Trace element status in canine endocrine diseases.

A balanced trace element status is essential for the optimal functioning of all organisms. However, their concentrations are often altered in diverse medical conditions. This study investigated the trace element profiles in plasma samples of dogs with endocrine diseases and used chemometric techniques to explore their associations with biochemical data. Thirteen elements (As, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, Hg, Mn, Mo, Ni, Pb, Se and Zn) were measured in 40 dogs with hyperadrenocorticism (HAC), 29 dogs with diabetes mellitus (DM), 11 dogs with hypothyroidism (HT) and 30 control dogs using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). Statistically significant differences were observed for As, Cu, Mo, Se and Zn. In comparison with the control group, the HT patients had higher As and lower Se levels, while the HAC group had higher concentrations of Mo. All three disease groups had higher Cu and Zn concentrations than the control group, with the DM group having higher Cu concentrations and the HAC group higher Zn concentrations than the other endocrinopathy groups. The chemometric analysis revealed distinctive association patterns for discriminating each pathology group and the control group. Moreover, the analysis revealed the following associations: Mo with glucose levels and Cu with fructosamine levels in the DM group, As with cortisol levels in the HAC group, and Se with TT4 levels and As with TSH levels in the HT group. The study findings provide valuable insights into the complex relationships between trace elements and endocrinopathies, elucidating the associations with biochemical markers in these diseases. Larger-scale studies are necessary to fully understand the observed relationships and explore the potential clinical applications.

Use of a local anaesthetic and antiseptic wound formulation for the treatment of lambs naturally infected with Orf virus.

Contagious ecthyma (CE) is a worldwide highly contagious zoonotic viral skin disease of sheep and goats. Treatment for Orf virus (ORFV) infection usually involves topical and oral antibiotics. An anaesthetic and antiseptic topical gel (Multisolfen® or Tri-Solfen®; MS®, Medical Ethics, Australia) has been documented as an efficacious therapy for lesions from mucosal and epithelial viral infections in ruminants. The present study tested a new treatment protocol of MS® for CE therapy on-farm in 150 lambs naturally infected with ORFV. Lambs were divided into three cohorts of 50 lambs each (C, D and E). Cohort C was treated with MS® 3 times with an interval of 3 days between treatments, cohort D was treated daily with hypochlorous acid, whilst cohort E served as untreated controls. The lambs were examined clinically every two days, weight measured weekly, with whole blood and sterile swabs from ORFV lesions collected for haematological analysis and specific ORFV PCR. Cohort C presented fewer lambs displaying ORFV-associated lesions than other cohorts at different times of the experiment. Further, lesions treated with MS® were milder compared with other cohorts. However, following cessation of therapy, most of the lambs again developed ORFV-associated lesions. No differences between cohorts were observed in weight, haematological and PCR results. These findings suggest that topical treatment with MS® is effective for CE in field conditions, especially in the first stages of the clinical course, although treatment with MS® may need to be extended a minimum of 4 weeks.

Use of a Local Anaesthetic/Antiseptic Formulation for the Treatment of Lambs Experimentally Infected with Orf Virus.

Contagious ecthyma is a highly transmissible eruptive viral disease of the skin and mucosa of sheep and goats distributed worldwide. The treatment of orf lesions is usually based on the use of antiseptics and antibiotics for the management of presumptive secondary infections, increasing risks of antimicrobial resistance. The wound dressing formulation Tri-Solfen® (TS) containing two local anaesthetics (lignocaine and bupivacaine), adrenaline and an antiseptic (cetrimide) in a gel formulation has been demonstrated to reduce suffering and enhance recovery in cattle and buffalo with oral and skin lesions due to foot-and-mouth disease virus infection and reduced the orf viral load in lambs. In the present study, experimental infection with the orf virus was conducted in 50 newborn lambs and 25 animals were treated after the presence of the first lesions with TS and repeated three days later. Daily clinical examination, haematological, serological, biomolecular and post-mortem analyses were conducted during 34 days after treatment. Results indicated that treatment had no effect on weight gain and clinical progression of the lesions. It was determined that seroconversion after experimental infection occurs 34 days after infection and suggested that the deep basal epithelial location of the orf lesions may have prevented the therapy from having altered the clinical course.

