An 8-year-old, castrated male, Schnauzer dog was presented for evaluation of gradually worsening erythematous papules. Physical examination revealed multiple erythematous papules having a firm, gritty texture located in bilateral ears, dorsal midline, perianal and inguinal area. Skin biopsy revealed aberrant structure, characterized by atrophic epidermal-dermal layer structure with granular materials which was presumed as calcinosis cutis secondary to iatrognic hyperadrenocotricism. By initiating minocycline for 14 days, there was reduction in size, number of calcium deposit with remarkably decreased erythema. This case report presents the clinical trial of minocycline as a potential agent in treating dogs with calcinosis cutis.

A 3-month-old, intact male French bulldog was suspected of deafness. The dog was irresponsive to environmental noises generated out of sight, but normal responses were noted for visual stimuli. No abnormalities were observed on the neurological, otoscopic, radiographic, and blood examinations. To diagnose the apparent deafness, brainstem auditory evoked potential (BAEP) was recorded in the presented dog together with a normal dog. While the BAEP from the control dog showed a normal wave consisting of 5 peaks, absence of all peaks was noted in the suspected deaf dog. Therefore the dog was definitively diagnosed as bilaterally congenital sensorineural deafness.

Objective-To assess a commercially available point-of-care assay for measurement of bovine cardiac troponin I (cTnI) concentration in blood and plasma samples. Sample-Prepared bovine plasma standard samples with known concentrations (0 to 1.0 ng/mL) of cTnI and blood and plasma samples obtained from 28 healthy 2.5-month-old Holstein calves. Procedures-Coefficients of variation were calculated for concentrations of cTnI in prepared standards determined with the point-of-care assay, and values were compared with the known concentrations. The cTnI concentrations in blood samples obtained from calves determined with the point-of-care assay were compared with cTnI concentrations in plasma samples obtained from those animals determined with a validated immunoassay. Results-The coefficients of variation of cTnI concentrations determined for prepared standards by use of the point-of-care assay were low (< 20%) for standards with cTnI concentrations ≥ 0.025 ng/mL. The blood cTnI concentrations determined with the point-of-care assay were not significantly different from the plasma cTnI concentrations determined with the validated immunoassay. Conclusions and Clinical Relevance-Results of this study indicated the point-of-care assay had high precision for determination of cTnI concentrations in most evaluated prepared bovine plasma standard samples. The point-of-care assay may be useful for determination of circulating concentrations of cTnI in cattle.

Objective-To assess the feasibility of measuring cord dorsum potentials (CDPs) in anesthetized clinically normal dogs after caudal nerve stimulation, determine the intervertebral site of maximum amplitude and best waveform of the CDP, and evaluate the effects of neuromuscular blockade. Animals-8 male and 4 female dogs (age, 1 to 5 years). Procedures-Dogs were anesthetized, and CDPs were recorded via needles placed on the dorsal lamina at intervertebral spaces L1-2 through L7-S1. Caudal nerves were stimulated with monopolar electrodes inserted laterally to the level of the caudal vertebrae. Dogs were tested without and during neuromuscular blockade induced with atracurium besylate. The CDP latency and amplitude were determined from the largest amplitude tracings. Results-CDPs were recorded in 11 of 12 dogs without neuromuscular blockade and in all dogs during neuromuscular blockade. The CDP was largest and most isolated at the L4-5 intervertebral space (3 dogs) or the L5-6 intervertebral space (9 dogs); this site corresponded to the segment of insertion of the first caudal nerve. Onset latencies ranged from 2.0 to 4.7 milliseconds, and there was no effect of neuromuscular blockade on latencies. Amplitudes of the CDPs were highly variable for both experimental conditions. Conclusions and Clinical Relevance-CDPs were recorded from all dogs tested in the study; neuromuscular blockade was not critical for successful CDP recording but reduced muscle artifact. This technique may be useful as a tool to assess the caudal nerve roots in dogs suspected of having compressive lumbosacral disease or myelopathies affecting the lumbar intumescence.

