SummaryDespite the fact that, nowadays, hysteroscopy is performed routinely, in equine gynecology, for diagnostic and minimally invasive surgical treatment, certain aspects should be considered in order to gain optimal conditions and results for the mare and for those carrying out the examination. These include thorough ascertainment of indication, careful uterine distension, choice of the correct stage of cycle and establishment of an adequate follow-up treatment and management. In order to monitor possible changes in the health of the genital tract following diagnostic hysteroscopy the clinical, microbiological (uterine swab) and pathohistological (endometrial biopsy) state of eight diestrous mares were examined before performance of a hysteroscopy, five days later and after the estrus which followed. Uterine distension was established by insufflation of filtered air. No follow-up treatment was carried out. At the outset all eight mares were clinically healthy, without evidence of pathogenic microbes in the uterine swabs or inflammatory alterations in the endometrial samples. Five days after hysteroscopy pathogenic microbes were detected in 50% of the mares (in three cases: slight amount of Pseudomonas aeruginosa, in one case: moderate amount of E.coli and slight amount of β-haemolytic Streptococcus). This last mare revealed a clinically discernable endometritis. Endometrial biopsy enabled a diagnosis of moderate, acute, superficial endometritis in this mare. A further five of the eight mares developed slight acute inflammatory endometrial reaction which was only detected through pathohistology, though only two of them showed the presence of pathogenic microbes. Following the subsequent estrus all mares were clinically healthy. In two mares Pseudomonas aeruginosa persisted, the others were not contaminated with pathogenic microbes. Two further mares still showed slight, acute, inflammatory endometrial reactions. A remarkable finding in the endometrial biopsies was the striking rise in the number of eosinocytes in the superficial layers of the endometrium five days after hysteroscopy, seen in six of eight mares. After the following estrus the number of eosinocytes was still obviously elevated in four mares.A contamination rate of 50% shows that a prevention of endometrial infection is indicated after hysteroscopy, for example through the infusion of mild antiseptic solutions into the uterus. Additional induction of estrus can advance uterine clearance. Independent of intrauterine contamination, 75% of the mares showed inflammatory endometrial reactions on pathohistology. It might therefore be recommendable not to use the following estrus for insemination. The aetiology of the endometrial eosinophilia following uterine distension through insufflation of filtered air is to date unknown. A correlation between poor vulvovestibular conformation and eosinophilic infiltration of the endometrium has been established by other authors in the past and a connection here seems likely. Keywords:mare, hysteroscopy, contaminat...

An outbreak of tuberculosis due to Mycobacterium bovis occurred in a wild animal park. Three pot-bellied pigs (Sus scrofa vittatus), one red deer (Cervus elaphus), one buffalo (Bison bonasus) and two European lynxes (Lynx lynx) were affected and showed clinical signs including weight loss, enlarged lymph nodes and paralysis of the hindlimbs. Postmortem examinations revealed multifocal granulomatous lesions in various organs, including the lymph nodes, lungs, intestines, kidneys and the central nervous system. Acid-fast organisms were demonstrated in various organs histologically and bacteriologically. Spoligotyping of 17 isolates from various organs of the affected animals confirmed an infection by M bovis and revealed an identical pattern indicating a common origin. The spoligotype was different from the pattern of M bovis recorded in the cattle population in Germany between 2000 and 2006. Investigations of sentinel animals such as an aged silver fox (Vulpes vulpes), a badger (Meles meles), a ferret (Mustela putorius) and rodents, and tuberculin skin tests of the animal attendants and randomly collected faecal samples from the enclosures were all negative for M bovis.

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Vaginal discharge from 119 dairy cows from 59 herds was examined bacteriologically, including application of the IDEIA@ Chlamydia test, to detect genus-specific chlamydial LPSantigen. A putrid quality of specimens was closely correlated with isolation of Actinomyces pyogenes (p < 0.001). The IDEIA was positive for 39 of 65 (60.0 YO) non-putrid specimens and for 16 of 54 (29.6 Yo) putrid specimens; a non-putrid quality of specimens was closely correlated with the detection of chlamydial antigen (p < 0.01). IDEIA-positive results were confirmed by a blocking-antibody assay and by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) using a set of primers based on the 16s rRNA sequences of Chlamydia psittaci. Chlamydia-positive non-putrid specimens generally yielded no other bacterial pathogens. The clinical history of repeat breeding and endornetritis, as well as failure to isolate other bacterial pathogens on routinely used non-living media, were strongly suggestive of primary chlamydial involvement in these cases.

The passive haemagglutination, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and indirect fluorescent antibody tests were applied to study the non-specific reactions in experimentally infected guinea pigs and tuberculin positive bovines. These cross-reactions were greatly decreased after absorption of either sera with avian PPD or bovine PPD antigen with anti-avian PPD serum. The use of both absorbed sera and antigen raised the specificity of PHA and ELISA to 100 %. The use of absorbed sera rendered the IFA specific in 95 %. The absorption has reduced the sensitivity of ELISA, IFA and PHA by 14, 27 and 29 %, respectively.