Recently, for the first time in the history of this bacterial species, methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) carrying the enterococcal vanA gene complex and expressing high level resistance to vancomycin was identified in clinical specimens (CDC (2002) MMWR 51, 565-567). The purpose of our studies was to understand how vanA is expressed in the heterologous background of S. aureus and how it interacts with the mecAbased resistance mechanism, which is also present in these strains and is targeted on cell wall biosynthesis. The vanA-containing staphylococcal plasmid was transferred from the clinical vancomycin-resistant S. aureus (VRSA) strain HIP11714 (CDC (2002) MMWR 51, 565-567) to the methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) strain COL for which extensive genetic and biochemical information is available on staphylococcal cell wall biochemistry and drug resistance mechanisms. The transconjugant named COLVA showed high and homogeneous resistance to both oxacillin and vancomycin. COLVA grown in vancomycin-containing medium produced an abnormal peptidoglycan: all pentapeptides were replaced by tetrapeptides, and the peptidoglycan contained at least 22 novel muropeptide species that frequently showed a deficit or complete absence of pentaglycine branches. The UDP-MurNAc-pentapeptide, the major component of the cell wall precursor pool in vancomycin-sensitive cells was replaced by UDPMurNAc-depsipeptide and UDP-MurNAc-tetrapeptide. Transposon inactivation of the ␤-lactam resistance gene mecA caused complete loss of ␤-lactam resistance but had no effect on the expression of vancomycin resistance. The two major antibiotic resistance mechanisms encoded by mecA and vanA residing in the same S. aureus appear to use different sets of enzymes for the assembly of cell walls.Until the late 1990s, clinical isolates of Saccharomyces aureus have retained a uniform high sensitivity to vancomycin with minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) 1 values in the vicinity of 1 g/ml. Beginning with the late 1990s, isolates with reduced susceptibility to vancomycin began to be reported from several countries (1), but the MIC value of these vancomycin intermediate-resistant S. aureus isolates was limited to the range of 8 -16 g/ml of the antibiotic. The first highly vancomycin-resistant S. aureus (VRSA) isolates (MIC over 32 g/ml) were only detected during the last year in two hospitals in the United States (2, 3). The appearance of such VRSA strains in clinical specimens is of obvious and grave concern, because the spread of VRSA isolates may seriously jeopardize the chemotherapy of multidrug-resistant S. aureus disease and raise the specter of untreatable staphylococcal infections (4, 5). The VRSA strain HIP11714 recovered from a dialysis patient in Detroit, Michigan has acquired the vanA gene complex most likely from a vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecalis strain coinfecting the diabetic wound and catheter insertion site of the patient (1). HIP11714 was also methicillin-resistant: it carried the heterologous mecA gene, t...

The greater the awareness of animal abuse and its linkage with human abuse, the greater the possibility that veterinarians can contribute in a meaningful way to the reduction of violence in society.

AIM:To explore attitudes towards and use of analgesia in horses by veterinarians in New Zealand. METHODS:A postal questionnaire was sent out to 457 veterinarians identifi ed as working with horses in New Zealand. Questions covered demographics and practice data; analgesic drugs available for use and used in practice; analgesic management of specifi c conditions including assessment of pain, drugs used, and frequency of cases; factors infl uencing the choice and use of analgesic agents; and attitudes and personal experience. RESULTS:Ninety-seven questionnaires containing useable data were received, a response rate of 23%. Respondents' demographics corresponded with those of the veterinary population at the time. Phenylbutazone, fl unixin, xylazine, ketamine, butorphanol, dexamethasone and lignocaine were the drugs most commonly used. Respondents allocated pain scores with a range of at least eight points (on a scale of 1 to 10) between lower and upper scores for 13/17 conditions and procedures presented. Respondents identifi ed analgesic potency and anti-infl ammatory effect as the most important factors in their choice of drug. Sixty-three percent and 59% of respondents considered their knowledge of recognition of pain and analgesia, respectively, to be adequate. CONCLUSIONS:The results of the survey indicate that analgesia was widely used for horses amongst responding veterinarians. However, there were a number of areas where there appeared to be a lack of consensus amongst respondents in their management of pain in horses, and these included assessment of pain, administration of analgesics, and, indeed, what constitutes analgesia.CLINICAL RELEVANCE: While analgesia of horses is widely practised in New Zealand, it would appear that a lack of consistency amongst veterinarians could indicate less than optimal pain relief in some cases and for some procedures.

The aim of this preliminary study was to identify key behavioural indicators of pain in cats. The behaviour of cats before and after ovariohysterectomy was analysed using a detailed behavioural ethogram. A comparison of behaviours between cats given pre-operative analgesia only and cats given both pre- and post-operative analgesia indicated that both groups demonstrated changed behaviour following surgery, compared to a control group of cats which underwent anaesthesia but not surgery. However, some specific postures, such as ‘half-tucked-up’ and ‘crouching’, were identified that occurred with greater frequency in the cats receiving pre-operative analgesia only, as compared to those receiving additional post-operative analgesia. This indicates that there are some key behaviours that may be useful in determining pain in cats. Routine administration of pre- but not post-operative analgesia may be ineffective for adequately alleviating pain in cats.

A study was performed to determine whether drivers who were required to wear a bioptic telescopic lens (BTL) device while driving posed a greater risk to traffic safety than drivers of similar ages and the same sex not wearing BTLs. Significance tests were performed to determine the differences between the BTL group and the comparison group on 2-year total accident, fatal or injury accident, and total citation rates. The results indicated that the BTL group had substantially higher total and fatal or injury accident rates than the comparison group both before and after statistical adjustment of these criterion measures for age and sex differences between the groups. However, an opposite result was found for total citations: the unadjusted and adjusted rates for the BTL group were significantly lower than those for the comparison group. The driving records of the subjects who use BTLs also showed that only 35% of them had been restricted from driving at night, as required under the department’s licensing policy.