Veterinary Record Open最新文献

Background: The expansion of vector-borne diseases is considered to be a threat to pet health. Some diseases such as heartworm disease have effective individual prevention methods; however, population-level disease control is limited by the lack of treatment compliance by pet owners. Veterinarians have a primary role in increasing compliance by educating owners on the appropriate prevention measures. Veterinary educational approaches targeting prevention strategies could strengthen prevention messaging at a clinic level.

Methods: A knowledge and attitude study was conducted with incoming Ross University School of Veterinary Medicine students as a preliminary assessment of this hypothesis.

Results: Seventy-three students were interviewed using a tested and standardised questionnaire during their first weeks and 38 answered the same questionnaire one year later. All of the participants had previous experience in a veterinary clinical setting. Knowledge about the disease was variable, usually higher in former veterinary technicians. Unfortunately, knowledge of heartworm prevention was low. In addition, willingness to share knowledge on disease prevention did not change even after one year in veterinary school.

Discussion: These results suggest that additions within the veterinary and veterinary technician school curriculum may be required to improve knowledge about disease prevention and ultimately promote better communication with pet owners and veterinary clinical teams.

Background: Porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV) vaccination is usually based on administering periodically PRRS modified live virus (MLV) in sows throughout their life. Using this schedule, transfer of maternally derived antibodies to the offspring is limited. The aim of the present study was to test the concept of priming with an MLV and boosting with a commercial inactivated virus vaccine in sows to reduce PRRSV incidence and improve productivity.

Methods: On two farms, all the sows were vaccinated with a MLV vaccine at week 8 of gestation. Then two groups were designated, one group was re-vaccinated in the third week prior to farrowing and using a commercial inactivated vaccine (the PG group). The second group was the control group (C). Assays for PRRSV infection and productive parameters were evaluated.

Results: For both farms, the incidence of PRRSV was lower at 6 weeks of age in PG than in C (p < 0.05). At weaning the proportion of PRRSV seropositive piglets was higher for PG as well (p < 0.05). The litters from C sows from both farms showed a higher pre-weaning mortality (odds ratio, C vs. PG = 1.18 ± 0.09; p < 0.05).

Conclusions: Administration of the vaccine in sows before farrowing was safe and associated with reduced incidence of PRRSV in piglets up to 6 weeks of age.

Background: Amlodipine, a dihydropyridine calcium-channel blocker, is currently being investigated as a treatment for myxomatous mitral valvular degeneration (MMVD). However, the effects of amlodipine on moderate or severe spontaneous MMVD, based on changes in echocardiographic indices, remain unclear.

Animals: Client-owned small-breed dogs (n = 24) with naturally occurring MMVD of the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine (ACVIM) stage B2 or higher.

Methods: Basic dog information including previous medication treatments were recorded. All subjects received amlodipine 0.1 mg/kg, administered per os, twice daily for 7 days, in addition to their existing medication. We measured systolic blood pressure, obtained x-ray, echocardiography, blood test data before and after 1 week of amlodipine administration.

Results: Left ventricular end-diastolic internal diameter, left atrial diameter and E wave reduced statistically after 1 week of amlodipine treatment (all p < 0.001). No adverse effects were reported.

Conclusions: These findings suggest that low-dose amlodipine should be considered as treatment for dogs with ACVIM stage B2‒C MMVD.

Introduction: Sheep scab caused by Psoroptes ovis, is a disease of concern to many stakeholders in Wales due to its welfare implications. There are good diagnostic tests and treatments available to deal with the disease. Even so, it remains a problem in Welsh flocks. As such a coordinated approach is required to deal with this issue in a more sustainable manner.

Pilot design: Sheep scab positive 'index' farms were initially diagnosed using a skin scrape to identify P. ovis mites. Contiguous farms were identified and antibody responses used to confirm onward infestation. All infested farms were treated by either dipping with an organophosphate (OP) dip or injecting with a licensed macrocyclic lactone (ML) product depending on farmer choice.

Results: Three positive 'index' farms were identified along with 12 contiguous properties. Positive serological responses were observed in seven of the 12 contiguous farms; four of which were treated by OP dip and three by an injectable ML product.

Discussion: To avoid reinfestation of treated farms, dealing with disease on contiguous properties is crucial. Through the project coordinating team, three local outbreaks of scab were dealt with in a short space of time with appropriate diagnosis and treatment being carried out. Some farmers were uncooperative and strategies such as providing additional external support and veterinary involvement might alleviate these issues in the future. This coordinated approach is recommended to veterinary surgeons in the field when dealing with scab on farm.

Background: Contrast media in CT is widely used in dogs and cats to provide superior tissue delineation and increase the diagnostic capabilities. These contrast-enhanced imaging techniques are gaining popularity in rabbits; published studies reporting the safety of doing so are lacking.

