Immunoprophylaxis is the enhancement of a specific immune response to the specific pathogen. Humoral and cell-mediated immune response are critical to effective immunity. This response is induced by microbes, their components or by-products. The majority of vaccines prevent infectious disease, but not infection.
Congenital, infectious, neoplastic, nutritional and toxic causes of cardiac disease are occasionally encountered in primary and referral bovine practice. The presentation accompanying these proceedings will review the most commonly encountered conditions with an emphasis on dairy cattle in the Northern United States.
Fluid therapy remains one of the essential components of critical care medicine with the goal being to restore intravascular volume. Several choices are available to optimize the treatment of these patients and controversy will undoubtedly continue. Crystalloids have many advantages including they are widely available, inexpensive, have minimal effects on the coagulation system, and do not cause allergic reactions.
Reproductive success is a key component of the successful cow-calf herd. Reproductive parameters should be evaluated in light of the herd's production constraints and overall goals.
The mammalian GI tract is sterile during fetal development, and the fetus is originally exposed to bacteria during passage through the birth canal. Bacteria are ingested from the local environment and travel through the GI tract, competing with other bacteria and ultimately colonizing in their ideal niche.
Omphalophlebitis and arthritis are common diseases in calves from 0 to 90 days of age, being the 4th and 5th most common diagnoses in calves; omphalophlebitis, 0.06 cases per calf year of risk; arthritis, 0.024 cases per calf year of risk. The three most common calf hood diseases are diarrhea, respiratory disease, and ringworm.
Anticoagulants, bromethalin and cholecalciferol (Vitamin D3) are all found in baits marketed for both household and outdoor/industrial areas. In addition, there are a number of baits containing strychnine or zinc phosphide that are labeled for moles, gophers, and similar rodents, that are meant to be placed in burrows or holes.
A complete blood count can be an important extension of the physical examination in ruminants and may be used to suggest certain disease processes when exam findings are vague and is useful for establishing a prognosis in many cases.
The development of the Guidelines for Standards of Care in Animal Shelters was a three-year project of the Association of Shelter Veterinarians. It culminated in the publication of the "Standards" document in December 2010.
Perinatal mortality (still births and deaths within the first 24 hours of life) should be 1-3% as a goal.
The heifer selection program is a vital aspect of a commercial cow-calf operation. Since replacement heifers represent the future potential of the herd, successful replacement programs are a high priority item requiring careful attention by the ranch manager.
The most critical bill related to the practice of veterinary medicine on the date these proceedings were prepared is HR 1549 - The Preservation of Antibiotics for Medical Treatment Act of 2009. The companion bill in the Senate is S 619
Surgical complications are always a possibility in spay/neuter surgeries, but certain practices can help minimize problems. Obviously, prevention of complications is the best approach, but early recognition of problems and effective management of problems are the keys to ensuring excellent patient care and successful recovery from surgery.
Many of the hospice and palliative care principles that have been successfully adopted in human hospice for decades are now being embraced to provide end of life care for terminal pets and their families by veterinary professionals. Steve Miles, M.D. said, "Death is not a medical event.
Surgical intervention for clinical problems arising from a traumatic episode (fracture, ligament sprain) or congenital abnormality (elbow dysplasia, hip dysplasia) is a common procedure in veterinary practice.
The liver is an important organ, responsible for breakdown of nutrients and for the synthesis of many molecules such as albumin, coagulation factors, cholesterol, glucose, and many others. The liver has an enormous regenerative capacity. For example, in humans half of a liver can be transplanted from a living donor to a recipient and within 6 weeks both the transplanted liver and the remaining liver of the donor will reach a hepatic volume.
Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) or the more comprehensive term cardiopulmonary cerebral resuscitation (CPCR) is still one of the most important interventions performed in human or veterinary medicine. This is especially true in veterinary medicine when dealing with emergency and critical critically ill patients.
Canine parvovirus 1 was first isolated from the feces of military dogs in 1967. It was named for its small size (18-26nm), from the Latin word parvus, meaning small. Initially, canine parvovirus 1 was thought to be nonpathogenic; however it can cause gastrointestinal disease, pneumonia, and myocarditis in young pups.
This presentation attempts to summarize some of the major concerns in resistance development along with key articles explaining relevance, epidemiology, and prevalence. It is not intended to be an exhaustive review of the literature and the interested practitioner should use the cited literature herein as a basis for continued, extended reading.
An outbreak of respiratory disease occurred in a kennel of racing greyhounds in 2004. While some dogs exhibited mild disease with fever and cough, some experienced peracute death with pulmonary hemorrhage (case fatality 36%). Virologic analysis revealed an influenza virus that was later found to be closely related to equine influenza virus subtype H3N8, sharing >96% genetic sequence identity.
The large intestine is comprised of the colon, cecum, rectum, and anal canal, and in dogs and cats comprises roughly one quarter of the total intestinal length. The colon includes the ascending, transverse, and descending components.
Following the initial report of jejunal hemorrhage syndrome (JHS) in 1992 by Ruggles et al, the disease has subsequently been reported in dairy cows in the US, dairy and beef cows in Canada, dairy cows in Europe and dairy cows in the Middle East.
Emergency and critical care medicine is one of the fastest growing fields within veterinary medicine. The standards and quality of care continue to rise and the pet owning community is expecting state of the art care for their pets.
The canine esophagus is a complex structure comprised of two layers of oblique skeletal muscle traversing the thorax from the upper esophageal sphincter in the pharynx to the lower esophageal sphincter entering the stomach.
Feline hepatic lipidosis (HL), a syndrome characterized by hepatocellular accumulation of lipid, intrahepatic cholestasis and hepatic dysfunction, is one of the most common liver disorders of the domestic cat accounting for approximately 50% of biopsy diagnoses. It may be a primary (idiopathic) condition or secondary to another disease process. Despite widespread interest and the numerous studies performed since HL was first described in the veterinary literature in 1977, the causes and pathogenic mechanisms of the disease are still largely unknown.
Clinical signs of gastrointestinal disease, such as vomiting and diarrhea are extremely common in small animal patients. When seeking advice from a veterinarian pet owners expect an accurate diagnosis and definitive therapy of the problem.
In the words of H.D. Hoard, "... this is the Home of Mothers. Treat each cow as a Mother should be treated." We need to take this thought to heart as we think about how we should treat the new moms and moms-to-be on our dairy farms. These cows are at great risk due to the great physiologic, metabolic, and management changes they go through in a relatively short time period.
Ataxia without paresis, mentally alert, intention tremors, nystagmus, truncal sway, base-wide stance, hypermetria, pick up feet and slam down hard, excellent muscle tone, fall over backwards, no conscious proprioceptive deficits, may lack menace response but have normal vision.
Salmonellosis has always been present within the US dairy and beef industries but has become an increasing problem on some dairies due to a variety of factors likely related to increasing herd size, production levels, and increased use of confinement housing.
