A complex malformation in a pig: case report and review of the literature

Congenital defects like myofibrillar dysplasia (splayleg), umbilical and inguinal hernias, cryptorchism, intersexes, and anal atresia occur relatively frequently in swine. On the other hand, some developmental anomalies like double monsters are very rare. The present paper reports a rare case of a congenital complex malformation including polymelia, duplicitas coli partialis et recti, atresia ani et fistula rectogenitalis, duplicitas corpori uteri, cervicis, vaginae et vulvae and duplicitas vesicae, urethrae et renalis. A plausible interpretation concerning the etiology is that the anomalies arose from unequal partial twinning. The pig has been healthy and inconspicuous. Although no anus was formed defecation took place via a fistula to one of the vaginas. Posture and behaviour of the pig were normal. Cytogenetic analysis of blood lymphocytes revealed no numerical or gross structural anomalies. There have been no further piglets with developmental disorders in the same litter, in a second litter of the same parents and in other twelve litters by the same boar.     

Urinary aldosterone to creatinine ratio in cats before and after suppression with salt or fludrocortisone acetate

Background: The endocrine diagnosis of primary hyperaldosteronism in cats currently is based on an increased plasma aldosterone to renin ratio, which has several disadvantages for use in veterinary practice. Objectives: To establish a reference range for the urinary aldosterone to creatinine ratio (UACR) and to determine whether oral administration of either sodium chloride or fludrocortisone acetate is effective for use in a suppression test. Animals: Forty‐two healthy cats from an animal shelter and 1 cat with primary hyperaldosteronism from a veterinary teaching hospital. Methods: Morning urine samples for determination of the basal UACR were collected from 42 healthy cats. For the suppression tests, urine samples for the UACR were collected after twice daily oral administration for 4 consecutive days of either sodium chloride, 0.25 g/kg body weight (n = 22) or fludrocortisone acetate, 0.05 mg/kg body weight (n = 15). Results: The median basal UACR was 7.2 × 10^?9 (range, 1.8–52.3 × 10^?9), with a calculated reference range of <46.5 × 10^?9. Administration of sodium chloride resulted in adequate salt loading in 10 of 22 cats, but without significant reduction in the UACR. Administration of fludrocortisone resulted in a significant decrease in the UACR (median, 78%; range, 44–97%; P < .001) in healthy cats. In the cat with an aldosterone‐producing adrenocortical carcinoma, the basal UACR and the UACR after fludrocortisone administration were 32 × 10^?9 and 36 × 10^?9, respectively. Conclusions and Clinical Importance: Using the UACR for an oral fludrocortisone suppression test may be useful for the diagnosis of primary hyperaldosteronism in cats.     

Individual differences and repeatability of post-prandial changes of plasma-free amino acids in young horses

Few data are available on post-prandial changes of plasma amino acids (AAs) in horses and on the repeatability and the individual variance on different sampling days. The objective of the present study was to measure pre- and post-prandial concentrations of plasma AA in 10 yearling horses. Blood samples were taken on days 1 and 40 of the study before feeding of hay, oats and soya meal and over an 8 h post-prandial period in 2-h intervals. The plasma AAs were measured by high-pressure liquid chromatography after ortho-phthalaldehyde derivatization. Mean fasting concentrations of the AAs were not significantly influenced by the individuum and sampling day. Repeatability of the fasting AA levels in the individual horses on two different sampling days was only found for histidine, 3-methylhistidine, methionine, tryptophan and taurine. While the absolute post-prandial AA concentrations differed between sampling days, the relative changes were comparable. All AA concentrations except 3-methylhistidine increased after feeding by 13% to more than 200% of their fasting values if the combined data of both days were analysed. Four hours after feeding the concentrations of arginine, asparagine, lysine, leucine, isoleucine and threonine, decreased more than 20%. Histidine, methionine, phenylalanine, valine, tryptophan, glutamine, glycine, tyrosine and taurine concentrations decreased by less than 20%. Concentrations of aspartic acid, glutamic acid, ornithine, serine and citrulline remained elevated. Most AA approached the fasting concentrations at 8 h, only glycine increased between 6 and 8 h after meal and 3-methyl-histidine concentrations were constant throughout the entire period. In conclusion, the pre-prandial plasma AA in horses appeared less influenced by individuum or sampling day than post-prandial plasma AA concentrations. Therefore, plasma AA concentrations should be interpreted only under well-defined conditions, especially regarding the feeding regimen.     

