Original article(s)

Fifty triple pelvic osteotomies were performed in 30 young dogs with hip dysplasia and hip joint laxity. In affected hips, the mean pre-operative angle of Ortolani was 30º, whereas the mean angle of luxation was 18º. The mean radiographic femoral ‘overlap’ came to 26% and the mean angle of Norberg was 88º After surgery, these values changed to respectively 2 and 0° for the clinical angles and 69% and 113° for ‘overlap’ and Norberg. Loosening of the screws was observed on post-operative radiographs in 36% of the cases. Three months after surgery, forty-seven hips functioned very well to perfect. In three operated legs we observed neurological problems. Two of these legs were operated on for a second time; they healed later on. One year after the last surgical intervention, sixteen patients were examined. All of them showed stable femoral ‘overlap’s’ and Norberg angles. The animals functioned well. Three or more years after the operation(s), a telephone enquiry was carried out among 19 owners. None of the dogs had been in pain or had suffered from distress or stiffness; their mobility had been excellent.

The role of Bordetella bronchiseptica infections in respiratory disease in cats is not clear. In this study, the prevalence of B. bronchiseptica was isolated from 11 out of a total of 272 nasal swabs taken from 272 cats from five different populations: household cats, cats from shelters, cats from catteries, stray cats and cats from pet shops. The infection rate of animals younger than 6 months was similar to that of older cats. The bacterium was isolated more frequently from cats kept in group and from cats showing signs of respiratory disease. None of the household cats were positive.

Myositis eosinophilica (ME) in cattle is characterised by grey-greenish lesions in the muscular tissue, which is a reason for condemnation. There are histological and immunological indications that Sarcocystis is involved in the pathogenesis of myosistis eosinophilica. Using a digestion-technique, a quantitative analysis of Sarcocystis was performed on heart tissue of normal carcasses (n=24) and of carcasses condemned for ME (n=10) in Belgium. The incidence of Sarcocystis was 100% in both groups. In the carcasses with myosistis eosinophilica, less cystozoits per gram heart tissue were counted than in normal carcasses. A possible explanation for this is the hypothesis which suggests that myositis eosinophilica in cattle is the result of sarcocyst destruction by a hypersensitivity-reaction. This hypersensitivity-reaction may be the cause of the grey-greenish lesions observed in ME.

To determine the age at which a natural infection of turkey herpesvirus (HVT) occurs in turkeys, two studies were set up. A first study was performed on 6 Belgian turkey farms. On each farm, 20 turkeys were bled at two-week intervals, starting at the age of 7 days and ending at the age of 18 weeks, and the collected sera were examined for the presence of antibodies against HVT. Maternally derived antibodies, which were uniformly present at hatching, decreased during the first weeks of life and disappeared by the time the turkeys were five weeks old. An increase in anti-HVT antibodies was detected one week later. In a second study, 7-day old specific-pathogen free turkeys were inoculated intranasally with a Belgian HVT strain. Antibodies appeared 5 weeks after inoculation. From the serological data obtained in the two studies, it was concluded that a natural infection of HVT takes shortly after hatching, within the first days of life.

This paper describes the distribution of the first milk somatic cell counts (SCC) measured between 5 and 14 days of lactation, during a one year period (1999) for 12,994 dairy heifers on 3,221 herds in Flanders (Belgium). Somatic cell counts ≤ 150 x 103 cells/ml were allocated to class 1. Somatic cell counts between 151 x 103 and 3000 x 103 cells/ml, between 301 x 103 and 1,000 x 103 cells/ml and >1,000 x 103 cells/ml were allocated to classes 2,3 and 4, respectively. The prevalence per class was 65.4, 15.6, 12.9 and 6.1% for classes 1, 2, 3 and 4, respectively. The within-herd prevalence for class 1 varied from 27.3 to 100%, with a median of 66.7%. For classes 2, 3 and 4, the median within-herd prevalence was 15.4 (range: 0.0 – 50.0%), 10.0 (0.0-54.5%), and 0.0% (0.0-30.0%), respectively.

