2001 - 70 (2)

Absolute ethanol is a widely used embolization substance in human beings but has no definite indication in animals. In this study, three dogs with a unilateral ectopic ureter were treated by renal embolization with sterile absolute ethanol using a previously described technique. Immediate cessation of urinary incontinence was observed in two cases, while the third case improved but showed persistent urinary incontinence that was ascribed to vesicourethral sphincter incompetence. Post-interventional complications were the same as those encountered with the more conventional surgical techniques. Other possible applications of embolization procedures with absolute ethanol are briefly discussed.

The addition of excessive amounts of copper to commercially prepared milk replacers caused chronic copper toxicity in veal calves from two different Belgian farms. A possible mixing error by the feed company resulted in copper levels ranging from 120 to 159 mg/kg in the milk powder. On one farm, four animals died showing the typical clinical signs of chronic copper toxicity, including weakness, anorexia and severe icterus. Pathology and biochemistry of the calves and chemical analysis of the blood, milk powder and liver were performed to establish the diagnosis. In the liver, copper concentrations of 297 and 500 mg/kg fresh liver were found, which are indicative of a chronic copper intoxication.

This case report describes a two-year-old red and white East Flemish cow with an aggressive angiomyxoma (AA). The cow was presented for examination because of vague complaints: dullness, loss of weight, diarrhea. Rectal examination revealed the presence of multiple large, undefinable masses in the pelvic cavity. The cow died the day after the clinical examination and was autopsied. The histopathological examination revealed an aggressive angiomyxoma. This is, to the best of our knowledge, the first description of an AA in animals.

In this article, an outbreak of sudden death in bucket reared calves, due to hypomagnesemia is described. The cattle population on the farm mainly consisted of Belgian blue calves, which were fed whole milk. The diagnosis was made per exclusionem and was confirmed by laboratory investigations afterwards. This rarely diagnosed disorder should not be forgotten when the differential diagnosis of sudden death in calves is made.

An outbreak of TSE/scrapie is described in a flock of Hampshire Down sheep in Belgium. After the diagnosis was confirmed in an animal that had been sold, screening was performed on 16 other farms, that also had bought animals from the farm at issue. Half of these herds proved to be positive. In the primary focus, two sheep were affected. Genotyping for the determination of the sensibility to TSE/scrapie was performed.

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.