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At least 235 records · Page 13Linked to original sources
PubMed1995

Aircraft and ship disinfection.

Shipment of animals, animal products and foodstuffs (for human or animal consumption) by sea and air is economically important. However, the possibilities of pathogen transmission represent a genuine danger, even if veterinary controls are performed continuously. Bacteria, viruses, fungi and parasites excreted by animals may contaminate surfaces and are protected by organic matter. Cleaning is an important step in the sanitizing process, and if this is performed well, more than 90% of microorganisms can be removed. Chemical disinfectants must be compatible with cleaning procedures, instruments and materials used previously, and should be without harmful effects on humans or animals. The author outlines the basic procedures and fundamental principles involved.

Aircraft↗
PubMed2001

Factors associated with Salmonella shedding among equine colic patients at a veterinary teaching hospital.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate factors potentially associated with fecal Salmonella shedding among equine patients hospitalized for colic at a veterinary teaching hospital and to determine the effects of probiotic treatment on fecal Salmonella shedding and clinical signs. DESIGN: Longitudinal study and controlled trial. ANIMALS: 246 equine colic patients. PROCEDURE: History and medical information were obtained from patient records. Fecal and environmental samples were submitted for aerobic bacterial culture for Salmonella enterica. Fifty-one patients were treated with a commercially available probiotic; 46 were treated with a placebo. Logistic regression was used to evaluate data. RESULTS: Salmonella organisms were detected in feces from 23 (9%) patients at least once during hospitalization. Patients were more likely to shed Salmonella organisms if diarrhea was evident < or = 6 hours after hospitalization and duration of hospitalization exceeded 8 days (odds ratio [OR], 20.3), laminitis developed during hospitalization (OR, 12.0), results of nasogastric intubation were abnormal (OR, 4.9), leukopenia was evident < or =6 hours after hospitalization (OR, 4.6), or travel time to the teaching hospital exceeded 1 hour (OR, 3.5). Horses treated with the probiotic did not differ from control horses in regard to likelihood of fecal Salmonella shedding (OR, 1.5) or prevalence of clinical signs. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Results suggest that certain risk factors are associated with fecal shedding of S enterica among equine patients hospitalized at a veterinary teaching hospital because of colic and that pathogen monitoring in patients and the hospital environment and use of barrier nursing precautions for equine colic patients are beneficial.

Animals↗
PubMed2000

Preparation of the inguinal fat pad for perfusion in situ in the rat: a surgical technique that preserves continuous blood flow.

We developed a surgical technique for preparing the inguinal fat pad of rats for perfusion that preserves continuous blood flow to the tissue. Fatty acid uptake from the fat pads of fed rats (46.1 +/- 2.1% of arterial supply, n = 82) and release from those of fasted (48 h) animals (51.3 +/- 3.1% of supply, n = 69) occurred principally via the free fatty acid component of the blood; levels of triglycerides, cholestryl esters, and phospholipids did not change significantly. Venous blood flow in perfusions using blood from fed rats was 83.3 +/- 1.7 mL/min and 83.1 +/- 1.5 microL/min in experiments involving fasted donors. Values for arterial (A) and venous (V) pH (A, 7.41 +/- 0.03; V, 7.32 +/- 0.04), pO2 (A, 151.6 +/- 15.7 mm Hg; V, 34.7 +/- 9.2 mm Hg), pCO2 (A, 30.8 +/- 6.6 mm Hg; V, 58.2 +/- 5.2 mm Hg), and hematocrit (A, 44.6 +/- 1.2%; V, 45.7 +/- 1.2%) were unchanged throughout the course of the perfusions. Fat pad and blood perfusates were maintained at 37 degrees C. Tissue homogenates revealed that the total fatty acid content of fat pads from fed rats (333.5 +/- 0.3 mg/g tissue) differed significantly from that in fasted animals (260.7 +/- 0.7 mg/g tissue; P < 0.001). Our technique likely will have many uses in the study of lipid transport and metabolism, hyperlipidemia, and cancer-associated cachexia.