Anaemia in Sheep Caused by Babesia and Theileria Haemoparasites.

Piroplasmoses in sheep are caused by vector-borne apicomplexan protozoa, Babesia and Theileria. Different species are responsible for the disease; some species are more pathogenic than others and have a worldwide distribution. In this sense, these causative agents can cause anaemia in flocks. In general, these vector-borne diseases infect small ruminants and cause host-mediated pathology. In the case of Babesia species, a combination of different mechanisms is involved: red blood cell lysis due to intracellular parasite multiplication, activation of biogenic amines and the coagulation system with the possibility of disseminated intravascular coagulation. By contrast, less information is available on the different immunopathogenic mechanisms involved in the development of anaemia in sheep with theileriosis. However, the mechanisms of pathogenic action in theileriosis are similar to those studied in babesiosis. Diagnosis is based on compatible clinical signs, laboratory findings, specific diagnostic tests and the presence of the tick vector. Some of these tests detect the causative agent itself, such as direct identification by light microscopy and molecular analysis. In contrast, other tests detect the sheep's immune response to the organism by serology. Both diseases pose a significant diagnostic challenge for veterinary practitioners around the world. This review presents the most frequent clinical signs, pathogenesis and clinicopathological findings, diagnosis.

Jaagsiekte sheep retrovirus found in milk macrophages but not in milk lymphocytes or mammary gland epithelia of naturally infected sheep.

Jaagsiekte sheep retrovirus (JSRV) causes ovine pulmonary adenocarcinoma. JSRV can be transmitted via infected colostrum or milk, which contain somatic cells (SCs) harboring JSRV provirus. Nevertheless, the cell types involved in this form of transmission and the involvement of the mammary gland remain unknown. We separated adherent cells (macrophages and monocytes) by plastic adherence, and lymphocytes (CD4+ and CD8+ T cells, and B cells) by flow cytometry, from SCs in milk samples from 12 naturally infected, PCR blood test JSRV-positive, subclinical ewes. These cell populations were tested by PCR to detect JSRV provirus. The ewes were euthanized, and mammary gland samples were analyzed immunohistochemically to detect JSRV surface protein. We did not detect JSRV provirus in any milk lymphocyte population, but milk adherent cells were positive in 3 of 12 sheep, suggesting a potential major role of this population in the lactogenic transmission of JSRV. Immunohistochemistry did not reveal positive results in mammary epithelial cells, pointing to a lack of participation of the mammary gland in the biological cycle of JSRV and reducing the probability of excretion of free viral particles in colostrum or milk.

Copper Poisoning, a Deadly Hazard for Sheep.

Copper (Cu) is an essential microelement for animals. However, sheep are particularly susceptible to Cu intoxication, a deadly disease reported worldwide. The risk of developing this poisoning is higher in vulnerable breeds and in intensively managed lambs or milk sheep. Two types of Cu intoxication can occur depending on the chronic or acute exposure to Cu. In chronic Cu poisoning (CCP), the most common form, Cu is accumulated in the liver during a subclinical period. A low intake of Cu antagonists (molybdenum, sulphur, iron, or zinc) favours Cu accumulation. The sudden release of Cu into the blood causes acute haemolysis with anaemia, haemoglobinuria, jaundice and death within 1-2 days. Acute Cu poisoning is related to the accidental administration or ingestion of toxic amounts of Cu. Acute oral exposure to Cu causes severe gastroenteritis, shock and death. Collapse and death occur shortly after parenteral administration. The diagnosis is based on history, clinical, gross pathological, histological and toxicological findings. Treatment of sheep with severe clinical signs often has poor success but is very effective during the Cu accumulation phase. Different therapies, based on either chelating agents or Cu antagonists, have been used to treat and prevent CCP.

