Objective: To evaluate fecal calprotectin concentrations in healthy dogs and dogs with chronic diarrhea, to identify cutoff values for fecal calprotectin concentrations for use in differentiating dogs with chronic diarrhea and a canine chronic enteropathy clinical activity index (CCECAI) < 12 from dogs with chronic diarrhea and a CCECAI ≥ 12, and to evaluate the association between histologic evidence of intestinal mucosal changes and fecal calprotectin concentrations in dogs with chronic diarrhea. Sample: Fecal samples from 96 adult dogs (27 dogs with chronic diarrhea and 69 healthy control dogs). Procedures: Severity of clinical signs was evaluated on the basis of the CCECAI scoring system. Endoscopy was performed in all dogs with chronic diarrhea, and mucosal biopsy specimens were evaluated histologically. Fecal calprotectin concentration was quantified via radioimmunoassay. Results: Fecal calprotectin concentrations were significantly higher in dogs with chronic diarrhea than in healthy control dogs. Fecal calprotectin concentrations were also significantly higher in dogs with a CCECAI ≥ 12, compared with concentrations for dogs with a CCECAI between 4 and 11. Fecal calprotectin concentrations were significantly higher in dogs with chronic diarrhea associated with histologic lesions, compared with concentrations in control dogs, and were significantly correlated with the severity of histologic intestinal lesions. Among dogs with chronic diarrhea, the best cutoff fecal calprotectin concentration for predicting a CCECAI ≥ 12 was 48.9 μg/g (sensitivity, 53.3%; specificity, 91.7%). Conclusions and Clinical Relevance: Fecal calprotectin may be a useful biomarker in dogs with chronic diarrhea, especially dogs with histologic lesions.

Objective-To evaluate the antinociceptive and sedative effects and duration of action of hydromorphone hydrochloride after IM administration to American kestrels (Falco sparverius). Animals-11 healthy 2-year-old American kestrels. Procedures-Hydromorphone (0.1, 0.3, and 0.6 mg/kg) and an equivalent volume of saline (0.9% NaCl) solution (control treatment) were administered IM to kestrels in a masked randomized complete crossover study design. Foot withdrawal response to a thermal stimulus was determined 30 to 60 minutes before (baseline) and 0.5, 1.5, 3, and 6 hours after treatment administration. Agitation-sedation scores were determined 3 to 5 minutes before each thermal test. Results-Hydromorphone at 0.6 mg/kg, IM, significantly increased the thermal foot withdrawal threshold, compared with the response after administration of saline solution, for up to 3 hours, and hydromorphone at 0.1, 0.3, and 0.6 mg/kg, IM, significantly increased withdrawal responses for up to 6 hours, compared with baseline values. No significant differences in mean sedation-agitation scores were detected between hydromorphone and saline solution treatments; however, appreciable sedation was detected in 4 birds when administered 0.6 mg of hydromorphone/kg. Conclusions and Clinical Relevance-Hydromorphone at the doses evaluated significantly increased the thermal nociception threshold for American kestrels for 3 to 6 hours. Additional studies with other types of stimulation, formulations, dosages, routes of administration, and testing times are needed to fully evaluate the analgesic and adverse effects of hydromorphone in kestrels and other avian species and the use of hydromorphone in clinical settings.

Objective: To evaluate the effectiveness of reduction of inspired oxygen fraction (Fio2) or application of positive end-expiratory pressure (PEEP) after an alveolar recruitment maneuver (ARM) in minimizing anesthesia-induced atelectasis in dogs. Animals: 30 healthy female dogs. Procedures: During anesthesia and neuromuscular blockade, dogs were mechanically ventilated under baseline conditions (tidal volume, 12 mL/kg; inspiratory-to-expiratory ratio, 1:2; Fio2, 1; and zero end-expiratory pressure [ZEEP]). After 40 minutes, lungs were inflated (airway pressure, 40 cm H2O) for 20 seconds. Dogs were then exposed to baseline conditions (ZEEP100 group), baseline conditions with Fio2 reduced to 0.4 (ZEEP40 group), or baseline conditions with PEEP at 5 cm H2O (PEEP100 group; 10 dogs/group). For each dog, arterial blood gas variables and respiratory system mechanics were evaluated and CT scans of the thorax were obtained before and at 5 (T5) and 30 (T30) minutes after the ARM. Results: Compared with pre-ARM findings, atelectasis decreased and Pao2:Fio2 ratio increased at T5 in all groups. At T30, atelectasis and oxygenation returned to pre-ARM findings in the ZEEP100 group but remained similar to T5 findings in the other groups. At T5 and T30, lung static compliance in the PEEP100 group was higher than values in the other groups. Conclusions and Clinical Relevance: Application of airway pressure of 40 cm H2O for 20 seconds followed by Fio2 reduction to 0.4 or ventilation with PEEP (5 cm H2O) was effective in diminishing anesthesia-induced atelectasis and maintaining lung function in dogs, compared with the effects of mechanical ventilation providing an Fio2 of 1.

