Over a year into the COVID-19 pandemic, there is growing evidence that SARS-CoV-2 infections among dogs are more common than previously thought. In this study, the prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 antibodies ...was investigated in two dog populations. The first group was comprised of 1069 dogs admitted to the Veterinary Teaching Hospital for any given reason. The second group included dogs that shared households with confirmed COVID-19 cases in humans. This study group numbered 78 dogs. In COVID-19 infected households, 43.9% tested ELISA positive, and neutralising antibodies were detected in 25.64% of dogs. Those data are comparable with the secondary attack rate in the human population. With 14.69% of dogs in the general population testing ELISA positive, there was a surge of SARS-CoV-2 infections within the dog population amid the second wave of the pandemic. Noticeably seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2 in the dog and the human population did not differ at the end of the study period. Male sex, breed and age were identified as significant risk factors. This study gives strong evidence that while acute dog infections are mostly asymptomatic, they can pose a significant risk to dog health. Due to the retrospective nature of this study, samples for viral isolation and PCR were unavailable. Still, seropositive dogs had a 1.97 times greater risk for developing central nervous symptoms.
The beneficial effect of physical activity on the musculoskeletal health in dogs is well recognized, but the level of intensity, duration, and frequency of exercise is not fully described. ...Measurement of serum markers of bone metabolism (bone alkaline phosphatase and osteocalcin as bone formation markers and C-terminal telopeptide as bone resorption marker) during four months of organized moderate-intensity physical training in Labrador retriever and Golden retriever dogs aged between 11.7–24.4 months, showed variations of bone metabolism. Dogs were included in treadmill running sessions for 25 min, three times per week. Blood samples were taken at the beginning of the program (baseline), after two months (mid-term) and at the end of the study after four months. The values of bone alkaline phosphatase and osteocalcin significantly decreased following two months of exercise program. Bone alkaline phosphatase increased by the end of four-month training cycle, but did not reach baseline value. Osteocalcin levels continued to decrease towards the end of the study. C-terminal telopeptide concentrations did not significantly change throughout the study duration. The results of this study show that aerobic exercise of moderate-intensity caused an initial decrease in bone formation followed by an increase of bone alkaline phosphatase and a further decrease of osteocalcin concentration. The response of two formation markers can be explained by the different stage of osteoblast activity that they express. In summary, moderate exercise resulted in no change in bone resorption, and a mild bone formation in young developing dogs.
Malassezia pachydermatis is an opportunistic yeast regularly isolated from the healthy and diseased skin of various animal species. There is scarcity of data about its presence on pinnipeds' skin and ...even less information about its pathogenicity in aquatic animals. In this study, a twenty-seven year old California sea lion (Zalophus californianus) was presented with alopecia and a cutaneous lesion on the right side of the trunk that had appeared in the spring, worsened through the summer and significantly improved in the winter months. Swab samples were obtained from the lesion and healthy skin sites (tail, posterior flippers, and trunk) and M. pachydermatis was recovered from all samples. The number of colonies grown from the lesion site was significantly higher than those cultured from the healthy skin. Employing the ITS-1 molecular marker we investigated whether there is any connection between sequence types of M. pachydermatis isolates recovered from the lesion, and those isolated from the healthy skin sites. Sequencing of the ITS-1 region of all isolates revealed a 99% match to the sequence of M. pachydermatis. In addition, all sequences belonged to the same genotype and there was no difference found between the isolates obtained from the lesion site and the healthy skin. Key words: Malassezia pachydermatis; alopecia; cutaneous lesion; California sea lion (Zalophus californianus)
Joint disease has a high correlation with bull reproductive failure at semen collection centers or in natural breeding programs. The majority of changes involve the digital region, with various ...etiologies and pathomorphologies. An X-ray examination is often indicated, but has not become a routine procedure in bovine practice. The aim of our research was to determine radiographically visible changes in the digital region and determine their anatomical distribution in stud bulls that do not show clinical signs of lameness. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first in vivo radiographic study of the digital region in Simmental stud bulls. The study included 30 adult Simmental stud bulls in breeding condition. Five (16.66%) bulls had no changes on their digits, and 25 (83.33%) had different groups of changes on their digits. The anatomical site of occurrence and the frequency of pathological changes on each individual digit were determined. In 76% of bulls, changes are visible on both the forelimbs and hindlimbs. Mostly radiographic findings of changes in the digital region in stud bulls without clinical signs of the disease correspond to chronic degenerative changes in their bones and joints, but they do not have any significant influence on the health status or semen production of stud bulls. However, the distribution of radiographic findings in these stud bulls does not correspond with the previously described distribution in other categories of cattle.
