Torque teno virus (TTV), a species of Anellovirus, is a non-enveloped single stranded DNA virus with a wide range of animal hosts. The incidence of TTV is quite ubiquitous throughout the world. A total of 235 serum samples obtained from 137 pigs and 98 cattle at slaughterhouses in Korea during April 2005 to May 2005 were tested by TTV-specific PCR as to monitor prevalence of TTV among swine and cattle. As a result, the prevalent rates of TTVs in pigs and cattle were 43.1% and 4.1%, respectively. It seems that TTV infection is quite prevalent in swine population.

A Persian chinchila (2 years old, intact female) and a Korean domestic shorthaired cat (3 months, intact male) were referred to the Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital of Chungnam National University with tachypnea. The two cats were diagnosed as feline infectious peritonitis (FIP) by blood and blood chemical examination, radiographic examination, RT-PCR and electrophoresis analysis of pleural effusion. Thromboxane synthetase inhibitor (Ozagrel HCl, 5 mg/kg, twice a day) was administered to the Persian chinchila and Korean domestic shorthair for 13 days and 16 days, respectively. Pleural effusion disappeared after treatment with Ozagrel HCl. Further study is needed to establish a new application protocol of Ozagrel HCl for FIP cases.

Bacterial contamination is an unavoidable finding of the semen collection process in boar and can lead in deleterious effects on semen quality and longevity if left uncontrolled. The purpose of this study is to identify the bacteria in extended boar semen and to select the effective antimicrobials to control of the contaminants. Of 116 extended boar semen samples submitted from eight AI centers in Korea, 39 (33.6%) samples were positive for bacterial contamination. Among 39 contaminated semen, most of them (84.6%) were contaminated with one or two bacterial species and there was no significant difference between two age groups (less-than or equal to 24 and greater than 24 month old). Stenotrophomonas maltophilia (n=18) was the most predominant bacterium followed by Elizabethkingia meningoseptica (n=12), phingomonas paucimobilis (n=12), Myroides spp. (n=5), Ochrobactrum anthropi (n=3), and so on. Enrofloxacin (72.9%), florfenicol (72.9%), bacitracin (49.2%) and tylosin (49.2%) showed higher sensitivity compared with penicillin (13.6%) or aminoglycosides (6.8%-18.6%). Brucella spp., Leptospira spp., Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae, Mycoplasma hyorhinis, Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex were not detected in semen by PCR.

Rabies virus (family Rhabdoviridae, genus Lyssavirus, RV) is the causative agent of rabies in mammals. We conducted a sero-epidemiological survey for RV using sera from South Korean stray and companion dogs in the present study. A total of 533 canine serum samples were collected between February 2006 and December 2007 and were screened for rabies immunity with a neutralizing peroxidase linked assay. Both companion (49.1%) and stray (60.1%) dogs demonstrated RV seropositivity. Regional RV antibody prevalence was measured in the Jeju (87.5%), Gyeonggi (62%), Gyeongsang (59.1%), Jeonra (42%), Chungcheong (37.9%), and Gangwon (30.4%) provinces. Prevalence increased with age but did not exceed 80% in any age group. Stray and companion dogs had RV antibody prevalence values of 26.7% and 23.7%, respectively. Seroprevalence was significantly associated with age (χ² = 9.46; p = 0.024) for companion dogs, although this association was not evident in stray dogs. There were no significant differences in age between stray and companion dogs and no gender differences in RV seroprevalence. Our results suggested that a widespread and reinforced vaccination program must be applied to Korean dogs.

A 2-month-old male Jeju native black calf with respiratory distress was died and requested to the Veterinary Pathology Laboratory of Jeju National University for diagnosis. Grossly, lungs were focally attached to the pleura and heart with fibrin. Purple red sublobar consolidations were distributed in both apical and cardiac lobes of lungs. Histopathologically, diffuse severe bronchointerstitial pneumonia characterized by multifocal necrotizing bronchiolitis, formation of numerous multinucleated syncytial cells in bronchiolar and alveolar lumens, and diffuse alveolar wall thickening were observed in lungs. Eosinophilic intracytoplasmic inclusions were observed in bronchiolar epithelial cells and syncytial cells. According to reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), bovine respiratory syncytial virus (BRSV) was detected in the lung of calf. Based on the histopathologic findings and RT-PCR, this calf was diagnosed as BRSV infection. In our best knowledge, this is the first case of BRSV infection in Jeju native black calf.

A thirty-five week old elk was referred for Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) confirmation from Chungnam province in Korea. Necropsy revealed much bloody contents in the lumen of small and large intestines, and reddening of its mucosa. Microscopically, few coccidia showing various developmental stages were infiltrated in lamina propria of small intestine with granulomatous inflammation and congestion. They were identified as Eimeria spp. according to their location and morphological characteristics. Because fecal examination and oocyst culture were not available, the species of the Eimeria could not be confirmed. There were no detection of pathogenic bacteria such as clostridia and virus in intestinal contents. CWD was shown to be negative in immunohistochemistry test. In conclusion, it was the first Eimeria case detected in small intestine of Korean domestic elk as far as we know although Eimeria spp. were not the main cause of death.

