Dtw. Deutsche Tierärztliche Wochenschrift最新文献

Laminitis is a systemic disease which is manifested as a non infectious condition in the foot. The management of feeding and housing conditions is necessary to treat the endocrinological and metabolic disturbances of laminitic horses. The Equine Metabolic Syndrome (EMS) is predisposing for developing laminitis, and it is characterised by obesity, insulin resistance, hypertension and dyslipidaemia. A genetical predisposition is supposed and EMS is accompanied by a lack of exercise and inadequate energy intake. Laboratory examinations are of great importance for diagnosis. Analyses of insulin, glucose and ACTH are of interest. Several approaches to treat laminitis are available, including pharmacological and orthopaedic strategies as well as the management of the feeding and housing conditions. However, the prophylaxis to prevent laminitis has to be emphasised. Predisposed horses should be detected and adequately treated; especially weight reduction in obese horses is in the focus of interest. Horses in the acute stage of laminitis have to be stabled. Furthermore redistributing weight from the most stressed wall is necessary to prevent pain and to minimise laminar damage and displacement of the distal phalanx. In cases of displacement of the distal phalanx a close communication between the veterinarian and the authorised farrier is necessary, in these cases treatment should be supported by x-ray diagnosis. Horses have to be treated with NSAISs to ensure a proper therapy to consider animal welfare. Horses have to be fed with hay and supplemented with minerals and vitamins. Feeding exclusively straw and feed restriction has to be avoided.

In May 2007 a working group passed a guideline, which deals with requirements for the indoor keeping of dairy cows to perform Article 2 of the animal welfare legislation. The guideline should support the local district veterinary authorities and the stockman in the animal welfare judgement both of new and rebuilding as well as already existing stables. Whereas for new buildings minimum standards for the protection of cows are put together and beyond that additional recommendations for more "cow comfort" are given, for old buildings only standard values are presented. The guideline mentioned especially those aspects, which from previous experience always gives cause for discussion. For example: size and construction of cubicles, width and floor design of passageways or the relation between the number of animals and the number of feeding places and cubicles. All together the guideline enables the local district veterinary authorities in Lower Saxony to judge the keeping of dairy cows following equal standards. This leads to confidence in planning and investment for the livestock owners.

Killing of a vertebrate animal in Germany is allowed or not punishable only if a "reasonable cause" can be identified (Article 17 No. 1 TierSchG). A legal definition of the term "reasonable cause" does not exist. Currently the following definitions of the "reasonable cause" for the killing of equids are accepted: 1. Slaughter (in accordance with the equid pass and waiting periods) reasonable cause: Food production, initiated by the owner's desire. The requirements for slaughter of a sick animal or an emergency slaughter are defined through EU-legislations. 2. Euthanasia (in its original meaning) Reasonable cause: a) Compassion, initiated through medical indication b) scientific purposes (experimental animals) initiated through governmental authorization of a research request c) Epidemiological reasons initiated through veterinary legislative measures. According to the law for the protection of animals (TierSchG) "non curable pain or suffering" is a prerequisite for the killing of an animal because of a medical indication. Presuming an adequate knowledge base of the veterinarian this should leave enough room for an adequate medically reasoned decision. However, both a faulty veterinary explanation of a reasonable cause and an undue delay of the euthanasia (follow Article 17) can lead to an illegal punishable act (severe pain or suffering). Examples of veterinary medical indications for euthanasia will be presented. In addition, the question whether euthanasia can be considered as an alternative to treatment will be discussed. Finally, the more restrictive interpretations of the "reasonable cause" put forth by insurance companies will be explained. Future higher court decisions should lead to an adaptation of the insurance companies' interpretations of the "reasonable cause" to the outline presented above.

