Dietary aureomycin and the response of the fowl to stressors.

1. Conventional or gnotobiotic chicks, when injected from 1 d to 3 weeks of age with adrenocorticotrophic hormone (120IU/kg, three times weekly), showed a depressed growth rate, adrenal hypertrophy and depletion of cholesterol form the adrenal glands. 2. Feeding a diet supplemented with aureomycin (10 mg/kg) did not have any consistent ameliorating effect on the response of the stressed bird as judged by the above parameters. 3. It was found that treating germfree chicks with five daily injections of sterile milk on days 3 to 7 did not depress growth rate at any time, nor could differences in adrenal size or cholesterol stores be detected at the end of the 21-d experimental period. The responses were not modified by feeding an aureomycin-supplemented diet.     

Failure of procaine penicillin and zinc bacitracin to modify the response of the fowl to stressors.

1. The effect of either procaine penicillin or zinc bacitracin (25 mg active base/kg food) on the response of young birds to three different stressors - withdrawal of food for 18 h, exposure to cold for 24 h or treatment with ACTH- has been examined. 2. Neither antibiotic had any consistent effect on the stress responses. 3. It is concluded that neither penicillin nor bacitracin has any stress-ameliorating activity at least under the conditions of the test.     

Performance of a Johne's disease enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay adapted for milk samples from goats.

Antibody detection-based tests for paratuberculosis offer speed and economy, 2 diagnostic test attributes important to animal industries with narrow profit margins. Application of such tests to individual milk samples instead of serum samples can further improve testing efficiency and decrease testing cost. Accuracy of a commercial bovine paratuberculosis enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) adapted for use on goat serum and milk samples was determined. Fecal, blood, and milk samples were collected from 159 goats belonging to 2 Wisconsin goat herds with a prior history of paratuberculosis and 1 herd of 50 goats from a paratuberculosis-free Wisconsin herd. Fecal samples were cultured using the modified BACTEC 12B media. Sera were tested according to the manufacturer's instructions for bovine samples. Milk samples were centrifuged and mixed with the ELISA kit's Mycobacterium phlei-containing diluent at a ratio of 1:2. Using fecal culture as the "gold standard," the sensitivity of the ELISA on goat serum was 64% and the sensitivity of the ELISA on goat milk was 48%. The milk ELISA had higher agreement with fecal culture results (kappa = 0.525) than the serum ELISA (kappa = 0.425). ELISA specificity was 100% on both serum and milk. Regression analysis also showed good correlation between serum and milk S/P values (r2 = 0.67). Although less sensitive, the ELISA on goat milk samples appears to offer a useful, low-cost alternative for detection of goats with paratuberculosis that have progressed to the stage of shedding M. paratuberculosis in their feces.     

Use of rotational periosteal flaps in primary repair of sinofacial fractures in seven horses

ABSTRACT

Case history: Medical records were reviewed of horses (n?=?7) undergoing surgery for fracture of one or more facial bones extending into the paranasal sinuses that was repaired primarily within 24 hours of the time of injury using a rotational periosteal flap, between April 2009 and May 2017. A kick from another horse was the cause of the injury of three horses, and one horse was injured when it collided with a tree. The cause of the injury of three horses was unknown.

Clinical findings and treatment: Fractures were of the right maxillary bone in two horses, the left maxillary bone in two horses, the left frontal and left nasal bones in two horses, and the right frontal bones in one horse. The fracture of all but one horse was accompanied by an open wound. The fracture of all seven horses was reduced, stabilised, and covered with a rotational, periosteal flap. Surgery was carried out while standing in six horses, and while anesthetised in one horse. All horses had a deficit in the fractured facial bones after the fracture was reduced. Four horses had complications following surgery, but all horses were reported to have excellent cosmetic outcomes and had retuned to their previous level of activity, as reported by their owners.

Clinical relevance: Covering a primarily repaired sinofacial fracture of a horse with a rotational periosteal flap resulted in good cosmetic outcomes, and may be especially beneficial if the fracture is accompanied by loss of bone.     

