Dogs exhibit patterns of health issues that vary by life stage. An understanding of disease incidence with respect to breed and age/life stage could be an important component of canine health management and welfare. This study aimed to describe the age-specific disease incidence of 3 small dog breeds that attended veterinary clinics in the Republic of Korea, based on data from electronic veterinary medical records (EVMRs). A total of 40,785 EVMRs from Maltese (n = 21,355), Miniature Poodle (n = 11,658) and Shih Tzu dogs (n = 7,772) were analyzed. Common health problems in 3 small dog breeds were ‘diseases of the skin’ and ‘diseases of the ear,’ respectively. Among dogs aged ≤ 3 years, ‘preventive medicine’ was the most common cause cited for veterinary clinic visits. Among dogs aged 4 to 8 years, the most frequent health problems were ‘diseases of the skin.’ Among dogs aged 9 to 13 years, ‘heart diseases,’ ‘kidney diseases,’ ‘mammary gland tumor,’ and ‘neoplasia (unspecified)’ were considerably more frequent, compared to the rates in dogs ≤3 years. Among dogs aged ≥ 14 years, ‘heart diseases’ and ‘sneezing/cough’ were the main health problems. In all breeds, the frequencies of ‘diseases of circulatory system,’ ‘diseases of respiratory system,’ ‘diseases of the nervous system,’ ‘endocrine’ and ‘neoplasia’ increased rapidly with aging. This surveillance could inform strategies for disease screening tests and management based on life stage in these dog breeds and enable more effective health management.

Avian influenza viruses (AIV) have been isolated from a wide range of domestic and wild birds. Wild birds, predominantly ducks, geese and gulls form the reservoir of AIV in nature. The viruses in wild bird populations are a potential source of widespread infections in poultry. Active surveillance for AIV infection provides information regarding AIV distribution, and global AIV surveillance can play a key role in the early recognition of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI). Since 2003 in Korea, there have been four H5N1 HPAI outbreaks caused by clade 2.5, 2.2 and 2.3.2. Therefore, improvement of AIV surveillance strategy is required to detect HPAI viruses effectively. This article deals with the major events establishing the role of wild birds in the natural history of influenza in Korea. We highlighted the need for continuous surveillance in wild birds and characterization of these viruses to understand AIV epidemiology and host ecology in Korea.

This study evaluated the epizootiological characteristics of equine coital exanthema (ECE) in South Korea. A PCR test was used to determine the equine herpesvirus 3 (EHV-3) release period, excretion by suckling foals, morbidity rate, effect on fertility, and onset of breeding partner after treatment. The morbidity rate of ECE based on clinical symptoms was 8.3% (2/24) for stallions and 10.8% (45/416) for mares, and 29 of 45 (64.4%) animals were positive on the PCR test. Ten (22%) broodmares had symptoms before breeding, while 26 (58%) had symptoms after breeding. Nine (20%) mares had uncertain coverage periods and occurrence times. Suckling foals had no clinical findings and EHV-3 was not detected in their nostrils, although it was detected on teasers. No lesions were observed in the clitoral fossa on broodmares, although EHV-3 was detected by PCR. The period of EHV-3 emission was 22~23, 18~19, 6, and 58 days in stallions, broodmares, teasers, and mares with a mixed E. coli-like infection, respectively. ECE had no negative effects on the breeding capability of stallions and no symptoms were observed in broodmares after recovering from ECE.

In March 2003, classical swine fever (CSF) infection was reported in a piggery located at Iksan city, Jeollabuk-do in Korea. Subsequently, a total of 72 infected farms were confirmed between March and December, 2003. Based on epidemiological investigation of the earlier confirmed infected farms, the source of infection was shown to be from a breeding farm. Targeted surveillance of 82 piggeries that had acquired pigs from this breeding farm showed 44 piggeries were infected with CSF virus.

