Irish Veterinary Journal

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Globally, Mastitis is a disease commonly affecting dairy cattle which leads to the use of antimicrobials. The majority of mastitis etiological agents are bacterial pathogens and Staphylococcus aureus is the predominant causative agent. Antimicrobial treatment is administered mainly via intramammary and intramuscular routes. Due to increasing antimicrobial resistance (AMR) often associated with antimicrobial misuse, the treatment of mastitis is becoming challenging with less alternative treatment options. Besides, biofilms formation and ability of mastitis-causing bacteria to enter and adhere within the cells of the mammary epithelium complicate the treatment of bovine mastitis...

BACKGROUND: Starting primarily as an inflammation of the mammary gland, mastitis is frequently driven by infectious agents such as Staphylococcus aureus. Mastitis has a large economic impact globally, which includes diagnostic, treatment, and the production costs not to mention the potential milk contamination with antimicrobial residues. Currently, mastitis prevention and cure depends on intramammary infusion of antimicrobials, yet, their overuse risks engendering resistant pathogens, posing further threats to livestock...

BACKGROUND: This is the first report of Besnoitia bennetti in donkeys in Ireland. B. bennetti, an apicomplexan protozoan parasite specific to equids, is an emerging pathogen in Europe. This parasite forms chronic intracytoplasmic cysts in cells of the mesenchymal lineage, mainly fibroblasts, in the skin, sclera and mucosa. Clinical signs in affected equine hosts vary from mild to severe debilitating disease. Little is known of the phylogeny, epidemiology or transmission of B. bennetti infection in donkeys, mules or horses...

BACKGROUND: Virulent systemic feline calicivirus (VS-FCV) infection is an emerging disease. It is distinct from classic oronasal calicivirus infection as it manifests with unique systemic signs including severe cutaneous ulcerations, limb oedema, and high mortality, even in adequately vaccinated cats. Devastating epizootic outbreaks with hospital-acquired infections have been described in the United States, the United Kingdom, continental Europe and Australia with up to 54 cats affected in one outbreak and a mortality rate of up to 86%...

BACKGROUND: The overall confidence in the results of systematic reviews including animal models can be heterogeneous. We assessed the methodological quality of systematic reviews including animal models in dentistry as well as the overall confidence in the results of those systematic reviews. MATERIAL & METHODS: PubMed, Web of Science and Scopus were searched for systematic reviews including animal studies in dentistry published later than January 2010 until 18th of July 2022...

A new Irish bovine tuberculosis (bTB) eradication strategy was launched in 2021. The strategy was formulated following extensive discussions with stakeholders, formal reviews of several aspects of the existing bTB policy and relevant inputs from the latest scientific research projects. A stakeholder discussion body, the TB Forum, had been established in 2018 and this continues under the new strategy, supported by three working groups (scientific, financial and implementation). The strategy sets out actions to address cattle-to-cattle and badger-to-cattle bTB transmission, along with actions to improve farm biosecurity and empower farmers to make their own choices to reduce bTB risk...

A voluntary control programme for Johne's disease, the Irish Johne's Control Programme (IJCP) has been implemented in Ireland since 2017. The objective of this observational study was to assess Irish beef and dairy farmers' Johne's disease knowledge, implemented management practices and IJCP opinions. A questionnaire open to dairy and beef farmers was distributed via social media and email. In total 126 responses were used for this study; these responses came from mostly young farmers (18-25 years old) and represent a small proportion of the total number of dairy and beef farmers in Ireland whose average age is 55...

BACKGROUND: The purpose of this pilot trial was to evaluate the efficacy and benefits of a preservative-free cross-linked sodium hyaluronate solution (Lacri +® , MP Labo, France) in 19 privately-owned dogs with dry eye. The animals were administered 2 drops of the tested product in each affected eye, twice a day (BID) for 30 days. Improvement in the global ocular clinical score (sum of the individual scores for conjunctivitis, ocular discharge, eye irritation, and corneal opacity/pigmentation/vascularization, each rated from 0 to 3) was defined as the primary outcome...

BACKGROUND: The presence of a tracheal septum dividing the trachea into two makes intubation one of the main challenges of penguin anaesthesia. Differences in the length and location of the aforementioned tracheal septum have been described in some penguin species. However, to the best of the authors' knowledge, it has not been reported in Humboldt penguins (Spheniscus humboldti). Therefore, one of the aims of this publication is to report the septal position in this Humboldt penguin...

