[Notifiable animal diseases diagnosed at the Institute of Veterinary Pathology of the University of Zurich between 1988 and 2004]. / Meldepflichtige Tierseuchen diagnostiziert am Institut für Veterinärpathologie der Universität Zürich zwischen 1988 und 2004.

ABSTRACT

One of the essential tasks of veterinary pathology is the gross and microscopic examination of animals post mortem. Frequently requests are made for the cause of disease or death in the absence of a precise history or an otherwise specific assignment e.g. whether a notifiable disease is involved. The general examination is supplemented by a spectrum of additional examinations depending on the case whereas attempts are made to keep the costs within limits and to answer the client's request with justifiable effort. 36,365 necropsy cases and 9192 organs submitted between 1988 and 2004 were analysed to give indications on the number and type of notifiable diseases that were diagnosed in the course of routine diagnostic procedures. Notifiable animal diseases were discovered in 2918 cases (6.4% of all investigated cases) namely 2426 farm animals (9.1% of all farm animals) and 492 animals of other species (2.6% of all other animal species). These data illustrate the considerable value of pathological-anatomical examinations and compliment the figures from other databases.