Equine allergic skin diseases: Clinical consensus guidelines of the World Association for Veterinary Dermatology.

Background: Allergic skin diseases are common in horses worldwide. The most common causes are insect bites and environmental allergens.

Objectives: To review the current literature and provide consensus on pathogenesis, diagnosis, treatment and prevention.

Analysis of caecal mucosal inflammation and immune modulation during Anoplocephala perfoliata infection of horses.

Anoplocephala perfoliata is the commonest equine tapeworm, the adult parasites are attached in groups close to the ileocaecal valve causing marked inflammatory pathology. This work aimed to characterize the nature of the in vivo mucosal immune response to A perfoliata, and to investigate the role of A perfoliata excretory-secretory components in modulating in vitro immune responses. Real-time PCR detected elevation of IL13 and TGFβ transcription in early-stage A perfoliata infection.

Impact of Opioid Substitution Therapy on Antiretroviral Therapy Outcomes: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Background: Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected people who inject drugs (PWID) frequently encounter barriers accessing and remaining on antiretroviral therapy (ART). Some studies have suggested that opioid substitution therapy (OST) could facilitate PWID's engagement with HIV services. We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to evaluate the impact of concurrent OST use on ART-related outcomes among HIV-infected PWID.

The prevalence of intestinal nematodes in cats and dogs from Lancashire, north-west England.

Objectives: To estimate prevalence of clinically-relevant intestinal nematodes in UK cats and dogs using the sensitive faecal analysis technique FLOTAC.

Methods: Faecal samples were collected from 171 domestic dogs and 131 domestic cats living in urban areas of Lancashire and examined for the ova of intestinal parasites using the FLOTAC technique. All tested individuals were at least 6 months old, had not been treated with anthelmintics since 6 months of age nor in the 3 weeks prior to testing.

Comparison of postoperative complications in healthy dogs undergoing open and closed orchidectomy.

Objective: To compare closed and open orchidectomy in dogs and the associated complications.

Methods: A randomised controlled blinded prospective clinical study of 73 cases was undertaken involving the recording of all complications during and in the 10 days following orchidectomy of dogs fulfilling the standardised inclusion criteria. The active variable was the surgical technique of either open or closed orchidectomy.

What progress has been made in the understanding and treatment of degenerative lumbosacral stenosis in dogs during the past 30 years?

An association between degenerative changes in the lumbosacral region of the vertebral column and clinical signs of pain and pelvic limb dysfunction has long been recognized in dogs and has become known as degenerative lumbosacral stenosis syndrome. Over the past two decades, methods of imaging this condition have advanced greatly, but definitive criteria for a reliable diagnosis using physical examination, imaging and electrodiagnostics remain elusive. Available treatment options have changed little over more than 30 years but, more importantly, there is a lack of comparative studies and little progress has been made in providing evidence-based recommendations for the treatment of affected dogs.

Investigating the value dairy farmers place on a reduction of lameness in their herds using a willingness to pay approach.

A survey was conducted to elicit dairy farmers' willingness to pay (WTP) to reduce the prevalence of lameness in their herds. A choice experiment questionnaire was administered using face-to-face interviews of 163 farmers in England and Wales. Whole herd lameness assessments by trained researchers recorded a mean lameness prevalence of nearly 24% which was substantially higher than that estimated by farmers.

Systemic and mucosal IgE antibody responses of horses to infection with Anoplocephala perfoliata.

Infection of horses with Anoplocephala perfoliata induces a severe inflammatory reaction of the caecal mucosa around the site of parasite attachment adjacent to the ileocecal valve. Lesions show epithelial erosion or ulceration of the mucosa with infiltration by eosinophils, lymphocytes and mast cells leading to oedema, gross thickening and fibrosis of the caecal wall. Despite this evidence of an inflammatory reaction to A.

Habituation and dishabituation during object play in kennel-housed dogs.

Domestic dogs are reported to show intense but transient neophilia towards novel objects. Here, we examine habituation and dishabituation to manipulable objects by kennel-housed dogs. Labrador retrievers (N = 16) were repeatedly presented with one toy for successive 30-s periods until interaction ceased.

Evaluating an intervention to reduce lameness in dairy cattle.

Lameness in dairy cattle remains a significant welfare concern for the UK dairy industry. Farms were recruited into a 3-yr study evaluating novel intervention approaches designed to encourage farmers to implement husbandry changes targeted toward reducing lameness. All farms completing the study were visited at least annually and received either monitoring only (MO, n=72) or monitoring and additional support (MS, n = 117) from the research team.

Identification of immuno-reactive adult Angiostrongylus vasorum proteins using mass spectrometry.

Angiostrongylus vasorum is an emerging parasite of dogs and related carnivores throughout western Europe and presents a biosecurity threat to many countries worldwide. Infections are difficult to diagnose due to a high variability of clinical signs and can be fatal if left untreated. Previous attempts to develop indirect ELISA as a diagnostic test for antibody presence in dogs have been limited by cross-reactive recognition of antibodies to other endemic nematodes.

Improved detection of canine Angiostrongylus vasorum infection using real-time PCR and indirect ELISA.

This study reports the development of a real-time PCR assay and an indirect ELISA to improve on current detection of canine Angiostrongylus vasorum infection. A highly specific fluorescent probe-based, real-time PCR assay was developed to target the A. vasorum second internal transcribed spacer region and detected DNA in EDTA blood, lung tissue, broncho-alveolar larvage fluid, endotracheal mucus, pharyngeal swabs and faecal samples.

The development of a qPCR assay to detect tick (Ixodida) DNA and its implementation for the study of tick-borne pathogen transmission.

Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) analysis is regularly used to detect pathogens within arthropod vectors, but has also been applied to investigate vector DNA. This study details a novel highly sensitive quantitative PCR (qPCR) which detects and quantifies DNA from Ixodes ricinus, the European vector of Anaplasma phagocytophilum. By pairing this with a qPCR to detect A.

Multiple redundant stress resistance mechanisms are induced in Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium in response to alteration of the intracellular environment via TLR4 signalling.

Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) senses bacterial LPS and is required for the control of systemic Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium infection in mice. The mechanisms of TLR4 activation and its downstream signalling cascades are well described, yet the direct effects on the pathogen of signalling via this receptor remain unknown. To investigate this we used microarray-based transcriptome profiling of intracellular S.

Altered tryptophan metabolism in FIV-positive cats.

Background: Feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV) is analogous to human immunodeficiency virus, the causative agent of human acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). In AIDS patients, a progressive reduction in serum tryptophan concentration occurs because of activation of an inducible tryptophan degradation pathway mediated by elevated lamda-interferon production.

Hypothesis: Cats infected with FIV have increased tryptophan catabolism evidenced by reduced circulating concentrations of tryptophan and increased concentrations of the tryptophan catabolite kynurenine.

Campylobacters as zoonotic pathogens: a food production perspective.

Campylobacters remain highly important zoonotic pathogens worldwide which infect an estimated 1% of the population of Western Europe each year. Certain campylobacters are also important in infections of animals, particularly of the reproductive tract, and some are involved in periodontal disease. This paper focuses, however, on the two species which are most important in food-borne infections of humans, Campylobacter (C.