2000 - 69 (1)

This case report describes a Red Holstein heifer with a thymic lymphoma (lymphosarcoma; malignant lymphoma). The heifer was presented because of a severe swelling at the throat and ventral neck region. Based on the clinical examination the diagnosis of thymic neoplasia was made. Because of the poor prognosis the heifer was euthanised and autopsied. Histopathological examination revealed a thymic lymphoma.

An Enterococcus faecalis infection is reported in a dog following a badly executed orthopedic surgery. E. faecalis is a notorious pathogen in human medicine but is rarely reported in animals.

A description is made of the diagnosis of cases of abortion, neonatal foal death and nervous system disorders caused by equine herpesvirus type 1 (EHV-1) in 1999, carried out in the Laboratory of Virology at the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine in Merelbeke, Belgium. Twenty-eight cases originated from Flanders, two from Wallonia and one from the Netherlands. There were 22 abortions, four neonatal foal deaths and five cases of nervous system disorders. The diagnosis was made by means of virus isolation. Twenty-nine percent of the horses involved had been vaccinated against EHV-1.

Fertility data derived from of 3,108 lactation periods in nine high-yielding dairy herds in Flanders were analyzed to determine the incidence and importance of preservice postpartum anoestrous. In 1,291 (42%) of all studied lactation periods studied, no heat was observed within 60 days after calving. Of the cows observed to be in heat within the first 60 days after calving (n=1,817), 622 (34%) had to be examined during regular herd health visits because they had not been observed in heat at the time insemination should be started. Hence, in total, 1,913 (62%) of all lactation periods were identified as having suffered from one or another kind of preservice postpartum anoestrous. Cows not observed in heat within 60 days after calving as well as cows suffering from cessation of cyclicity, both had a significant (P<0.001) increase in days open (26 and 24 days respectively) and a significantly (P<0.05) increased risk of being culled as compared with their normal herdmates (Odds Ratio: 1.41 and 1.44 respectively). There was a significant (P<0.001) variation among the herds in the lactational incidence rate (LIR) both for cows not observed in heat during the first 60 days after calving and for cows with cessation of cyclicity, the former ranging from 21% to 67%, and the latter from 14 to 48% among the herds. Besides significant herd influences, the season of calving was also of major importance. The LIR for cows not observed in heat in the first 60 days after calving was highest for cows calving in April and lowest for cows calving in September (P<0.001). In conclusion, the authors stress the importance of the preservice postpartum anoestrous problem in dairy herds, and explain the need for further investigation of this problem with a view to taking preventive measures.

A retrospective study was performed on 2,264 horses presented with colic at the University of Ghent (Belgium) in the period 1986-1994. In this article, parameters not directly related to a specific type of colic are discussed. Approximately 31.8% of all horses admitted to the clinic of Internal Diseases were presented because of colic. The colic pathology was observed mainly during the spring. A significantly great number of mares and warmblood riding horses were presented, and a significantly lower number of stallions and halfblood horses. The prevalence of colic increased with age, stagnating around the age of 13. One thousand one hundred sixty-eight exploratory laparotomies were performed on 1,069 horses. During the period 1986-1994 the number of surgical interventions gradually increased. The short-term survival rate also increased progressively: by the end of the period studied, it had reached 86.8% for conservative treatment and 73.1% for surgical correction. A variable success rate after surgery was observed among the different surgeons. The determining factors for this variable success were the surgeon’s individual experience in abdominal surgery and the period in which the exploratory laparotomies were performed. The success rate after non-invasive or minimally-invasive surgical techniques was significantly better than after the use of invasive techniques. The most commonly observed postoperative complications were thrombophlebitis, diarrhoea, wound infection and laminitis.