Adipose Tissue↗
PubMed2002

Biofilm bacteria: formation and comparative susceptibility to antibiotics.

The Calgary Biofilm Device (CBD) was used to form bacterial biofilms of selected veterinary gram-negative and gram-positive pathogenic bacteria from cattle, sheep, pigs, chicken, and turkeys. The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and minimum biofilm eradication concentration (MBEC) of ampicillin, ceftiofur, cloxacillin, oxytetracycline, penicillin G, streptomycin, tetracycline, enrofloxacin, erythromycin, gentamicin, tilmicosin, and trimethoprim-sulfadoxine for gram-positive and -negative bacteria were determined. Bacterial biofilms were readily formed on the CBD under selected conditions. The biofilms consisted of micro-colonies encased in extracellular polysaccharide material. Biofilms composed of Arcanobacterium (Actinomyces) pyogenes, Staphylococcus aureus, Staphylococcus hyicus, Streptococcus agalactiae, Corynebacterium renale, or Corynebacterium pseudotuberculosis were not killed by the antibiotics tested but as planktonic bacteria they were sensitive at low concentrations. Biofilm and planktonic Streptococcus dysgalactiae and Streptococcus suis were sensitive to penicillin, ceftiofur, cloxacillin, ampicillin, and oxytetracycline. Planktonic Escherichia coli were sensitive to enrofloxacin, gentamicin, oxytetracycline and trimethoprim/ sulfadoxine. Enrofloxacin and gentamicin were the most effective antibiotics against E. coli growing as a biofilm. Salmonella spp. and Pseudomonas aeruginosa isolates growing as planktonic populations were sensitive to enrofloxacin, gentamicin, ampicillin, oxytetracycline, and trimethoprim/sulfadoxine, but as a biofilm, these bacteria were only sensitive to enrofloxacin. Planktonic and biofilm Pasteurella multocida and Mannheimia haemolytica had similar antibiotic sensitivity profiles and were sensitive to most of the antibiotics tested. The CBD provides a valuable new technology that can be used to select antibiotics that are able to kill bacteria growing as biofilms.

Animals↗
PubMed2006

[Tick-host interactions].

Ticks are dangerous blood-sucking ectoparasites of medical and veterinary importance. They serve as reservoirs and vectors pathogens and cause direct skin damage by feeding. Tick saliva contains pharmacologically active molecules directed against host's immune system and effector pathways. Ticks feeding induce hosts' inflammatory and immunological reactions of host comprise both innate and acquired immunity.

Animals↗
PubMed1995

Oxygen saturation monitoring in experimental surgery: a comparison of pulse oximetry and arterial blood gas measurement.

Experimental surgery in animal models often requires prolonged periods of general anesthesia. Animals undergoing these procedures may have difficulty maintaining normal ventilation and oxygenation and therefore may require physiologic monitoring and endotracheal intubation to avoid hypoxia that could adversely affect the results of the investigation. Monitoring has traditionally included measurements of PaO2, PCO2, pH, and oxygen saturation calculated from arterial blood. Endotracheal intubation and placement of arterial catheters necessary for the intraoperative collection of specimens for blood gas analysis are labor-intensive and time-consuming. In this study, rats undergoing thoracic laminectomy as part of a study on spinal cord injury were monitored by noninvasive pulse oximetry, with a reflectance transducer placed on the skin/fur of the neck overlying the cervical carotid artery. Comparison of these data with intermittent arterial blood gas measurements in the same animals indicated > 90% concordance with the pulse oximetry values. We also determined the fraction of inspired oxygen (FiO2) that, delivered via facemask, can achieve at least the minimal normal oxygen saturation (SaO2) of 90%. These findings suggest that physiologic monitoring during experimental rodent surgery can be substantially simplified by pulse oximetry and by delivery of oxygen via facemask, eliminating the need for arterial blood gas determinations or endotracheal intubation.