BACKGROUND: Antibiotic use and resistance in animal production are a concern to public health, and there is an urgent need to reduce antibiotic use in farm animals. To prevent blame shifting, professionals from human medicine, animal medicine and environmental backgrounds must collaborate to tackle this issue. Veterinarians are typically responsible for overseeing and prescribing antibiotic use in animals. There are currently no available studies on the opinions of Irish farm animal veterinarians on antibiotic use, reduction opportunities and their relationships with farmers...

BACKGROUND: This novel study forms part of a larger research programme seeking an improved understanding of aspects of the owned dog population in Ireland. Dog welfare organisations (DWOs) in Ireland are recognised as an instrumental pillar of the animal welfare sector with some receiving substantial public funding. We conducted a survey of DWOs in Ireland (n = 39) to gain a better understanding of their role and function, including their policies and procedures and the rehoming of dogs to other regions...

Here we provide a summary of a plenary lecture delivered on Mycobacterium bovis, the bovine TB bacillus, at the M. bovis 2022 meeting held in Galway, Ireland, in June 2022. We focus on the analysis of genetic differences between M. bovis and the human pathogen Mycobacterium tuberculosis as a route to gain knowledge on what makes M. bovis function as an animal pathogen. We provide a brief historical background around M. bovis and comparative virulence experiments with M. tuberculosis, before moving to what we have learned from the studies of the M...

It took France almost fifty years to attain its officially animal tuberculosis (TB) free status in 2000, granting the country a favourable position for international live animal trading. The initial TB control program has been adapted at different times in its history in order to suit changing epidemiological contexts: it was first focused on detection and elimination of infected animals while later on protecting TB free herds became a priority.In spite of all the efforts put into the program, final eradication has still not been achieved...

Two characteristics of the Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex (MTC) are particularly relevant for tuberculosis (TB) epidemiology and control, namely the ability of this group of pathogens to survive in the environment and thereby facilitate indirect transmission via water or feed, and the capacity to infect multiple host species including human beings, cattle, wildlife, and domestic animals other than cattle. As a consequence, rather than keeping the focus on certain animal species regarded as maintenance hosts, we postulate that it is time to think of complex and dynamic multi-host MTC maintenance communities where several wild and domestic species and the environment contribute to pathogen maintenance...

BACKGROUND: To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of female genital system infiltration of T-cell lymphoma in veterinary literature. CASE PRESENTATION: A 1.5-year-old, intact female Golden Retriever was referred due to melena and hyporexia that lasted for three weeks. Fever (40.5℃), tachycardia, tachypnoea, pale mucous membranes, and purulent vaginal discharge were identified on physical examination. Blood analyses revealed leucocytosis, anaemia, hypoalbuminemia, and increased lactate and C-reactive protein levels...

BACKGROUND: Anaemia is a common condition in alpacas and attributable to a variety of causes. Severe anaemia with a packed cell volume (PCV) less than 10% is frequently diagnosed, usually due to blood loss resulting from haemonchosis. Many South American camelids (SACs) also suffer from gastric ulcers, which are often associated with anaemia in other species. However, in alpacas and llamas, gastric ulcers usually do not lead to anaemia due to blood loss according to the current literature...

Bovine tuberculosis (TB), caused by Mycobacterium bovis, has a unique and complex ecology in New Zealand. Unlike elsewhere in the world, the disease is maintained in Australian brushtail possums (Trichosurus vulpecula) and so they are considered a vector for disease transmission in New Zealand. Possums were initially introduced to the country in the 1800's to establish a fur industry but later becoming a recognized pest to native New Zealand flora and fauna. The TB programme in New Zealand (TBFree NZ Ltd) is managed by a not-for-profit limited company partnership between primary industries and government (OSPRI - Operational Solutions for Primary Industries) that uses the basic tenets of disease management, movement control and vector control to eliminate TB in farmed cattle and deer...

In 2011, the Chilean bovine tuberculosis (bTB) program was launched by the Livestock and Agriculture Service (SAG) as a compulsory countrywide program based on testing and culling of bTB reactors at herd-owners expense. This review outlines the rationale and key components of the bTB program, and the dynamic changes that have occurred since 2011. The paper also examines the problems identified by stakeholders and the initiatives put in place to address the constraints to achieving progress.To date, the program has shown progress in controlling bTB...

Bovine tuberculosis (bTB) persists in many countries having a significant impact on public health and livestock industry finances. The incidence and prevalence of new cases in parts of the UK and elsewhere over the past decades warrant intensified efforts towards achieving Officially Tuberculosis Free (OTF) status in the respective regions. Genetic selection aiming to identify and remove inherently susceptible animals from breeding has been proposed as an additional measure in ongoing programmes towards controlling the disease...