Snake bites recorded by veterinary practices in Australia

Objective To determine the extent of the snake bite problem in domestic animals, its regional significance and the effects of antivenom treatment.
Design A questionnaire was designed seeking information on the number and type of domestic animals referred, whether treated or untreated, type of snakes and management of the bite.
Procedure The survey form was sent to 10% of veterinary surgeons, selected at random throughout Australia.
Results The response of 106 veterinary surgeons revealed that snake bite in domestic animals is frequent, with an estimated 6200 cases reported annually. Bites were more prominent in rural (78%) than urban areas (22%) with brown, tiger and black snakes accounting for 76%, 13% and 6% of cases, respectively. Cats and dogs were the most frequently reported victims. Ninety-one percent of cats and 75% of dogs survived following the administration of antivenom whereas 66% of cats and 31% of dogs survived without antivenom. Overall, in 33% of cases antivenom was not used, and venom detection kits were used in only 1% of cases. A number of drugs were used in various combinations with or without antivenom and intravenous fluids in the treatment of animals with snake bite, but their role in reducing the severity of envenomations was not assessed.
Clinical implications Antivenom significantly improves the chances of survival of domestic animals bitten by snakes.     

Sward structure management for a maximum short‐term intake rate in annual ryegrass

This study tested the hypothesis that different sward structures, which were constructed by varying the pre‐ and post‐grazing sward heights of annual ryegrass pasture (Lolium multiflorum Lam.) in southern Brazil, affect the short‐term intake rate (STIR) by dairy cows. Treatments consisted of four sward‐management strategies defined by a combination of two pre‐ (25 and 15 cm) and two post‐grazing sward heights (10 and 5 cm): 15‐05, 15‐10, 25‐05 and 25‐10. A completely randomized block design with four replicates was used for the experimental design. The STIR was determined by the double‐weighing technique. Jaw movements were evaluated using automatic recorders (IGER Behaviour Recorder). The results showed that treatment 25‐10 allowed the animals to collect more herbage with a greater bite mass and thus resulted in a greater STIR. Treatments in which sward height was reduced to 10 cm generally favoured the ingestion process than treatments with a post‐grazing sward height of 5 cm.     

犬间咬伤治疗及纠纷处理回顾

通过对犬间咬伤病例及纠纷处理情况进行回顾,发现采取紧急干预,及时治疗,依法调解等措施,对犬只预后及畜主间纠纷处理有十分重要的意义。     

Rat bite fever

Rat bite fever (RBF) is a bacterial zoonosis for which two causal bacterial species have been identified: Streptobacillis moniliformis and Spirillum minus. Haverhill fever (HF) is a form of S. moniliformis infection believed to develop after ingestion of contaminated food or water.