as a Husbandry Risk to Yaks in the Swiss Alps.

Background: Between 2006 and 2014, 10 cases of in yaks with calcium carbonate uroliths were confirmed in Switzerland, and at the same time, a sixfold calcium overhang in roughage in an affected farm was evident. The purpose of this study was the question of whether in yaks in the alpine regions of Switzerland poses a husbandry risk. The hypothesis was that elevated calcium levels in roughage led to and, thus, the formation of calcium carbonate stones.

Longitudinal study of Chlamydia pecorum in a healthy Swiss cattle population.

Chlamydia pecorum is a globally endemic livestock pathogen but prevalence data from Switzerland has so far been limited. The present longitudinal study aimed to get an insight into the C. pecorum prevalence in Swiss cattle and investigated infection dynamics.

[Relationship between metabolic profiles in herd health and 4 scoring systems used in dairy herd health programs: Statistical analysis with an additive Bayesian network].

Objective: The aim of the present study was to describe the relationship between the biochemical variables used in metabolic profiles and various scores commonly used in herd health management of dairy cows. The Bayesian network was used to determine the relationship between metabolic blood profiles and the scores for body condition (BC), rumen fill (RF), faecal consistency (FC) and undigested fraction (UF) on a herd basis.

Materials And Methods: In each of 10 dairy herds, blood was collected from a minimum of ten lactating cows for biochemical analysis and generation of metabolic profiles.

[Screening of febrile cows using a small handheld infrared thermography device].

Objective: As dairy herds increase in size, close monitoring of health becomes a necessity, but this is expensive and labour-intensive. Early detection of febrile diseases is essential for economical and welfare reasons and to prevent the spread of disease. The goal of this study was therefore to evaluate a mobile, non-invasive technique for measuring the body temperature of cows that precludes the need for restraint of the animals.

[Changes in claw and leg health and hair cortisol concentration in dairy cows during the transition from tie-stall to free-stall housing - A study of a medium-sized farm].

Objective: Claw health and carpal and tarsal lesions were assessed in a dairy herd during the transition from a tie-stall to a free-stall barn. The stress associated with the change in housing was also evaluated.

Materials And Methods: The initial size of the herd was 57 dairy cows, which were evaluated 4 times, 4-5 months apart, in a hoof-trimming chute.

Clinical and laboratory findings, treatment and outcome in 145 cows with type-2 abomasal ulcer.

This study involved 145 cows with type-2 abomasal ulcer. The most common clinical signs were, in decreasing order of frequency, depressed demeanour (100%), partial or complete anorexia (93%), rumen atony (91%), tachycardia (90%), dark or black manure (80%), prolonged capillary refill time (71%), pale mucous membranes (69%) and tachypnoea (62%). The most common abnormal laboratory findings were azotaemia (89%), low haematocrit (82%), hypokalaemia (81%), hypoproteinaemia (74%) and metabolic acidosis (61%).

Production of neutralizing antibodies against the secreted Clostridium chauvoei toxin A (CctA) upon blackleg vaccination.

Clostridium chauvoei is the etiologic agent of blackleg in cattle, inducing fever, severe myonecrosis, oedemic lesions and ultimately death of infected animals. The pathogen often results in such rapid death that antibiotic therapy is futile and thus vaccination is the only efficient strategy in order to control the disease. The β-barrel pore forming leucocidin Clostridium chauvoei toxin A (CctA) is one of the best characterised toxins of C.

Bovine Fetal Placenta During Pregnancy and the Postpartum Period.

Bovine abortion is a worldwide problem, but despite extensive histopathologic and molecular investigations, the cause of abortion remains unclear in about 70% of cases. Cellular debris is a commonly observed histopathologic finding in the fetal placenta and is often interpreted as necrosis. In this study, the nature of this cellular debris was characterized, and histologic changes in the normal fetal placenta during pregnancy and after delivery were assessed.

Effect of antimicrobials administered via liquid feed on the occurrence of sulphonamide and trimethoprim resistant Enterobacteriaceae: case-control study.

Background: Drugs for the treatment of groups of pigs receiving liquid feed are frequently mixed into the feed and administered via the pipelines of the feeding installations. In-feed antimicrobials may select antimicrobial resistant strains among the bacteria which form the biofilm of these pipelines and are shed into the liquid feed.

Objective And Methods: In order to evaluate the risk of selecting antimicrobial resistant bacteria in the biofilm of liquid feeding installations, the effect of the administration of antimicrobials via the pipelines on the occurrence of antimicrobial resistance in the feed was examined in a case-control study.

Cortisol concentration of regrown hair and hair from a previously unshorn area in dairy cows.

This study determined cortisol concentrations in hair that had grown for one month and in hair from a previously unshorn area and examined the effects of calendar month, pregnancy and illness on hair cortisol concentrations in dairy cows. The study was conducted over a one-year period using 27 cows. Electric clippers were used to collect two hair samples per cow each month.

Asymmetrical lumbosacral transitional vertebrae in dogs may promote asymmetrical hip joint development.

Objectives: This study examines the relationship between the morphology of the lumbosacral transitional vertebra (LTV) and asymmetrical development of the hip joints in dogs.

Methods: A total of 4000 dogs which had been consecutively scored for canine hip dysplasia were checked for the presence of a LTV. A LTV was noted in 138 dogs and classified depending on the morphology of the transverse processes and the degree of contact with the ilium.

