Original article(s)

Vaccination is used as a control and prevention tool for infectious bursal disease (IBDV) inpoultry. A new strategy for improving vaccination efficiency is the use of in-feed immune modulatingingredients. The aim of this study was to test if the use of beta-(1,3)-glucans in feed canenhance IBDV vaccination. The trial was conducted in ROSS 308 broilers. In the study, a negativecontrol group (not vaccinated, not supplemented), a positive control group (vaccinated, notsupplemented) and a treated group (vaccinated, supplemented with beta-(1,3)-glucan) were included.All broilers, except the negative control, were orally vaccinated at 18 days of age with alive IBDV vaccine. Blood samples were taken at day 18 and 35 to measure antibody titers againstIBDV. Serological analysis showed the presence of maternal derived antibodies at time of vaccinationin some birds. The beta-(1,3)-glucan supplemented birds showed decreased CV% (coefficientof variation) and significantly increased average antibody titers compared to non-supplementedvaccinated birds. Additionally, the beta-(1,3)-glucan group showed increased number ofbirds with antibody titers above the titer threshold for protective immunity. The results obtainedin the current trial clearly indicate that beta-(1,3)-glucan can increase seroconversion and serologicalresponse to IBDV vaccination.

In humans, electrical and contractile reverse remodelling following restoration of sinusrhythm (SR) after a prolonged period of spontaneous atrial fibrillation (AF), requires severalweeks. There is little known about this phenomenon in horses.In the present study, six healthy horses were instrumented with a neurostimulator and a pacemakerto maintain AF for four months by intermittent burst pacing and to study atrial andventricular electrophysiology. AF became persistent in all horses after two to six weeks of burstpacing. Before, during and after the AF period, parameters, such as the atrial fibrillation cyclelength, the right atrial and ventricular refractory period and vulnerability, such as inducingatrial arrythmias, atrial tachyarrythmias or maintaining AF, were determined. Two-dimensionalechocardiography was used to measure atrial and ventricular contractility expressed as fractionalshortening and size expressed as diameter and area.In two of the six horses, the procedure was discontinued due to an increased threshold (1horse) and due to infection at the level of the pacemaker pocket (1 horse). In the four remaininghorses, significant electrical and contractile remodelling compared to baseline values was observedfrom 48 hours onwards after AF induction. Upon restoration of SR with quindine sulfate,all electrical and contractile values returned to normal within one to two months. No ventricularremodelling was observed.Four months of pacing-induced AF resulted in electrical and contractile remodelling and reverseremodelling. The results suggest that pacing-induced chronic AF does not cause permanentdamage and suggest that a resting period of six to eight weeks before returning to training mightbe beneficial.

Urinalysis plays an important role in diagnosing several diseases and as part of routine healthchecks of senior and geriatric patients. There is no solid data regarding the role of experience in themicroscopical examination of urine sediment of small animals. The purpose of this study was to investigatethe role of experience when examining urine sediment. In total, sediment of 27 urine samples(of 13 dogs and 14 cats) were microscopically examined independently by one experienced observer(the expert) and two unexperienced final-year, veterinary students. For most sediments, there was aweak agreement (low kappa value: 0-0.4) between the expert and the students, with the exception of amoderate agreement for struvite crystals (kappa value: 0.47). The agreement between the students wasalso weak, but slightly higher than the agreement between the expert and the students. In this study, itis shown that experience plays an important role in the correct examination of urine sediment.

In dairy cattle, the milk somatic cell count is the most widely accepted indicator for the presenceof intramammary infections. The aim of this study was to compare the results of the electronic cellcounting on 179 composite milk samples with the results of two commercially available CaliforniaMastitis Tests (CMT), based on either the thickening of the solution or the thickening of the solution incombination with a color change.The most frequently isolated major pathogens in the milk samples were Streptococcus uberis andStaphylococcus aureus and the minor pathogens most isolated were the non-aureus staphylococci. Thesomatic cell count estimated with the CMT-tests corresponded well with the one obtained with theFossomatic™. For both CMT-tests, the test characteristics were mutually comparable as well as withthe one obtained with the electronic cell counting. Based on the findings, it can be concluded that bothCMT-tests can be used in the field to help detect cows suffering from an intramammary infection dueto major pathogens.

Bovine papillomaviruses (BPV) are members of the family Papillomaviridae. Papillomavirusesare usually species-specific and epitheliotropic. Delta-BPVs are an exception to this rule in that theycan also infect fibroblasts and non-bovid ungulates. Cell cultures are essential for performing invitro studies, analysis of virus biology, vaccine production, tissue engineering and toxicity testing.In this context, cell line contamination constitutes a significant problem. In this study, variouscell lines (n=27) were assessed for potential BPV contamination. To this aim, DNA was extractedfrom cell cultures and then screened for the presence of papillomavirus L1 capsid gene DNAusing a consensus polymerase chain reaction (PCR) system. Immunofluorescence (IF) stainingwas used for viral protein detection. Intriguingly, one cell line derived from equine dermis testedpositive by PCR and subsequent IF staining for L1. Amplicon sequencing followed by computedL1 DNA sequence alignment led to the identification of a new putative BPV type, revealing thehighest identities with Delta-BPV types 1 (76%) and 2 (73%). To the authors’ knowledge, thisis the first report on the presence of a putative BPV as a viral contaminant in cell cultures thatpossibly represents an unknown Delta-BPV.

