The body condition score (BCS) is insufficient in determining the amount of body fat in horses, thus defining obesity. Measurement of the subcutaneous fat thickness (SFT) by ultrasonography should be considered as an appropriate method in the definition of fat distribution at different body locations in horses. Therefore, this study aimed to 1) characterize the SFT in three different anatomical locations (i.e. neck, lumbar region, and gluteal region); 2) evaluate the relationship between BCS and SFT; 3) determine the influence of gender, weight, age, and gait on BCS and SFT measurements, and 4) explore the agreement between the morphometric measurements [i.e. body mass index (BMI), girth circumference: height at withers ratio (GC: HW), neck circumference: height at withers ratio (NC: HW)], and BCS and SFT in a population of Colombian Paso Horses (CPHs). The Henneke’s body condition scoring was applied to 69 adult CPHs, selected using a convenience sampling. Additionally, BMI, GC: HW, and NC: HW were calculated. Body fat percentage (BF%) was calculated by ultrasound measurement of the SFT in the neck, lumbar region, and gluteal region. The BF% in the CPHs was 6.4 ± 1.1. The GC: HW, NC: HW, and BMI were not predictors of the BF% or BCS, and neither gender nor gait was decisive in the definition of fattening in the study animals, although age and weight were determining variables. According to our results, ultrasound is an adequate tool to calculate the BF% of the CPHs. However, it must be accompanied by Henneke’s BCS assessment.

Editorial for the special Donkeys and Mules

Sporotrichosis is a dermatozoonosis, caused by dimorphic pathogenic fungi of the genus Sporothrix. Although Sporothrix brasiliensis is the most frequent and pathogenic species identified from the Brazilian sporotrichosis hyperendemic, to the best of our knowledge this is the first report of its molecular diagnosis from a cat with ocular lesions. A 3-month old female, domestic feline presented an ocular manifestation with granuloma in the lower-left palpebral conjunctiva, in addition to mucocutaneous lesions in varied locations throughout the body. Samples were collected for subsequent cytopathology, fungal culture, serology, and molecular genotyping. Itraconazole was prescribed for the treatment of sporotrichosis and the animal was considered clinically cured at the end of 5 months of treatment and discharged. S. brasiliensis cat interactions can manifest with a multitude of clinical forms that resemble either infectious or noninfectious diseases. Both the need for meticulous cat physical evaluation by a veterinarian followed by accurate laboratory diagnosis are key Public Health measures in the Brazilian sporotrichosis hyperendemic area.

Feline calicivirus is among the most common pathogenic microorganisms in upper respiratory tract disease (URTD) and oral lesions of cats. It leads to stomatitis, oral ulceration, ocular and nasal discharge, conjunctivitis, fever, lameness, anorexia, hypersalivation, pneumonia, respiratory distress, coughing, and depression in infected cats. This study aimed to determine the role of Feline calicivirus (FCV) in cats with the upper respiratory tract disease in the Diyarbakir region, Turkey, to provide treatment for infected cats and contribute to the disease prophylaxis. The study material consisted of 10 cats (control group) considered to be healthy according to the clinical examination and 20 cats with URTD that were not vaccinated against Feline calicivirus infection of different breeds, ages, and genders brought to Dicle University Veterinary Faculty Prof. Dr. Servet SEKIN Polyclinic with URTD. After routine clinical examinations of the animals, oral and conjunctival swabs and blood samples were taken. Hematological and biochemical analyzes of blood samples were performed. Swab samples were analyzed by the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) method for the diagnosis of the agent. Oral lesions, hypersalivation, ocular and nasal discharge, coughing, and breathing difficulties were seen in clinical examinations of cats with URTD. Feline calicivirus was detected in only one cat's conjunctival swab sample in PCR analyses. As a result, we found that Feline calicivirus infection was present in cats with URTD in the Diyarbakir region, and 5% positivity was found in cats with clinical symptoms according to PCR analysis.

Many complicated bone fractures can be healed by different techniques including linear external fixation. New generation linear external fixators enhanced the scope of application for bone fractures by mechanical progress. Difficulties include implementing enough pins through fixation clamps to the comminuted fragments or clamp addition and fixing it properly to the rod with the correct pin insertion angle. Effective configurations may not always result. This study sought to reveal the clinical efficiency of modified clamps of a versatile external fixator (VEF) to fix different types of fractures and orthopedic problems according to the radiographic and clinical results. We used this fixator on 17 cats and 17 dogs of different ages and sizes, having different types of antebrachium, humerus, tibia, ulna fractures, and bone-muscle deformities. Clamps had different features to connect fixator pins. Many fixator configurations were created according to the fracture type and body weight of the animals. The most used ones were unilateral and bilateral configurations. The callus formation and visual gait analysis were observed after the operations, until the removal of the fixator. After fixator removal, the visual gait status of the limbs was excellent in 67% of the cases, good in 15%, fair in 12%, and poor in 6%. We found that rods and fixator pins were connected easily by semi-locked clamps. Also, the double pin holding clamps saved space on the fixation rod by the application of two pins through one clamp. We think that clamps of versatile external fixators can easily be constructed to limb fractures and save time during surgery.

