A serological survey of canine leptospirosis in the city of Belgrade, Serbia

Canine leptospirosis is a zoonosis caused by bacteria belonging to the genus Leptospira. Dogs are one of the animal species involved in the cycle of preservation and transmission of leptospirosis in urban areas. Serological testing for the presence of specific antibodies against Leptospira spp. in dogs was continuously performed between 2010 and 2020 in the city of Belgrade. At the request of the owners themselves, other veterinary laboratories or laboratory clinics, 179 blood sera from 179 dogs were examined in the Laboratory for Immunology, Scientific Institute of Veterinary Medicine of Serbia. Blood sera samples from dogs were examined using the standard microscopic agglutination test (MAT) for the presence of specific antibodies against seven different serovars of Leptospira: Pomona, Icterohaemorrhagiae, Grippotyphosa, Sejroe, Canicola, Bataviae, and Australis. The number of seropositive dogs was 17/179 (9.5%). Among all examined sera, the highest titre of seropositive samples was to serovar Icterohaemorrhagiae (10/17, 58.8%), followed by Pomona (4/17, 23.5%), and serovar Canicola (3/17, 17.6%). Specific antibodies for serovars Grippotyphosa, Sejroe, Bataviae and Australis were not detected in any of the dog sera. Cross-reaction (the presence of two or three titres with different values where one of them was higher than others) between different serovars was diagnosed in a low number of sera (n=4), with the following serovars: Icterohaemorrhagiae and Pomona (n=3) and Pomona and Canicola (n=1). The confirmed specific antibody titres for Leptospira spp. were between 1:100 to 1:3000 (5 sera had titres of 1:100, 7 had titres of 1:300, 4 had titres of 1:1000, and 1 serum had a titre 1:3000). Monitoring canine leptospirosis is a useful tool in preventing leptospirosis in Belgrade.

Animal models in bicompatibility assessments of implants in soft and hard tissues

The ethical dilemmas of using animals as in vivo models in preclinical and clinical examinations have been increasingly present in recent decades. Small laboratory animals (rats, rabbits) will continue to be used because they are cost-effective and permit the formation of statistically testable cohort groups; a task that, for financial, maintenance and care reasons, is almost prohibitive for larger animals. Technological advances in the production of new biomaterials for clinical use are enormous, but screening tests and methods used to assess biocompatibility lag behind these advances. The assessment of biological responses is slow and based on millennial recovery mechanisms in eukaryotic organisms. Therefore, the goal of researchers in this field is to re-evaluate old methods of biocompatibility assessment and introduce new methods of evaluation, especially for in vivo testing. In that sense, a revision of the ISO standards was planned and conducted in 2017, which insisted on cytotoxicity testing in cell lines and produced concrete proposals on how biocompatibility should be quantified. In vivo biocompatibility evaluation of biomaterials used for soft tissue recovery commonly utilises rats. Rabbits are recommended for implants used for hard tissues, because of the rabbit?s size, the possibility of implanting the biomaterials on a larger bone surface, and because of the peculiarities of rabbit bone tissue that favours rapid recovery after bone defects and enables easy reading of the results.

Profile of veterinary drugs in a specialized pharmacy for manual production of drugs in João Pessoa, Brazil

This is a cross-sectional study conducted in a veterinary pharmacy for manual production of drugs located in the city of Jo?o Pessoa, Brazil. The data collected comprised the period from January 2017 to December 2019, using the records system present in the pharmacy itself. We are seeing a growing demand for veterinary manipulated drugs, with a 40% increase in sales from 2017 to 2019. Among the pharmaceutical forms, capsules were the most commonly requested, followed by solutions, and among the active ingredients, itraconazole was the most frequent. With the diversity of pet species, the manipulation pharmacies have arisen to supply market needs, enabling the development of pharmaceutical forms that meet the physical characteristics of each pet species.