Objective: To determine the feasibility of quantitative contrast-enhanced ultrasonography (CEUS) for detection of changes in renal blood flow in dogs before and after hydrocortisone administration. Animals: 11 Beagles. Procedure: Dogs were randomly assigned to 2 treatment groups: oral administration of hydrocortisone (9.6 mg/kg; n = 6) or a placebo (5; control group) twice a day for 4 months, after which the dose was tapered until treatment cessation at 6 months. Before treatment began and at 1, 4, and 6 months after, CEUS of the left kidney was performed by IV injection of ultrasonography microbubbles. Images were digitized, and time-intensity curves were generated from regions of interest in the renal cortex and medulla. Changes in blood flow were determined as measured via contrast agent (baseline [background] intensity, peak ntensity, area under the curve, arrival time of contrast agent, time-to-peak intensity, and speed of contrast agent transport). Results: Significant increases in peak intensity, compared with that in control dogs, were observed in the renal cortex and medulla of hydrocortisone-treated dogs 1 and 4 months after treatment began. Baseline intensity changed similarly. A significant increase from control values was also apparent in area under the curve for the renal cortex 4 months after hydrocortisone treatment began and in the renal medulla 1 and 4 months after treatment began. A significant time effect with typical time course was observed, corresponding with the period during which hydrocortisone was administered. No difference was evident in the other variables between treated and control dogs. Conclusions and Clinical Relevance: Quantitative CEUS allowed detection of differences in certain markers of renal blood flow between dogs treated orally with and without hydrocortisone. Additional studies are needed to investigate the usefulness of quantitative CEUS in the diagnosis of diffuse renal lesions.

This study evaluated the influence of temperature and organic load on the effectiveness of domestic bleach (DB), Surface Decontamination Foam (SDF), and Virkon in inactivating Geobacillus stearothermophilus spores, which are a surrogate for Bacillus anthracis spores. The spores were suspended in light or heavy organic preparations and the suspension was applied to stainless steel carrier disks. The dried spore inoculum was covered with the disinfectants and the disks were then incubated at various temperatures. At −20°C, the 3 disinfectants caused less than a 2.0 log10 reduction of spores in both organic preparations during a 24-h test period. At 4°C, the DB caused a 4.4 log10 reduction of spores in light organic preparations within 2 h, which was about 3 log10 higher than what was achieved with SDF or Virkon. In heavy organic preparations, after 24 h at 4°C the SDF had reduced the spore count by 4.5 log10, which was about 2 log10 higher than for DB or Virkon. In general, the disinfectants were most effective at 23°C but a 24-h contact time was required for SDF and Virkon to reduce spore counts in both organic preparations by at least 5.5 log10. Comparable disinfecting activity with DB only occurred with the light organic load. In summary, at temperatures as low as 4°C, DB was the most effective disinfectant, inactivating spores within 2 h on surfaces with a light organic candload, whereas SDF produced the greatest reduction of spores within 24 h on surfaces with a heavy organic load.

Objective-To determine kinematic changes to the hoof of horses at a walk after induction of unilateral, weight-bearing forelimb lameness and to determine whether hoof kinematics return to prelameness (baseline) values after perineural anesthesia. Animals-6 clinically normal Quarter Horses. Procedures-For each horse, a sole-pressure model was used to induce 3 grades of lameness in the right forelimb, after which perineural anesthesia was administered to eliminate lameness. Optical kinematics were obtained for both forelimbs with the horse walking before (baseline) and after induction of each grade of lameness and after perineural anesthesia. Linear acceleration profiles were used to identify hoof events, and each stride was divided into hoof-contact, break-over, initial-swing, terminal-swing, and total-swing segments. Kinematic variables were compared within and between limbs for each segment by use of mixed repeated-measures ANOVA. Results-During the hoof-contact and terminal-swing segments, the hoof of the left (nonlame) forelimb had greater sagittal-plane orientation than did the hoof of the right (lame) forelimb. For the lame limb following lameness induction, the break-over duration and maximum cranial acceleration were increased from baseline. After perineural anesthesia, break-over duration for the lame limb returned to a value similar to that at baseline, and orientation of the hoof during the terminal-swing segment did not differ between the lame and nonlame limbs. Conclusions and Clinical Relevance-Subclinical unilateral forelimb lameness resulted in significant alterations to hoof kinematics in horses that are walking, and the use of hoof kinematics may be beneficial for the detection of subclinical lameness in horses.

