2006 - 75 (4)

Mycotic disease, other than skin lesions, is only rarely reported in lizards (Schumacher, 2003). In this case report, we describe the isolation of Nannizziopsis vriesii from a nasal granuloma in an ameiva lizard (Ameiva chaitzami) imported from Central America.

This case report describes a clinical case of equine coital exanthema in a mare in Belgium. Several days following coitus, the mare showed typical lesions of coital exanthema consisting of papules, pustules and ulcers on the vaginal and vestibular region. The lesions healed within three weeks. The infection had no effect on fertility and gestation. The mare carried to term and delivered a healthy foal. Equine herpesvirus 3 was isolated from the lesions by means of virus isolation on an equine cell culture and subsequently identified by means of a PCR.

Antibiotic resistance of Brachyspira hyodysenteriae, especially to pleuromutilins, is a matter of concern in several countries. In the present study, the antimicrobial susceptibilities of 30 Belgian B. hyodysenteriae isolates from 24 swine herds were tested and compared with the clinical effect of treatment. In vitro, no resistance to tiamulin was found, but two isolates(6%) were classified as intermediately susceptible. All isolates were susceptible to valnemulin at low concentrations (MIC50: ≤0.03 µg/ml). Higher minimal inhibitory concentrations (MICs) for valnemulin were found in isolates with higher MICs for tiamulin. For lincomycin, 16 (53%) isolates were classified as resistant and 4 (13%) isolates as susceptible. For tylosin, a high percentage of resistance(96%) was recorded. The MICs for 50% of the strains for salinomycin and doxycycline were 0.5 and 4 µg/ml, respectively. Subsequently, the in vitro data obtained were compared with the farm history and clinical efficacies in 23 of the 24 swine herds of origin as judged by the attending veterinarians. The effect of treatment as evaluated in the field was generally in agreement with the in vitro data for these antibiotics. However, a clinical interpretation of certain breakpoints is imperative. A revision of the clinical breakpoint for tiamulin is proposed. Isolates with MIC ≥1µg/ml should be considered as not responding to therapy in vivo. Consequently, the therapeutic use of another compound is indicated. In the third part of this study, the in vitro MIC for lincomycin was compared in detail with the effect of treatment on four farms. Even though in vitro all isolates were classified as resistant, a good response to treatment was observed on two farms. On one of these farms, however, the disease reappeared after treatment was discontinued. It was concluded that in vitro susceptibility testing of B. hyodysenteriae for lincomycin only partially predicted clinical effect of treatment in the field.

Of 97 dogs which were castrated at the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Ghent University between 2003 and 2005 for different indications such as unwanted sexual behavior, prostatic problems, testicular tumors and cryptorchidism; both testicles were examined macroscopically and then submitted for histopathological examination of testicular parenchyma. Thirty eight different breeds were represented in the examined population. Bilaterally normal testicles were found in 46% of the patients. Testicular tumors were found in 29% of the cases and usually occurred in older dogs (mean age 10.9 years). Testicular neoplasms could be subdivided into seminomas (39%), Sertoli cell tumours (14 %), Leydig cell tumors (29%) and mixed tumors (18 %). Testicular neoplasm was incidentally found in 19% of the 27 dogs presented for routine castration. No other testicular pathologies were present in this group. Besides testicular tumors, testicular atrophy (20 %) was the most frequently observed testicular pathology in the population which was examined, whereas inflammation of the testis was very rarely diagnosed (5%).

In this review we wish to update the progress which has been made in the art of xenotransplantation (the application of living animal-derived cells, tissues and organs for transplantation in humans), with a special emphasis on the barriers of its use as a clinical therapy. A brief overview of the history of xenotransplantation reveals the greatest barrier to clinical success: hyperacute rejection, a complement-mediated response to the source animal tissue that results in the destruction of xenografts within minutes. In the past decade, great progress has been made in countering this form of rejection, but further success is thwarted by the gradual awareness of subsequent processes of rejection and physiological incompatibilities. Nonetheless, reluctance to move forward to clinical application is predominantly related to the fear that xenotransplantation will unleash a new infectious disease in the prospective recipient and his or her surroundings. Animal breeders and caretakers play an important role in ensuring that the use of the source animals for this emerging therapy does not generate a xenozoonotic pandemic.