Review(s)

This review deals with the epidemiology and ecology of enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli (EHEC), asubset of the verocytotoxigenic Escherichia coli (VTEC), and subsequently discusses its public health concern.Attention is also given to the outbreak strain O104:H4, which has been isolated as causative agent of thesecond largest outbreak of the hemolytic uremic syndrome worldwide, which started in Germany in May2011. This outbreak strain is not an EHEC as such but possesses an unusual combination of EHEC andenteroaggregative E. coli (EAggEC) virulence properties.

Although tail docking in female lambs is still performed in Belgian fi eld conditions, the effectivenessof docking and hence the necessity of that procedure are questioned. Tail docking in lambs is a cosmetictreatment rather than a treatment to prevent myiasis. In order to limit myiasis in sheep, the focus mustbe adjusted. The aim of this article is to discuss tail docking in lambs and to focus on alternatives, whichmay or may not be immediately implementable. In this view, veterinarians can advise farmers to takemore effective management measures to reduce myiasis. Frequent monitoring of the animals, limiting thecontamination of the hindquarters, the preventive use of antiparasitic products, shear management and fl ytraps are important tools for this purpose.

Negative pressure wound therapy is a respected treatment method in human patients with acute andchronic wounds. The local application of negative pressure stimulates the blood fl ow and the formation ofhealthy granulation tissue, and also evacuates exudate. Worldwide, there is a growing interest in the applicationof negative pressure wound therapy in companion animals. Promising results have been reportedalthough more research is necessary to study the effects of this treatment in dogs and cats. A thoroughevaluation of the applicability and the advantages of negative pressure wound therapy in companion animalsis recommended.

Anthelmintic resistance of parasites in small ruminants, cattle and horses is increasing worldwide as a consequence of the over usage of the currently available products. In Belgium, Cooperia oncophora is the most common cattle nematode in which resistance, especially against macrocyclic lactones, occurs. Once resistance has been diagnosed, a change to another drug with a different mode of action is advised. However, effective anthelmintics will be hardly available in the near future. Therefore, it is important that farmers and veterinarians find a balance between achieving good parasite control and the sustainability of their control strategies. In this way, anthelmintic resistance may be delayed, and the effectiveness of anthelmintic drugs may be prolonged. This requires sensitive detection tools. With a sensitive detection technique, anthelmintic resistance can be diagnosed in a very early stage. Hence, the spread of resistance alleles in the parasite population may be prevented. In this review, different diagnostic assays for the detection of anthelmintic resistance are discussed, an overview is given of the current status of anthelmintic resistance in Belgian cattle, and measures are suggested to avoid or delay the development of anthelmintic resistance.

The therapeutic use of ultrasound in human medicine is known to have a positive effect on the healing of tissue and bone. Therefore, ultrasound has been frequently applied in patients with a bone fracture (e.g. Exogen®). In veterinary medicine, several studies have been performed to investigate the effect of ultrasound on bone healing. Although the healing time in several patients was shortened after the application of ultrasound, the technique is currently not routinely applied in cases of delayed or non-union. The literature and the already performed experiments with ultrasound in veterinary medicine are reviewed in this article. The mechanism of action of ultrasound during the various phases of tissue and bone healing are described. Since the interest in physical therapy is increasing, the technique will probably be applied more frequently in companion animals in the near future.