Continuous monitoring of penicillin G and gentamicin in allantoic fluid of pregnant pony mares by in vivo microdialysis

REASONS FOR PERFORMING STUDY: Most current treatments for placentitis in mares are empirical with few control studies to evaluate their effectiveness. OBJECTIVE: To monitor drug concentrations in allantoic fluid of pregnant pony mares using in vivo microdialysis and establish if this method would be useful for determining allantoic concentrations of drugs in normal mares and those with placentitis. METHODS: Five late gestational pony mares had microdialysis probes inserted into the allantoic fluid using transabdominal ultrasound-guided allantocentesis. Single injections of penicillin G (22,000 u/kg), gentamicin (6.6 mg/kg bwt) and flunixin meglumine (1 mg/kg bwt) were administered i.v. and dialysate samples collected continuously for 24 h. In a separate study, drug concentrations were monitored in allantoic fluid of 2 mares with experimental placentitis induced by intracervical inoculation with Streptococcus equi ssp. zooepidemicus. Drug concentrations were measured by high performance liquid chromatography (penicillin G, flunixin meglumine) or enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (gentamicin). RESULTS: Penicillin G and gentamicin achieved average peak concentrations of 9.8+/-2.2 and 8.5+/-3.1 microg/ml, respectively, in allantoic fluid of noninfected mares. Pharmacokinetic comparisons indicate that penicillin G persists much longer in allantoic fluid than blood, whereas gentamicin exhibited similar profiles in the 2 compartments. Flunixin meglumine was not detected in allantoic fluid. In infected mares, penicillin G achieved a similar peak concentration in allantoic fluid (11.2 microg/ml) whereas peak gentamicin concentration (3.9 microg/ml) appeared to be reduced relative to drug concentrations in noninfected mares. CONCLUSIONS: Microdialysis is a useful technique for continuous in vivo monitoring of drugs in equine allantoic fluid. Our results indicate that penicillin G and gentamicin undergo effective placental transfer in pregnant mares and in 2 mares that transplacental drug transfer may be altered selectively if active placental infection is present. POTENTIAL RELEVANCE: Further studies are needed to evaluate the feasibility of using increased dose intervals for penicillin G and an increased dose rate of gentamicin to effectively combat placental infections in mares.     

Diagnosis and successful treatment of Cryptococcus neoformans variety grubii in a domestic ferret

A domestic ferret was presented for episodic regurgitation. Cytologic examination and culture of an enlarged submandibular lymph node revealed Cryptococcus neoformans variety grubii (serotype A). The ferret was successfully treated with itraconazole. This is the first documented case of Cryptococcus neoformans variety grubii in a ferret in the United States.     

Production of transgenic rabbits using centrifuged pronuclear zygotes

Superovulation of female rabbits was induced by subcutaneous injection(s) of porcine FSH. Zygotes were recovered 17 to 19 hr after hCG injection and were classified into two categories under a microscope equipped with Nomarski interference-contrast optics at x 200 magnification: (A) zygotes with clearly visible pronuclei, or (B) zygotes with visualized pronuclei after 10 min centrifugation at 12,000 x g. No significant difference between strains was found in the proportion of category-A zygotes (JW 72.6% vs NZW 79.3%). Pronuclei of category-A zygotes were located in the center of the cytoplasm, and the pronuclei of category-B zygotes were slightly moved by centrifugation toward the mass of cytoplasmic lipid droplets. Exogenous DNA solution (5 microg/ml of fusion gene composed of bovine alphaS1-casein promoter and human growth hormone structural gene) was microinjected into the pronucleus of the JW zygotes. The pronucleus of category-A zygotes with a mean volume of 7.4 pl swelled up to 16.6 pl (132% increase), while that of category-B zygotes with a mean volume of 6.1 pl swelled up to 15.9 pl (148% increase). Nevertheless, similar proportions of category-A and category-B zygotes developed into offspring after transfer to recipient females (11.1 and 11.2%, respectively). The efficiency to produce hGH-carrying transgenic rabbits was 0.9% (2/235) from category-A zygotes and 0.5% (1/215) from category-B zygotes (P>0.05). To date, transgenic rabbits have been produced without centrifugation of pronuclear zygotes. However approximately 25% of fertilized rabbit zygotes can be used for DNA microinjection after they have been centrifuged to visualize their pronuclei.     

