Antimicrobial activity and spectrum of cefovecin, a new extended- spectrum cephalosporin, against pathogens collected from dogs and cats in Europe and North America.

Cefovecin is a new extended-spectrum semisynthetic cephalosporin indicated for the treatment of bacterial infections in dogs and cats. This study evaluated the in vitro activity and spectrum of cefovecin against 2,641 recent clinical isolates (1,660 canine and 981 feline isolates) from Europe and the United States. MIC determinations against cefovecin and other reference antimicrobials were performed by broth microdilution methods recommended by the Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI, formerly NCCLS). Cefovecin demonstrated bactericidal activity against both gram-positive and gram-negative pathogens. Cefovecin exhibited in vitro activity against all major aerobic and anaerobic bacterial pathogens associated with skin, urinary tract, and periodontal infections in dogs and cats. The MIC90 values of cefovecin against Staphylococcus intermedius, Escherichia coli, and Pasteurella multocida were 0.25 microg/ml, 1.0 microg/ml, and 0.06 microg/ml, respectively. No significant differences were observed in terms of the activities of cefovecin against pathogens from different European countries and against pathogens of European and U.S. origin.

Itraconazole for treatment of sporotrichosis in a dog residing on a Christmas tree farm.

Sporotrichosis was diagnosed in a 2-year-old male Golden Retriever that was allowed to roam free on the owner's Christmas tree farm in Minnesota. Clinical signs had been evident for 1 month and included swelling of the claw bed of the third digit on the left forelimb and a fluctuant nodular lesion in the area of the left carpus. Few organisms were seen in affected tissues, and diagnosis was confirmed on the basis of results of fungal culture. The condition responded to treatment with itraconazole. Previous reports of sporotrichosis in dogs have described lesions that were distributed predominantly on the head, ears, and trunk. A history of exposure to environments that favor survival of the organism may be an important consideration when evaluating animals suspected to have sporotrichosis. To the authors' knowledge, use of itraconazole to treat a dog with sporotrichosis has not been reported previously.

Molecular epidemiology of Ornithobacterium rhinotracheale.

Ornithobacterium rhinotracheale is a recently described gram-negative rod-shaped bacterium associated with respiratory tract infections in poultry. In order to determine the molecular epidemiology of this bacterium, we characterized 55 O. rhinotracheale isolates from eight countries on four continents by multilocus enzyme electrophoresis (MLEE), repetitive sequence based-PCR (rep-PCR), and 16S rRNA gene sequencing. MLEE discriminated the O. rhinotracheale isolates into six electrophoretic types (ETs), of which only three ETs were recovered from domesticated poultry. The 16S rRNA gene sequence and rep-PCR analyses confirmed the results obtained by MLEE and indicated limited heterogeneity among isolates of O. rhinotracheale recovered from poultry. Taken together, the results of our analysis demonstrate that the majority of O. rhinotracheale isolates recovered from domesticated poultry throughout the world are represented by a small group of closely related clones and suggest that the bacterium was recently introduced to domesticated poultry from wild bird populations.

The way forward: an interview with Carol Lindeman. Interview by Cheryl Slagle King.

Across the country, in both the public and private sectors, the innumerable virtues of advanced practice nurses are being appropriately heralded. In this article, Cheryl King, associated editor of Advanced Practice Nursing Quarterly, interviews Carol A. Lindeman, Dean and Professor of the School of Nursing at Oregon Health Sciences University in Portland, Oregon. Over the past several decades, Dr. Lindeman has been at the forefront of promoting opportunities for advanced practice nursing in the political, legislative, and academic arenas.

Design of a questionnaire: occupational and environmental risks for Parkinson's disease.

1. Research linking disease with occupational and environmental exposures is often predicated on obtaining accurate exposure information from affected persons. 2. Exposure history questionnaires are used to obtain comprehensive information about work history, residential history, behavioral patterns, and lifetime exposures. 3. The process of questionnaire development includes: establishing the conceptual background of the research; assuring integrity of the research questions; specifying the content domain of the questionnaire; wording, level, and formatting decisions; establishing evidence for questionnaire validity; assessment of questionnaire reliability; and final edit and polishing. 4. The careful and systematic development of an exposure history questionnaire can be a key determinant in the success of occupational health research.