Prophylactic efficacy of 100 mg of long-acting oxytetracycline (OTC) given i/m to newborn piglets within 12 h of birth was evaluated in a herd. The herd had a history of increased newborn mortality, diarrhoea, foot abscess, and arthritis in nursing piglets. Two trials were conducted with litters and...

A longitudinal study was undertaken in a swine herd with a continuous problem of foot abscess in unweaned pigs reared on a woven-wire floor. Of 3322, 4-day-old pigs, 199 (6%) developed abscess lesions involving claws and accessory digits before weaning. Lesions were first detected in 4-day-old pigs;...

The STARD statement (www.stard-statement.org) emphasizes complete and transparent reporting of key elements of test accuracy studies. Guidelines for authors in many biomedical journals recommend adherence to these standards but explicit recommendations by editors of veterinary journals are limited. ...

We developed a stochastic simulation model to compare the herd sensitivity (HSe) of five testing strategies for detection of Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis (Map) in Midwestern US dairies. Testing strategies were ELISA serologic testing by two commercial assays (EA and EB), ELISA testing...

OBJECTIVE: To develop a solid-phase enzyme immunoassay (ELISA) for genus-specific immunoglobulin G (IgG) determination with leptospirosis and to evaluate the ELISA in different stages of the disease. METHODS: A total of 1 077 serum samples from 812 patients with suspected leptospirosis were analyzed...

Inactivation of Toxoplasma gondii oocysts occurred with exposure to pulsed and continuous UV radiation, as evidenced by mouse bioassay. Even at doses of ⩾500 mJ/cm2, some oocysts retained their viability.

Toxoplasma gondii is associated with morbidity and mortality in a variety of marine mammals, including fatal meningoencephalitis in the southern sea otter (Enhydra lutris nereis). The source(s) of T. gondii infection and routes of transmission in the marine environment are unknown. We hypothesise th...

The prevalence of equine adenovirus 1 (EAdV1) in the nasopharyngeal sections of healthy neonatal foals and horses was compared with that of hospitalized foals using an EAdV1-specific PCR assay. Nasopharyngeal swabs (NS) were obtained from 15 hospitalized foals, 12 apparently normal foals and their d...

Environmental samples collected from each of 3 locations on 23 large California dairies were cultured to evaluate the utility of this approach for identifying herds infected with Mycobacterium avium ssp. paratuberculosis. Results were compared with concurrent ELISA testing of ≥60 animals in each h...

We developed a Bayesian approach to sample size calculations for studies designed to estimate disease prevalence that uses a hierarchical model for estimating the proportion of infected clusters (cluster-level prevalence) within a country or region. The clusters may, for instance, be villages within...

In a survey of gynaecological lesions in female zoo felids conducted to determine if the widely used progestin contraceptive melengestrol acetate (MGA) had adverse effects, numerous leiomyomas and leiomyosarcomas were detected. This current study aimed to characterize the morphologic features of the...

Correct classification of the true status of herds is an important component of epidemiologic studies and animal disease-control programs. We review theoretical aspects of herd-level testing through consideration of test performance (herd-level sensitivity, specificity and predictive values), the fa...

A 6-page questionnaire was designed to collect information from owners of 134 horses diagnosed with C. pseudotuberculosis infection at the UC Davis Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital (VMTH) between 1 July 1992 and 30 June 1994 and a further 800 control horses, to evaluate risk factors. The questio...

The effects of different control selection (sampling) techniques on odds ratio (OR) estimates for disease risk factors were analysed in a retrospective case-control study using patient records kept at the School of Veterinary Medicine, University of California, USA. 134 horses with Corynebacterium p...

To reduce rehabilitation time and improve survival, a practical, objective test is needed to determine if marine birds are contaminated with oil before they enter captivity. The RaPID Assays and EnviroGard immunoassays for detection of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in soil were evaluated f...

Runt white sturgeon (Acipenser transmontanus) develop during grow-out and are characterized by atrophied muscles and decreased growth. Our first objective was to compare the growth (and body condition) of previously-runt white sturgeon after they recovered from the runt state and sturgeon that had n...

We investigated the effect of raising runt white sturgeon (Acipenser transmontanus) separately from dominant fish during the initial stages of grow-out in a commercial farm. Runt fish are poor-growers, have underdeveloped muscle mass, swim slowly and are more-frequently found at the top of the water...

Important applications of diagnostic tests in non-clinical areas of veterinary medicine include surveillance, monitoring or screening for disease, prevalence estimation, and risk-factor studies. In this review, we address the processing and analysis of diagnostic data with special emphasis on serolo...

In this review, we critically discuss the objectives, methods and limitations of different approaches for the validation of diagnostic tests. We show (based on published data and our own experiences) that estimates for the diagnostic sensitivity and specificity may vary among populations and/or subp...

Reasons for performing study: West Nile virus (WNV) infection is endemic in southern Africa. With the recent emergence of WNV infection of horses in Europe and the USA the present study was performed to estimate the risk of seroconversion to WNV in a cohort of 488 young Thoroughbred (TB) horses. Obj...