Livestock rabies is endemic in Peru. Hence, its persistence and annual dissemination represent an important economic impact, especially for impoverished farming communities. The disease is mostly transmitted by the hematophagous bat Desmodus rotundus. The present study aimed to adapt an existing predictive model of the occurrence of livestock rabies to Peru, in which the risk of rabies transmission from bats to livestock was estimated using decision-tree models of receptivity and vulnerability. Official rabies surveillance data between 2010 and 2015 were used along with possible risk factors, such as livestock biomass, environmental changes, and geomorphological characteristics. Several scenarios were established to evaluate the prediction of the occurrence of livestock rabies cases by determining more than one cut-off point of the receptivity variables. During the study period, the precision of the model was estimated through the sensitivity (39.46%) and specificity (98.64%) by using confusion matrices. Targeting control efforts, especially in districts with a high estimated risk, could represent the prevention of a significant proportion of livestock rabies cases, which would optimize the human and economic resources of the Peruvian surveillance service. However, the quality of data produced by the surveillance should be improved not only to obtain higher model precision but also to allow the adequate planning of control actions.

Growing demand for ejiao – gelatin produced from donkey skin and used in Traditional Chinese Medicine – is putting global donkey populations at risk and threatening the livelihoods of millions of people that depend on them in lower and middle-income countries. Hundreds of thousands of donkeys are slaughtered for their skins and exported annually, mostly from Africa to China. However, the trade is spreading across the globe, including Brazil. This article highlights the appalling welfare conditions for donkeys caught up in both the legal and illegal trade, as well as the effects on vulnerable people and the potential for disease spread and hazards to human health.

Vehicle-animal collisions represent a serious problem in roadway infrastructure. To avoid these roadway collisions, different mitigation systems have been applied in various regions of the world. In this article, a system for detecting animals on highways is presented using computer vision and machine learning algorithms. The models were trained to classify two groups of animals: capybaras and donkeys. Two variants of the convolutional neural network called Yolo (You only look once) were used, Yolov4 and Yolov4-tiny (a lighter version of the network). The training was carried out using pre-trained models. Detection tests were performed on 147 images. The accuracy results obtained were 84.87% and 79.87% for Yolov4 and Yolov4-tiny, respectively. The proposed system has the potential to improve road safety by reducing or preventing accidents with animals.

A piometra apresenta diversas alterações imunológicas e moleculares que são responsáveis pela inflamação uterina, e a doença pode ser infecciosa ou não. O objetivo deste estudo foi isolar e identificar bactérias no conteúdo uterino de cadelas com piometra, analisar o perfil de suscetibilidade aos antibióticos, detectar a produção de enzimas β-lactamase por testes fenotípicos e genes de resistência aos β-lactâmicos. Dezoito amostras de conteúdo uterino foram coletadas por punção aspirativa. As amostras foram inoculadas em meio bacteriológico e identificadas por testes bioquímicos. Posteriormente, foram realizados testes de antibiograma, triagem para detecção de β-lactamases e PCR em tempo real para detecção de genes de resistência. Escherichia coli, Klebsiella spp., Enterobacter aerogenes, Citrobacter spp., Staphylococcus spp. e Streptococcus spp. foram identificados nas amostras de conteúdo uterino analisadas. No teste de antibiograma, 90,5% dos isolados apresentaram resistência a pelo menos um antibiótico, e destes, 36,8% foram considerados MR, sendo três Staphylococcus spp., três E. coli e uma Klebsiella spp. Sobre a resistência bacteriana aos grupos de antibióticos testados, 38,1% dos isolados foram resistentes a pelo menos um tipo de β-lactâmico, 33,3% à tetraciclina, 19,0% aos aminoglicosídeos e 14,3% às fluorquinolonas, macrolídeos e trimetoprim-sulfametoxazol. No teste fenotípico para detecção da produção de β-lactamase, as amostras de E. coli foram negativas, e Klebsiella spp. foi positiva para a produção de AmpC, que apresentou os genes blaCMY, blaSPM e blaSIM. As bactérias resistentes aos antibióticos representam um grande desafio e, portanto, o suporte laboratorial é essencial, sem o qual o sucesso terapêutico diminui e a morte pode ser inevitável.

The donkey population has increased in the last 10 years, with an estimated 50 million donkeys currently worldwide. Donkey welfare, meanwhile, is an increasing global concern that receives close public scrutiny. However, multiple challenges are surrounding how donkey welfare is assessed and recorded. The Animal Welfare Indicators (AWIN) project is the first project, funded by the European Commission, intended to improve donkey welfare by developing a scientifically sound and practical on-farm welfare assessment protocol. The present study describes the procedure for the development of the AWIN welfare assessment protocol for donkeys: 1) selection of promising welfare indicators; 2) research to cover gaps in knowledge; 3) stakeholder consultation; 4) testing the prototype protocol on-farm. The proposed two-level strategy improved on-farm feasibility, while the AWIN donkey app enables the standardized collection of data with prompt results. Although limitations are linked with a relatively small reference population, the AWIN welfare assessment protocol represents the first scientific and standardized approach to evaluate donkey welfare on-farm.