The aim of this retrospective study was to show the prevalence of hip dysplasia (HD) in the indigenous dog breed Bosnian and Herzegovinian - Croatian Shepherd Dog (Tornjak) in the period from 2001 to ...2016. A total of 735 radiographs were evaluated according to the FCI protocol. Statistical analysis was performed using the Statistica 13.5.0.17. (TIBCO Software Inc.) software. Significant differences between categorical variables were analysed using the Chi-square test. The median value of age of examined dogs was 18 (13.8-26.0) months, with majority of dogs (523) under 24 months. In the overall examined population 74.97% of hip radiographs were interpreted as healthy (grades A and B) and 25.03% were interpreted as dysplastic (grades C, D and E). In dogs under 24 months of age, the most common age for HD survey, 76.86 % was interpreted as healthy and 23.14% as dysplastic. Comparing the frequency of diagnosed HD according to the breeding licence during the 15 years period there was a statistically significant increase in dogs with HD grades A, B, C, D and a decrease in dogs with grade HD E restricted for further breeding (P
Joint disease has a high correlation with bull reproductive failure at semen collection centers or in natural breeding programs. The majority of changes involve the digital region, with various ...etiologies and pathomorphologies. An X-ray examination is often indicated, but has not become a routine procedure in bovine practice. The aim of our research was to determine radiographically visible changes in the digital region and determine their anatomical distribution in stud bulls that do not show clinical signs of lameness. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first in vivo radiographic study of the digital region in Simmental stud bulls. The study included 30 adult Simmental stud bulls in breeding condition. Five (16.66%) bulls had no changes on their digits, and 25 (83.33%) had different groups of changes on their digits. The anatomical site of occurrence and the frequency of pathological changes on each individual digit were determined. In 76% of bulls, changes are visible on both the forelimbs and hindlimbs. Mostly radiographic findings of changes in the digital region in stud bulls without clinical signs of the disease correspond to chronic degenerative changes in their bones and joints, but they do not have any significant influence on the health status or semen production of stud bulls. However, the distribution of radiographic findings in these stud bulls does not correspond with the previously described distribution in other categories of cattle. Key words: stud bull; Simmental breed; radiography; digits Bolesti zglobova pokazuju visoki stupanj povezanosti s poremecajima u reprodukciji rasplodnih bikova od kojih se u centrima za umjetno osjemenjivanje prikuplja sperma ili sluze u programima za prirodni pripust. Vecina promjena na zglobovima pojavljuje se u regiji prstiju, a ukljucuje patomorfoloske promjene razlicite etiologije. Za dijagnostiku navedenih promjena vrlo je cesto indicirana radioloska pretraga, koja jos uvijek nije rutinska metoda u radu s govedima. Cilj je ovog istrazivanja bio utvrditi radioloski vidljive promjene u podrucju prstiju i njihovu anatomsku distribuciju u rasplodnih bikova koji ne pokazuju znakove hromosti. Koliko nam je poznato, ovo je prvo in vivo radiolosko istrazivanje regije prstiju u rasplodnih bikova simentalske pasmine. Ukljuceno je 30 odraslih bikova u rasplodnoj kondiciji. Kod 5 bikova (16,66 %) nisu pronadene rendgenski vidljive promjene, a kod 25 (83,33 %) pronadene su etioloski razlicite promjene. Za svaku promjenu definirana je njezina anatomska pozicija nakon cega je utvrdena ucestalost patoloskih promjena na pojedinacnim prstima. Vidljive promjene na prednjim i straznjim ekstremitetima opazene se kod 76% istrazenih bikova. Vecina rendgenski vidljivih promjena u regiji prstiju rasplodnih bikova bez znakova hromosti vezana je uz kronicna degenerativna stanja na kostima i zglobovima. Vazno je napomenuti da promjene nisu znatnije utjecale na zdravstveno stanje i proizvodnju sperme bikova te da se distribucija promjena u regiji njihovih prstiju razlikuje od prije opisanih promjena u ostalih kategorija goveda. Kljucne rijeci: rasplodni bik; simentalska pasmina; radiografja; prsti
The objectives of the current case report are to describe and report the diagnostics and surgical treatment of colonic diverticulum in a dog. A 13-year-old intact male Labrador retriever, suffering ...from the inability to defecate for 10 days, was diagnosed with a mass between the colon and the urinary bladder, filled with faeces. The diagnosis of a colonic diverticulum was obtained using plain abdominal radiography, ultrasonography, cystography and irigography. Native and contrast abdominal radiography and ultrasonography detected an abdominal mass with a diameter of 9 cm, filled with faeces, connected to the descending colon, and an enlarged prostatic gland. The dog was treated surgically with orchiectomy, exploratory celiotomy, partial resection of the colonic diverticulum wall, followed by reconstruction of the colon using the wall of the colonic diverticulum as a flap. The dog defecated 24 hours after surgery. On the 5th postoperative day, a wound infection was observed (redness, serous discharge from the ventral midline wound). The functional outcome was satisfactory. To the best of our knowledge, such a case report has not been reported before.
