The objective of this study was to assess the renal function in animals with renal failure after peritoneal dialysis. Animals with kidney failure presented to veterinary teaching hospital at Ankara University consisted of 4 dogs and one cat. Animals with kidney failure were treated with peritoneal dialysisapplication. Concentration of serum urea in all patients significantly decreased after the second attempt of peritonealdialysis but, not serum creatinine. When peritoneal dialysis procedures (4 to 10 times) completed, theconcentrations of serum urea and creatinine were significantly decreased in all animals. Complications identifiedduring PD were peritonitis, hypoalbuminemia, hypokalemia, dialysate retention or leakage from the catheter site,edema and pleural effusion/chylothorax.In the present study, it was concluded that peritoneal dialysis procedure was a life-saving, easily applicable, and cost effective clinical procedure for companion animals with renal failure.

Interpretation of laboratory data is very important and based on comparison with reference intervals in routine practice. Leukocyte term includes all white blood cells and their precursors. These cells use blood circulation for going to the original tissues from their original locations. Total leukocyte count can be changed by various physiologic and pharmacologic reasons. In healthy cats, lymphocytes are the second most frequent leukocyte in the blood. Compared to middle-aged or old cats, young animals have higher absolute lymphocyte counts. The medical records of cats referred to the Ankara University Small Animal Hospitalfor general examination between April 2016 and August 2017 were retrospectively reviewed. Complete bloodcount (CBC) data includes red blood cell (RBC) count, haemoglobin, haematocrit (HCT), mean cell volume(MCV), mean cell haemoglobin (MCH), mean cell haemoglobin concentration (MCHC), red blood celldistribution width, platelet count, white blood cell (WBC) count, neutrophils, lymphocytes, monocytes,eosinophils and basophils.Of 5292 cats, 191 cats at the age between 0 and 1 and with CBC data were included in the study. CBCswere obtained from all 191 cats at the first visit. The relationship of hematological data to the reference range issummarized in Table 2. It was observed that 25.7% of the cats had leucocyte counts below the reference intervaland 3% had above the reference interval. Considering neutrophil counts, it is seen that 23.3% were lower and4.5% were higher. According to the results of 191 hemogram tests, lymphocyte counts of 39 cats (19.3%) andmonocyte counts of 9 cats (4,5%) were found to be low.This is a novel study that includes the results of detailed examination of breed and age distributionof complete blood count results at the first clinical visits of cats. According to our retrospective screening results,it is seen that the relation of monocyte numbers with age is statistically significant. (p = 0.018) The biggestdifference between the two age groups in the study is the pre- and post-adolescence periods. It is important toprecisely know the results of CBC test in the first visit to the clinic and to take the necessary precautions toeliminate the abnormal results before vaccination.

The case was a 2.5-year-old calico cat with an abdominal mass, which was brought from a private clinic to Ankara University, Veterinary Faculty, Animal Hospital, Internal Diseases Clinic. It was reported that the cat was operated 20 days ago, a mass of 8 cm in diameter near the jejunum was removed, but a second mass in the region was noticed in the investigation. The mass removed with operation was found to be Lymphoblastic lymphocarcinoma. In the ultrasonography, a two lobed mass of 3x4.5 cm in size was detected in the mesenterium near the liver. An alternative treatment was considered to be performed instead of reoperation on determining that the mass recurred in a very short time and was malignant as a result of the pathology. Considering that the cat was young and with good general condition, it was decided to administer chemotherapy. Modified Wisconsin Maddison method was selected for the chemotherapy. Shortly after the initiation of the chemotherapy protocol, chemotherapy had to be discontinued due to dense acid accumulation in the abdomen and deterioration of the general condition. Feline Corona Virus was detected positive in the cat scanned for subclinical diseases.

Several nucleic acid-based assays have been developed for detecting Anaplasma marginale and Anaplasma centrale in vectors and hosts, making the choice of method to use in endemic areas difficult. We evaluated the ability of the reverse line blot (RLB) hybridisation assay, two nested polymerase chain reaction (nPCR) assays and a duplex real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) assay to detect A. marginale and A. centrale infections in cattle (n = 66) in South Africa. The lowest detection limits for A. marginale plasmid DNA were 2500 copies by the RLB assay, 250 copies by the nPCR and qPCR assays and 2500, 250 and 25 copies of A. centrale plasmid DNA by the RLB, nPCR and qPCR assays respectively. The qPCR assay detected more A. marginale- and A. centrale-positive samples than the other assays, either as single or mixed infections. Although the results of the qPCR and nPCR tests were in agreement for the majority (38) of A. marginale-positive samples, 13 samples tested negative for A. marginale using nPCR but positive using qPCR. To explain this discrepancy, the target sequence region of the nPCR assay was evaluated by cloning and sequencing the msp1β gene from selected field samples. The results indicated sequence variation in the internal forward primer (AM100) area amongst the South African A. marginale msp1β sequences, resulting in false negatives. We propose the use of the duplex qPCR assay in future studies as it is more sensitive and offers the benefits of quantification and multiplex detection of both Anaplasma spp.

Identifying antigenic proteins and mapping their epitopes is important for the development of diagnostic reagents and recombinant vaccines. B-cell epitopes of African horse sickness virus (AHSV) have previously been mapped on VP2, VP5, VP7 and NS1, using mouse, rabbit and chicken monoclonal antibodies. A comprehensive study of the humoral immune response of five vaccinated horses to AHSV-4 antigenic peptides was undertaken. A fragmented-genome phage display library expressing a repertoire of AHSV-4 peptides spanning the entire genome was constructed. The library was affinity selected for binders on immobilised polyclonal immunoglobulin G (IgG) isolated from horse sera collected pre- and post-immunisation with an attenuated AHSV-4 monovalent vaccine. The DNA inserts of binding phages were sequenced with Illumina high-throughput sequencing. The data were normalised using pre-immune IgG-selected sequences. More sequences mapped to the genes coding for NS3, VP6 and VP5 than to the other genes. However, VP2 and VP5 each had more antigenic regions than each of the other proteins. This study identified a number of epitopes to which the horse's humoral immune system responds during immunisation with AHSV-4.

