Severe respiratory disease in dairy cows caused by infection with bovine respiratory syncytial virusElvander, M.
doi: 10.1136/vr.138.5.101pmid: 8650902
Outbreaks of severe respiratory disease caused by bovine respiratory syncytial virus (BRSV) were recorded in dairy herds throughout Sweden in 1988 and subsequently. The virus was demonstrated in nasopharyngeal swab material from animals in the acute stage of the disease by culture, the polymerase chain reaction (PcR) and by immunofluorescence. Serological data from the herds investigated showed that the cows had seroconverted to BRSV rather than to bovine coronavirus, bovine viral diarrhoea virus or parainfluenza‐3 virus. It was predominantly dairy herds in isolated areas that contracted a severe primary BRSV infection, often after the purchase of new animals. A nationwide survey for BRSV antibodies in bulk milk samples showed the highest prevalence, of 84 to 89 per cent, in the southernmost regions of Sweden and the lowest prevalence, of 41 to 51 per cent, in the north of the country. The prevalence of BRSV was highest in areas with the highest populations of cattle.
Transient metabolic hyperammonaemia in young Irish wolfhoundsMeyer, H. P.; Rothuizen, J.; Tiemessen, I.; Brom, W. E.; Ingh, T. S. G. A. M.
doi: 10.1136/vr.138.5.105pmid: 8650903
Inherited portosystemic shunts occur in 2 to 3 per cent of Irish wolfhounds and are associated with high venous ammonia concentrations and signs of hepatic encephalopathy. Moreover, the vast majority of Irish wolfhound pups without signs of hepatic encephalopathy have moderate hyperammonaemia. The aim of this study was to investigate whether the increased ammonia levels in these clinically healthy dogs are caused by low‐grade portosystemic shunting, and whether the hyperammonaemia persists in adulthood. The fasting venous ammonia concentration and the fraction of portal blood by‐passing the liver, expressed as the shunt index (si) were measured in 42 Irish wolfhound pups, and the dogs with high si values were examined post mortem. The ammonia concentration was also measured in 25 adult Irish wolfhounds in which it had been measured when they were seven to eight weeks old. Eleven of the 42 pups had a portosystemic shunt, as evidenced by a high Si (mean 0.82, range 0.12 to 1.00, normal range 0.01 to 0.05) and by post mortem examination. Their mean ammonia concentration was 249 pmolllitre (range 121 to 350). The 31 pups with a normal si (mean 0.025, range 0.00 to 0.05) had a mean ammonia concentration of 93 μmol/litre (range 51 to 125). In the 25 dogs in which the ammonia concentration was measured twice, the mean concentration at seven to eight weeks of age was 77,mol/litre (range 47 to 115) and in the adults it was 17 μmol/litre (range 6 to 27) at a mean age of 3‐1 years (range 1.0 to 8.9). These results show that Irish wolihounds with ammonia concentrations >125 μmol/litre had a portosystemic shunt, whereas the hyperammonaemia in dogs with ammonia concentrations <120 gmolllitre was transient and of metabolic origin.
Abstractsdoi: 10.1136/vr.138.5.107pmid: N/A
Prognostic value of combined data in equine colic, Sandholm, M., Vidovic, A., Puotonen‐Relnert, A., Sankari, S., Nyholm, K. & Rita, H. (1995) Acta Veterinaria Scandinavica 36, 255
Abstractsdoi: 10.1136/vr.138.5.110pmid: N/A
Phenylbutazone in racing greyhounds, Mills, P. C., Ng, J. C., Skelton, K. V., Seawright, A. A. & Auer, D. E. (1995) Australian Veterinary Journal 72, 304
Pharmacokinetics of lignocaine in Icelandic horses after infiltration anaesthesiaKristinsson, J.; Thordarson, T. H.; Johannesson, T.
doi: 10.1136/vr.138.5.111pmid: 8650905
The pharmacokinetics of lignocaine was studied in four Icelandic horses after infiltration anaesthesia. A total of 240 mg of the drug was injected on either side of the left foreleg, over the medial and lateral branches of the palmar nerve. Blood samples were collected up to seven hours after injection and the concentrations of the drug in plasma were determined by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry. The results showed that lignocaine was rapidly absorbed. A mean maximum concentration of 232 ng/ml was observed after 20 minutes. In three of the horses the decline in the plasma concentration of the drug with time was best described by the sum of two exponential terms, but in one of the horses the decline was monoexponential. The mean half‐life of the distribution phase (a) was 9.8 minutes and that of the elimination phase (β) 48.4 minutes. In all the horses the plasma concentration was below the limit of detection (2 ng/ml) six hours after injection. Anaesthesia was tested in one horse and lasted for one hour.
Abstractsdoi: 10.1136/vr.138.5.112pmid: N/A
Repair of the cranial cruciate ligament of dogs, Moore, K. W., & Read, R. A. (1995) Australian Veterinary Journal 72, 281