Neoplasia-Associated Wasting Diseases with Economic Relevance in the Sheep Industry.

We review three neoplastic wasting diseases affecting sheep generally recorded under common production cycles and with epidemiological and economic relevance in sheep-rearing countries: small intestinal adenocarcinoma (SIA), ovine pulmonary adenocarcinoma (OPA) and enzootic nasal adenocarcinoma (ENA). SIA is prevalent in Australia and New Zealand but present elsewhere in the world. This neoplasia is a tubular or signet-ring adenocarcinoma mainly located in the middle or distal term of the small intestine. Predisposing factors and aetiology are not known, but genetic factors or environmental carcinogens may be involved. OPA is a contagious lung cancer caused by jaagsiekte sheep retrovirus (JSRV) and has been reported in most sheep-rearing countries, resulting in significant economic losses. The disease is clinically characterized by a chronic respiratory process as a consequence of the development of lung adenocarcinoma. Diagnosis is based on the detection of JSRV in the tumour lesion by immunohistochemistry and PCR. In vivo diagnosis may be difficult, mainly in preclinical cases. ENA is a neoplasia of glands of the nasal mucosa and is associated with enzootic nasal tumour virus 1 (ENTV-1), which is similar to JSRV. ENA enzootically occurs in many countries of the world with the exception of Australia and New Zealand. The pathology associated with this neoplasia corresponds with a space occupying lesion histologically characterized as a low-grade adenocarcinoma. The combination of PCR and immunohistochemistry for diagnosis is advised.

Impact of Stress on Health and Final Weight in Fattening Lambs.

In order to determine whether the stress level had any influence on the health and final weight of Rasa Aragonesa fattening lambs, stress markers were measured throughout the fattening period in 80 feedlot lambs (group F) and in 40 lambs finished on the farm of birth (group C). The highest values of the stress indicators-neutrophil-to-lymphocyte-ratio (N/L), non-esterified fatty acids (NEFA), serum cortisol and fecal cortisol metabolites (FCM)-were recorded after the road transportation of group F to the feedlot. No differences between the groups were identified at the end of the adaptation period, but at the end of the fattening, statistically significant higher values for NEFA and serum cortisol were determined in group F. However, statistically significant differences between the groups were not found in the percentage of lambs with clinical signs of illness and ovine respiratory complex (ORC) lesions or in the final weight of the lambs. Independent of the location at which the lambs were fattened, those with FCM values at the beginning of the study (at the time of weaning) in the highest quartile developed a higher percentage of clinical signs of illness (45.5% vs. 32.1%, p > 0.05) and ORC lesions (45.5% vs. 10.7%, p < 0.01), and their average final weight was lower (24.36 kg vs. 27.40 kg, p = 0.001) than those with values in the lowest quartile. Stress experienced by lambs prior to finishing seems to be relevant for their further development, and FCM concentration at the time of weaning could be used as an indicator of health and productive performance of the lambs during the fattening period, regardless of finishing location.

Impact of a Topical Anaesthesia Wound Management Formulation on Pain, Inflammation and Reduction of Secondary Infections after Tail Docking in Lambs.

We examined several procedures for surgical tail docking; with and without general anaesthesia (GA), including the use of a topical wound gel formulation to provide pain relief (PR) and improve healing after surgery, containing local anaesthetics lignocaine and bupivacaine, with cetrimide and adrenalin. Forty-four lambs were recruited into four equal cohorts: Groups A and C, the tail was excised with a scalpel without anaesthesia or stitches; Groups B and D, the tail was surgically excised and stitched under GA; Groups C and D wounds were immediately sprayed with PR. Behavioural observations identified that Groups A and C displayed significantly less pain-related behaviours than Groups B and D shortly after the procedure, especially if treated with PR. Similarly, the mean of days when animals showed no signs of wound infection was longer in the groups not undergoing stitching. Finally, treatment with PR appeared to reduce the cortisol response and avoided the elevation of serum amyloid A in lambs where the tail was excised without general anaesthesia. In conclusion, surgical tail-docking without GA but where wounds are immediately sprayed with PR, appears as an affordable and more welfare-appropriate method for conducting tail docking in lambs.

