Are the Australian poultry industries vulnerable to large outbreaks of highly pathogenic avian influenza?

Objective   To describe the structure of the Australian poultry industry and discuss the potential for highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) to spread between Australian poultry farms.
Procedure   High densities of poultry farms, frequent contacts between farms by service providers, the supply of live poultry markets (LPM) and the presence of free-range duck flocks in affected regions have been identified as risk factors for the spread of HPAI between flocks in outbreaks causing the death or destruction of over 1 million poultry overseas. Data on 1,594 commercial Australian chicken meat, chicken egg, duck and turkey farms were collected by a telephone questionnaire of farm managers to assess the risk of a HPAI outbreak in Australia.
Results and Discussion   Five regions of Australia had farm densities comparable to overseas regions that experienced widespread HPAI. Common service providers routinely contacted different classes and types of farms over wide geographic areas. However, no responding farms supplied LPM and the majority of duck farms did not produce free-range ducks.
Conclusion   Outbreaks of HPAI have the potential to cause serious impacts on the Australian poultry industry. The risk posted by LPM and free-range ducks is limited, but the movement of genetic stock and common service providers could spread infection between companies, industries or geographical regions. Biosecurity measures are therefore considered critical to limit the secondary spread of infection should an outbreak occur.     

Retrospective assessment of tolerability and efficacy of zoledronate in the palliative treatment of cancer-bearing dogs

Zoledronate is a bisphosphonate frequently used for the treatment of hypercalcaemia of malignancy and tumour-associated bone pain in dogs, however, there is a paucity of information regarding its use in veterinary medicine. The aim of this retrospective study was to report the tolerability of zoledronate in the palliative treatment of cancer-bearing dogs and secondarily to to assess the efficacy of zoledronate for the treatment of hypercalcaemia of malignancy. Thirty-seven dogs (22 with tumour-associated bone pain and 15 with hypercalcaemia of malignancy) that received 114 zoledronate infusions were included. Tolerability was assessed by the absence of post-zoledronate hypocalcaemia or other adverse events as defined by Veterinary Cooperative Oncology Group-Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events criteria. Efficacy was assessed by comparison of available ionized calcium levels before and after zoledronate administration in hypercalcaemic dogs. In 79% of zoledronate infusions, no adverse events were reported. The majority of adverse events which occurred in the other 21% of infusions could be attributed to concurrent chemotherapy or the underlying neoplastic disease. There was a small but significant increase in creatinine following treatment with zoledronate, however, none of the dogs developed clinically significant renal disease. In eight hypercalcaemic dogs with available ionized calcium following zoledronate administration, ionized calcium decreased rapidly within 7 days following treatment with zoledronate. Zoledronate is well-tolerated with few recorded adverse events, however, monitoring of serum creatinine is advised. Zoledronate seems to be effective in the treatment of hypercalcaemia of malignancy.     

Recovery of brodifacoum in vomitus following induction of emesis in dogs that had ingested rodenticide bait

AIM: To assess the benefit of inducing emesis in dogs that have ingested rodenticide bait containing brodifacoum (BDF), by determining the amount of BDF in bait recovered from the vomitus relative to the estimated amount consumed.

METHODS: Between 2014 and 2015 samples of vomitus from seven dogs that ingested rodenticide baits containing BDF were submitted by veterinarians in New Zealand. All seven dogs had been given apomorphine by the veterinarian and vomited within 1 hour of ingesting the bait. Some or all of the bait particles were retrieved from each sample and were analysed for concentrations of BDF using HPLC. Based on estimations of the mass of bait consumed, the concentration of BDF stated on the product label, and the estimated mass of bait in the vomitus of each dog, the amount of BDF in the vomited bait was calculated as a percentage of the amount ingested.

RESULTS: For five dogs an estimation of the mass of bait ingested was provided by the submitting veterinarian. For these dogs the estimated percentage of BDF in the bait retrieved from the vomitus was between 10–77%. All dogs were well after discharge but only one dog returned for further testing. This dog had a normal prothrombin time 3 days after ingestion.

CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE: The induction of emesis within 1 hour of ingestion can be a useful tool in reducing the exposure of dogs to a toxic dose of BDF. The BDF was not fully absorbed within 1 hour of ingestion suggesting that the early induction of emesis can remove bait containing BDF before it can be fully absorbed.     

Nasal infection with Scedosporium apiospermum in a dog

CASE HISTORY: A 2-year-old female Siberian Husky was presented with a 6-month history of sneezing and mucous discharge from the right nostril.

CLINICAL FINDINGS: Reduced airflow through the right nostril was evident. Radiographs showed subtle loss of detail of turbinates within the right nasal chamber. Rhinoscopy revealed swollen and erythematous turbinates and a white mass within the caudal aspect of the right nasal cavity. Histopathologically, there was a heavy mixed inflammatory infiltrate in the submus- cosa of the right turbinate, and the presence of fungal hyphae and spores in the white mass. A heavy growth of Scedosporium apiospermum was cultured from the mass.

DIAGNOSIS: Chronic rhinitis of the right nasal cavity and infection with S. apiospermum.

CLINICAL RELEVANCE: This is the first reported case of S. apiospermum isolated from the nasal cavity of a dog in New Zealand. Fungal culture is necessary to differentiate this fungus from Aspergillus spp.     

Pancreatic cyst in a cat

CASE HISTORY: A 5-year-old neutered male Cornish Rex cat was presented for evaluation with a history of vomiting over the previous 5 days.

CLINICAL FINDINGS: An abdominal mass was palpated, which was shown to be cystic by ultrasound examination. Exploratory surgery revealed this to be associated with the pancreas and it was duly resected. Histopathology was performed on the cystic mass.

DIAGNOSIS: Pancreatic cyst with associated chronic active infl ammation.

CLINICAL RELEVANCE: This is the first report of a true pancreatic cyst in a cat.