Type and frequency of contacts between Belgian pig herds

Knowledge of the frequency of direct and indirect contacts between pig herds is a requirement for understanding the potential between-herd transmission of pathogens. Our aim was to investigate the different contacts between Belgian pig herds. We obtained data by conducting a postal survey on 421 pig herds in August 2005 and by analysis of available information on livestock movements in the national identification-and-registration database (18-months period in 2004-2006). Direct contacts included transports of pigs by onto-farm, off-farm and between-farm movements. Indirect contacts included vehicles entering the herd and visitors entering the stables. The median number of direct contacts per herd made by onto-farm movements was 0.2/month (Q1: 0; Q3: 0.5). About 1.2% of herds had > or = 3 onto-farm movements/month. We used a zero-inflated negative-binomial regression model to describe differences in the number of onto-farm movements according to herd size and herd type. Piglet multipliers followed by finishing herds were predicted to have the most onto-farm movements. Farrow-to-finishing herds made less movements compared to breeding herds. A median of 3997 between-farm movements/month was made in Belgium; these mainly concerned piglets. The median number of origin herds during an 8-month period for between-farm movements was 4 (Q1: 2; Q3: 8). For a typical 1-month period, we constructed directed graphs of between-farm piglet and replacement stock movements, illustrating potential receivers and distributors of infection. Of these between-farm movements, many were made over a short distance (median straight-line distance 19 km (Q1: 8; Q3: 36)). The median number of vehicles entering a herd and visitors entering the stables was 8/month (Q1: 6; Q3: 13) and 3/month (Q1: 2; Q3: 6) respectively. The number of indirect contacts by vehicles and persons were associated with herd size (Spearman's r: 0.7 and 0.2), herd type and other factors. Skewness of both direct and indirect contacts, illustrated that there was a wide variety in contact structure between pig herds in Belgium. Infection control might benefit by accounting for this variation in contacts and by targeting 'high-risk' herds in case of animal-disease emergencies.     

贵州天然豆科牧草——窄叶野豌豆的引种与驯化

对采自贵州省册亨县、三都县的窄叶野豌豆野生种进行了引种驯化。结果表明：其产草量中等，鲜草３７．５～４５ｔ／ｈｍ２，草质优良；生育期短，早熟；种子产量高，收纯净种子５００～６００ｋｇ／ｈｍ２。适合在我国南方中亚热带地区同水稻、玉米轮作，也可作为农田填闲作物栽培     

Comparison between Haemophilus parasuis infection in colostrums-deprived and sow-reared piglets

The aim of this study was to compare the development of Glasser's disease in sow-reared and colostrum-deprived piglets. Ninety piglets from a commercial pig farm in Spain were used. The farm was positive for Haemophilus parasuis. Fifty-two pigs were sow-reared (SR) and 38 were colostrum-deprived (CD) piglets. The animals were intratracheally inoculated with H. parasuis serovar 5 and sacrificed at 1, 2 and 3 days post-infection. To assess the development of disease, antibody titers, clinical signs, pathological lesions, microbiological isolation and PCR amplification were compared between the groups. Inoculation of SR pigs did not cause clinical signs or lesions of Glasser's disease. In SR pigs, H. parasuis isolation and specific PCR amplification from tissues showed a very low number of positive samples. In contrast, in CD pigs, inoculation resulted in the typical signs and lesions of Glasser's disease. Positive microbiological isolation and specific PCR products were obtained from the majority of the tissues tested, and no antibodies against H. parasuis were detected. The experimental infection using CD pigs describes a successful method to study this microorganism and confirms the important role that maternal antibodies play in protection against clinical signs and disease.