An ST11 clone of Pasteurella multocida, widely spread among farmed rabbits in the Iberian Peninsula, demonstrates respiratory niche association.

Pasteurella multocida is a veterinary pathogen causing diseases with considerable economic repercussions in a wide range of animal hosts. In rabbits, P. multocida infections cause a variety of clinical manifestations including rhinitis, pneumonia, septicemia, abscesses, mastitis, and pyometra. In this study, 100 P. multocida isolates from different commercial rabbit farms located throughout the Iberian Peninsula were molecularly characterized by capsular typing, detection of four virulence-associated genes (tbpA, toxA, hgbB, and pfhA), and multilocus sequence typing (MLST). Rabbit P. multocida isolates belonged to three different capsular types: A (47.0%), D (28.0%), and F (25.0%). One group of P. multocida isolates of capsular type D and positive for the hgbB gene was significantly associated with the clinical presentation of respiratory disease (OR 5.91; 95%CI, 1.63-21.38). These isolates belonged to same sequence type, ST11, in the P. multocida Multi-host MLST database. The ST11 clone also includes isolates from porcine and avian pneumonia. This clonal group of epidemiologically unrelated P. multocida isolates could be a virulent clone with some degree of specificity for respiratory disease. These findings could be relevant in the development of vaccines for pasteurellosis prevention, especially respiratory disease.

Cells infected with Jaagsiekte sheep retrovirus are detected in the bone marrow of asymptomatic sheep.

Ovine pulmonary adenocarcinoma (OPA) is a transmissible lung cancer caused by Jaggsiekte sheep retrovirus (JSRV). It is difficult to identify animals infected with JSRV but are clinically healthy. The virus does not induce a specific antibody response and, although proviral DNA sequences of JSRV can be found in mononuclear blood cells, the detection is inconsistent. The aim of this study was to investigate the presence of JSRV in the bone marrow of infected sheep and develop a more consistent screening method. Immunohistochemical examination of bone marrow samples from 8 asymptomatic JSRV-infected sheep revealed the presence of positively labelled cells. However, JSRV could not be detected by a highly sensitive polymerase chain reaction (PCR) in bone marrow aspirates periodically collected from these animals. Results suggest that JSRV-infected cells may be present in the bone marrow of symptomless animals, but the number is below the detectable level for PCR. Therefore, this technique does not seem to be helpful for preclinical diagnosis of OPA.

L'adénocarcinome pulmonaire ovin (OPA) est un cancer pulmonaire transmissible causé par le rétrovirus ovin de Jaggsiekte (JSRV). Il est difficile d'identifier les animaux infectés par le JSRV mais qui sont cliniquement en santé. Le virus n'entraine pas la production d'anticorps spécifiques et, bien que des séquences d'ADN provirales de JSRV peuvent être retrouvées dans les mononucléaires du sang, la détection est inconstante. L'objectif de la présente étude était d'examiner la présence de JSRV dans la moelle osseuse de moutons infectés et de développer une méthode de tamisage plus constante. L'examen par immunohistochime d'échantillons de la moelle osseuse de huit moutons asymptomatiques mais infectés par JSRV a révélé la présence de cellules positivement marquées. Toutefois, le JSRV ne put être révélé par une épreuve d'amplification en chaine par la polymérase (PCR) très sensible à partir d'aspirations de la moelle osseuse récolées périodiquement à partir de ces animaux. Les résultats suggèrent que les cellules infectées par JSRV peuvent être présentes dans la moelle osseuse d'animaux asymptomatiques, mais le nombre se situe sous le seuil détectable pas PCR. Ainsi, cette technique ne semble pas utile pour le diagnostic préclinique d'OPA.(Traduit par Docteur Serge Messier).