Clinical papers

In a commercial swine herd a rise was noted during the summer of 1981 in the number of repeat breeders, mostly four to eight weeks after serving. During the autumn there was a decrease in the litter size at birth and an increase in the number of stillborn and mummified piglets. Several gilts and sows showed a seroconversion against Porcine Parvovirus (PPV), determined by the Haemagglutination Inhibition lest (HI‐test). Characteristic pathological findings were seen in some maturely stillborn and neonatally deceased piglets (up to an age of 28 days); hepatic congestion and necrosis, accummulation of fluid in body cavities, myocarditis, and encephalitis were the most Prominent features. Serological tests for antibodies in blood samples of one sow and body fluids of two stillborn piglets were suggestive of Porcine Parvovirus as the aetiological agent.     

Pulmonary function,airway cytology and bronchoalveolar lavage fluid drug concentration after aerosol administration of cefquinome to horses

The administration of antibiotics by aerosol to horses suffering from respiratory infections may partially circumvent the limitations of antimicrobial therapy, e.g. large injection volumes, low bioavailability and risk of diarrhoea. Only injectable formulations are available currently and usually contain other substances that could irritate the mucosa and induce coughing and bronchospasm. In addition, the quality of the aerosol, particularly in terms of the delivery of antibiotics to the deep parts of the lung, is unknown. Although used under field conditions, cefquinome delivered by aerosol has never been studied in horses. This study examined the safety of cefquinome injectable solution, administered by aerosol at a dose of 225 mg/inhalation to 7 healthy horses, by assessing (1) pulmonary function before and 15 min after a single inhalation, at the first day (Day 1) and the fifth day (Day 5) of a 5 day period treatment; and (2) the inflammatory status of the lung, i.e. percentage neutrophils and myeloperoxidase concentration, based on bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) at D1 and D5. In addition, cefquinome concentrations were measured in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid after aerosol, intravenous (i.v.) and intramuscular (i.m.) administrations. A single aerosol of cefquinome injectable solution did not induce any immediate nor delayed pulmonary side effects in healthy horses and produced cefquinome concentrations in bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) within 30 min that were higher than the minimal inhibitory concentration of the main equine respiratory pathogens. These results should stimulate further studies, especially in horses suffering from bronchial hyper‐reactivity. Aerosol delivery of antibiotics may well have a role in equine therapeutics.     

Fish antibiotherapy: bioencapsulation of flumequine using adult brine shrimp (Artemia salina)

Optimization of antibiotic delivery strategies to aquatic environment and to the specific characteristics of the target species is essential for the improvement of bacterial infection control measures. This work aimed at standardizing the use of Artemia salina to deliver flumequine to fish as antimicrobial treatment. Adult Artemia were used to bioencapsulate flumequine. A flumequine concentration of 358 μg mL⁻¹ was found adequate to perform bioencapsulation during 24 h without causing mortality. Antibiotic concentration in Artemia, quantified by means of a microbiological assay based on MIC determination, using Escherichia coli ATCC 25922 as control strain was 256.55 mg g⁻¹ (±71.22). The therapeutic doses of 10 mg kg⁻¹ BW, calculated on the basis of a consumption of about 4% BW/day, would then be delivered by the consumption of 7.8 Artemia g⁻¹ of fish.