Animals↗
PubMed2000

Mammalian microsporidiosis.

The phylum Microspora contains a diverse group of single-celled, obligate intracellular protozoa sharing a unique organelle, the polar filament, and parasitizing a wide variety of invertebrate and vertebrate animals, including insects, fish, birds, and mammals. Encephalitozoon cuniculi is the classic microsporidial parasite of mammals, and encephalitozoonosis in rabbits and rodents has been and continues to be recognized as a confounding variable in animal-based biomedical research. Although contemporary research colonies are screened for infection with this parasite, E. cuniculi remains a cause of morbidity and mortality in pet and conventionally raised rabbits. In addition, E. cuniculi is a potential pathogen of immature domestic dogs and farm-raised foxes. The recent discovery and identification of Encephalitozoon intestinalis, Encephalitozoon hellem, and Enterocytozoon bieneusi, in addition to E. cuniculi, as opportunistic pathogens of humans have renewed interest in the Microspora. Veterinary pathologists, trained in the comparative anatomy of multiple animal species and infectious disease processes, are in a unique position to contribute to the diagnosis and knowledge of the pathogenesis of these parasitic diseases. This review article covers the life cycle, ultrastructure, and biology of mammalian microsporaidia and the clinical disease and lesions seen in laboratory and domestic animals, particularly as they relate to Encephalitozoon species. Human microsporidial disease and animal models of human infection are also addressed. Often thought of as rabbit pathogens of historical importance, E. cuniculi and the related mammalian microsporidia are emerging as significant opportunistic pathogens of immunocompromised individuals.

AIDS-Related Opportunistic Infections↗
PubMed2005

Use of adenoviral vectors as veterinary vaccines.

Vaccines are the most effective and inexpensive prophylactic tool in veterinary medicine. Ideally, vaccines should induce a lifelong protective immunity against the target pathogen while not causing clinical or pathological signs of diseases in the vaccinated animals. However, such ideal vaccines are rare in the veterinary field. Many vaccines are either of limited effectiveness or have harmful side effects. In addition, there are still severe diseases with no effective vaccines. A very important criterion for an ideal vaccine in veterinary medicine is low cost; this is especially important in developing countries and even more so for poultry vaccination, where vaccines must sell for a few cents a dose. Traditional approaches include inactivated vaccines, attenuated live vaccines and subunit vaccines. Recently, genetic engineering has been applied to design new, improved vaccines. Adenovirus vectors are highly efficient for gene transfer in a broad spectrum of cell types and species. Moreover, adenoviruses often induce humoral, mucosal and cellular immune responses to antigens encoded by the inserted foreign genes. Thus, adenoviruses have become a vector of choice for delivery and expression of foreign proteins for vaccination. Consequently, the market requirements for adenovirus vaccines are increasing, creating a need for production methodologies of concentrated vectors with warranted purity and efficacy. This review summarizes recent developments and approaches of adenovirus production and purification as the application of these vectors, including successes and failures in clinical applications to date.

Adenoviridae↗
PubMed2004

Barrier precautions, isolation protocols, and personal hygiene in veterinary hospitals.

Because nosocomial and zoonotic diseases are inherent and ever-present risks in veterinary hospitals, proactive policies should be in place to reduce the risk of sporadic cases and outbreaks. Policies should ideally be put in place before disease issues arise, and policies should be effectively conveyed to all relevant personnel. Written policies are required for practical and liability reasons and should be reviewed regularly. Although no infection control program can eliminate disease concerns, proper implementation of barrier precautions and isolation can reduce the exposure of hospitalized animals and hospital personnel to infectious agents. Appropriate personal hygiene, particularly hand hygiene, can assist in the prevention of disease transmission when pathogens bypass barriers and are able to contact personnel. Veterinary hospitals have moral, professional, and legal requirements to provide a safe workplace and to reduce the risks to hospitalized patients. Based on experience in the human medical field and on the continual emergence of new infectious diseases, infection control challenges can only be expected to increase in the future. Regular reassessment of protocols based on ongoing research and clinical experiences is required.