Conservative management of minimally displaced radial fractures in three horses

Minimally displaced, spiral, radial fractures were diagnosed in three adult horses. Two horses had open fractures and in one horse the fracture was closed. A diagnosis was made on radiographs taken 24 h, 5, and 9 days after the fracture. There was minimal displacement of the fracture fragments despite the considerable time which had elapsed between fracture and diagnosis and an unfavourable prognosis with internal fixation, so conservative therapy was the preferred method of treatment. One horse developed a sequestrum and draining sinus, which was treated surgically under general anaesthesia 3 months after diagnosis of the fracture. Other complications were minimal and transient. Two horses were being used for pleasure riding 12 months after fracture and one horse was pasture sound at 8 months.     

Ectopic hepatocellular carcinoma in a dog

CASE HISTORY: A 14-year-old neutered male Bearded Collie was presented with a history of recurrent, intermittent urinary incontinence of 7 years duration.

CLINICAL FINDINGS: A large, firm, non-painful mass was found in the mid-abdominal region on palpation. Ultrasonography of the mass revealed a compartmentalised structure with mixed echogenicity, and which did not appear to be associated with any of the abdominal organs. Ultrasound-guided fine needle aspirates contained several clusters of epithelial cells with cytological features of hepatocytes. At exploratory laparotomy, the mass was found in the gastrosplenic ligament within the greater omentum.

PATHOLOGICAL FINDINGS AND DIAGNOSIS: Histopathologically, the mass consisted of sheets of hepatocytes, but without the characteristic hepatic architecture. The cells showed moderate variation in nuclear size and were sometimes binucle- ate. A diagnosis of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in the mesentery was made.

CLINICAL RELEVANCE: The presence of ectopic hepatic tissue has been reported rarely in man and cats, but not in the dog. Neoplastic transformation of ectopic hepatic tissue is seen in man. This is the first report of the presentation, clinical findings and treatment of a dog with ectopic HCC.     

Akabane disease in sheep

Perinatal lamb mortality, associated with malformations of the CNS due to Akabane viral infection, occurred in 4 of 9 flocks of ewes lambing on 3 farms between 26 May and 14 November, 1976. Cases were restricted to ewes conceiving prior to the second week of March and lambing between 26 May and 19 July. As judged by seroconversion in sentinel flocks on 2 of the farms, field infection with Akabane virus occurred mainly between mid-February and mid-April. Malformations of the CNS occurred in 42.5%, 51.2%, 100% and 31.0% of the dead lambs examined in the affected flocks respectively. Prevalence in the 4 affected flocks, expressed as the proportion of ewes lambing which delivered at least one malformed foetus, was 6.1%, 8.4%, 88.9% and 5.7% respectively. Lamb mortality due to malformations of the CNS was 7.1%, 5.5%, 92.3% and 5.7% of lambs born. Age-specific prevalence was calculated for 3 of the 4 flocks and 2-year-old ewes accounted for 71.4% and 76.9% of total cases respectively in 2 flocks, whereas in one flock malformations occurred at equivalent frequencies throughout several older age groups. Birthweights of affected lambs were usually significantly lighter than those of unaffected lambs of similar sex and birth-type, and their mean duration of gestation was slightly, and significantly, prolonged. Micrencephaly (88.1% of cases) and hydrocephalus (68.7% of cases) were the outstanding pathological features of the malformations with hydranencephaly, microgyria, porencephaly and attenuation of the spinal cord occurring at much lower frequencies.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

Equine amnionitis and fetal loss: The case definition for an unrecognised cause of abortion in mares

A series of abortions occurred in mares in New South Wales during 2004 that involved similar and unusual findings on post mortem examination of aborted fetuses and fetal membranes. The term Equine Amnionitis and Fetal Loss (EAFL) was developed to describe the condition. This form of abortion had not been previously recognised in Australia. The pathology alone is not specific for EAFL and diagnosis requires demonstration of a combination of certain pathological and bacteriological features. The purpose of this paper is to describe patterns considered consistent with EAFL cases as a working case definition for use by veterinarians and veterinary pathologists in identifying future cases of EAFL. More detailed papers are in preparation to fully describe the epidemiological, histopathological, and microbiological aspects of EAFL.