The aim of this work was to study the epidemiology and harmful effects of gastrointestinal nematodes (GINs) on dairy goats maintained in an intensive system. Two groups of goats were studied: untreated group (UG) (subdivided into UGjun goats that kidded in June, and UGjul goats that kidded in July) and treated group (TG) (with no subgroups, treated with monepantel: 3.75 mg/kg, orally, monthly). Eggs per gram (epg) in faeces were counted, faecal culture was performed to differentiate nematode genera and milk production was measured. Differences between groups were compared using least squares means analysis of variance (milk production and milking period length) and Kruskal-Wallis test (faecal egg counts). Nematode infection was moderate, with Haemonchus and Trichostrongylus being the dominant genera; the faecal egg counts reached the level of 2000 only once throughout the study. Goats that kidded in June had higher egg count after parturition (UGjun = 1564 epg), with significant differences (p < 0.04) from those that still had not kidded (UGjul = 962 epg). Over the entire trial period, the mean total milk production of TG (399.5 L ± 34.0 L) was significantly higher (p < 0.05) than that of UG (281.6 L ± 37.5 L), representing an increase of 41.8% in total milk yield. The results of this study show a post-partum peak in egg count and a negative effect of GINs on milk yield, even with moderate infections.

Poultry production in South Africa, a so-called developing country, may be seen as a gradient between two extremes with highly integrated commercial enterprises with world-class facilities on one hand and unimproved rural chickens kept by households and subsistence farmers on the other. Although vaccination against Newcastle disease is widely applied to control this devastating infection, epizootics continue to occur. Since the first official diagnosis in 1945, through the sporadic outbreaks of the 1950s and early 1960s, to serious epizootics caused by genotype VIII (late 1960s-2000), genotype VIIb (1993-1999), genotype VIId (2003-2012) and most recently genotype VIIh (2013 to present), South Africa's encounters with exotic Newcastle disease follow global trends. Importation - probably illegal - of infected poultry, poultry products or exotic birds and illegal swill dumping are likely routes of entry. Once the commercial sector is affected, the disease spreads rapidly within the region via transportation routes. Each outbreak genotype persisted for about a decade and displaced its predecessor.

There is paucity of information on the prevalence of leptospirosis in wildlife in Nigeria. This study investigated the prevalence and renal pathology of leptospirosis in wild animals in Southwest Nigeria. One hundred and five kidney samples were examined from 10 different wildlife species (antelope) greater cane rat (GCR), hare, African giant rat (AGR), tree hyrax, civet cat, monitor lizard, python, bushbuck and partridge) using a combination of Ellinghausen McCullough Johnson Harris (EMJH) medium, microscopic agglutination test (MAT), Warthin-Starry silver stain (WSss) and immunohistochemistry. Chi-square test was used with confidence level set at 0.05 to ascertain associations between positive cases and sex and species. Eighty-two (78.1%) samples were culturally positive, while 67.7% (63/93), 57.0% (16/28) and 66.7% (8/12) were WSss, MAT and immunohistochemically positive, respectively. Interstitial nephritis (41.0%) and tubular nephrosis (81.0%) were the most prominent histopathological changes. Pathogenic Leptospira organisms were highest in GCR (32.1%) and antelope (14.3%). Serovars hardjo (11.54%), bratislava (3.9%), canicola (3.9%), icterohaemorrhagiae (15.4%), pomona (7.14%) gripptotyphosa (19.2%) and undetermined isolates were also detected in other animals. The result showed high prevalence of Leptospira infection in the wild and the possibility of domestic animals and humans contracting the disease. This study is the first documentation of evidence of pathogenic Leptospira species in wildlife in Nigeria.

Enterotoxaemia (pulpy kidney) is a common bacterial disease of sheep caused by Clostridium perfringens type D epsilon toxin. It has mortality rates of up to 30% in non-vaccinated animals. Current vaccines from whole cell cultures are expensive to manufacture and can induce local inflammatory responses in sheep. They usually have reduced immunogenicity because of the difficulty of standardising the inactivation step in vaccine manufacturing. In the current study, we evaluated the safety and potency of a recombinant plant-made epsilon toxoid protein (r-Etox) as an affordable and safer alternative vaccine for developing countries. Results of injection site reactions, rectal temperature and toxin neutralisation test in single and prime-boost inoculations of mice, guinea pigs and sheep suggest that the product is not toxic to animals and could protect sheep against enterotoxaemia.

A total of 118 sera were collected during 2016 from two groups of dromedaries from Kebili and Medenine governorates in the south of Tunisia. The aim of this study was to provide the first serological investigation of four emerging vector-borne diseases in two groups of dromedaries in Tunisia. Sera were tested by ELISA and serum neutralisation test to identify West Nile virus (WNV), bluetongue virus (BTV), epizootic haemorrhagic disease virus (EHDV) and Rift Valley fever virus (RVFV). In the first group, the seroprevalence for BTV was 4.6%, while in the second group, it was 25.8% for WNV and 9.7% for BTV. Only serotype 1 was detected for BTV in the two groups. No evidence for circulation of RVF and EHD viruses was revealed. Results indicated that dromedaries can be infected with BTV and WNV, suggesting that this species might play a significant role in the epizootiology of these viral diseases in Tunisia and neighbouring countries.