Animals↗
PubMed2006

[Zoonotic importance of selected species of Gram-positive bacteria.].

Zoonoses continue to play a signicant role in both human and veterinary medicine. Their eradication is difficult and some authors are convinced of their growing importance. Among the pathogens of infectious diseases transmissible from animals to man are several gram-positive bacteria. The authors focus on three agents that present a risk in three different areas-alimentary infections (Listeria monocytogenes), professional infections (Streptococcus suis) and infections of breeders of so-called pet animals (Staphylococcus aureus and Staphylococcus intermedius). The paper analyses the risk of human infections from animal sources and briefly informs on the present incidence of pathogens in animals and/or raw materials of animal origin in the catchment area of the State Veterinary Institute in Olomouc, Moravia.

Animals↗
PubMed2005

Enterohaemorrhagic E. coli in veterinary medicine.

The emergence of enterohaemorrhagic Escherichia coli (EHEC) as major human pathogens began with the identification of serotype O157:H7 in the early 1980s as the cause of various food-borne outbreaks of severe intestinal disease. The key virulence factors include verocytotoxins (Vt) and effectors and adhesins associated with type III secretion systems. Tracing the origins of human outbreaks reveals that the primary source of this organism is the ruminant gastro-intestinal tract and a variety of transmission routes to humans have been identified. The epidemiology of E. coli O157:H7 within cattle and other ruminants has been studied extensively and the prevalence of non-O157:H7 serotypes contrasts with the observed dominance of E. coli O157:H7 amongst human EHEC isolates. Although there is some evidence that EHEC cause disease in young animals, the high prevalence of Vt within healthy ruminants suggests that this is not a virulence factor within these species. An understanding of the mechanisms underpinning EHEC persistence within their natural reservoir hosts and the development of a molecular understanding of EHEC biology and evolution could eventually allow a reduction in the incidence of human disease and may reduce future threats. The use of animal models to replicate and study human EHEC pathogenesis is described.

Animals↗
PubMed1982

Glucose-nonfermenting Gram-negative bacilli associated with clinical veterinary specimens.

Glucose-nonfermenting gram-negative bacilli (NFB) have been recognized recently as opportunistic pathogens of humans. With few exceptions, strains of NFB have not been considered important enough to be identified when isolated from animals. In this study, all NFB isolated during a 1-year period in a clinical veterinary microbiology laboratory were identified to determine their prevalence. Of the 347 strains of NFB obtained, the most common species were Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Acinetobacter calcoaceticus, Bordetella bronchiseptica, and Pseudomonas pseudoalcaligenes. Of all clinical veterinary specimens submitted for cultures, 10% contained nonfermenters.

Acinetobacter↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus in horses at a veterinary teaching hospital: frequency, characterization, and association with clinical disease.

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is an emerging equine pathogen. To attempt to control nosocomial and zoonotic transmission, an MRSA screening program was established for all horses admitted to the Ontario Veterinary College Veterinary Teaching Hospital, whereby nasal screening swabs were collected at admission, weekly during hospitalization, and at discharge. MRSA was isolated from 120 (5.3%) of 2,283 horses: 61 (50.8%) at the time of admission, 53 (44.2%) during hospitalization, and 6 from which the origin was unclear because an admission swab had not been collected. Clinical infections attributable to MRSA were present or developed in 14 (11.7%) of 120 horses. The overall rate of community-associated colonization was 27 per 1,000 admissions. Horses colonized at admission were more likely to develop clinical MRSA infection than those not colonized at admission (OR 38.9, 95% CI 9.49 160, P < 0.0001). The overall nosocomial MRSA colonization incidence rate was 23 per 1,000 admissions. The incidence rate of nosocomial MRSA infection was at the rate of 1.8 per 1,000 admissions, with an incidence density of 0.88 per 1,000 patient days. Administration of ceftiofur or aminoglycosides during hospitalization was the only risk factor associated with nosocomial MRSA colonization. MRSA screening of horses admitted to a veterinary hospital was useful for identification of community-associated and nosocomial colonization and infection, and for monitoring of infection control practices.

