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.

A 3-year-old female Thoroughbred racehorse was presented following the accidental oral and skin administration of amitraz. This case report describes the clinical signs and the treatment of this horse. Clinical signs of amitraz toxicosis are associated with the stimulation of alpha2-adrenergic receptors. Amitraz is seldom fatal because the effects can be reversed by alpha2-adrenergic antagonists. The horse displayed typical clinical signs of colic, including pawing, small hard drops, tranquillisation, depression, ataxia, muscular incoordination and impaction colic lasting up to 7 days. The syndrome was accompanied by mild dehydration. The horse survived after persistent symptomatic treatment, including the giving of intravenous fluids, antibiotics, multiple doses of mineral oil per os, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and dexamethasone intramuscularly and intravenously.

Melamine is an organic base and a trimer of cyanamide which contains 66% nitrogen by mass, but it was sometimes illegally added to food products in order to enhance the apparent protein content for the bigger profit. Many Chinese infants and pet animals fed melamine-containing formulas suffered acute kidney failure with renal crystal formation. Fish feeds were also recently found to be contaminated with melamine. This experiment has been designed to determine whether renal crystals can be experimentally induced in crucian carp (Carassius carassius) fed melamine and cyanuric acid (each at 400 mg/kg/day for 3 days) in combination, and to compare experimentally induced crystals with those from pet animals with triazine related renal failure. The results showed that all fish developed gold brown renal crystals arranged in radial spherulites in the renal tubules, similar to those detected in the pet animals.

Post-weaning multisystemic wasting syndrome (PMWS) is a new emerging disease affecting nursery and growing pigs in worldwide. Porcine circovirus type 2 (PCV-2) is a most important pathogen associated with PMWS. This study was carried out to investigate the pathological changes in the pancreas of pigs diagnosed as PMWS. To detect the PCV-2 antigen and nucleic acid in the tissue, immunohistochemistry and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was conducted, respectively. 24 pigs of 4-10 weeks old showed clinical signs of PMWS such as chronic wasting, respiratory distress and diarrhea were examined. Histopathologically, interstitial and periductular mononuclear cells infiltration were observed in pancreas. Multifocal to diffuse necrosis of acinar tissues or necrotizing to granulomatous pancreastitis with numerous syncytial cells infiltration were examined in severe cases. PCV-2 nucleic acid was detected from all tested pancreas using PCR. The PCV-2 antigen in 12 pancreas sections was detected by immunohistochemical staining. PCV-2 has a tropism for vascular endothelial cells and infiltrated macrophages. Although gross lesions are uncommon in the pancreas of pigs with PMWS, histopathological changes and the presence of PCV-2 in this tissue may be related to clinical signs associated with digestive disorders.

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.

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.

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.