In this case study performed in Flemish dairy herds, it is shown that lactation stage, farmtype (grazing (fresh grass) or zero-grazing) and season are interrelated factors associated withcirculating β-carotene (bC) and Vitamin E (VitE) concentrations. The iCheck bC is an easy applicablecow-side test to evaluate a cow’s bC status. One third of the dairy cows in the study haddeficiencies in circulating bC and VitE, especially cows in early lactation and cows from zerograzingfarms. Fresh grass in the diet could not resolve the early post-partum decline in plasmabC and VitE. However, the bC and VitE statuses of dry cows were significantly better on grazingfarms. These findings can help updating antioxidant recommendations since it is clear that thereis a need for optimization of antioxidant nutritional management in the Flemish dairy industryin order to feed for optimal dairy cow health.

When a male dog is not able to ejaculate, epididymal spermatozoa can be used to artificially inseminatethe bitch. In the present study, two methods to collect epididymal sperm after castration werecompared, i.e. the float-up method and the aspiration method. With the float-up method, more spermatozoawere collected than with the aspiration method (1810±718.1 million versus 694±244.5 millionrespectively, p-value = 0.018). A trend towards a higher post-thaw motility was observed when usingthe float-up method compared to the aspiration method (52±9.4% versus 44±9.4%, p-value = 0.060).Semen samples collected with the float-up method showed more blood contamination than with theaspiration method; however, this seemed to have no effect on the quality and quantity of the semen. Itcan therefore be concluded that the float-up method is the method of choice when epididymal spermhas to be collected in dogs.

This study aimed to evaluate the relationship between the serum concentrations of lidocaine/monoethylglycinexylidide (MEGX) and their effects on several systems in horses. Five healthy,conscious horses received a two-hour placebo intravenous infusion followed by a two-hour lidocaineinfusion (bolus of 1.3 mg/kg over ten minutes followed by a continuous rate infusion of0.05 mg/kg/min). Lidocaine and MEGX serum concentrations were sampled every ten to fifteenminutes during the experiment, and the presence of muscle fasciculations and loss of balance aswell as the respiratory, digestive and cardiovascular systems of the five horses were evaluated bymeans of different non-invasive methods. During the lidocaine infusion, the mean (± SD) lidocaineand MEGX concentrations were respectively 768.88 ± 93.32ng/ml and 163.08 ± 108.98 ng/ml. Theinfusion of lidocaine significantly influenced the presence of fasciculations, caused a statisticallybut non-clinically significant decrease of systolic and diastolic blood pressures, which were bothcorrelated with lidocaine and MEGX serum concentrations, and it increased the duodenal contractionsfrequency, which was correlated with the serum lidocaine concentration. In this study,mild hypotensive and prokinetic effects of short-term lidocaine infusion were observed.

Beef cattle are susceptible to trace element deficiencies. The goal of this trial was to studythe efficacy of dam supplementation with organic or inorganic trace minerals. Thirteen BelgianBlue farms divided into two groups per farm were investigated, resulting in a randomized blockdesign, with two treatments. Animals in treatment A group received a supplement containing50% organic and 50% inorganic selenium, zinc, and copper, while those in treatment B groupreceived 100% inorganic sources. Blood zinc (p=0.08), selenium in blood (p<0.01) and colostrum(p<0.01) were higher in group A. No difference (p>0.1) was found between treatments regardingthe incidence of disease or daily weight gain of the calves. Although the zootechnical performancewas equal for both treatments, supplementation with organic trace minerals resulted in a greaternutritional efficacy to sustain the selenium and zinc statuses of the Belgian Blue cattle, and alsoseemed to mitigate inflammation associated with cesarean section.

The aim of this study was to investigate potential differences and correlations between brainand skull morphology and the clinical signs of brachycephalic dogs with and without Chiari-likemalformation (CLM). Various measurements were derived from magnetic resonance images ofthe brain and craniocervical junction of thirty brachycephalic dogs in a flexed-neck position.Each dog was assigned a clinical grade. The distance from the planum of the foramen magnum tothe pons was significantly reduced, providing evidence of craniocephalic disproportion similar tohuman patients with Chiari malformation type I. Cerebral length relative to cranial length wassignificantly increased in dogs with CLM compared with control dogs, supporting the hypothesisthat CLM is governed by a global overcrowding of the brain, dissimilar to the human condition.Significant correlations were identified between these measurements and the extent of cerebellarherniation. No significant differences or correlations were identified with clinical grade. This isthe first described morphometric analysis to use a strictly brachycephalic study population inclusiveof a control group free from CLM.