The objectives of the current case report are to describe and report the diagnostics and surgical treatment of colonic diverticulum in a dog. A 13-year-old intact male Labrador retriever, suffering ...from the inability to defecate for 10 days, was diagnosed with a mass between the colon and the urinary bladder, filled with faeces. The diagnosis of a colonic diverticulum was obtained using plain abdominal radiography, ultrasonography, cystography and irigography. Native and contrast abdominal radiography and ultrasonography detected an abdominal mass with a diameter of 9 cm, filled with faeces, connected to the descending colon, and an enlarged prostatic gland. The dog was treated surgically with orchiectomy, exploratory celiotomy, partial resection of the colonic diverticulum wall, followed by reconstruction of the colon using the wall of the colonic diverticulum as a flap. The dog defecated 24 hours after surgery. On the 5th postoperative day, a wound infection was observed (redness, serous discharge from the ventral midline wound). The functional outcome was satisfactory. To the best of our knowledge, such a case report has not been reported before. Key words: canine; colonic diverticulum; exploratory celiotomy Cilj rada bio je prikazati dijagnostiku i kirursko lijecenje divertikula debelog crijeva u psa. Muzjak u dobi od 13 godina pasmine labrador retriver, tijekom 10 dana nije mogao defecirati. Psu je dijagnosticirana tvorba izmedu kolona i mokracnog mjehura, ispunjena fecesom. Abdominalnom radiografijom, ultrazvukom, cistografijom i irigografijom postavljena je dijagnoza divertikula kolona. Nativna i kontrastna abdominalna radiografija i ultrazvuk otkrili su abdominalnu masu promjera 9 cm, ispunjenu fecesom i povezanu sa silaznim kolonom, kao i uvecanu prostatu. U psa je ucinjena orhiektomija, eksploratorna celiotomija i parcijalna resekcija stijenke divertikula kolona, te rekonstrukcija debelog crijeva, upotrebom stijenke crijevnog divertikula kao preklopa. Nakon 24 sata pas je defecirao. Petog dana poslije kirurskog zahvata primijecena je infekcija rane (crvenilo, serozni iscjedak iz ventralnog srednjeg dijela rane). Funkcionalni ishod bio je zadovoljavajuci. Prema nama dostupnim podacima ovakav slucaj dosad nije prikazan. Kljucne rijeci: pas; divertikul debelog crijeva; eksploratorna celiotomija
Use of animals for therapeutic purposes, animal assisted therapy or AAT is a method for improving quality of life for long-term inpatients. The object of this paper was to evaluate dog companionship ...as a form of AAT and its effects on perception of loneliness in geriatric nursing home residents. The participants were involved in a six-month program of dog companionship three times weekly for 90 minutes. There were 21 residents included in the program, with a mean age of 80 years. Loneliness was measured by the short version of the UCLA Scale of loneliness. Comparison of test results before and after participation in the program showed that dog companionship reduces the perception of loneliness.
•Granulomas as a reaction to sutures present a rare surgical complication, which can be misinterpreted as a neoplasia on diagnostic imaging.•A 5-year-old mixed-breed bitch showed a 9 cm x 7 cm mass ...at the location of the left ovary, presumed to be a tumor.•The mass was removed and submitted for histopathology which revealed granulomatous inflammation as a reaction to suture material.•The case emphasizes that diagnostic imaging should be supplemented with additional diagnostic procedures, for example histopathology, for etiologic diagnosis of masses encountered in the abdomen.
Ovariohysterectomy is a common surgical procedure performed on female dogs throughout the world. One rare complication is the development of granulomas as a reaction to sutures. Granulomas can grossly and on diagnostic imaging mimic neoplasia, which can present a diagnostic challenge. We present a rare case of ovarian suture granuloma, which resembled a tumor on diagnostic imaging. A 5-year-old, spayed, mixed-breed bitch was presented for anorexia and apathy lasting for a week. On clinical examination fever, dehydration, enlarged lymph nodes, and a tense abdomen were evident. Radiology and ultrasound revealed a 9 cm x 7 cm mass at the location of the left ovary, presumed to be a tumor. The mass was removed on laparotomy and submitted for histopathology which diagnosed granulomatous inflammation as a reaction to a foreign body (most consistently with suture reaction). The current case presents a rare late complication of ovariohysterectomy in the form of a suture granuloma. The case emphasizes the need for additional diagnostic procedures for etiologic diagnosis of masses encountered in the abdomen, especially histopathology, as diagnostic imaging cannot distinguish inflammation from neoplasia.
PDF
