This study aimed to grade joint abnormalities in horses submitted to therapeutic arthroscopy using score-based protocols for equine joint assessment, correlated with arthroscopic treatment outcomes and owner satisfaction. In this prospective study, we evaluated 126 joints of athletic horses referred for arthroscopy. The joints were scored according to findings of medical history and physical, radiographic, ultrasonographic and arthroscopic examination. Lameness, positive response to flexion test and decreased maximum joint flexion angle were detected in more than 50% of joints. Soft tissue swelling, sclerosis, subchondral bone osteolysis and single osteochondral fragments were the most common radiographic findings. Ultrasonographic examination revealed changes in synovial fluid volume and appearance, and subchondral bone irregularities. Increased vascularity of the synovial villi, chondral fibrillation, chondral fissures and superficial cartilage erosions were the most significant arthroscopic findings. The approaches that demonstrated greater sensitivity and correlation with treatment outcome and owner satisfaction were medical history, ultrasonographic and arthroscopic examination. The scoring protocol employed to grade joint abnormalities enabled the creation of a joint score system for the objective assessment, thus determining the most frequent findings and establishing an injury severity score for each joint.

Dorsopathies are common causes of decreased performance in athletic horses of various modalities, and inadequate or poorly adjusted saddles can lead to the onset of injuries and low back pain. The present study, searching to find the most appropriate saddle, evaluated the pressure determined from the panels of two saddle models most commonly used in endurance Arab horse on the thoracolumbar region. For the study, six Arabian geldings were used, weighing 390 ± 4.2 and 2.1 ± age 8 years, conditioned to endurance races, and two saddle models, English and Western. The horses were submitted to the work riding on a sandy lane by the same experienced rider who weighed 76 kg. Thermography was performed before and after each exercise session. The obtained data were analyzed through Student’s paired t-test at 5% of significance. After exercise, there was a mean temperature difference between the contact areas of the right and left of the sweepers of two saddles compared, with the English saddle showing higher temperatures. Therefore, the Western saddle model, which has wider panels, despite not being a preferred model of endure riders, has proved to be more suitable for Arabian horse work.

Considering the importance of leptospirosis in both equine husbandry and public health, as well as the relevance of knowledge of current serogroup and the small number of studies addressing this disease in equines in Northeastern Brazil, the present study performed a serological survey of Leptospira spp. in a serum bank of 1,267 equines originating from 177 municipalities, located in four states in Northeastern Brazil: Ceará, Rio Grande do Norte, Paraíba and Pernambuco. The microscopic agglutination test (MAT) was used for diagnosis of leptospirosis using 24 serovars as antigens. The frequency of reagent equines was 29.7% (376/1,267), and 68.9% (122/177) of municipalities had at least one positive reaction. The serogroups reagent were Australis (37.2%), Icterohaemorrhagiae (29.3%), Tarassovi (9.6%), Sejroe (5.8%), Pomona (5.3%), Grippotyphosa (4.5%), Pyrogenes (2.4%), Bataviae (1.9%), Ballum and Hebdomadis (1.3%), Mini (0.5%), Celledoni, Shermani, and Javanica (0.3% each). There were significant statistical differences regarding sex and age, with a higher frequency in females (P= 0.014), and in animals ≥ 6 years (P=0.001). We concluded that seropositivity to Leptospira spp. is high in equines in Northeastern Brazil, with a predominance of serologic reactions to the Australis serogroup in the border areas between the states, and the Icterohaemorrhagiae serogroup in coastal areas or their vicinity. The high degree of seropositivity found points to the need to implement prophylactic strategies, both intraspecies infection prophylaxis and rodent control. We also recommended avoiding animal crowding and separating animals according to sex and age group during handling.

