The objective of this study was to investigate the infection rate of gastro-intestinal tract parasites on acquired laboratory nonhuman primates, Vervet monkey, Cynomolgus monkey, and Rhesus monkey acquired from Japan and China. These monkeys have been acclimating at an individual housing condition after our legal quarantine period. We examined 133 fecal samples to investigate parasitic infection using direct smear and formalin-ether-sedimentation technique. As a result, total parasitic infection rate was 33.8% (n=45/133) for all monkeys. Two species of macaques, cynomolgus and rhesus, were infected with Trichuris trichiura (4), Giardia lamblia (4) and Balantidium coli (41). Vervet monkeys, which had been controlled by individual housing system for a long time, were clear for parasitic infection. The protozoan, Balantidium coli was one of the most frequently detected in these monkey colonies. Double infection was noted in only 4 monkeys and involved with Trichuris trichiura and Balantidium coli. Serious clinical symptoms were not observed in the most of the infected monkeys, but the monkeys infected by Giardia lamblia showed intermittent or chronic watery diarrhea. Consequently, the prophylactic anthelmintic treatment and periodic monitoring are essential to preserve the SPF colonies in the laboratory facility.

Protein expression patterns in Salmonella enterica subspecies enterica serovar Typhimurium (S. Typhimurium) strains with diverse phenotypes, such as phage type, antibiotic resistance pattern and plasmid profiles were examined. For detailed analysis of proteins expressed by different S. Typhimurium strains, protein fractions were divided into detergent-rich phase (DP) and aqueous phase (AP) using triton X-114 detergent. The two phases were subjected to two-dimensional gel electrophoresis (2-DE), followed by protein identification using peptide mass fingerprinting (PMF). In the results, PMF showed that DP fractions consisted mainly of outer membrane proteins, whereas the AP fractions included cytosolic proteins. Comparison of 2-DE profiles of DP did not show any distinct protein spots which could be correlated with phage type, antibiotic resistance pattern or plasmid profile. However, comparisons of 2-DE profiles of the AP revealed differences in the protein spots, which could be correlated with the plasmid profile and phage types. Among these protein spots, flagellin was specific for strains containing a 90 kb plasmid. Compared to DT193 phage type, three protein spots in the range of pI 5.0-5.5 and MW 8-15 kDa of AP 2-DE profiles were absent in the DT104 phage types. Additionally, a protein spot with PI in the range of 4.5-5.0 and molecular weight (MW) between 51-69 kDa was specific for phage type DT104, while a protein spot with pI in the range of 4.0-4.8 and MW between 18-20 kDa was specific for DT193 phage type. These protein spots may be useful for discriminating phage types of S. Typhimurium.

Demand on specialized feline dentistry has increased over the years, partly due to growing feline population in Korea. Despite the notable increase in the population, not much researches has been conducted on oral disease for stray cats. Thus this research was conducted on 81 adult stray cats from Gwangju in Korea (42 males and 39 females) with average weight of 3.4 kg and also focused on occurrence of periodontal disease (plaque and calculus), feline odontoclastic resorptive lesion (FORL), stomatitis and tooth anomaly. Formation of dental plaque and calculus were abundant on maxilla than mandible, especially distributed much on 4th premolar teeth and 1st molar teeth. After thorough examination of oral cavity, 33 stray cats (40.7%) were found to have oral disease. Eighteen stray cats (22.2%) had tooth fracture which was evident on cuspid and missing teeth were present on 2nd premolar tooth of maxilla and 2nd incisor of mandible amongst 20 stray cats (24.7%). FORL was present on cuspids and 2nd premolar tooth of maxilla among 10 stray cats (12.3%). Stomatitis was involved with FORL, missing tooth, and tooth fracture. Therefore, it was determined that stomatitis, FORL, and periodontal disease were closely associated.

A 3-day-old Appaloosa colt was examined because of acute onset of ataxia, left-sided head tilt, fever and heart murmur. The foal continued to nurse but became increasingly depressed and mild colic. On plain radiological examination, the foal was normal. Uroperitoneum was diagnosed following abdominocentesis. Postmortem examination revealed bladder rupture. The lesion was in the dorsomedial part of the bladder wall. We suggested that the cause of bladder rupture was parturient trauma. Even though the rupture was associated with trauma, the margin of rupture of bladder was clearly smooth and regular.

