Acta Veterinaria Scandinavica最新文献

Background: Bopivirus B is an emerging picornavirus that affects goats in China. This study aimed to establish a TaqMan real-time PCR assay for detecting Bopivirus B and conduct a preliminary survey of infection in six goat farms in Sichuan province, China. Specific primers and a probe targeting the 3D gene of Bopivirus B were designed, and the TaqMan-based real-time PCR assay was successfully established following the optimization of reaction conditions and components. A total of 257 goat fecal samples were collected from six farms in Sichuan and tested using the newly developed method.

Results: The assay demonstrated a linear relationship between 2.73 × 10³ and 2.73 × 10⁹ copies/µL, with a high correlation coefficient (R² = 0.999) and amplification efficiency of 109%. Additionally, the assay exhibited excellent specificity and reproducibility, with a detection limit of 27.3 copies/µL. The field positive rate of Bopivirus B was 100%, and a higher positive rate was observed in diarrheal fecal samples (33.72%) compared to non-diarrheal fecal samples (12.28%, P < 0.005), suggesting a potential association between Bopivirus B and goat diarrhea, with a widespread prevalence in goats in the Sichuan province. Furthermore, ten complete 3D genes sequences of Bopivirus B were obtained, and phylogenetic analysis showed that all Bopivirus B strains in this study were most closely related to two known Chinese Bopivirus strains based on nucleotide sequences of the 3D gene.

Conclusions: This study developed a highly specific, repeatable, and sensitive TaqMan-based real-time PCR assay targeting the 3D gene for Bopivirus B detection, offering a valuable tool for the detection and epidemiological investigation of Bopivirus B. The prevalence of Bopivirus B was widespread in goats in China, with a close association observed between Bopivirus B and goat diarrhea.

Background: Spinal neoplasms are sparsely documented in juvenile dogs. Case reports and small case series have described nephroblastomas, primitive neuroectodermal tumours, gliomas, certain sarcomas, and osteochondromas, but round cell sarcomas have not previously been documented.

Case presentation: This case report describes a 10-week-old female Rottweiler puppy with acute onset of progressive ataxia and pelvic limb lameness. Neurological examination localised a T3-L3 myelopathy and MRI revealed an ovoid, well-marginated mass extending from mid L3 to caudal L4 vertebrae. Post-mortem examination, histopathology, and immunohistochemistry confirmed a round cell sarcoma of extradural origin.

Conclusion: Our case report stresses the importance of performing MRI even in very young individuals with acute progressive signs of spinal cord lesions. Clinicians should include spinal tumours as a differential diagnosis for juvenile canines with spinal neurological signs. Round cell sarcoma should be added to the list of spinal tumours in young dogs.

Background: The health and welfare of pigs used in biomedical research is essential to research quality and compliance with the 3Rs (replacement, reduction, and refinement). Hematological variables are objective markers to quantitatively determine health issues and evaluate physiological differences before and after experimental procedures. There are no recent validated hematologic reference intervals (RIs) published for Danish crossbred Landrace Yorkshire Duroc (LYD) pigs to aid researchers and veterinarians in their decision-making. The objective of this study was to establish hematologic RIs for LYD pigs used for biomedical research. Blood samples were collected from healthy female LYD pigs (35-65 kg) and analyzed using the in-house ProCyte Dx Hematology Analyzer. Means with 90% confidence intervals for lower and upper limits were calculated according to guidelines by the American Society of Veterinary Clinical Pathology.

Results: Inspection of 141 pigs led to 133 blood samples available for analyses after exclusions due to clinical signs of disease, inadequate tube filling or presence of macroscopic clots. Thirty-two samples reported platelet abnormalities and upon further investigation these samples were excluded when calculating RIs for platelets and platelet indices. Other measurements were not affected. The RI for red blood cells, hemoglobin, hematocrit and white blood cells were 5.10-7.00 × 10⁶/µL, 9.36-12.29 g/dL, 30.46-40.47%, and 11.73-25.00 × 10³/µL, respectively.

Conclusions: Our study provides RIs for hematological variables in LYD pigs, revealing significant differences from published RIs of other breeds. These findings highlight the influence of factors like age, breed and health status on measurements, emphasizing the importance of using breed-specific RIs. This research supports the 3Rs, guiding better animal care and enhancing overall research quality.

Background: Lumbosacral transitional vertebra (LTV) is a congenital anomaly in dogs and have been proposed to be associated with cauda equina syndrome (CES) in German Shepherd dogs. This prospective study, including 32 dogs from two breeds, aims to investigate if LTV is associated with lower back pain in dogs. The study compared owners' assessment of their dogs' well-being and clinical evaluation with advanced diagnostic imaging to identify changes that might explain clinical findings.