Sheep and goat welfare in Croatia: Assessing veterinary student attitudes

Research into the veterinary perception of animal welfare is becoming ever more relevant. Following previous studies on Croatian veterinary students? attitudes and opinions towards farm animal and pet welfare, the present study assessed their attitudes towards sheep and goat welfare, focusing on the year of veterinary medicine study and area of student residence. The questionnaire survey involved students of all six years of the integrated undergraduate and graduate study programme at the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia. First-year students filled out the questionnaire twice, before and after having attended the animal welfare subject. The questionnaire consisted of two sections. The first section included questions on student demographic and experiential characteristics, whereas the second section asked them to define the level of cognition, sentience and welfare compromise in sheep and goats through five-point Likert scale questions. Study results revealed that students agreed that sheep and goats have cognitive abilities and feelings, but they neither agreed nor disagreed about their welfare compromise. There was no significant difference in student responses according to years of study or between first-year student responses before and after having attended the animal welfare subject or according to areas of student residence. These results could suggest poor student interaction with small ruminants and, therefore, help expand the respective curriculum.

Are pandemics associated with intensive livestock production?

Covid-19 has awakened the world to the importance of infectious diseases. However, it also affected several people, including researchers, as well as some organizations to blame the pandemic on intensive livestock production. Several factors contribute to the fact that the next pandemic is less likely to come from intensive livestock farming than from wild animals and traditional small-scale livestock production. However, there are also the facts that support the role of intensive production in spreading of diseases. One Health - the interaction between the health of humans, animals and the environment has received a lot of attention. Livestock production plays a role in these interactions, but is not a primary driver for the development of new pandemics.

Histochemical characteristics and distribution of lipofuscin and polyglucosan bodies in the brain of dogs more than 10 years old

The ageing process is accompanied by numerous changes in the brain of dogs, such as accumulation of amyloid, fibrosis of blood vessel walls and meninges, accumulation of lipofuscin, and the presence of polyglucosan bodies (PGBs), satellitosis and neuronophagia. In this study, the presence of lipofuscin and PGBs in various parts of the brain in dogs of different sexes and ages was examined. For this purpose, brain samples were stained using haematoxylin eosin, modified Ziehl Neelsen and Periodic acid Schiff (PAS) methods. Lipofuscin was visualised by Ziehl Neelsen and PAS methods of specific staining on the same brain tissue segments. Lipofuscin had accumulated in 93% of old (more than 10 years old) dog brains, mostly in neurons of the medulla oblongata. The percentage of age-related lipofuscin pigment in other examined brain tissue segments was lower than in the medulla oblongata. There was a small difference in the percentage of lipofuscin-positive individuals between the two staining methods. The presence of PGBs was established by the PAS method for the vast majority (about 93%) of the old dogs (more than 10 years old), while PGBs were not detected in the group of young dogs (up to 5 years old). However, PGBs occurred in all examined segments of the dog?s brain tissues (for each of the tissue types, from 90% to 93% of dogs were positive for PGBs). The results obtained the oldest dogs (15 years old) harboured PGBs both extracellularly and intracellularly, while in other dogs, only extracellular PGBs were seen. Lipofuscin was accumulated mostly in large neurons of olivary nuclei of the medulla oblongata. PGBs were confirmed in all examined segments of the brain tissue of dogs more than 10 years old. This is one of the numerous indications that old dogs could be a very good animal model for studying the normal ageing process or neurodegenerative diseases.

Occurence of tail and ear bite injuries in a Hungarian complex pig farm

Abnormal oral manipulation, such as tail-, ear-, and flank-biting are among the most serious behaviour problems in modern pig husbandry. They not only affect the welfare of animals, but also have economic consequences. The prevalence of tail-, ear-, and flank-bite damage was estimated in a 1200 sow farrow-to-finish commercial farm in Hungary were pigs grouped by age. A total of 16,023 individuals were observed, of which 4,679 were housed in the batteries and 11,344 were housed in the fattening barns. In the batteries, the prevalence of tail-bitten and ear-bitten piglets in the different age groups ranged from 2.6 to 15.18%, 10.77 to 56.87%, respectively. The likelihood of tail injuries increased with the age of the animals, while the likelihood of ear injuries gradually decreased with piglet?s age. No flank injuries were observed in piglets from the batteries. In the fattening barns, the prevalence of tail and ear injuries in the different age groups was between 2.73 and 6.1%, and between 3.38 and 58.16%, respectively. Flank biting appeared only in older animals, from 156 days of age, at a much lower frequency (1.96 to 3.26%) than the other injuries studied. Some elements of the housing and feeding technology applied in this farm could enhance the occurrence of abnormal oral bite behaviour in pigs. Changing from wet to granulate feed and replacing the grid flooring with solid flooring covered with straw litter could lead to a decline in the incidence of biting.