Objective-To compare presumed fatty acid content in natural diets of feral domestic cats (inferred from body fat polyunsatrated fatty acids content) with polyunsaturated fatty acid content of commercial feline extruded diets. Sample-Subcutaneous and intra-abdominal adipose tissue samples (approx 1 g) from previously frozen cadavers of 7 adult feral domestic cats trapped in habitats remote from human activity and triplicate samples (200 g each) of 7 commercial extruded diets representing 68% of market share obtained from retail stores. Procedures-Lipid, triacylglycerol, and phospholipid fractions in adipose tissue samples and ether extracts of diet samples were determined by gas chromatography of methyl esters. Triacylglycerol and phospholipid fractions in the adipose tissue were isolated by thin-layer chromatography. Diet samples were also analyzed for proximate contents. Results-For the adipose tissue samples, with few exceptions, fatty acids fractions varied only moderately with lipid fraction and site from which tissue samples were obtained. Linoleic, α-linolenic, arachidonic, eicosapentaenoic, and docosahexaenoic acid fractions were 15.0% to 28.2%, 4.5% to 18.7%, 0.9% to 5.0%, < 0.1% to 0.2%, and 0.6% to 1.7%, respectively. As inferred from the adipose findings, dietary fractions of docosahexaenoic and α-linolenic acid were significantly greater than those in the commercial feline diets, but those for linoleic and eicosapentaenoic acids were not significantly different. Conclusions and Clinical Relevance-The fatty acid content of commercial extruded feline diets differed from the inferred content of natural feral cat diets, in which dietary n-3 and possibly n-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids were more abundant. The impact of this difference on the health of pet cats is not known.

Objective-To compare effects of anesthetic induction with midazolam-propofol or midazolam-etomidate on intraocular pressure (IOP), pupillary diameter (PD), pulse rate, blood pressure, and respiratory rate in clinically normal dogs. Animals-18 dogs. Procedures-Dogs undergoing ophthalmic surgery received midazolam (0.2 mg/kg, IV) and either propofol or etomidate (IV) until intubatable. For all dogs, results of physical examinations, ophthalmic examinations of the nonoperated eye, and preanesthetic blood analyses were normal. Intraocular pressure, PD, blood pressure, pulse rate, and respiratory rate were measured in the nonoperated eye at 5 time points: just prior to the anesthetic induction sequence, after 5 minutes of preanesthetic oxygenation via face mask, after IV administration of midazolam, after IV anesthetic induction, and after endotracheal intubation. Results-PD decreased significantly from baseline by 4.4 +/- 0.4 mm (mean +/- SD) after anesthetic induction and 5.3 +/- 0.4 mm after intubation in the etomidate group and by 1. 2 +/- 0.4 mm after intubation in the propofol group. Intraocular pressure was increased significantly from baseline by 3.2 +/- 1.0 mm Hg after anesthetic induction in the etomidate group and by 4.7 +/- 1.2 mm Hg after anesthetic induction and 4.5 +/- 1. 2 mm Hg after intubation in the propofol group. Pulse rate was significantly lower by 28.6 +/- 12.6 beats/min after anesthetic induction in the etomidate group, compared with the propofol group. Conclusions and Clinical Relevance-At the studied doses, midazolam-etomidate caused clinically important miosis and increased IOP. Midazolam-propofol caused an even greater increase in IOP but had minimal effects on PD.

The indirect effects of mastitis treatment are often overlooked in cost-benefit analyses, but it may be beneficial for the dairy industry to consider them. The cost of mastitis treatment may increase when the duration of intra-mammary infections are prolonged due to misdiagnosis of host-adapted mastitis. Laboratory diagnosis of mastitis can be costly and time consuming, therefore cow-side tests such as the California Milk Cell Test (CMCT) and Milk Electrical Resistance (MER) need to be utilised to their full potential. The aim of this study was to determine the relative benefit of using these two tests separately and in parallel. This was done using a partial-budget analysis and a cost-benefit model to estimate the benefits and costs of each respective test and the parallel combination thereof. Quarter milk samples (n= 1860) were taken from eight different dairy herds in South Africa. Milk samples were evaluated by means of the CMCT, hand-held MER meter and cyto-microbiological laboratory analysis. After determining the most appropriate cut-off points for the two cow-side tests, the sensitivity and specificity of the CMCT (Se= 1.00, Sp= 0.66), MER (Se= 0.92, Sp= 0.62) and the tests done in parallel (Se= 1.00, Sp= 0.87) were calculated. The input data that were used for partial-budget analysis and in the cost-benefit model were based on South African figures at the time of the study, and on literature. The total estimated financial benefit of correct diagnosis of host-adapted mastitis per cow for the CMCT, MER and the tests done in parallel was R898.73, R518.70 and R1064.67 respectively. This involved taking the expected benefit of a correct test result per cow, the expected cost of an error per cow and the cost of the test into account. The CMCT was shown to be 11%more beneficial than the MER test, whilst using the tests in parallel was shown to be the most beneficial method for evaluating the mastitis-control programme. Therefore, it is recommended that the combined tests should be used strategically in practice to monitor udder health and promote a pro-active udder health approach when dealing with host-adapted pathogens.

