Alopecia in Belgian Blue crossbred calves: a case series.

Background: Alopecia is defined as the partial or complete absence of hair from areas of the body where it normally grows. Alopecia secondary to an infectious disease or parasitic infestation is commonly seen in cattle. It can also have metabolic causes, for example in newborn calves after a disease event such as diarrhoea.

Natural Besnoitia besnoiti infections in cattle: chronology of disease progression.

Background: Bovine besnoitiosis is an emerging protozoan disease in cattle. Neither vaccines nor chemotherapeutic drugs are currently available for prevention and treatment of Besnoitia besnoiti infections. Therefore the implementation of appropriate disease management strategies is of utmost importance.

Natural Besnoitia besnoiti infections in cattle: hematological alterations and changes in serum chemistry and enzyme activities.

Background: The emerging disease bovine besnoitiosis is caused by the apicomplexan parasite Besnoitia besnoiti. Clinical signs of acute besnoitiosis are pyrexia, anorexia and subcutaneous edema. In subacute and chronic besnoitiosis parasitic cysts arise in a variety of tissues and affected cattle display skin lesions and weight loss.

A nonsense mutation in PLD4 is associated with a zinc deficiency-like syndrome in Fleckvieh cattle.

Background: Bovine hereditary zinc deficiency (BHZD) is an autosomal recessive disorder of cattle, first described in Holstein-Friesian animals. Affected calves suffer from severe skin lesions and show a poor general health status. Recently, eight calves with the phenotypic appearance of BHZD have been reported in the Fleckvieh cattle population.

Quantification of Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis (MAP) survival in monocyte-derived macrophages.

Real-time PCR assays were developed to quantitate Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis (MAP) in bovine monocyte-derived macrophages. We measured the absolute number of both host cells and bacteria in in vitro challenge assays.

Bovine besnoitiosis in Germany.

This paper reports a case of natural occurring bovine besnoitiosis in Germany. The skin lesions consisted of multifocal hypotrichosis and alopecia, lichenification, erythema and seborrhoea. Histopathologic findings revealed characteristic cysts of Besnoitia spp.

Survival of Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis in bovine monocyte-derived macrophages is not affected by host infection status but depends on the infecting bacterial genotype.

In this study we investigated the ability of different Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis (M. paratuberculosis) strains to survive in bovine monocyte-derived macrophages (MDMs) of cows naturally infected with M.