Animals↗
PubMed2004

Comparison of the biotypes of Yersinia enterocolitica isolated from pigs, cattle and sheep at slaughter and from humans with yersiniosis in Great Britain during 1999-2000.

AIMS: To investigate the relationship between livestock carriage of Yersinia enterocolitica and human disease. The biotypes/serotypes of strains recovered from the faeces of pigs, cattle and sheep at slaughter during a national survey in Great Britain in 1999-2000, were compared with those of strains isolated from human cases of yersiniosis during the same period. METHODS AND RESULTS: The faecal carriage of Y. enterocolitica by cattle, sheep and pigs at slaughter was 6.3, 10.7 and 26.1%, respectively. Yersinia enterocolitica biotype (BT) 1a was the most frequently isolated biotype from livestock (58%) and was the predominant biotype (53%) isolated from human cases over the same period. The main recognized pathogenic Y. enterocolitica biotype isolated from livestock was BT3 (O:5,27) (35% of sheep, 22% of pigs and 4% of cattle) but this biotype was not detected in any of the human isolates investigated. The major pathogenic biotypes of strains isolated from humans were BT3 (O:9) (24%) and BT4 (O:3) (19%) whereas of the veterinary isolates investigated, only pigs (11%) carried BT3 (O:9) strains. CONCLUSIONS: Because of significant overlaps in phenotypes of the veterinary and human strains it is not possible to comment on the correlation between host and pathogenicity, especially of biotype 1a. SIGNIFICANCE AND IMPACT OF THE STUDY: The data suggest that further investigations using methods with greater discriminatory power are required. However the data also suggests that pigs may be the primary reservoir for human pathogenic Y. enterocolitica infection.

Abattoirs↗
PubMed1994

Is immune function better preserved after laparoscopic versus open colon resection?

The purpose of this preliminary study was to evaluate immunologic responses to laparoscopic vs standard open colon resection and to evaluate possible mediators of any differences found. Specifically, we compared cortisol levels and delayed-type hypersensitivity response after each method of colon resection in a group of 20 pigs. Two groups of 10 animals each were treated in identical fashion including bowel preparation, anesthesia, and postoperative management. The only difference between groups was that one underwent laparoscopic and the other an open colon resection. Blood specimens for cortisol were drawn before, during, and immediately postoperatively as well as at 11 A.M. on postoperative days 1 and 2. All animals had been previously immunized as piglets with Sow Bac-E (Oxford Veterinary, Worthington, MN), an antigen preparation of common pig pathogens. At the conclusion of the operative procedure 0.5 cc of the antigen was injected intradermally on the right forelimb of the animals. At 48 and 72 h postoperatively the largest diameters of induration surrounding the injection site were measured and averaged. Cortisol levels were measured in serum samples by radioimmunoassay (Met-Path, Rockville, MD). Statistical significance was determined by t-test. Results of skin antigen testing showed that the group of pigs that underwent laparoscopic resection had a 20% greater response, 1.54 cm +/- 0.28 cm at 48 h and 1.53 cm +/- 0.18 cm at 72 h. For the open-surgery group results were 1.24 cm +/- 0.26 cm at 48 h and 1.32 cm +/- 0.21 cm at 72 h, P < 0.05 for the difference between groups at both 48 and 72 h.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Animals↗
PubMed2006

Meeting the requirements of importing countries: practice and policy for on-farm approaches to food safety.

