DNA vaccines and their applications in veterinary practice: current perspectives

Inoculation of plasmid DNA, encoding an immunogenic protein gene of an infectious agent, stands out as a novel approach for developing new generation vaccines for prevention of infectious diseases of animals. The potential of DNA vaccines to act in presence of maternal antibodies, its stability and cost effectiveness and the non-requirement of cold chain have heightened the prospects. Even though great strides have been made in nucleic acid vaccination, still there are many areas that need further research for its wholesome practical implementation. Major areas of concern are vaccine delivery, designing of suitable vectors and cytotoxic T cell responses. Also, the induction of immune responses by DNA vaccines is inconclusive due to the lack of knowledge regarding the concentration of the protein expressed in vivo. Alternative delivery systems having higher transfection efficiency and the use of cytokines, as immunomodulators, needs to be further explored. Recently, efforts are being made to modulate and prolong the active life of dendritic cells, in order to make antigen presentation a more efficacious one. For combating diseases like acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), influenza, malaria and tuberculosis in humans; and foot and mouth disease, Aujesky’s disease, swine fever, rabies, canine distemper and brucellosis in animals, DNA vaccine clinical trials are underway. This review highlights the salient features of DNA vaccines, and measures to enhance their efficacy so as to devise an effective and novel vaccination strategy against animal diseases.     

POLYARTHROPATHY AND ANTERIOR UVEITIS AS PARANEOPLASTIC SYNDROMES IN A GUINEA PIG WITH DISSEMINATED LYMPHOMA

A 4-year-old, intact male guinea pig was presented for evaluation of ocular pain and forelimb lameness. Initial examination confirmed that the ocular pain was associated with bilateral anterior uveitis and that the lameness was attributed to a bilateral carpal and metacarpal polyarthropathy. Carpal joint taps revealed nonseptic marked mixed inflammation later confirmed as a nonerosive immune-mediated polyarthropathy. Treatment with topical steroid ophthalmic ointment resulted in rapid resolution of the uveitis; the arthropathy was initially managed with pain medication and anti-inflammatories, then later with doxycycline and cyclosporine. Over the course of 7 days, the joint swelling and pain improved slightly, but the patient developed severe exophthalmos of the right eye. An ocular ultrasound examination revealed a space occupying mass in the retrobulbar space and results of a fine needle aspirate of the mass was diagnosed as lymphoma. Treatment with prednisone was set to be initiated after a 3-day wash-out period of meloxicam, but the patient was euthanized before the initiation of chemotherapy. Necropsy results confirmed the lymphoma had infiltrated the right eye, kidneys, adrenal glands, thyroid glands, lungs, liver, spleen, testicular interstitium, urinary bladder, pancreas, mesentery, lymph nodes, and meninges. This is an unusual presentation of apparent paraneoplastic uveitis and immune-mediated polyarthropathy in a guinea pig.     

兽医实验室信息管理系统的构建与应用

泉州市动物疫病预防控制中心实验室按照农业部兽医实验室考核指标体系、《检测和校准实验室能力的通用要求》和《实验室资质认定评审准则》质量管理要求,以实验室管理体系为蓝本,采用Java、．NET、PHP等编程技术,架设SQL数据库,建立系统管理、检测流程管理、仪器与材料管理、档案管理、统计分析等5个功能模块的运行框架和流程路线,形成人机互动的信息管理系统。     

Prevalence and characterization of Staphylococcus aureus and Staphylococcus pseudintermedius isolated from companion animals and environment in the veterinary teaching hospital in Zambia,Africa

The Republic of Zambia consists of only one veterinary teaching school at the University of Zambia (UNZA) where students and veterinarians are exposed to many bacterial pathogens including Staphylococcus aureus (SA) and Staphylococcus pseudintermedius (SP). The aim of this study was the characterization and antimicrobial susceptibility profile of eleven SA and 48 SP isolates from the veterinary hospitals’ in- and outpatients and the environment. No isolate was resistant to cefoxitin by disk diffusion test and the corresponding resistance gene mecA was not found. In contrast, the resistance rates of SA to penicillin (63.6%) and trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole (36.4%) and SP to penicillin (52.1%) and tetracycline (25.0%) were the highest. A variety of sequence types (STs) without a predominant type including numerous novel types were determined, especially for SP (39.6%). The spa typing provided a clonal assignment for all SAs (100%) and 24 SPs (50%) with three and two novel types, respectively. This study has provided an overview of SA and SP in the veterinary teaching hospital at UNZA. However, for a better understanding of these species regarding pathogenesis and transmission, further studies on the prevalence and characterization of SA and SP from veterinary staff, pet owners, and farm animals in Zambia is needed.     

病例讨论在兽医影像诊断学教学中的应用研究

病例讨论是将理论知识应用于实践教学中的重要学习方法之一.在兽医影像诊断学的教学过程中,将病例讨论纳入到课堂教学中,能够充分发挥学生的主观能动性,重视学生在教学中的主体地位.通过病例讨论,可为学生提供更多自主学习的机会,锻炼和培养学生发现问题、分析问题和解决问题的能力,并在讨论学习中提升学生对知识的理解和应用能力.     

Comparison of cardiac measurements by multi-detector computed tomography angiography and transthoracic echocardiography in English bulldogs

Introduction

Transthoracic echocardiography (TTE) is the primary tool for the assessment of cardiac structure and function in dogs but is challenging in English bulldogs due to dorsoventral compression of the thorax, obesity, and narrow intercostal spaces. Multi-detector computed tomography angiography (CTA) may overcome the conformational obstacles of cardiac imaging in this breed.

兽药大数据平台的应用架构研究

兽药大数据对兽药监管、兽药行业健康发展以及疫病防控具有重要意义。针对现有的兽药海量数据进行大数据应用研究,提出兽药大数据平台的应用方向和应用架构,以期为兽药大数据平台的应用发展提供参考。