Selective Pressure Promotes Tetracycline Resistance of Chlamydia Suis in Fattening Pigs.

In pigs, Chlamydia suis has been associated with respiratory disease, diarrhea and conjunctivitis, but there is a high rate of inapparent C. suis infection found in the gastrointestinal tract of pigs. Tetracycline resistance in C.

Prevalence of Chlamydial Infections in Fattening Pigs and Their Influencing Factors.

Chlamydial infections in pigs are associated with respiratory disease, diarrhea, conjunctivitis and other pathologies. The aim of this study was to define the prevalence of Chlamydiaceae in Swiss fattening pigs by applying sensitive and specific detection methods and to correlate prior antibiotic treatment and farm related factors with differences in prevalence. Conjunctival and fecal swabs were collected from 636 pigs in 29 Swiss fattening pig farms with and without antibiotic treatment, at the beginning and the end of the fattening period.

Evaluation of eating and rumination behaviour in 300 cows of three different breeds using a noseband pressure sensor.

Background: Eating and rumination variables were recorded in 300 healthy lactating dairy cows of 3 different breeds (100 Brown Swiss, 100 Holstein-Friesian, 100 Swiss Fleckvieh cows). Eating and rumination variables were monitored during a 24-h period using an automated system that recorded jaw movements via a pressure sensor integrated into the noseband of a halter. Phases of eating and rumination were reliably identified in the recordings based on typical patterns seen in previous studies.

Transmission of border disease virus from a persistently infected calf to seronegative heifers in early pregnancy.

Background: This study describes the transmission of border disease virus (BDV) from a persistently infected calf to seronegative heifers in early pregnancy, resulting in persistently infected fetuses. On day 50 of pregnancy (= day 0 of the infection phase), six heifers were co-housed in a free stall with a bull calf persistently infected with BDV (pi BVD) for 60 days. The heifers underwent daily clinical examination, and blood samples were collected regularly for detection of pestiviral RNA and anti-pestivirus antibodies.

Evaluation of eating and rumination behaviour using a noseband pressure sensor in cows during the peripartum period.

Background: Eating and rumination variables were recorded in ten healthy cows over 5 days (group A) to generate reference intervals for comparison with the same variables recorded in ten cows in advanced pregnancy from ten days prepartum to ten days postpartum (group B). A pressure sensor integrated into the noseband of a halter recorded individual chewing movements. The endpoints calculated on a daily basis for each cow included duration of eating and rumination, number of eating and rumination phases, number of chewing cycles during eating and rumination, number of regurgitated cuds and number of chewing cycles per cud.

A study of measurement of noninvasive blood pressure with the oscillometric device, Sentinel, in isoflurane-anaesthetized horses.

Objective: To assess accuracy of noninvasive blood pressure (NIBP) measured by oscillometric device Sentinel compared to invasive blood pressure (IBP) in anaesthetized horses undergoing surgery. To assess if differences between the NIBP measured by the Sentinel and IBP are associated with recumbency, cuff placement, weight of the horse or acepromazine premedication and to describe usefulness of the Sentinel.

Study Design: Prospective study examining replicates of simultaneous NIBP and IBP measurements.

Influence of non ionizing radiation of base stations on the activity of redox proteins in bovines.

Background: The influence of electromagnetic fields on the health of humans and animals is still an intensively discussed and scientifically investigated issue (Prakt Tierarzt 11:15-20, 2003; Umwelt Medizin Gesellschaft 17:326-332, 2004; J Toxicol Environment Health, Part B 12:572-597, 2009). We are surrounded by numerous electromagnetic fields of variable strength, coming from electronic equipment and its power cords, from high-voltage power lines and from antennas for radio, television and mobile communication. Particularly the latter cause's controversy, as everyone likes to have good mobile reception at anytime and anywhere, whereas nobody wants to have such a basestation antenna in their proximity.

Alfaxalone or ketamine-medetomidine in cats undergoing ovariohysterectomy: a comparison of intra-operative parameters and post-operative pain.

Objective: To compare post-operative pain in cats after alfaxalone or ketamine- medetomidine anaesthesia for ovariohysterectomy (OHE) and physiologic parameters during and after surgery.

Study Design: Prospective 'blinded' randomized clinical study.

Animals: Twenty-one healthy cats.

Evaluation of eating and rumination behaviour in cows using a noseband pressure sensor.

Background: An automated technique for recording eating and rumination behaviour was evaluated in ten lactating Brown Swiss cows by comparing data obtained from a pressure sensor with data obtained via direct observation over a 24-hour period. The recording device involved a pressure sensor integrated in the noseband of a halter. The analysed variables included number and duration of individual rumination, eating and resting phases, total daily length of these phases and number of cuds chewed per day.

Clinical findings and treatment in cattle with caecal dilatation.

Background: This retrospective study describes the clinical and laboratory findings, treatment and outcome of 461 cattle with caecal dilatation.

Results: The general condition and demeanor were abnormal in 93.1% of cases, and 32.

Intraoperative contamination of the suction tip in clean orthopedic surgeries in dogs and cats.

Objective: To (1) determine suction tip (intermittent and continuous mode) contamination rate in orthopedic surgery in dogs and cats; (2) examine the effect of surgical time on contamination; and (3) report bacteria isolated.

Study Design: Clinical study.

Sample Population: Clean orthopedic surgeries (n = 50).