The use of an electric collar for training dogs is fundamentally forbidden. The verdict of the Federal German Administrative Court dated February 23, 2006 (ref. 3 C 14.05) provides legal clarity and indicates the approach to be taken to enable exceptions from the fundamental ban on electric collars. It is particularly to prevent the misuse of electric collars in the interests of animal welfare that federal legislation should further develop the approach specified in 1998 by including Article 3, No. 11 of the German act on the prevention of cruelty to animals (TierSchG). In this context, it is recommended to continue intensive specialist debate on the question of whether and, where applicable, to what extent the use of electric collars may be permitted, e.g. within the context of training dogs.

Rubber topped slatted floor gives more lying comfort to intensive fed fattening bulls, reduces risks of integument lesions as well as increases their locomotion comfort. On the other side there are more fissured alterations and defects in the sole and heel horn due to lack of sufficient wear away which often made the bearing surface to be overgrown. Overgrown claws are also seen on solid slatted floors, but these horn parts were normally grated down in short time that frequently goes along with abrasions of the claw peak and the wall horn as well. The current experiences of our study show favour to the use of a floor that combines hard and soft qualities. Weak claw performance and health has a link to a bad state of cleanness of the pens and the animals as well and must be assessed with regard to permanent wetness on the grounds. Animals out of greater pens are less dirty because the solid floor becomes sooner dry than in cases with higher crowding degrees of animals. More space per animal and higher comfort gives chance for higher daily weight gain. The recordings and evaluations of this project are still in progress.

This literature review gives information about important behaviour patterns concerning feeding, reproduction and dust bathing of laying hens kept in aviary systems. The behaviour of hens in aviaries is compared to the behaviour of hens living under "close to natural" conditions. Feeding behaviour can be performed to a great extent in aviaries. The same is true for nesting behaviour, while mating behaviour can only be shown in mixed flocks. Dust bathing behaviour in aviaries should be further investigated. Although a litter area is provided and therefore dust bathing is basically possible, further research is needed, to which amount dust bathing behaviour is performed and how it is influenced by composition and height of the dust bathing substrate. Feather pecking and cannibalism can cause more deaths in housing systems with large groups of birds than in cage systems. Considering these results and the results of a first paper dealing with social and resting behaviour, aviaries provide an environment, where hens can perform a large part of their species typical behaviour repertoire. Therefore, under the aspect of behaviour, for laying hens in aviaries the potential to experience good welfare can be evaluated as fairly high.

The importance of preparation technique, culture media and incubation time in the embryonation of the infective egg stages of the intestinal nematode parasite Heterakis gallinarum was studied. Mature H. gallinarum worms were isolated from the caeca of infected chickens and separated by sex. In a first experiment intact female worms were kept for the development of their eggs in four different media (0.5% formalin, 2% formalin, 0.1 N sulphuric acid, 0.1% potassium dichromate) and incubated under constant temperature (20-22 degrees C) for 2, 4, 6 or 8 weeks. Afterwards the body of the worms were ruptured and the numbers of unembryonated and embryonated eggs were determined using a McMaster egg counting chamber, and the percentage of embryonated eggs was calculated. After 8 weeks of incubation in 0.5% formalin, 0.1 N sulphuric acid or 0.1% potassium dichromate 27.6%, 26.7% and 29.4% of the eggs, respectively, embryonated into third stage larvae (p > 0.05). In contrast, incubation in 2% formalin resulted in an embryonation of 18.6% only (p < 0.05). In a second experiment H. gallinarum eggs were directly harvested from worm uteri and cultivated afterwards in different media (2% formalin, 0.1 N sulphuric acid, 0.1% potassium dichromate) at 20 to 22 degrees C for 6 weeks. An incubation of isolated eggs in 2.0% formalin or 0.1% potassium dichromate during 6 weeks resulted in a significantly higher percentage of embryonation in comparison to the incubation of intact worms (first experiment). The results suggest that preparation technique, media and time of incubation has an essential influence on the development rate of H. gallinarum eggs.

