Aims:  To evaluate the prevalence of methicillin‐resistant staphylococcal (MRS) colonization in clinically normal dogs and horses in the community. Methods and Results:  Three hundred clinically normal horses and 200 clinically normal dogs were enrolled. One nasal swab was collected from each horse. Two swabs were taken from each dog: (i) from an anterior nare, and (ii) a combination of the perineal area and 0·5 cm into the anus. Enrichment cultures were performed. Methicillin‐resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) was not identified. Methicillin‐resistant Staphylococcus intermedius (MRSI) was isolated from the nasal swab from three dogs. Methicillin‐resistant coagulase negative staphylococci (MRCoNS) were isolated from 126/300 (42%) horses and 26/200 (13%) dogs. Conclusions:  At present MRSI is not considered to be a significant zoonotic concern; however, it may become an important pathogen in dogs. MRCoNS mostly cause disease in compromised human or animal hosts. However, these bacteria can serve as reservoirs of resistance determinants in the community, which could lead to the emergence of novel MRSA strains. Significance and Impact of the Study:  This is the first report of the prevalence of MRS colonization in clinically normal dogs in a community setting. Continued surveillance is indicated to determine whether MRSA will emerge in the animal population and become a concern for animal disease and zoonotic infection.

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Regenerative medicine is a branch of medicine that develops methods to grow, repair, or replace damaged or diseased cells, organs or tissues. It has gained significant momentum in recent years. Stem cells are undifferentiated cells with the capability to self-renew and differentiate into tissue cells with specialized functions. Stem cell therapies are therefore used to overcome the body's inability to regenerate damaged tissues and metabolic processes after acute or chronic insult. The concept of stem cell therapy was first introduced in 1991 by Caplan, who proposed that massive differentiation of cells into the desired tissue could be achieved by isolation, cultivation, and expansion of stem cells in in vitro conditions. Among different stem cell types, mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) currently seem to be the most suitable for therapeutic purposes, based on their simple isolation and culturing techniques, and lack of ethical issues regarding their usage. Because of their remarkable immunomodulatory abilities, MSCs are increasingly gaining recognition in veterinary medicine. Developments are primarily driven by the limitations of current treatment options for various medical problems in different animal species. MSCs represent a possible therapeutic option for many animal diseases, such as orthopedic, orodental and digestive tract diseases, liver, renal, cardiac, respiratory, neuromuscular, dermal, olfactory, and reproductive system diseases. Although we are progressively gaining an understanding of MSC behavior and their mechanisms of action, some of the issues considering their use for therapy are yet to be resolved. The aim of this review is first to summarize the current knowledge and stress out major issues in stem cell based therapies in veterinary medicine and, secondly, to present results of clinical usage of stem cells in veterinary patients.

Theiler's disease, also known as equine serum hepatitis or idiopathic acute hepatitis, is an often-fatal disease of adult horses that was first described in 1918 in South Africa by Sir Arnold Theiler. 1 Since the original report, serum hepatitis has been described in horses worldwide and is associated with the administration of a number of equine biological products including tetanus antitoxin, 2-8 botulinum antitoxin, 9 pregnant mare's serum, 3 equine plasma, 10 Streptococcus equi antiserum 3,11 and more recently, allogeneic stem cell preparations. 12 Horses that are in contact with equine biological-associated Theiler's

Exercise causes changes in pulmonary haemodynamics through redistribution of blood flow, increase in the pulmonary surface area, and increase in pulmonary vascular pressures. These changes contribute to the increase in fluid exchange across the alveolar-capillary barrier. To determine the extent of the fluid exchange across the alveolar-capillary barrier at rest and during exercise, six horses were exercised on a high-speed treadmill until fatigue. Arterial and mixed venous blood were sampled at rest and during exercise and recovery. Blood volume changes across the lung (∆BV; measured in percentage) were calculated from changes in plasma protein and haemoglobin concentration, and haematocrit. Cardiac output (Q) was calculated using the Fick equation. Fluid flux (J V−A ; measured in l min -1 ) across the alveolar-capillary barrier was then quantified based on Q and ∆BV. At rest, no fluid movement occurred across the pulmonary vasculature (0.6 ± 0.6 l min -1 ). During exercise, the amount of fluid moved from the pulmonary circulation was 8.3 ± 1.3 l min -1 at 1 min, 6.4 ± 2.9 l min -1 at 2 min, 10.1 ± 1.0 l min -1 at 3 min, 12.9 ± 2.5 l min -1 at 4 and 9.6 ± 1.5 l min -1 at fatigue (all P < 0.0001). Erythrocyte volume decreased by 6% (P < 0.01) across the lungs, which decreased the colloid osmotic gradient in the pulmonary vasculature. Decrease colloid osmotic gradient along with increased hydrostatic forces in the pulmonary vasculature would enhance displacement of fluid into the pulmonary interstitium. In conclusion, exercise caused large increases in transpulmonary fluid fluxes in horses. Here, we present a simple method to calculate transpulmonary fluid fluxes in different species, which can be used to elucidate mechanisms of lung fluid balance in vivo.