In light of the increasing consumer demand for safe, high-quality food and recent public health concerns about food-borne illness, governments and agricultural industries are under pressure to provide comprehensive food safety policies and programmes consistent with international best practice. Countries that export food commodities derived from livestock must meet both the requirements of the importing country and domestic standards. It is internationally accepted that end-product quality control, and similar methods aimed at ensuring food safety, cannot adequately ensure the safety of the final product. To achieve an acceptable level of food safety, governments and the agricultural industry must work collaboratively to provide quality assurance systems, based on sound risk management principles, throughout the food supply chain. Quality assurance systems on livestock farms, as in other parts of the food supply chain, should address food safety using hazard analysis critical control point principles. These systems should target areas including biosecurity, disease monitoring and reporting, feedstuff safety, the safe use of agricultural and veterinary chemicals, the control of potential food-borne pathogens and traceability. They should also be supported by accredited training programmes, which award certification on completion, and auditing programmes to ensure that both local and internationally recognised guidelines and standards continue to be met. This paper discusses the development of policies for on-farm food safety measures and their practical implementation in the context of quality assurance programmes, using the Australian beef industry as a case study.

Animal Husbandry↗
PubMed2006

[Highly pathogenic avian influenza--monitoring of migratory waterfowl].

Since 1979, the group belonging to Departments of Veterinary Microbiology, Veterinary Public Health and the Avian Zoonoses Research Centre, Faculty of Agriculture, Tottori University is continuing isolation of avian influenza virus from such migratory waterfowls as whistling swan, pintail and tufted dugs flying from Siberia and/or northern China. They have already isolated many interesting influenza viruses. Serotype of the isolates is various; some H5 and H7 and human types of viruses were also isolated; and its pathogenicity for chickens is not high. It was interested that low pathogenic H5N3 virus isolated from whistling swan acquired severe pathogenicity during passage in chicks.

Animal Migration↗
PubMed1993

A veterinary antibiotic policy: a personal view on the perspectives in The Netherlands.

To reach a more adequate and responsible use of antibiotics in veterinary medicine a broad approach is required. The growing interest in the optimum use of antibiotics in veterinary medicine is stimulated by awareness of the necessity to prevent the emergence of resistance and the spread of resistant bacteria. This is a matter of primary importance to safeguard the efficacy of antibiotic therapy in animals now and in the future, but will also minimise possible public health risks. As resistance develops in rough relation to antibiotic use, the best way to minimise emergence of resistance, without interfering with optimal veterinary care, is to rationalize the use of antibiotics by, or under responsibility of, a veterinary surgeon. A second further improvement can be reached by developing a veterinary antibiotic policy to prevent emergence and spread of resistance as much as possible. Measures that must be taken in combination are: 1. Establishing a policy for the use of antibiotics jointly by veterinary practitioners and experts resulting in a formulary. 2. Systemic registration and analysis of patterns of bacterial resistance (not only of pathogens but of faecal flora as well) and the use (qualitative and quantitative) of antibiotics in veterinary medicine. 3. Regular feedback of these data to the veterinary practitioners and consultation about the efficacy of the formulary guidelines in daily practise. 4. Systemic monitoring and evaluation the impact of the antibiotic policy and, if indicated, updating of the formulary. 5. Continuous education of veterinary surgeons about infectious diseases and antimicrobial therapy and development of a veterinary audit system. The first step to rationalize the veterinary use of antibiotics was taken by publishing a veterinary antibiotic formulary in 1987, compiled by a group of experts. Despite the fact that this was a pure top down approach and bottom up input from veterinary practitioners was lacking, this first formulary was very well received. However the impact of this formulary on the veterinary use of antibiotics and prevalence of resistance has not been evaluated at this moment. Until now regular and nationwide systemic monitoring of resistance and registration of veterinary use of antibiotics is not practically feasible in the Netherlands. A new formulary, based on a veterinary antibiotic will be published by the end of 1992. However, to be able to evaluate the impact of this policy on the prevalence of resistance and, if necessary, to adapt the policy the development of facilities for resistance epidemiology is urgently needed.

Animals↗