Microcytosis was common and can increase suspicion of FIP in the presence of other typical clinical and laboratory abnormalities. The low prevalence of lymphopenia in cats without effusion suggests that this is not a useful parameter in non-effusive FIP. The frequent occurrence of a left shift in the absence of a mature neutrophilia complicates the differentiation of effusive FIP and septic peritonitis. Globulins and A:G ratio were of higher diagnostic value than hyperproteinaemia.

Background: There is a lack of data on idiopathic epilepsy (IE) in Border Collies (BCs) in the veterinary literature. Hypothesis: Genetic epilepsy occurs in BCs and is frequently characterized by a severe clinical course and poor response to medical treatment.Animals: Forty-nine BCs diagnosed with IE. Methods: Medical records, seizure data, treatment data, and pedigree information of affected dogs were collected. Cases were classified phenotypically as affected or not affected; mild, moderate, or severe clinical course; active epilepsy (AE) or remission; and drug resistant or not drug resistant.Results: Clinical manifestations were classified as having a moderate (33%) or severe clinical course (49%), characterized by a high prevalence of cluster seizures and status epilepticus. Survival time was significantly decreased in dogs o2 years of age at seizure onset, and in dogs with a severe clinical course. Drug resistance was apparent in 71% of 24 dogs treated with 2 antiepileptic drugs. The epilepsy remission rate was 18%. Median age at onset was significantly higher and initial seizure frequency was significantly lower in dogs with remission compared with dogs with AE. Pedigree analyses indicated a strong genetic founder effect in the appearance of epilepsy, resembling autosomal recessive inheritance.Conclusion and Clinical Importance: The present study confirms the occurrence of genetically mediated epilepsy with a frequent severe clinical course and drug resistance in BCs. The results provide information about the long-term prognosis of IE in BCs for veterinarians and concerned owners, and may benefit breeders as well.

c Extended-spectrum ␤-lactamase (ESBL)-producing Escherichia coli strains are believed to be widely distributed among humans and animals; however, to date, there are only few studies that support this assumption on a regional or countrywide scale. Therefore, a study was designed to assess the prevalence of ESBL-producing E. coli in dairy cows and beef cattle in the southern part of Bavaria, Germany. The study population included 30 mixed dairy and beef cattle farms and 15 beef cattle farms. Fecal samples, boot swabs, and dust samples were analyzed for ESBL-producing E. coli using selective media. PCR was performed to screen for CTX-M and ampC resistance genes. A total of 598 samples yielded 196 (32.8%) that contained ESBL-producing E. coli, originating from 39 (86.7%) of 45 farms. Samples obtained from mixed farms were significantly more likely to be ESBL-producing E. coli positive than samples from beef cattle farms (fecal samples, P < 0.001; boot swabs, P ‫؍‬ 0.014; and dust samples, P ‫؍‬ 0.041). A total of 183 isolates (93.4%) of 196 ESBL-producing E. coli-positive strains harbored CTX-M genes, CTX-M group 1 being the most frequently found group. Forty-six additional isolates contained ampC genes, and 5 of the 46 isolates expressed a bla CMY-2 gene. The study shows that ESBL-producing E. coli strains are commonly found on Bavarian dairy and beef cattle farms. Moreover, to our knowledge, this is the first report of the occurrence of bla CMY-2 in cattle in Germany.

African swine fever (ASF) was introduced into the Eastern European Union in 2014 and led to considerable mortality among wild boar. In contrast, unexpected high antibody prevalence was reported in hunted wild boar in north-eastern Estonia. One of the causative virus strains was recently characterized. While it still showed rather high virulence in the majority of experimentally infected animals, one animal survived and recovered completely. Here, we report on the follow-up characterization of the isolate obtained from the survivor in the acute phase of infection. As a first step, three in vivo experiments were performed with different types of pigs: twelve minipigs (trial A), five domestic pigs (trial B), and five wild boar (trial C) were inoculated. 75% of the minipigs and all domestic pigs recovered after an acute course of disease. However, all wild boar succumbed to infection within 17 days. Representative samples were sequenced using NGS-technologies, and whole-genomes were compared to ASFV “Georgia 2007/1”. The alignments indicated a deletion of 14560 base pairs at the 5’ end, and genome reorganization by duplication. The characteristic deletion was confirmed in all trial samples and local field samples. In conclusion, an ASFV variant was found in Estonia that showed reduced virulence.

BackgroundAnimal trade plays an important role for the spread of infectious diseases in livestock populations. The central question of this work is how infectious diseases can potentially spread via trade in such a livestock population. We address this question by analyzing the underlying network of animal movements. In particular, we consider pig trade in Germany, where trade actors (agricultural premises) form a complex network.MethodologyThe considered pig trade dataset spans several years and is analyzed with respect to its potential to spread infectious diseases. Focusing on measurements of network-topological properties, we avoid the usage of external parameters, since these properties are independent of specific pathogens. They are on the contrary of great importance for understanding any general spreading process on this particular network. We analyze the system using different network models, which include varying amounts of information: (i) static network, (ii) network as a time series of uncorrelated snapshots, (iii) temporal network, where causality is explicitly taken into account.FindingsWe find that a static network view captures many relevant aspects of the trade system, and premises can be classified into two clearly defined risk classes. Moreover, our results allow for an efficient allocation strategy for intervention measures using centrality measures. Data on trade volume do barely alter the results and is therefore of secondary importance. Although a static network description yields useful results, the temporal resolution of data plays an outstanding role for an in-depth understanding of spreading processes. This applies in particular for an accurate calculation of the maximum outbreak size.