Treponeme-Associated Hoof Disease of Free-Ranging Elk ( Cervus elaphus) in Southwestern Washington State, USA.

A novel foot disease in free-ranging elk ( Cervus elaphus) in southwestern Washington State emerged in 2008 and spread throughout the region. Initial studies showed adult elk had chronic hoof overgrowth, sole ulcers, and sloughed hoof capsules, but no cause was determined. To identify possible causes and characterize the earliest lesions, 9-, 7-, and 3-month-old elk were collected.

Fatal musculoskeletal injuries of Quarter Horse racehorses: 314 cases (1990-2007).

Objective: To determine major causes of death and the anatomic location of musculoskeletal injuries in Quarter Horse racehorses in California.

Design: Retrospective case series.

Animals: 314 Quarter Horse racehorses with musculoskeletal injuries that were necropsied through the California Horse Racing Board Postmortem Program from 1990 to 2007.

Long-term observations on the dynamics of bovine digital dermatitis lesions on a California dairy after topical treatment with lincomycin HCl.

The objective of this study was to observe the dynamics of clinical cure and recurrence of the lesions of bovine digital dermatitis for 11 months after treatment with topical lincomycin HCl. The study was a clinical follow-up of 39 active bovine digital dermatitis lesions (from 29 cows). Cows with active, painful bovine digital dermatitis (BDD) lesions on the interdigital commissure of the rear feet were identified on day 0.

Clinical, histologic, and bacteriologic findings in dairy cows with digital dermatitis (footwarts) one month after topical treatment with lincomycin hydrochloride or oxytetracycline hydrochloride.

Objective: To compare the effectiveness of lincomycin and oxytetracycline for treatment of digital dermatitis (DD) in dairy cows through gross visual examination, histologic evaluation, and bacteriologic evaluation.

Design: Randomized controlled clinical trial.

Animals: 25 cows with DD lesions from a commercial Holstein dairy herd.

Infections caused by pathogenic free-living amebas (Balamuthia mandrillaris and Acanthamoeba sp.) in horses.

This article describes amebic infections in 4 horses: granulomatous amebic encephalitis caused by Balamuthia mandrillaris and Acanthamoeba culbertsoni and systemic infections caused by Acanthamoeba sp. The former infection occurred in 1 of 4 horses spontaneously without any underlying conditions; the latter amebic infection was perhaps "opportunistic" considering the visceral involvement by this protozoan in association with Aspergillus sp. and/or Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas sp.

Field and laboratory evaluation of diagnostic assays for detecting West Nile virus in oropharyngeal swabs from California wild birds.

Three diagnostic assays for detecting West Nile virus (WNV) in avian oral swabs were evaluated in California in 2004 and 2005: two commercial antigen-capture assays, VecTest and Rapid Analyte Measurement Platform (RAMP), and reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) of oral swabs in a specialized viral transport medium (VTM). Results from this study demonstrated that VTM was excellent for transportation and maintenance of WNV in avian oral swab samples and allowed for detection by RT-PCR and subsequent confirmation by virus isolation. Oral swabs and kidney tissue in VTM tested by RT-PCR were found to have similar accuracy in detecting WNV in corvids.

Association between findings on palmarodorsal radiographic images and detection of a fracture in the proximal sesamoid bones of forelimbs obtained from cadavers of racing Thoroughbreds.

Objective: To determine the distribution for limbs and bones in horses with fractures of the proximal sesamoid bones and relationships with findings on palmarodorsal radiographic images.

Sample Population: Proximal sesamoid bones obtained from both forelimbs of cadavers of 328 racing Thoroughbreds.

Procedure: Osteophytes; large vascular channels; and fracture location, orientation, configuration, and margin distinctness were categorized by use of high-detail contact palmarodorsal radiographs.

Seasonal meningoencephalitis in Holstein cattle caused by Naegleria fowleri.

Primary amoebic meningoencephalitis is a fulminant infection of the human central nervous system caused by Naegleria fowleri, a free-living amoeba that thrives in artificially or naturally heated water. The infection usually is acquired while bathing or swimming in such waters. The portal of entry is the olfactory neuroepithelium.

Abortion and ulcerative posthitis associated with caprine herpesvirus-1 infection in goats in California.

Three outbreaks of late-gestation abortions in does and ulcerative posthitis in bucks, associated with caprine herpes virus-1 (CHV-1), in California are described. In herd A, 10 of 17 does aborted in a 7-day period, whereas in herd B, 4 of 130 does aborted in a 45-day period and in herd C, 100 of 300 does aborted in a 3-week period. Most fetuses had multifocal pinpoint depressed foci with a zone of hyperemia on external and cut surfaces of the kidneys, liver, lungs, and adrenal glands.

The occurrence of avian influenza A subtype H6N2 in commercial layer flocks in Southern California (2000-02): clinicopathologic findings.

Between February 2000 and February 2002, the California Animal Health and Food Safety Laboratory System diagnosed 26 cases of low-pathogenic H6N2 avian influenza from 12 commercial egg-laying farms. The most common gross and histologic lesions observed in infected chickens were fibrinous yolk peritonitis, salpingitis, oophoritis, and nephritis. Edema of the mesentery of the oviduct and pale, swollen kidneys were also observed.

Sensitivity and specificity of western blot testing of cerebrospinal fluid and serum for diagnosis of equine protozoal myeloencephalitis in horses with and without neurologic abnormalities.

Objective: To determine sensitivity and specificity of western blot testing (WBT) of CSF and serum for diagnosis of equine protozoal myeloencephalitis (EPM) in horses with and without neurologic abnormalities.

Design: Prospective investigation.

Animals: 65 horses with and 169 horses without neurologic abnormalities.

Risk factors for Clostridium piliforme infection in foals.

Objective: To determine risk factors for Clostridium piliforme infection in neonatal foals on a Thoroughbred breeding farm in California.

Design: Case-control and retrospective cohort studies.

Animals: 322 neonatal Thoroughbred foals either born on the study farm or born elsewhere but traveled to the farm with their dam during the 1998, 1999, and 2000 breeding seasons.