value of these three estimates was 59.0% for ADG and 60.8% for G:F.     

Vitamin D Status in Different Stages of Disease Severity in Dogs with Chronic Valvular Heart Disease

Background

In humans with heart disease, vitamin D deficiency is associated with disease progression and a poor prognosis. A recent study showed that serum 25‐hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D] concentration, the hallmark of vitamin D status, was lower in dogs with heart failure than in normal dogs, and a low concentration was associated with poor outcome in dogs with heart failure.

Objectives

To elucidate the vitamin D status of dogs with chronic valvular heart disease (CVHD) at different stages of disease severity.

Animals

Forty‐three client‐owned dogs with CVHD.

Methods

In this cross‐sectional study, dogs were divided into 3 groups (14 dogs in Stage B1, 17 dogs in Stage B2, and 12 dogs in Stage C/D) according to ACVIM guidelines. Dogs underwent clinical examination including echocardiography. Serum 25(OH)D concentrations were measured in each dog.

Results

Serum 25(OH)D concentration was significantly lower in Stage B2 (median, 33.2 nmol/L; range, 4.9–171.7 nmol/L) and C/D (13.1 nmol/L; 4.9–58.1 nmol/L) than in Stage B1 (52.5 nmol/L; 33.5–178.0 nmol/L) and was not significantly different between Stage B2 and Stage C/D. Among clinical variables, there were significant negative correlations between 25(OH)D concentration and both left atrial‐to‐aortic root ratio and left ventricular end‐diastolic diameter normalized for body weight.

Conclusions and Clinical Importance

These results indicate that vitamin D status is associated with the degree of cardiac remodeling, and the serum 25(OH)D concentration begins to decrease before the onset of heart failure in dogs with CVHD.     

Effect of Enterococcus faecium AL41 and Thymus vulgaris essential oil on small intestine integrity and antioxidative status of laying hens

We investigated the effect of Enterococcus faecium on phagocytic activity, antioxidative status in vivo and the effect of E. faecium and 0.4% concentration of Thymus vulgaris essential oil (EO) on the duodenal tissue integrity in vitro in laying hens. The birds were fed the same standard diets and were divided into four groups. E. faecium was added to the drinking water for the second and fourth groups. EO was added to special chambers for measuring trans-epithelial electrical resistance (TEER) for the third and fourth groups only. TEER was lower in groups where EO was added, but in the group with E. faecium TEER was not changed significantly. Our results show that EO at 0.4% concentration may negatively affect intestine integrity, and the probiotic strain E. faecium AL41 is able to eliminate this effect and can strengthen non-specific immunity. To confirm our findings further histopathological investigations of intestinal tissue are needed.