Veterinary Record: Journal of the British Veterinary Association

Michell, A. R.

doi: 10.1136/vr.145.22.625pmid: 10619607

The results of a questionnaire provided data about owners' perceptions of the cause of death of over 3000 British dogs. The mean age at death (all breeds, all causes) was 11 years one month, but in dogs dying of natural causes it was 12 years eight months. Only 8 per cent of dogs lived beyond 15, and 64 per cent of dogs died of disease or were euthanased as a result of disease. Nearly 16 per cent of deaths were attributed to cancer, twice as many as to heart disease. Neutered females lived longer than males or intact females, but among dogs dying of natural causes entire females lived slightly longer. In neutered males the importance of cancer as a cause of death was similar to heart disease. Mongrels lived longer than average but several breeds lived longer than mongrels, for example, Jack Russells, miniature poodles and whippets. There was no correlation between longevity and cardiovascular parameters (heart rate, systolic, diastolic, pulse and mean arterial pressure, or the combination of heart rate and pulse pressure) but smaller dogs had longer lifespans. The results also include breed differences in lifespan, susceptibility to cancer, road accidents and behavioural problems as a cause of euthanasia.

doi: 10.1136/vr.145.22.629pmid: N/A

Nipah virus infection in abattoir workers in Singapore Paton, N.I., Leo, Y.S., Zaki, S.R., Auchus, A.P., Lee, K.E., Ling, A.E., Chew, S.K., Ang, B., Rollin, P.E., Umapathi, T., Sng, I., Lee, C.C., Lim, E. & Ksiazek, T.G. (1999) Lancet 354, 1253

Brown, S. N.; Knowles, T. G.; Edwards, J. E.; Warriss, P. D.

doi: 10.1136/vr.145.22.630pmid: 10619608

Pigs from three farms were deprived of food for up to one hour, 12 hours or 18 hours before being sent for slaughter. In lairage, the animals' behaviour was monitored, and at slaughter a blood sample was collected and analysed for cortisol, lactate and creatine phosphokinase, potential indicators of stress and physical activity. The carcases were assessed for skin damage as an index of fighting, and rigor in the hind leg as an indicator of stress and/or fatigue. Measurements were also made of cold carcase weight, backfat thickness and liver glycogen concentration. General activity was very high on entry to the lairage pen. Drinking and mounting occurred almost immediately. Fighting developed after an exploratory period, and could last up to 60 minutes. There were large differences in the behaviour of pigs from the three farms. Pigs from farm A fought frequently but showed little mounting activity, whereas pigs from farm C were involved in mounting but little fighting. The period of food deprivation had no effect on average skin damage or rigor score, but the frequency of carcases with the highest scores was different. The pigs deprived of food for up to an hour had the lowest incidence of severe skin damage and high rigor scores. Boars had a higher incidence of severe skin damage but a lower incidence of carcases with a high rigor score than gilts. Liver glycogen was almost completely depleted in the pigs deprived of food for 12 and 18 hours and was lower in the pigs deprived for up to an hour than in animals fed immediately before slaughter. The period of food deprivation had no effect on the levels of cortisol, creatine phosphokinase or lactate in the blood.

Hassan, Z.; Daniel, R. C. W.; O'Boyle, D.; Frost, A. J.

doi: 10.1136/vr.145.22.635pmid: 10619609

Quarter milk samples were taken from 150 cows from three dairy farms in south‐east Queensland at drying off, two, four and six weeks after drying off, at calving, and one, two and three weeks after calving. In each of the herds, the cows were randomly allocated to three groups of approximately equal size. One group had all the quarters of all the cows treated at drying off with a dry cow antibiotic infusion containing cloxacillin; the second group was given no treatment, and the third group had selected quarters treated on the basis of their high activity of N‐acetyl‐β‐D‐glucosaminidase at drying off. Dry cow treatment resulted in a marked reduction in the number of infected quarters at two and four weeks after drying off, so that the comprehensively treated group had significantly less infected quarters at these times (P<0.02). Twelve clinical cases of mastitis were detected two weeks after drying off in the untreated groups, 10 in the untreated quarters of the selectively treated groups, and no cases in the comprehensively treated groups. These cases were due mainly to Streptococcus uberis and Streptococcus dysgalactiae. The number of infected untreated quarters increased markedly between drying off and two weeks later, but in all three groups there was a marked decrease in the number of infected quarters between six weeks after drying off and calving, suggesting that the mammary glands were more able to overcome infections at this time.

Barlow, A. M.; Mitchell, K. A.; Visram, K. H.

doi: 10.1136/vr.145.22.639pmid: 10619610

Krautwald‐Junghanns, M‐E.; Tellhelm, B.; Kostka, V. M.; Tacke, S.

doi: 10.1136/vr.145.22.640pmid: 10619611

Cisale, H. O.; Rivolta, M. A.; Fernández, H. A.

doi: 10.1136/vr.145.22.642pmid: 10619612