The objective of this study was to compare wound healing in stomach with CO₂ laser and scalpel incision by measuring the extent of bleeding, the ease of gastric incision, incision time, degree of adhesion and wound healing degree in dogs. Sixteen healthy dogs were used. Two symmetrical incisions were made in ventral aspect of the stomach between the greater and lesser curvatures were made with scalpel and 0.2 mm spot diameter CO₂ laser (8W, continuous wave) in sixteen dogs. And then each wound was closed with absorbable suture in a two-layer inverting seromuscular pattern. At 3, 7, 14 and 21 days after initial wounding, each wound was taken for histological observation. On surgery, the extent of bleeding, the ease of incision and incision time showed significant differences between the groups. The CO₂ laser provided better hemostasis (p less than 0.05) and smaller postoperative adhesion compared with the scalpel. However, the scalpel produced faster speed of incision and was easier to handle than the CO₂ laser (p less than 0.05). Although there was no considerable difference between the two groups in histological observation, necrosis and calcium deposit tended to be larger in the CO₂ laser than in the scalpel.

Pesticides are useful to eliminate harmful insects and grow crops however, misuse and abuse of pesticides may cause a death of wild birds, livestock, and companion animals. We analyzed residual pesticides in the ingesta and tissues from the dead wild birds, livestock, and companion animals which were suspected pesticide poisoning based on the diagnosis of the Animal Disease Diagnostic Center of National Veterinary Research and Quarantine Service (NVRQS). The samples were primarily brought to NVRQS from local communities and veterinary diagnostic laboratories. The 231 suspicious samples of pesticide poisoning based on the necropsy were analyzed by GC/NPD, GC/FPD, GC/ECD, or GC/MSD in 2008 and 2009. Pesticides were identified from the 55 samples of total 143 samples analyzed in 2008 and from the 34 samples of total 88 samples analyzed in 2009. The pesticide identification rates in 2008 were higher than the rates in 2009. It may have relevance to the increased samples with the outbreak of avian influenza in 2008 in Korea. The concentrations of pesticides found in the dead animals varied and exceeded the respective LD∧50 of pesticides in many cases. Monochrotophos, phosphamidon, and methomyl were the most common pesticides found and those pesticides are high rank sales in Korea. The cause of pesticide poisoning in animal is assuming a misuse and an abuse of commonly used pesticides in Korea.

Salmonella (S.) Enterica infection ranks among the most common food borne bacterial infections worldwide. Although there are six subspecies of S. Enterica, the vast majority of human and animal infections are caused by strains belonging to subspecies 1 serovar Typhimurium and Enteritidis. Recent reports on antibiotic resistance of Salmonella spp. are rising steadily. The increasing problem of antibiotic resistance has rekindled interest in bacteriophage to therapy. Therefore, we investigated the efficacy of bacteriophage in S. enterica serovar Enteritidis infected mice and pigs by measuring of body condition, body weight, bacterial colonization and weight of organs based on the in vitro analysis. In vitro experiment, phage cultured with S. Enteritidis showed clear lysis pattern, the plaque forming unit (PFU) of our phage culture was 1.5 × 10∨11 PFU/mL, and phage showed its maximum activity at 4 h post inoculation. In mouse experiment, there was no significant difference among experimental groups in the general body conditions and body weight of mice. However, there was difference in weight of liver and spleen depending on the experimental group (p less than 0.05). The weight of liver and spleen were reduced by the phage treatment. Also bacterial colonization in spleen and liver were significantly reduced by the phage treatment. In pig experiment, the general body conditions and body temperature exhibited not much difference among the pigs except few pigs in group 3 which showed poor body conditions. From the feces in each group, we could isolate the S. Enteritidis only from group 3. Bacterial enrichment culture was necessary for isolating the bacteria from 5 dpi and 10 dpi, however direct isolation was possible from 15 dpi feces. In phage treated group, postmortem lesion was better than non-phage treated group. Recently, antibiotic resistance concerns on the food-borne bacterial pathogens have been increasing because of the wide spread of the antibiotics resistance genes. This concern is widely transmitted to the human related public health. As one of the alternative treatments on the bacterial pathogens, attempt using phages have been made to control the bacterial diseases. The positive possibility of the trail using phage was observed to control the S. enterica serovar Enteritidis in this study even though the further analysis has been remained.

Encephalomyocarditis virus (EMCV) belongs to the genus Cardiovirus within the family Picornaviridae. EMCV has been recognized either as a cause of mortality in young pigs, due to acute myocarditis, or of reproductive failure in sows. An EMCV K3 strain was isolated from the heart and brain in a mummified and aborted swine fetus in 1989. For the molecular characterization of the poly(C)-tract of EMCV Korean isolates, K3 strain, viral RNA was extracted and digested with RNase T1, and analyzed the length of the poly(C)-tract by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. The poly(C) regions also were amplified by RT-PCR and sequenced. The present study shows that K3 strain of EMCV had a short polymorphic poly(C) tracts (5 to 30 C's) with sequences consisting of C∧9, C∧10, C∧13, C∧14, C∧16, C∧20, CUC∧11, C∧8UCUC₃UC∧10, C∧9UCUC₃UC∧10, C∧10UCUC₃UC∧10, etc. These polymorphism of poly(C)-tracts of EMCV K3 strain implies the historical information of in vivo and/or in vitro passage.