Results: Dogs with LTV type 2 (57.0%) and with LTV type 3 (70.0%) exhibited mild lower back pain, which was significantly more frequent (P = 0.012) compared to dogs with LTV type 0 and LTV type 1. Advanced diagnostic imaging identified a plausible cause for this pain. Dogs diagnosed with LTV types 2 and 3 with lower back pain tended to be lighter (median 14.50 kg) and younger (median 4.10 years) than breeds typically reported for degenerative lumbosacral stenosis (DLSS). Based on the owners' assessment of their dogs, they considered them pain-free.

Conclusions: The study identified a correlation between LTV types 2 and 3 and lower back pain in these dog breeds. Advanced diagnostic imaging findings confirmed that dogs with these LTV types were more likely to exhibit pathological changes associated with DLSS.

Background: Biosecurity measures are essential for mitigating the risk of pathogen introduction and spread in farms. While standardised tools for monitoring biosecurity implementation exist, they are often not tailored to the specific needs of low and middle income countries (LMICs), where pathogen occurrence and farming practices can be highly variable compared to intensive high income country settings. The aim of our study was to develop a flexible risk assessment tool for evaluating biosecurity practices on small and medium-scale poultry farms in LMICs. The methodology described here allows local experts to adapt the tool to current conditions.

Results: The development process began by combining two existing questionnaires. These were evaluated by nine experts with expertise in diverse farming systems in LMICs. The experts conducted a knowledge aggregation process to assign weights to the different areas and individual questions within the questionnaires. The median scores from the final expert elicitation informed the weighting of questions in the newly developed questionnaire. These weights are adaptable and can be adjusted to reflect population-specific conditions, which may vary in pathogen load and farming practices.

Conclusions: We have developed a flexible biosecurity assessment tool tailored to small-and medium-scaled poultry farms in LMICs. This tool can be used as presented or adapted to local conditions through the input of local experts, allowing for effective and context-specific biosecurity monitoring.

Background: Cellulitis due to infection with clostridia has not been documented in horses in Iceland. However, clostridia are well-known pathogens in Icelandic sheep, which have traditionally shared grazing land with horses. Clostridial infections of equine muscle or subcutis following injection with medicinal products have been described in other countries but have never been reported in Iceland. In this case report, we present the first documented outbreak of subcutaneous clostridial infection in horses in Iceland following subcutaneous injection.

Case presentation: In November 2022, 16 out of 32 horses, that some days earlier had received a subcutaneous injection of Noromectin^® 1% injectable solution, developed clinical signs indicating malignant oedema. The clinical signs included pyrexia, depression, swollen limbs, chest and neck, reluctance to move and dyspnoea, leading to the death or euthanasia of five horses. In addition, one horse was found dead with no previously noted clinical signs. Necropsy of one of the five horses revealed severe, acute cellulitis in the neck region, as well as lymphadenitis in regional lymph nodes. Abscesses, some with subsequent spontaneous drainage of seropurulent material, were observed at the presumed injection site on eight surviving horses approximately 2 weeks post-injection. Bacterial culture of samples from the necropsied horse and from abscesses from three surviving horses yielded the growth of C. septicum. Analysis of water samples from the pasture where the herd was kept also revealed the presence of C. septicum. Whole genome sequencing suggested that the isolates from the diseased horses contained the same C. septicum strain, whereas the strain isolated from the water samples differed from the disease-causing isolates.

Conclusions: Clinical signs compatible with serious subcutaneous C. septicum infection were seen in over half of 32 horses injected with an ivermectin product, with the subsequent death of six of the horses. In the absence of other obvious sources, the outbreak suggests that C. septicum spores on the skin of these horses were introduced under the skin when they were injected. Such infections have not been reported in Iceland, although ivermectin products formulated for subcutaneous injection have been widely used for more than 30 years. The outbreak warrants further investigation into C. septicum in the environment of grazing horses in Iceland.

Background: Information on indirect contacts (e.g. contact with visitors and non-porcine species on farms, shared staff and equipment, contact with trucks) is often poorly recorded even though it constitutes a risk in terms of disease transmission. The aim of the present study was to quantify the number of indirect contacts and associated biosecurity measures in Danish pig herds. A questionnaire survey was conducted among both veterinarians and pig producers in Denmark during 2022-2023. The veterinary questionnaire resulted in 143 answers, representing the Veterinary Health Advisory Service contracts for 53% of non-hobby pig farms. The questionnaire for the pig producers resulted in 373 valid responses and a final response rate of 18%. The results from the veterinary questionnaire provide information on veterinary contacts between pig farms and also estimates on the agreement between registration data and real-life observations.

