[Prepubic urethrostomy in a Wiesenauer minipig with urolithiasis]. / Präpubische Urethrostomie bei einem Wiesenauer Minischwein mit Urolithiasis.

A 10-year-old castrated, male miniature pig was presented with tenesmus vesicae and anuria accompanied by tachypnea. Radiographs confirmed numerous uroliths within the bladder and urethra. The urethra was not amenable to catheterization, therefore, an emergency tube cystostomy was performed. Despite bladder irrigation the uroliths in the urethra were not removable. Consequently, a prepubic urethrostoma procedure was undertaken. The minipig fully recovered and has since been voiding urine via the urethral fistula uneventfully. Measures to prevent urolithiasis, among others, include an adequate water intake, a balanced feed and diet composition as well as maintaining a physiological urine pH.

[Adenocarcinoma of the mamma in a Göttingen minipig]. / Adenokarzinom der Milchdrüse bei einem Göttinger Minipig.

In this report, the case of a tumourous enlargement of the mammary gland of a 10-year-old, female, Göttingen minipig is described. Noticeable clinical signs were an inflammatory enlargement of one complex of the mammary gland with a teat lesion and a foul-odour, liquid secretion. Further symptoms included reduced general health, with expression of pain, loss of appetite and dehydration. Mastectomy with histopathological examination of the tissue led to the diagnosis of an adenocarcinoma. The pig recovered without complications and was free of symptoms 6 months later.

[Multiple myeloma in a Yucatan Pig]. / Multiples Myelom bei einem Yucatan Pig.

An 11 years old Yucatan Pig with a Multiple Myeloma in the spinal cord, the sternum and the pelvis is described. The major clinical sign was a paresis of the hind limb. The most significant haematological change was a lymphopenia. The X-ray examination and computed tomography showed typical osteolytic changes in the skeleton. The histological examination of the bone marrow showed many, moderately well-differentiated plasma cells. Based on the collected findings and the exclusion of differential diagnoses, a Multiple Myeloma was diagnosed.

A novel porcine gammaherpesvirus.

A novel porcine gammaherpesvirus was detected in the blood of domestic pigs by PCR. With degenerate-primer PCR and subsequent long-distance PCR approaches a 60-kbp genome stretch was amplified. Sequence analysis revealed the presence of the gammaherpesvirus ORFs 03 to 46 as well as a putative chemokine receptor and a v-bcl-2 gene. The 60-kbp sequence was compared with the corresponding sequence of the porcine lymphotropic herpesvirus 1 (PLHV-1) published recently and the sequence of PLHV-2, which was amplified from porcine tonsil. Considerable sequence differences (amino acid identities: 49-89%) were found between the novel virus and PLHV-1 as well as PLHV-2, which were very closely related to each other (amino acid identities: 85-98%). The novel virus had essentially the same genome organization as PLHV-1 and -2 and was therefore designated PLHV-3. Like PLHV-1 and -2, PLHV-3 was frequently found in the blood and in lymphoid organs of domestic and feral pigs from different geographic locations. In the blood, the PLHVs were detected predominantly in B-cells. Indication for latent as well as productive PLHV-3 infection was found in the porcine B-cell line L23. It can be concluded that the PLHVs are widespread and are likely to cause a persistent B-lymphotropic infection. Since PLHV-1 has been implicated in the development of porcine posttransplantation lymphoproliferative disease, all porcine lymphotropic gammaherpesviruses are of concern when pigs are used as donors in xenotransplantation.