A 7-year-old, castrated male Yorkshire terrier dog with chronic vomiting, and melena lasted for 3 weeks was referred to the Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital of Chungnam National University. The complete blood counts and serum biochemistry revealed no remarkable findings. Gastrointestinal series revealed irregular margin in small intestinal lumen. After upper gastrointestinal series, erythema of the small intestinal lesions was found by exploratory laparotomy and full-thickness biopsy was performed. Histopathologic examination revealed infiltration of predominantly eosinophils and other inflammatory cells in small intestine. Based on these findings, the dog was diagnosed as eosinophilic enteritis. After 4 weeks medical treatment and hypoallergenic diet, the patient showed no vomiting, melena and other complications.

Moribund albino catfish, Clarias sp., displayed from an indoor private commercial aquarium were submitted in the laboratory for diagnostic examination. Dense culture of bacteria was recovered from the kidney and was characterized using Vitek System 2 and showed 98% probability to Aeromonas (A.) hydrophila. PCR result showed positive using A. hydrophila extracellular hemolysin gene ahh1 (130 bp) and aerolysin gene aerA (309 bp). The 16S rRNA gene was identical and exhibited 97% sequence similarity with the other known isolates of A. hydrophila available in the GenBank. In this paper, we reported the isolation and molecular detection of A. hydrophila from an albino catfish.

Canine distemper virus (CDV)-specific immune response was measured in different dog populations. Three groups of vaccinated or wild-type virus exposed dogs were tested: dogs with a known vaccination history, dogs without a known vaccination history (shelter dogs), and dogs with potential exposure to wild-type CDV. The use of a T-cell proliferation assay demonstrated a detectable CDV-specific T-cell response from both spleen and blood lymphocytes of dogs. Qualitatively, antibody assays [enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and neutralization assay] predicted the presence of a T-cell response well, although quantitatively neither antibody assays nor the T-cell assay correlated well with each other. An interesting finding from our study was that half of the dogs in shelters were not vaccinated (potentially posing a public veterinary health problem) and that antibody levels in dogs living in an environment with endemic CDV were lower than in vaccinated animals.

Verotoxigenic Escherichia coli (VTEC) are important foodborne pathogens in Canada. VTEC of the O157:H7 serogroup have been the focus of regulatory action and surveillance in both Canada and the USA, due to their role in a number of high profile outbreaks. However, there is increasing evidence that other VTEC serogroups cause a substantial proportion of human illness. This issue is of particular importance to the cattle industry due to the role of beef as a vehicle for VTEC transmission. In this review, the evidence for non-O157 VTEC as cause of human illness in Canada and the potential for Canadian beef and cattle to serve as a source of VTEC are presented. In addition, the available strategies for the control of VTEC in cattle and beef are discussed.

The direct effects of ketamine-xylazine (KET-XYL) on vascular function have not been investigated in rabbits. The short-term cardiovascular effects of intravenous (IV) KET-XYL bolus injection, therefore, should be investigated using vascular ultrasonography.In this prospective experimental study, KET-XYL anesthesia was induced IV in 9 female New Zealand White rabbits before 3 defined test bolus injections of KET-XYL were given IV. Before and for 10 min after each KET-XYL injection vascular and hemodynamic variables were recorded at the left common carotid artery (ACC) after the 1st injection, and at the abdominal aorta (AA) after the 2nd injection. Echocardiography was performed after the 3rd injection to investigate changes in cardiac parameters.Ketamine-xylazine IV caused a significant increase in vessel diameter at the ACC and AA. Average volumetric flow significantly decreased at the ACC and pulsatility index significantly decreased at the AA. Fractional shortening (FS) and heart rate significantly decreased, while mean arterial blood pressure initially increased.Bolus injections of KET-XYL IV produced a transient vasodilatation at the ACC and AA. Despite central vasodilatation, bradycardia, and decrease of FS and average volumetric flow (VFave), mean arterial blood pressure did not significantly decrease indicating well-preserved cardiovascular compensatory mechanism after the ratio and doses of KET-XYL IV bolus injections used in this study.

This report describes the genetics of the prion protein gene (PRNP) at codons 136, 154, and 171 for sheep diagnosed with naturally acquired classical scrapie in Canada between 1998 and 2008. Genotyping analysis was performed on 249 sheep with confirmed classical scrapie infection representing 98 flocks from 6 provinces. A further case-control analysis of 3 of these flocks compared the genotypes between infected sheep (n = 72) and those of their healthy flockmates (n = 1990). The incidence of classical scrapie in the Canadian sheep population was highly associated with the ARQ haplotype (91.8%) and the ARQ/ARQ genotype (91.6%). In addition, the ARQ haplotype was found at significantly higher frequency in scrapie-infected sheep when compared with their healthy flockmates. Comparison with other published data suggests that the scrapie risk of PRNP genotypes differs between Canada and countries where the VRQ allele is associated with the highest susceptibility to infection.