Results: The questionnaire for veterinarians stated that the majority of veterinarians specialized within pig practice would visit > 3 pig farms per day, with pig farms being located with an average distance between the farms of 15 km. The veterinarians presumed wind, movement of pigs and trucks transporting pigs to be the main routes of PRRS infection. The questionnaire for pig producers provides updated data on indirect contacts (e.g. contact with visitors and non-porcine species on farms, sharing of staff and equipment, procedures for purchase/delivery of pigs and contact with trucks) stratified in terms of farm type and production type. Among respondents, 10% of the pig producers shared staff, while 2% shared equipment (washing robots) with other farms, excluding farms in a joint operation. When purchasing gilts, 70% of the participating pig producers introduced gilts in line with recommendations for strict quarantine for a minimum of 42 days. The delivery of the pigs varied, depending on the type of pigs being delivered: finishers were typically delivered for slaughter through delivery facilities into a (usually empty) slaughterhouse truck, while sows for slaughter were typically delivered by means of a delivery truck offsite into a slaughterhouse truck (usually with other pigs on board).

Conclusion: Since the inclusion of indirect contacts in disease spread models relies on valid data, the present study provided valuable data regarding the frequencies and biosecurity measures of indirect contacts between Danish pig herds, which may be useful in the parametrization of computational epidemiological models.

Background: Pulse oximetry has not been thoroughly evaluated for assessment of oxygenation in conscious foals. Compared with invasive arterial blood sampling, it is a painless and non-invasive method for real-time monitoring of blood oxygen saturation. The aim of this prospective clinical study was to evaluate the usability, validity, and reliability of pulse oximetry at two measuring sites (lip and caudal abdominal skin fold) for blood oxygen saturation measurement in conscious foals with and without respiratory compromise. Thirty-two foals under one month of age were used. Nineteen foals had normal respiratory and cardiovascular function, and 13 had pneumonia. Pulse oximetry with a transmittance sensor was performed in triplicate on each foal's lip (n = 196 measurements) and/or skin fold (n = 338 measurements), and arterial blood sample was collected. The oxygen saturation values measured by pulse oximetry from the lip and skin fold were compared with each other (n = 58 measurement pairs) and with the calculated arterial oxygen saturation based on arterial blood samples (n = 93 measurement pairs). Furthermore, repeatability of the pulse oximetry measurements was assessed.

Results: Measured blood oxygen saturation was clearly associated with the calculated saturation, but on average (± SD) it was 1.8 (± 3.3) percentage units higher from the lip and 5.7 (± 4.3) percentage units higher from the skin fold than the calculated saturation. In concurrent lip and skin fold measurements within a foal, the skin fold measurements were 2.4 (± 2.4) percentage units higher than the lip measurements. The repeatability of three pulse oximetry saturation measurement results was moderate to good and significantly improved when the measurement furthest from the middle-measured value was excluded. The most deviating measurement was often obtained first. Pulse oximetry in general was well tolerated and easy to perform, but as expected in conscious foals, movement and contact problems generated occasional technical difficulties in some individuals.

Conclusions: In conscious foals, pulse oximetry with a transmittance sensor attached to the lip (but not to the skin fold) is a clinically applicable and valid method for arterial blood oxygen saturation determination. Several measurements should be obtained and outliers discarded to obtain a reliable result.

Background: The reindeer brainworm, Elaphostrongylus rangiferi, is a protostrongylid parasite of reindeer that has caused severe disease outbreaks in reindeer husbandry. E. rangiferi is considered ubiquitous in Norway, though most published prevalence studies are from Finnmark county only. In the present study, faecal samples were collected over three winter seasons (2013-2016) from eight herds of semi-domesticated Eurasian tundra reindeer (Rangifer tarandus tarandus) distributed all over the reindeer herding area in Norway. Baermann's technique was used to identify E. rangiferi larvae. The density of larvae was measured by counting and calculating number of larvae per gram faeces (LPG) in positive samples.

Results: E. rangiferi larvae were found in 109 of 355 faecal samples (31%). All herds had positive samples at all sampling sessions. Prevalence in adults (> 1.5 years, n = 176) was 43% with significant difference between herds, varying from 25 to 78%. Prevalence in calves (< 1 year, n = 179) was 18%, and varied with sample month, being 10% in Oct-Jan (n = 153) and 69% in Mar-May (n = 26). Prevalence did not show statistically significant difference between males and females. LPG showed a highly skewed distribution, total median LPG being 38, range 2-700. Calves in Mar-May had significantly (P = 0.01) higher number of LPG (median 104) than calves in Oct-Jan (median 14) and adults (median 32). LPG did not differ significantly between males and females nor between herds, but there was a significant moderate positive correlation between herd prevalence and LPG (Spearman rho = 0.35, P < 0.01). Samples from individually marked adult reindeer with known age (n = 81) showed no significant difference in prevalence between young (2-5 years) and old (6-15 years) reindeer. LPG tended to be slightly reduced with age, but the reduction was not statistically significant (P = 0.07). Systematic yearly treatment with ivermectin was done in four herds, but any effect on E. rangiferi prevalence was not clear.

Conclusions: This study confirms that E. rangiferi was ubiquitously present in all parts of the reindeer herding area in Norway during the study period. Differences in prevalence between herds were significant, and LPG in herds increased with increasing herd prevalence.