2006 - 75 (3)

This paper describes the clinical symptoms and the macroscopic lesions associated with myocardial perforation in a bearded dragon (Pogona vitticeps). Bacteriological examination of the myocard yielded a pure culture of Listeria monocytogenes. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of an L. monocytogenes infection associated with cardiac disease in reptiles.

Caseous lymphadenitis (CL) in goats is manifested by abscesses filled with caseous pus, mainly in the superficial lymph nodes, but also in internal lymph nodes and several organs. Not only because of the direct economic losses, but also because of the zoonotic aspect, the occurrence of the disease can harm the profitability of the goat farm. Because until now no records have been available in Belgium, a prevalence study for CL was performed in the province of East Flanders.

Fertility is of paramount importance in bovine livestock management. While in Belgium cow fertility is generally monitored quite well, in-depth investigation of bull fertility is only rarely performed, and this sometimes results in poor pregnancy outcomes. Screening bulls for fertility and finally selecting the bulls with the highest fertility potential, however, can easily be done by means of a standardized breeding soundness evaluation in which general health, reproductive health and sperm quality are assessed. Although this screening procedure is not performed in Belgium, there are a number of indications that it might overcome part of the fertility problems encountered in the Belgian Blue breeding herds. This paper describes how to perform a breeding soundness evaluation and how to interpret the results, with some specific considerations concerning Belgian Blue bulls. This procedure makes it possible to exclude bulls with impediments to fertility and to select for bulls with traits favorable for high fertility. However, in spite of recent substantial advances in sperm quality assessment, accurate prediction of the fertility outcome of an ejaculate or of a bull remains an elusive goal.