Osteitis deformans (Paget’s disease) is a chronic bone disorder characterized by excessive osteoclast-mediated bone resorption followed by new bone formation. The present paper reports this condition in an 18-year-old captive golden lancehead (Bothrops insularis) from Brazil. This patient initially exhibited anorexia and swelling in the middle third of the spine associated with locomotor disability. For diagnosis, radiography, ultrasound, computed tomography, cytology, and microbiological culture were performed. Diagnostic imaging showed bone changes, vertebral fusion, and bone proliferation. Cytology revealed blood cells how toxic heterophiles, reactive monocytes, young red blood cells, and polychromasia compatible with an infectious process. A bacterial culture identified an ampicillin-susceptible strain of Enterococcus faecalis. Antibiotic treatment was promptly started, but the snake died 25 days later. Histopathologically, the bone tissue showed a generalized thickening of the vertebral trabeculae. For the first time, the presence of E. faecalis associated with the development of osteitis deformans in snakes was presented.

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.

Blood typing techniques have been improved to ensure greater safety for transfusion procedures. Typification for the DEA 1 antigen through flow cytometry should offer more reliability to routine immunohematology in donor and recipient dogs. Currently, the DEA 1 group is starting to be an autosomal dominant allelic system with the DEA 1 negative type and its variations of positivity. The present study investigated the DEA 1 antigen using the techniques of immunochromatography, hemagglutination and flow cytometry. Among the positive animals for the DEA 1 group, typified by flow cytometry, medium intensities of fluorescence were found, which are indicative of weak, moderate and strong antigenicity. This enabled the division of the DEA 1 group into weak positive, moderate positive and strong positive. The blood typing techniques for the DEA 1 group by flow cytometry, agglutination and immunochromatography had positive (Spearman r=0.70) and statistically significant (p>0.0001) correlations.

Soil contamination by dog and cat feces can become a public health problem due to the transmission of various etiologic agents that cause zoonoses. This study aimed to verify the occurrence of geohelminths in the soil of some public square areas of the municipality of Rio Branco, Acre State, Western Brazilian Amazon. Five public squares were selected, and soil samples collection was performed from April 2014 to March 2015. The samples were processed by using the Baermann-Moraes and centrifugal‑flotation methods. Geohelminths positivity was of 25% for Toxocara spp., 6.6% for the Ancylostomatoidea Superfamily and 1.6 for Trichuris spp.. Measures should be implemented to prevent the free access of animals to these places, as well as deworming of stray dogs and cats and the implementation of population control and policies for such animals.

The influence of nano-hydroxyapatite (NHA) as a source of calcium (Ca) and phosphorous (P) alternative to inorganic dicalcium phosphate (DCP) on the performance, carcass traits, and the Ca and P contents in serum, bone, and excreta was evaluated in broiler chickens. One-day-old un-sexed Arbor Acres Plus broiler chickens (n.= 160) were randomly assigned to four treatment groups of four replicates with 10 birds in each replicate.

The objective of the present study was to evaluate the ability of estrogen to promote induced tibial fracture healing in a rat model. The study was conducted on 14 albino rats divided into two equal groups (seven rats in each group). The first group considered as a control group. The second group was injected estradiol solution 0.1 mg/kg into the fracture gap. The progress of healing in each group was evaluated by clinical, radiography, ultrasonography and pathological examinations. The healing process was observed to be superior in the estrogen group compared to the control one. Estrogen was found to promote healing of injured bone and is suggested to be used in cases of complicated or delayed bone fracture.

In this study multiplex PCR was used for typing of Clostridium perfringens isolates from soil, clinically healthy and diseased sheep. Clostridium perfringens was isolated from 41 out of 100 soil samples, 12 out of 100 clinically healthy sheep and 118 out of 200 sheep with enterotoxaemia signs. Genotyping of 41 isolates from soil indicated that 29 (70.73%) were type A, 3 (7.31%) were type B and 9 (21.95%) were type D. Of 12 isolates from clinically healthy sheep 6 (50%) were type A and 6(50%) were type D. Of 118 isolates from diseased sheep 42 (35.59%) were type A, 22 (18.64%) were type B and 54 (45.76%) were type D. This result indicates that Clostridium perfringens type A, B and D are the main types causing enterotoxaemia in sheep in Egypt and Clostridium perfringens type A must be included in any vaccine programme to ensure optimum protection.