Azithromycin, an azalide subclass macrolide antibiotic, is an effective, well-tolerated and safe therapeutic option for treatment of papillomatosis in humans. This study reports the clinical and histopathological results from a prospective, randomized, double-blinded, placebo-controlled trial of 17 dogs of various breeds with diagnosis of oral (n = 12) and cutaneous papillomatosis (n = 5) treated with azithromycin. Papillomas appeared as whitish, verrucous, hyperkeratotic papules 1-2.7 mm in size. The cases were randomly assigned to azithromycin (n = 10) and placebo treatment groups (n = 7). Both owners and investigators were blinded to the allocation to the groups. Azithromycin (10 mg/kg) was administered per os every 24 h for 10 days. Clinical evaluations were done by the same investigator throughout the trial. Azithromycin treatment significantly decreased clinical scores (P < 0.001), whereas there was no change seen in the placebo group. In the azithromycin treatment group, skin lesions disappeared in 10-15 days. One case in the placebo had spontaneous regression of its papillomas by day 41, but lesions were still evident at day 50 in the remaining six cases. There was no recurrence of papillomatosis in the azithromycin treated dogs (follow up 8 months). No adverse effects were seen in either group. In conclusion, azithromycin appears to be a safe and effective treatment for canine papillomatosis.

Given the role of the interaction between gut microbiome with dermatological diseases, namely "gut-skin axis", the present author proved that gut restoration should alleviate canine atopic dermatitis (CAD), which was the purpose of the study. A 4-week, open-label, non-controlled case series involved 8 -owned dogs with CAD which had received no previous treatment. Evaluations included Canine Atopic Dermatitis Extent and Severity Index version 4 (CADESI-04 scores), Visual Analog Scale (VAS) pruritus scores and Polycheck in vitro allergen specific tests. Faecal samples were analysed by dual indexing one-step PCR and 16S rRNA targeted metagenomics for detecting gut microbiota alterations before and after fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) capsule treatment twice daily for 4 weeks. All cases were presenting pruritus and all of those dogs showed elevated IgE levels. CADESI scores decreased on days 28 (4-21) compared to day 0 initial values (50-128). Similarly, decreased VAS scores were detected on days 28 (0-2) in contrast to prior values (6-10). Regarding epidermal barrier functioning epidermal hydration (55-100 vs. 4-24) and pH (6.-7.8 vs. 4.2-5.7) values were elevated after FMT treatment in contrast to prior ranges, respectively. Alpha diversity revaled both richness and diversity of gut microbiota were improved for all cases on day 28. Furthermore at the end of trial Firmicutes: Bacteroidetes ratio was 8, the benchmark detected for healthy dogs. The present study supports a potential benefit of FMT capsule treatment against CAD. This safe and tolerant treatment modality directed against CAD shifted the gut microbiome composition towards a healthy state for all 8 dogs enrolled.

Kurtdede A., K. Ural: Haemobartonellosis in Cats in Ankara, Turkey. Acta Vet. Brno 2004, 73: 507-512.The paper describes four cases of feline haemobartonellosis (FH) in which anaemia and high fever had been the predominant presenting symptoms. In addition coughing was detected in two cats. FH was diagnosed on the basis of blood smear with Romanowski type stain. Blood samples were withdrawn before treatment (day 0) and after treatment (day 29). Mean WBC, RBC, Hb, PCV, MCV and MCHC values on day 0 were found as 16.2150·10 9 ·L -1 , 4.7425·10 12 ·L -1 , 7.8500 g·dL -1 , 26.2750%, 50.3575 fL and 32.5125 g·dl -1 respectively. Mean WBC, RBC, Hb and PCV values on day 29 were found as 9.2500·10 9 ·L -1 , 7.2925·10 12 ·L -1 , 11.4000 g·dL -1 and 33.75%, respectively. The abnormalities found on routine haematological examination were a mild normocyticnormochromic regenerative anaemia (cat 1 and cat 2), normocytic-hypochromic anaemia (cat 3) and macrocytic-normochromic anaemia (cat 4), mild eosinophilia (13%in cat 1 and 11% in cat 4) and monocytosis (6% in cat 1 and 12.5% in cat 3). All of the present cats were treated with oxytetracycline hydrochloride at a dose of 25 mg·kg -1 . Clinical recovery and disappearence of H. felis organisms was observed on day 29. The objective of this study was to evaluate the clinical cases of haemobartonellosis diagnosed in Ankara, with a view to establishing the clinical signs and response to treatment. To the present author's knowledge FH has previously not been reported in Ankara, in Turkey. (Carney and England 1993). Only one case, to the authors' knowledge, has previously been reported in Turkey (Tuzer et al. 1993). This report, based on four cases, shows the naturally infected cats in Turkey with haemobartonellosis. Materials and Methods Criteria for selection of casesMedical records from November 2001 to July 2002 of cats with anaemia identified on clinical examination and haematologic abnormalities at the University of Ankara, Faculty of Veterinary were reviewed. Four (of 20) selected cats were included in this study on the basis of presence of Haemobartonella felis on blood smear with Romanowski type stain. Signalment, history, clinical examination findings and associated disorders, radiography (in 2 cats) and available ultrasonography findings were retrieved from records. Age, sex and householding conditions were recorded.Owners were asked to be interviewed and to complete a questionnaire consisting of the risk factors leading to the clinical suspicion of FH, as follows; vaccination status, previous illness history, catbite abscesses and/or anaemia, flea infestation, age and sex.

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Background Plasma citrulline (CIT) concentration is considered to be a reliable marker of functional enterocyte mass, primarily in humans. However, information about CIT levels along with related metabolites, arginine (ARG), nitric oxide (NO), and ammonia in neonatal calves are lacking. Objectives To compare plasma CIT, ARG, NO, and whole blood ammonia concentrations in neonatal calves with acute diarrhea with those in healthy calves and to assess their possible relationships with diarrhea‐related criteria. Animals Seventy neonatal calves (60 with acute diarrhea and 10 healthy). Methods Observational case‐control study. Diarrheic calves were classified into subgroups on the basis of etiology, severity of diarrhea, degree of dehydration, and systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS) status. Plasma CIT and ARG concentrations were measured by liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry. Results Plasma CIT (median [range]: 67.5 [61.9‐75.4] vs 30.1 [15.0‐56.1] μmol/L) and ARG (170.7 [148.5‐219.5] vs 106.1 [54.4‐190.7] μmol/L) were lower and plasma NO (4.42 [3.29‐5.58] vs 6.78 [5.29‐8.92] μM) and blood ammonia concentrations (28.7 [26.1‐36.9] vs 59.8 [34.6‐99.5] μmol/L) were higher in the neonatal calves with diarrhea (P < .001). Plasma CIT (β = −0.29, P = .02), ARG (β = −0.33, P = .01), NO (β = 0.55, P < .001), and blood ammonia (β = 0.63, P <.001) were affected by SIRS status. Except for ammonia (0.52), the effects sizes for severity of diarrhea and degree of dehydration were small (ηp2 ≤ 0.45) for CIT, ARG, and NO. Conclusions and Clinical Importance The changes in these variables might have diagnostic, prognostic, and therapeutic value in diarrheic neonatal calves.