2009 - 78 (1)

During recent years an increasing number of outbreaks of Malignant Catharral Fever (MCF) in cattle hasbeen reported in several European countries. The clinical picture also seems to be changing: the disease usedto be characterized by a low morbidity and a high mortality, but large outbreaks with high morbidity and highmortality have recently been reported in several European countries, including Belgium and the Netherlands.This evolution implies that MCF becomes increasingly an economically important disease. In this article anoverview is presented on the current knowledge on MCF with emphasis on epidemiology, diagnosis and preventivemeasures. Due to the high seroprevalence in adult sheep and the absence of protective vaccines forcattle, the conclusion of this review is that at this moment prevention of MCF in cattle mainly depends on thestringent avoidance of all contacts between sheep and cattle.

Pimobendan, an inodilator, is often recommended for the treatment of dilated cardiomyopathy(DCM) in dogs. DCM is also quite often seen with ferrets, but little is known about the effects of pimobendanon this animal. In the present tolerability study, three groups of five ferrets were used.Over a period of eight weeks, the first test group received a placebo twice daily, the second groupreceived a dosage of 0.5 mg/kg pimobendan (Vetmedin®, Boehringer Ingelheim, Brussels, Belgium)twice daily, and the third group received a dosage of 1.5 mg/kg twice daily. All the ferrets remainedclinically healthy throughout the experiment. Monitoring of the blood values showed a tendency towardsincreasing gamma glutamyltranspeptidase values. Except for some practical problems due tothe taste of the product, no major objections were seen in this study for the use of pimobendan inferrets. Further research is required to confirm this conclusion.

Cutaneous mast cell tumors are common in dogs, but systemic involvement is rare. In these rarecases, however, neoplastic mast cells can appear in large numbers in the peripheral blood, giving riseto mast cell leukemia or systemic mastocytosis. In both cases, the liver, spleen and bone marrow areoften infiltrated with mast cells. Mast cell leukemia originates in the bone marrow and is characterizedby a diffuse bone marrow infiltration with mast cells. The present case report describes the resultsof the blood cell count (CBC), serum biochemical panel, autopsy, histopathology andimmunohistology of a 14-year-old male Jack Russell terrier with mast cell leukemia without cutaneousinvolvement.

Starting from December 2006, Enterococcus cecorum infections with a clinical course have increasinglybeen observed in Belgian broilers. The present paper describes the characteristics of the disease on the basisof observations in 10 different farms. The affected chicks always suffered from paresis and lameness. Onsetof the signs was usually within the first 2 weeks of life, and it resulted in up to 7% increased mortality startingfrom day 21-32. The cocks were affected significantly more often than the hens. Lesions of osteomyelitisof the caudal thoracic vertebrae compressing the spinal cord and/or arthritis of the hock joints were consistentlyfound. E. cecorum was always isolated from these lesions. The disease was recurrent in successive roundsin 9 out of the 10 farms. Antibiotic treatment was only successful when initiated preventively from the firstweek of life onwards. Other infections often associated with similar signs were not detected. It can be concludedthat E. cecorum infections form an important emerging disease in broilers, leading to high mortality rates.

Although pigs contaminated with Salmonella rarely show clinical symptoms, control is important becauseof the public health concern. Both producers and consumers are interested in procedures for minimizing therisk of Salmonella infections. This study outlines the entire production path for fresh pork in Belgium, fromfarm to fork. Additionally, it describes the different critical points for Salmonella contamination, with emphasison those steps that need extra attention and/or improvement. The data was collected by means of questionnairesat the different steps of the process. In total, 3658 questionnaires were collected, which made itpossible to draw up a nationwide image of the pork production process.In the primary production phase, there are several points relating to biosecurity that can be improved inorder to minimize the risk for Salmonella in fattening pigs that are sent to slaughter. In the slaughterhouse,there has been an increase in the number of pigs or carcasses that become infected with Salmonella. Attentionshould be paid to avoiding contact of the feces and tonsils of contaminated pigs with the carcass, and strict hygienicmeasures should be taken to avoid cross-contamination.During transformation and distribution of the carcasses, there is a low risk of further spreading of Salmonellaspp. Finally, during consumer phase, the risk for Salmonella contamination increases because ofinappropriate temperature conditions during storage, manipulation of meat and possible cross-contaminationwith other food products, and the consumption of insufficiently heated and/or raw meat.The present study illustrates that the risk of Salmonella infection by consumption of fresh pork is relativelylow under Belgian conditions. Nevertheless, it can be further decreased by implementing additional controlmeasures, mainly in slaughterhouse and in domestic kitchen.

A large fluctuation in normal serum vitamin E (alpha-tocopherol) concentrations (> 2 μg/ml) has beendemonstrated in normal horses. The purpose of this study was to verify the fluctuation in serum vitamin E inhorses with deficient levels (< 1.5 μg/ml) and to assess the diagnostic value of a single serum sample todetermine the vitamin E status in a deficient horse. Serum vitamin E levels were monitored over a period of24 hours in 6 normal horses and in 22 horses with clinical signs that may be related to vitamin E deficiency.The serum vitamin E levels varied widely within each horse, and the coefficient of variation (CV) wassignificantly larger in the deficient horses (mean CV: 41%), compared to the horses with normal levels (meanCV: 14%). In a small proportion of the deficient horses, the vitamin E levels varied from deficient to normalwithin 24 hours. The sensitivity of a single sample compared to the “true value” determined by the averageof the samples, was 91%. The sensitivity in case of 2 serum samples increased to 97%. These findings suggestthat a single serum value does not always provide reliable information about the true vitamin E status in adeficient horse and analyzing 2 serum samples allows a more accurate estimation of the vitamin E status. Theconclusion therefore is that when a serum vitamin E value > 1.5 μg/ml is found in clinically suspected horses,a second serum sample should be evaluated.

Mortality in piglets before weaning is associated with major economic losses for the pig production. Mostsuckling piglets die during the first four days after birth, and mostly this is due to non-infectious factors. Causes orrisk factors can be related to the sow, the piglets and/or the environment. The present article reviews the mostimportant non-infectious factors related to the piglets namely low birth weight, splayleg, shaking piglets, navelbleeding, crushing and congenital malformations. Crushing by the sow is the most important cause. Piglet mortalitycan be reduced by treating or intensifying care taking of piglets with an increased risk, but the best results are obtainedby adopting preventive measures.

Paper in Dutch

Paper in Dutch