Unlabelled: The present trial was conducted in Hungary in neighboring large indoor and outdoor pig production units, belonging to the same breeding company. Rejected kidneys from 201 (out of 241; 83.4%) outdoor, and 191 (out of 512, 37.3%) indoor high parity sows, with previous history of recidiving postparturient fever and excessive postparturient vulvovaginal discharge were gross pathologically bacteriologically, and histologically evaluated. All rejected kidneys revealed chronic pyelonephritis. In outdoor sows Escherichia (E.) coli and Actinobaculum (A.) suis were cultured from all kidneys. Besides E. coli and A. suis, Clostridium spp., Arcanobacterium pyogenes, gram-positive streptococci (enterococci, Streptococcus faecalis), staphylococci (Staphylococcus (S.) albus, S. epidermis, S. aureus), Erysipelothrix rhusiopathiae, and Klebsiella spp. were concurrently found in 131 (64.7%) kidneys; Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Citrobacter, Pasteurella multocida, Proteus spp. were concurrently found beside E. coli and A. suis in 71 (35.3%) kidneys. In indoor sows E. coli and A. suis were cultured from all kidneys as well. Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Citrobacter, Pasteurella multocida, Proteus spp. were found beside E. coli and A. suis in 21 (11%) kidneys. However only 6 sows (3.1%) revealed the concurrent presence of Clostridium spp., Arcanobacterium pyogenes, gram-positive streptococci (enterococci, Streptococcus faecalis), staphylococci (S. albus, S. epidermis, S. aureus), Erysipelothrix rhusiopathiae, and Klebsiella spp.

Implications: in Eastern European climate, more high parity outdoor sows with recidiving postparturient fever and vulvovaginal discharge have pyelonephritis and higher diversity of pathogenic bacteria in the renal pelvis compared with indoor sows.

This report describes a case of tracheal collapse in a four month old Uckermaerker heifer. The animal was born spontaneous without signs of dystocia. It was kept outside on the pasture and died in the summer at high temperatures under signs of acute dyspnea and respiratory failure. Clinical symptoms were not observed by the owner until a few hours before death. At necropsy, the middle and caudal third of the trachea was found to be collapsed due to an inward bending of the dorsal ends of the cartilage rings. The most severe luminal reduction was located in the thoracic part of the trachea approximately 5 cm cranial the tracheal bronchus. Additional pathological lesions were absent except for signs of circulatory failure (lung edema, congestion of the shock organs). Based on clinical history and pathological findings, a traumatic cause of the tracheal collapse is unlikely. However, a hereditary influence seems possible since analysis of the breeding scheme revealed inbreeding. The mother of the affected animal was mated with her grandson (inbreeding coefficient 0,125).

In this study we investigated the effect of kefir on the levels of glutathione (GSH), malondialdehyde (MDA), nitric oxide (NO) in the liver, stomach, spleen and colon of mice with colonic aberrant crypts formed by azoxymethane (AOM). Thirty 12 weeks old Swiss Albino mice averaging 31.5 g weight were used as experimental animals. The mice were separated into 3 groups. The first group was the control group, second group was the AOM and third group was the AOM+kefir group. We applied AOM to the second and third groups. Mice were fed ad libitum by laboratory rodent chow during the experiment period. Water was given to the first and second groups and third group received only kefir diluted with water (50%). AOM was injected subcutaneously to the second and third groups for 7 weeks (two times a week, 5 mg/kg). Six weeks after the final AOM treatment the animals were sacrificed and liver, stomach, spleen and colon samples were collected from all the groups. MDA level demonstrated an increase only in stomach for the third group (p < 0.001), while an elevation was observed for all of the four organs for the second group (spleen p < 0.001, liver p < 0.001, colon p < 0.01). GSH level showed an increase in the second group at stomach (p < 0.01) and colon (p < 0.001), while in the third group, a small increase was determined only at the colon (p < 0.05). NO level increased at all of the organs in the second group (spleen, liver, colon p < 0.001, stomach p < 0.05), but only at liver and colon in the third group 3 (p < 0.001). In conclusion these results showed that kefir plays an antioxidant role.