Arterial thromboembolism (ATE) is a common mortal complication of the myocardial diseases in cats [1-3]. The different forms of the cardiomyopathy cause the ATE, and underlying cardiac etiology is the hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) in 13% of encountered cases [1,2]. Endothelial dysfunction associated with slowing down of the circulation in left atrium leads to local thrombus formation. Thrombus origins to left atrium and cause the ATE and ischemia at the bifurcation of the distal abdominal aorta, which is named as "saddle thrombus". Diagnosis of the disease usually determined based on the clinical examination results and prognosis is poor, if the ischemia localizes the hind limbs bilaterally [1,3]. Here, echocardiographic (ECHO), magnetic resonance angiography (MRA) and pathologic results of an iliac ATE in a cat were presented for veterinary practitioners in a cat. Scottish fold breed, a 2 year-old, male cat was presented with sudden onset of bilateral hind limb paresis. Clinically, bilateral painfully hind limbs, lack of the femoral pulsation, cyanotic pulvinuses and paraparesis were detected. There was no abnormality on the radiographs of the vertebral column. Electrocardiography pointed out the sinus rhythm; however, ECHO examinations revealed the HCM (Fig. 1). These results suspected the ATE; thus, a MRA was planned to investigate the distal branches of the aorta. The MRA images demonstrated that there was a narrowing abdominal aorta at the level of kidneys and the contrast medium (omnipaque 10 ml, iv.) was not progressing caudally at the level of iliac arteries (Fig. 2). Based on the ECHO and MRA results an ATE (saddle thrombus) due to HCM was diagnosed. Medically, a therapy protocol including prednisolone (1 mg/kg, iv.), heparin (0.1 ml, iv.), ranitidine (2.2 mg/kg orally) and enalapril (2.5 mg, oral) were started daily, and aspirin (100 mg, orally) was added this protocol after a day. However, the cat died in a week even though the care and therapy regimen provided. In the necropsy, a "Y" shaped, 3-4 cm long, fragile, heterogenic thrombus was determined at the caudal abdominal aorta, which was extending to bifurcation of the iliac arteries. It was also attached to vessels lumens (Fig. 3a). Microscopically, a fibrin thrombus attached to intima of the vessel was observed (Fig. 3b). REFERENCES 1. Koyama H, Matsumoto H, Fukushima R, Hirose H: Local intra-arterial administration of urokinase in the treatment of a feline distal aortic thromboembolism.

Babesia rossi infection causes a severe inflammatory response in the dog, which is the result of the balance between pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokine secretion. The aim of this study was to determine whether changes in cytokine concentrations were present in dogs with babesiosis and whether it was associated with disease outcome. Ninety-seven dogs naturally infected with B. rossi were studied and fifteen healthy dogs were included as controls. Diagnosis of babesiosis was confirmed by polymerase chain reaction and reverse line blot. Blood samples were collected from the jugular vein at admission, prior to any treatment. Cytokine concentrations were assessed using a canine-specific multiplex assay on an automated analyser. Serum concentrations of interleukin (IL)-2, IL-6, IL-8, IL-10, IL-18, granulocyte-macrophage colony stimulating factor (GM-CSF) and monocyte chemotactic protein-1 (MCP-1) were measured. Twelve of the Babesia-infected dogs died (12%) and 85 survived (88%). Babesia-infected dogs were also divided into those that presented within 48 hours from displaying clinical signs, and those that presented more than 48 hours after displaying clinical signs. Cytokine concentrations were compared between the different groups using the Mann-Whitney U test. IL-10 and MCP-1 concentrations were significantly elevated for the Babesia-infected dogs compared to the healthy controls. In contrast, the IL-8 concentration was significantly decreased in the Babesia-infected dogs compared to the controls. Concentrations of IL-6 and MCP-1 were significantly increased in the non-survivors compared to the survivors. Concentrations for IL-2, IL-6, IL-18 and GM-CSF were significantly higher in those cases that presented during the more acute stage of the disease. These findings suggest that a mixed cytokine response is present in dogs with babesiosis caused by B. rossi, and that an excessive pro-inflammatory response may result in a poor outcome.

Dog bite wounds are a common reason for dogs requiring veterinary care, but there is surprisingly little data on the bacteriology of bite wounds. A prospective study was performed on dogs with various grades of bite wound to identify the bacteria present in these wounds. Swabs were collected from all wounds for bacterial culture and cytology. All swabs were cultured aerobically and anaerobically and all aerobic cultures were evaluated for antibiotic susceptibility using the Kirby Bauer disk diffusion test. Fifty dogs with 104 bite wounds, inflicted within the previous 72h, were included. The victims were predominately intact male small breed dogs. Of the 104 wounds, 21 were judged by cytology to be infected and 83 non-infected. Infected wounds were significantly more likely to culture positive (p=0.02). Sixteen percent of wounds showed no growth. Sixteen percent grew aerobes, 1% anaerobes and 67% a mixture of aerobes and anaerobes. Pasteurella canis and pyogenic streptococci were common in infected wounds, whereas Bacillus spp., Actinomyces spp. and the oral streptococci were usually found in contaminated wounds. Three anaerobic genera were cultured, namely, Prevotella, Clostridium and Peptostreptococcus. One case represented the first isolation of Capnocytophaga canimorsus in an infected dog bite wound. Although no single antibiotic therapy was considered to be effective against all the bacteria, amoxycillin plus clavulanic acid, 1st and 3rd generation cephalosporins ampicillin or amoxycillin and potentiated sulphonamides gave the best in vitro sensitivity results.

High serum cortisol and low serum thyroxine concentrations at 24 and 48 hours after admission were associated with death in dogs with parvoviral diarrhea.

Canine rabies can be effectively controlled by vaccination with readily available, high-quality vaccines. These vaccines should provide protection from challenge in healthy dogs, for the claimed period, for duration of immunity, which is often two or three years. It has been suggested that, in free-roaming dog populations where rabies is endemic, vaccine-induced protection may be compromised by immuno-suppression through malnutrition, infection and other stressors. This may reduce the proportion of dogs that seroconvert to the vaccine during vaccination campaigns and the duration of immunity of those dogs that seroconvert. Vaccination coverage may also be limited through insufficient vaccine delivery during vaccination campaigns and the loss of vaccinated individuals from populations through demographic processes. This is the first longitudinal study to evaluate temporal variations in rabies vaccine-induced serological responses, and factors associated with these variations, at the individual level in previously unvaccinated free-roaming dog populations. Individual-level serological and health-based data were collected from three cohorts of dogs in regions where rabies is endemic, one in South Africa and two in Indonesia. We found that the vast majority of dogs seroconverted to the vaccine; however, there was considerable variation in titres, partly attributable to illness and lactation at the time of vaccination. Furthermore, >70% of the dogs were vaccinated through community engagement and door-to-door vaccine delivery, even in Indonesia where the majority of the dogs needed to be caught by net on successive occasions for repeat blood sampling and vaccination. This demonstrates the feasibility of achieving population-level immunity in free-roaming dog populations in rabies-endemic regions. However, attrition of immune individuals through demographic processes and waning immunity necessitates repeat vaccination of populations within at least two years to ensure communities are protected from rabies. These findings support annual mass vaccination campaigns as the most effective means to control canine rabies.