The objective of this study was to determine the prevalence of canine herpesvirus 1 (CHV1) in breeding bitches on Belgian kennels and to relate this to fertility problems and/or neonatal death. By using a seroneutralisation test with complement to detect anti-CHV1 antibodies, a prevalence of 49.5% was found in a population of 97 breeding bitches in 18 kennels. In nine kennels, all examined breeding bitches were negative. In the other nine kennels 2/3 to all of the examined breeding bitches were positive. In seven kennels with positive breeding bitches serious problems were observed concerning neonatal death and/or infertility, whereas only one kennel with negative breeding bitches had problems with infertility, which indicates that there is a relation between the presence of positive breeding bitches and neonatal death and/or infertility in the kennel. This relation was also observed on animal level. 76% of the bitches that had recently lost a litter before the age of 3 weeks and57% of the bitches with fertility problems were positive. In contrast, only 33% of the “problem-free” bitches were positive. It was concluded that CHV1 is kennel-related and that kennels, where the virus is enzootically present, experience neonatal death and infertility more frequently.

A method for bone marrow aspiration from the sternal marrow cavity of growing cattle has been optimised for routine application in older animals. By means of this technical adaptation, marrow can easily be sampled from the third or fourth sternebrae of adult cattle.

The parameters of the records of 273 horses surgically treated for colic between January 1998 and January 2000 were analysed to identify risk factors for the development of postoperative ileus. The horses that were euthanatized during surgery were not included in the study. Horses showing persistent gastric reflux, persistent signs of colic and distended loops of small intestine palpable during rectal examination were considered to be having postoperative ileus. The other horses comprised the reference population. Of the 273 horses in this study, 49 (18%) developed postoperative ileus. Univariate analysis of the parameters from the medical records of the horses indicated that several factors were associated with the development op postoperative ileus. The result of multiple logistic regression identified the presence of pre-operative reflux as the most significant risk factor (P=0.00013) for postoperative ileus. The death rate caused by ileus was 41%.

This article describes a Belgian White-Blue heifer getting ill five days after a caesarean section. It died of a severe pleuritis caused by a leaking esophageal diverticulum. The presumptive diagnosis was made after passing a stomach tube and was confirmed by an autopsy. Keywords: Cow - Esophageal Diverticulum - Pleuritis

In the period 1986-1994 a retrospective study was performed on 2,264 horses with colic at the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine of the Ghent University/Belgium. An exploratory laparotomy was performed in 1,069 horses. In this study the observed pathological conditions in the different parts of the gastrointestinal tract are thoroughly discussed in depth. The origin of colic symptoms was determined by rectal examination or exploratory laparotomy: it was localized in the ascending colon in 31% of the horses and in the small intestine in 25% of them. Less frequently observed localizations were the caecum (8%), the descending colon (3%), the stomach (3%) and the rectum (1%). The localization of colic pathology could not or not exactly be determined in 28% of the cases. Short time survival rates were used. The overall survival rate of conservative and surgical treatment of horses with pathology of the descending colon and pathology of the caecum and/or ascending colon was respectively 80% and 75%. The survival rate of horses with pathology of the small intestine, the rectum and the stomach was less favorable: 54%, 35% and 32% respectively. The risk of developing colic was statistically analyzed according to breed, gender and age. Foals less than 1 year old ran a significantly higher risk of small intestinal volvulus. Geldings and Warmblood horses had a higher incidence of incarceration through the foramen omentale (epiploicon), whereas females and foals had a lower incidence. An inguinal hernia was significantly more often observed in foals and stallions, and significantly less in mares and geldings. Horses aged 9-12 years showed a higher risk of caecal tympany, whereas ponies, males, foals and horses aged 1-4 years ran an increased risk of (ileo)caecal intussusception. Mares and horses aged 1-4 and 5-8 years had a higher incidence of pelvic flexure impaction. The incidence of right colonic displacement was lower in males and foals. Older horses and mares were at significantly greater risk of developing colonic torsion. A higher incidence of left dorsal displacement was observed in geldings and a lower incidence in females.