The purpose of this study was to explore the audits, quality assurance (QA) programmes and legal frameworks used in selected abattoirs in Zimbabwe and slaughterhouse workers’ perceptions on their effectiveness. Data on slaughterhouse workers was gathered through a self-completed questionnaire and additional information was obtained from slaughterhouse and government records. External auditing was conducted mainly by the Department of Veterinary Public Health with little contribution from third parties. Internal auditing was restricted to export abattoirs. The checklist used on auditing lacked objective assessment criteria and respondents cited several faults in the current audit system. Most respondents (>50.0%) knew the purposes and benefits of audit and QA inspections. All export abattoirs had QA programmes such as hazard analysis critical control point and ISO 9001 (a standard used to certify businesses’ quality management systems) but their implementation varied from minimal to nil. The main regulatory defect observed was lack of requirements for a QA programme. Audit and quality assurance communications to the selected abattoirs revealed a variety of non-compliances with most respondents revealing that corrective actions to audit (84.3%) and quality assurance (92.3%) shortfalls were not done. A high percentage of respondents indicated that training on quality (76.8%) and regulations (69.8%) was critical. Thus, it is imperative that these abattoirs develop a food safety management system comprising of QA programmes, a microbial assessment scheme, regulatory compliance, standard operating procedures, internal and external auditing and training of workers.

<strong>How to cite this article:</strong> Geysen, D. &amp; Berkvens, D., 2013, ‘Lack of evidence for safe vaccination with the Muguga cocktail in Sudan’, <em>Onderstepoort Journal of Veterinary Research</em> 80(1), Art. #571, 1 page. http:// dx.doi.org/10.4102/ojvr. v80i1.571

Moraea pallida (yellow tulp) poisoning is economically the most important intoxication of livestock in South Africa. Poisoning varies according to locality, climatic conditions and growth stage of the plant. The primary objective of this study was to determine the concentration of the toxic principle, epoxyscillirosidine, in yellow tulp leaves and to ascertain the variability of epoxyscillirosidine concentrations within and between different locations. A secondary objective was to utilise Geographic Information Systems in an attempt to explain the variability in toxicity. Flowering yellow tulp plants were collected at 26 sampling points across 20 districts of South Africa. The leaves of five plants per sampling point were extracted and submitted for liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry analysis. A large variation in mean epoxyscillirosidine concentrations, ranging from 3.32 μg/g – 238.27 μg/g, occurred between different geographical regions. The epoxyscillirosidine concentrations also varied tremendously between individual plants (n= 5) collected at the same sampling point, with up to a 24 times difference between the lowest and highest concentration detected. No generalised correlation between epoxyscillirosidine concentrations and soil elemental concentrations could be established. However, samples obtained from the north-eastern part of the sampling region tended to have higher epoxyscillirosidine concentrations compared to samples obtained from the south-western part of the sampling region. Higher toxin concentrations in the northeast were associated with statistically significant higher soil concentrations of iron, bismuth, bromide, cadmium, chromium, rubidium, tellurium, thallium, titanium and zinc, whilst soil concentrations of strontium and soil pH, were significantly lower. This study corroborated the contention that epoxyscillirosidine concentration in yellow tulp fluctuates and may explain the variability in toxicity.