This paper describes the epidemiological characteristics of bovine brucellosis in Korea during January 2000~September 2004, which encompasses the period when the incidence of bovine brucellosis increased abruptly. Data from the National Animal Infectious Disease Data Management System were used for this study. A range of epidemiological measures was calculated including annual herd and animal incidence. During the study period, there were 1,183 outbreaks on 638 farms. In beef cattle, annual herd incidence increased from 0.2 (2000) to 11.5 (2004, to September) outbreaks per 10,000 and annual animal incidence varied between 3.4 (2000) and 105.8 (2004, to September) per 100,000, respectively. On 401 (62.9%) infected farms during this period, infection was eradicated without recurrence. Recurrence of infection was significantly higher on farms where abortion was reported (53.3%), compared to farms where it was not (30.0%). On beef cattle farms, infection was introduced most frequently through purchased cattle (46.2%). Based on the results of this study, the establishment and spread of brucellosis in the Korean beef cattle population were mainly due to incomplete or inappropriate treatment of aborted materials and the movement of infected cattle.

To identify risk factors of canine distemper, which is one of the most important disease of dogs in Korea, a case-control study was performed with 2,507 cases and 4,121 controls from 630 veterinary clinics throughout Korea. In multivariate logistic regression models, the sampling period (Mars and April) and the age of the dogs (7-12 months old) were associated with an increased risk of canine distemper. Sex, body size and residential region showed no significant relationship.

Porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome (PRRS) is the most economically important viral infectious disease in pig populations worldwide. This study was conducted to better understand the epidemic and dynamics of PRRS virus (PRRSV) on each farm and to evaluate the risk of PRRSV infection in Korea. Interviews with pig farmers were carried out to obtain PRRS vaccination programmes in 60 pig farms throughout Korea. Blood samples were also collected from the 59 pig farms to investigate outbreak patterns of each farm. Vaccination against PRRS was performed in 16.7% farms for breeding pigs and 8.3% of farm for nursery pigs. According to the seroepidemiological analysis, 56 (94.9%) out of 59 farms were considered to be affected by PRRSV infection. The results revealed that 68.9% of sows tested were seroconverted and interestingly, gilt herds had the highest seropositive rate (73%), suggesting that gilts may play a key role in PRRSV transmission in sow herds. Among the PRRS-affected piglet herds, 33 (55.9%), 14 (23.7%) and 6 (10.2%) farms were initially infected with PRRSV during the weaning, suckling and nursery period, respectively. It seems likely, therefore, that PRRSV infection predominantly occurs around the weaning period in piglet herds. Based on antibody seroprevalence levels in both sow and piglet groups, we were able to classify patterns of PRRSV infection per farm unit into 4 categories; category 1 (stable sow groups and non-infected piglet groups), category 2 (unstable sow groups and non-infected piglet groups), category 3 (stable sow groups and infected piglet groups), and category 4 (unstable sow groups and infected piglet groups). Our data suggested that 43 (72.9%) farms were analysed to belong to category 4, which is considered to be at high-risk for PRRS outbreak. Taken together, our information from this study will provide insight into the establishment of an effective control strategy for PRRS on the field.

This paper described the epidemiological characteristics of 2002 outbreak of classical swine fever (CSF) in Korea. A total of thirteen CSF-infected farms could be classified into two clusters according to the location and time of outbreak. Two farms located in the same county of Gangwon province and 11 farms located in several different districts of Incheon metropolitan/Gyeonggi province were identified as CSF-infected from April 16 to 30 and from October 7 to December 21 in December 21 in 2002, respectively.

Fifteen dogs with superficial pyoderma were investigated clinically. Dermatological signs were mainly consisted of papule (66.6%), pustule (86.6%), epidermal collrarette and patchy (40%), and hyperpigmentation (53.3%). Distribution of skin lesion were consisted of back (35.5%), abdomen (29.0%), axillary (6.4%), leg (3.2%), neck (3.6%) and foot (16.1%), respectively. In pustular cytology PMN cells and cocci were examined. Cephalexin was very effective antibiotics on superficial pyoderma at administration of 30mg/kg bid P.O.for 3 weeks. Hyperadrenocorticism and atopy were diagnosed as a primary cause on pyoderma in 2 dogs.