Methods: This retrospective observational study aimed to determine the incidence of adverse events following the intravenous administration of iodinated non-ionic contrast medium in 350 rabbits. The medical records of this subset of rabbits admitted between January 2009 and November 2018, that underwent CT examination and received intravenous contrast media, were evaluated.

Results: From the 350 rabbits, 342 rabbits were still alive 7 days after the scan. A total of eight rabbits died within 7 days of the scan, seven of which within the first 24 h. All deaths were presumed to be sequelae to the diseases they were being investigated for and not thought to be related to the administration of intravenous contrast medium.

Conclusions: The results indicated that the use of intravenous non-iodinated contrast medium was well tolerated and safe in rabbits undergoing conscious CT examination.

Background: Social media is increasingly used in small animal practice, enabling veterinarians to connect with clients and promote their business online. It can also be used by clients to quickly distribute complaints via online communities.

Material/methods: Using a questionnaire study we investigated Austrian, Danish and UK veterinarians' attitudes towards Facebook, the contents of clients' online complaints and how they were handled by veterinarians (N = 648).

Results: In Denmark and the UK, around 90% of practices had a Facebook page, in contrast to 40% of Austrian practices. Most Danish and UK veterinarians agreed that the use of Facebook was relevant and expected by clients. Agreement was lower among Austrian veterinarians, probably reflecting the lower uptake of social media there. In particular, younger veterinarians and those who actively used Facebook for the practice, could see benefits. In all three countries, we found that clients most frequently complained about treatment costs. Most veterinarians preferred to actively deal with clients' complaints, either replying online or discussing them directly.

Conclusions: We recommend future research focusing on veterinarians' personal use of social media and on clients' use of and attitudes towards social media in the veterinary context.

Background: Ivabradine is used to treat tachycardia; unlike atenolol, it does not affect blood pressure or myocardial contractility. This study compared the impact of ivabradine and atenolol on heart rate (HR) and HR variability (HRV) during a 24 h period, feeding and sleeping times, via a Holter electrocardiogram in healthy cats. We hypothesised that ivabradine and atenolol would lower the HRs equally well, even at times of excitement and rest, such as during feeding and sleep; that ivabradine, unlike atenolol, would have an effect on HRV.

Methods: Five clinically healthy cats were used in the prospective blinded crossover study receiving 3 days of ivabradine (0.30 mg/kg per os twice daily) followed by atenolol (6.25 mg/cat per os twice daily, range 1.3-2.0 mg/kg) or receiving atenolol followed by ivabradine. A placebo period was initiated before the start of the crossover test, data obtained during that period were used as a baseline (BL). Evaluation parameters included HR and HRV, for the whole 24 h period and for feeding and sleeping times, comparing the effect of ivabradine and atenolol with BL.

Results: The HR for the whole 24 h, feeding and sleeping times, were significantly lower with ivabradine and atenolol, compared to BL (p < 0.05). The HRV for the whole 24 h and sleeping time were significantly higher after ivabradine compared with BL and after atenolol.

Conclusions: In healthy cats, ivabradine and atenolol significantly reduced the HR regardless of excitement and rest; their effects were comparable. Ivabradine significantly increased HRV in comparison to BL whereas atenolol did not.

Background: A 7.8-kb deletion in intron 4 of the NHEJ1 canine gene is associated with Collie Eye Anomaly (CEA). This deletion has been described in sheep-herding breeds related to the collie lineage and in several other dog breeds. A genetic test based on this association can distinguish three genotypes: normal, carrier and affected. The present study is a retrospective investigation of the presence of the CEA allele frequencies in selected breeds from the Italian dog population over a 10-year time span.

Methods: Genotype data, for the 7.8 kb deletion in intron 4 of the NHEJ1 gene, from 496 dogs belonging to Border collie (BC, n = 334), Shetland Sheepdog (SS, n = 74), Australian Shepherd (AS, n = 52), Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever (NS, n = 20) and Rough Collie (RC, n = 16) were analysed. The genetic frequency of CEA allele was estimated in breeds with higher observations (BC, SS and AS).

Results: Healthy carriers were 50%, 45%, 29.6%, 17.3% and 12.5% in SS, NS, BC, AS and RC, respectively. The affected recessive homozygotes were 81.3%, 10.8% and 1.5% in RC, SS and BC, respectively. The CEA allelic frequencies were 0.36, 0.16 and 0.087 in SS, BC and AS, respectively.

Conclusion: The results support the usefulness of this type of genetic analysis to optimize the care of dogs where the CEA mutation is present, including assessing the health risk to susceptible dogs within a breed and to provide an objective basis for breeding programmes.