Several outbreaks of Rift Valley fever (RVF) have been documented in South Africa since it first occurred in the country in 1950. However, there is no comprehensive account of the timing, location and extent of all known outbreaks. As part of a study investigating the epidemiology of RVF in South Africa, a full history of outbreaks was compiled using references to the disease in South Africa from scientific literature, annual reports, disease reports and animal disease databases. The geographic location and temporal occurrence of each outbreak were recorded as accurately as allowed by the available records. The result was a better and more complete picture than has hitherto been available of the spatial and temporal distribution of RVF in South Africa for the period between 1950 and 2011. Several smaller outbreaks which had not been described previously in literature were documented. Extensive outbreaks occurred in the central interior of the country (Free State, Eastern Cape and Northern Cape provinces), interspersed with smaller outbreaks or long intervening periods of absence, whilst smaller outbreaks occurred in the eastern part of the country (KwaZulu-Natal, Mpumalanga and Gauteng).

Cestodes are parasitic flatworms that live in the digestive tract of vertebrates as adults and often in the liver, muscle, haemocoel, mesentery and brain of various animals as larval stages. To identify the cestodes infecting Clarias gariepinus Burchell, 1822 (sharptooth catfish) in the Vaal Dam, a total of 45 host specimens were collected with the aid of gill nets between October 2011, January and April 2012. The fish were sacrificed and examined for cestode parasites. Two adult cestodes, Tetracampos ciliotheca Wedl, 1861 (prevalence 86.7%, mean intensity = 15, n = 45) and Proteocephalus glanduligerus (Janicki, 1928) (prevalence 51.1%, mean intensity = 5, n = 45) were found in the intestines of the catfish. Both T. ciliotheca and P. glanduligerus are new locality records. There were statistically insignificant differences in the infection of the male and female C. gariepinu. Fish with standard length ranging from 40 cm - 54 cm (>3 years) had the highest prevalence and mean intensity while those ranging from 10 cm - 24 cm (< 1 year) had the lowest prevalence and mean intensity for both cestodes. The study highlights the importance of changing feeding habits of C. gariepinus with age on the prevalence and mean intensity of the two gastrointestinal cestode parasites.

Several lyssavirus species occur in Africa (Rabies virus, Lagos bat virus, Mokola virus, Duvenhage virus, Shimoni bat virus and Ikoma lyssavirus), displaying a high sequence diversity between isolates belonging to the same species. There is limited information about comparative pathogenesis of these African lyssaviruses and this precludes authoritative opinion on the potential public and veterinary health impact. In this study, an analysis of representative African lyssaviruses attempted to correlate viral genomic sequence similarities and differences with the corresponding pathogenic profiles observed in mice. The study demonstrated that the virus isolates evaluated could be lethal to mice when introduced intramuscularly and that different isolates of the same lyssavirus species differ in their virulence. Using real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR), viral RNA was detected in brain tissue, but no viral RNA was detected in the salivary glands or blood of mice that succumbed to infection. Comparison of known pathogenic domains indicated that pathogenicity is likely to be dependent on multiple domains. Cumulatively, our results re-emphasised the realisation that the pathogenicity of a lyssavirus species cannot be deduced based on studies of only a single isolate of the species or a single pathogenic domain.

A cross-sectional study was conducted to determine the prevalence of sub-clinical and clinical mastitis and the associated factors in cows from selected smallholder dairy farms in Zimbabwe. Physical examinations were conducted on all lactating cows for evidence of signs of clinical mastitis. Composite milk samples were collected from all lactating cows for bacterial culture and somatic cell counting. Cows were categorised as clinical if they exhibited clinical features of mastitis, or sub-clinical if no apparent signs were present but they had a positive bacterial isolation and a somatic cell count of at least 300 x 10³ cells/mL. Farm-level factors were obtained through a structured questionnaire. The association of mastitis and animal-and herd-level factors were analysed using logistic regression. A total of 584 animals from 73 farms were tested. Overall, 21.1% (123/584) had mastitis, 16.3% (95/584) had sub-clinical mastitis and 4.8% (28/584) had clinical mastitis. Herd-level prevalence was 49.3%. Coagulase-negative staphylococci (27.6%), Escherichia coli (25.2%), Staphylococcus aureus (16.3%), Klebsiella spp. (15.5%) and Streptococcus spp. (1.6%) were the most common isolates. In individual cows, pure dairy herds (OR = 6.3) and dairy crosses (OR = 3.1) were more likely to have mastitis compared to Mashona cows. Farms that used pre-milking teat dipping were I: associated with reduced mastitis prevalence. Further research is needed on the prevalence of mastitis and a comparison of data for both smallholder and commercial dairy farms in all regions of Zimbabwe should be undertaken.