Acid-base, electrolyte and oxidative status in dairy cows at different stages of the production cycle

Previous studies in the field of acid-base and oxidative status in cows have mainly focused on the transition period (three weeks before and three weeks after calving). The aim of this study was to determine the differences in the parameters of acid-base and oxidative status and electrolyte balance in cows not only during the transition period, but also at other stages of the production cycle. Holstein-Friesian cows were divided into four numerically equal groups (n = 6): early lactating cows (9?2 days in milk - DIM), peak lactating cows (50?5 DIM), late lactating cows (170?10 DIM) and dry cows (10?1 days before calving). Venous blood samples were taken from the cows to analyze acid-base status, electrolyte concentrations and oxidative stress parameters, and to compare group means. Significantly higher pH was observed in early lactating cows than in late lactating cows. Sodium (Na+) concentration was significantly lower in early lactating and peak lactating cows compared to dry cows, while chloride (Cl-) concentration was also lower in late lactating cows compared to dry cows. Plasma glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) activity was higher in early lactating cows compared to peak lactating cows. Thus, the highest blood pH, lowest Na+ and Cl- concentrations and highest serum GSH-Px activity were observed in early lactating cows compared to other groups, indicating the highest metabolic and oxidative stress during this period. In conclusion, it would be useful to consider the inclusion of these parameters in standard health assessment procedures in intensive dairy production.

Multiple omental hemangiomas in a Himalayan cat: Incidental finding in a laparotomy

This report describes the occurrence of omental hemangioma in a five-year-old Himalayan cat. The cat was affected by hemorrhagic gastroenteritis caused by Fusobacterium necrophorum. Also, chronic renal failure (CRF) was demonstrated according to high levels of blood urine nitrogen (BUN), creatinine (Cr), as well as hypoproteinemia and anemia. In this respect, in urinalysis, urine specific gravity (USG) decreased while urea, creatinine and total protein levels increased. Moreover, the complete blood count (CBC) tests showed neutrophilia, monocytosis and lymphopenia. During an exploratory laparotomy, nine masses with a size of 1-5 mm and firm consistency were found to be scattered on the omentum. Histologically, the masses consisted of capillary-cavernous vessels with well-differentiated endothelial cells. No mitotic figures, hemorrhage, or necrosis were found, but there was focal lymphocytic infiltration in the parenchyma of the masses. Immunohistochemically, expression of vimentin and von Willebrand factor (vWF) was found in the endothelial cells, while the immunoreaction to smooth muscle actin (?SMA) was negative. These findings confirmed the diagnosis of hemangioma. To the best of the authors? knowledge, this is the first report of feline omental hemangioma.

Sexual maturity as risk for development of deviant behaviours in pig production systems with entire males

Male piglets are castrated primarily to avoid the unpleasant boar taint in meat, and additionally for the predisposition of castrates to accumulate fat and for their lower risk of developing unwanted behaviours. There are two main strategies available for withdrawing from surgical castration: one is immunocastration and the other is to raise entire male pigs or boars. Additionally, raising intact boars is more profitable because of the production of carcasses with lean meat and better feed conversion. Boars (compared to castrates) exhibit more aggressive, sexual, damaging social behaviour and reduced feeding behaviour with a lower prevalence of sickness behaviour as a result of good health and low susceptibility to chronic inflammation. In this review, the behaviours specific for boars as a result of sexual maturity are reviewed, with an overview of differences in the behaviour of surgically castrated barrows, immunocastrates and boars reared in group-housed systems. The raising of boars allows for good welfare of these animals in early life, but later, on reaching sexual maturity, the welfare of boars can be diminished because of their propensity to aggression and more mounting behaviour than castrates. Innovations in the breeding and management of boars are needed to improve their performance and to reduce welfare implications of these animals raised in social groups, and in particular to minimize deviant behaviours towards pen mates.