JAVMA News
1217
Congress came a step closer to banning the slaughter of horses for human consumption when the House passed the American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act in early September. But with the current 109th Congress drawing to a close, the chances of the Senate passing its version of the slaughter ban before the legislative session ends in December seemed slim.
Views
Letters to the Editor
1238
Food Supply Veterinary Medicine
A proposal for the assessment of the quality of food supply veterinary medical education
1240
The authors contend that the current system of accreditation of veterinary schools does not assess the efforts of colleges or schools of veterinary medicine to optimally prepare veterinarians to serve livestock and their owners, safeguard the US food supply, and protect the public from zoonotic diseases.
Veterinary Medicine Today
What Is Your Diagnosis?
1245
A 3-year-old goldfish evaluated because of negative buoyancy of several months' duration
1247
Anesthesia Case of the Month
A 4-year-old dog with hypotension during anesthesia for dental surgery
1250
Animal Behavior Case of the Month
A dog examined because of fearful, anxious behavior that occurred primarily at night and appeared to be related to the visual presence of the moon
1245
Facts & Figures
Employment of female and male graduates of US veterinary medical colleges, 2006
1256
Mean starting salary was $47,780 for males and $44,831 for females graduating from 26 US veterinary medical colleges in 2006. Among graduates with debt, mean debt was $95,486 for males and $102,420 for females.
Scientific Reports
SMALL ANIMALS
Borrelia burgdorferi DNA in dogs with presumptive Lyme borreliosis
1260
Postmortem diagnosis of Lyme borreliosis has relied on identification of typical pathologic lesions combined with immunohistochemical detection of Borrelia burgdorferi antigen. However, interpreting results of immunohistochemical staining of tissue samples is complicated, and the use of additional molecular diagnostic techniques might be beneficial. In a study of archived tissue samples from 58 dogs, however, it was found that although detection of B burgdorferi DNA in formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded tissues was feasible, intact B burgdorferi DNA was rarely found in tissues from dogs with presumptive Lyme borreliosis. Findings support the contention that Lyme nephritis may be a sterile, immune complex disease.
Ingestion of quick-dissolve granulated chlorine in a dog
1266
Risk factors for development of secondary glaucoma in dogs
1270
EQUINE
Rostrocaudal mobility of the mandible and feed digestibility in horses
1275
In horses, the development of certain dental abnormalities is assumed to affect mastication of feed. In particular, it has been suggested that feed digestibility may be reduced and fecal particle size may be increased in horses with oral cavity abnormalities that substantially affect movement of the mandible during mastication. In a study of 34 pregnant mares, however, rostrocaudal mobility of the mandible was not significantly associated with weight gain, feed digestibility, or fecal particle size. On the basis of these and other published data, the assumption that dental abnormalities detrimentally affect digestion in horses should be reevaluated.
RUMINANTS
Antimicrobial susceptibility patterns of respiratory tract pathogens from sheep and goats
1279
Because of the scarcity of drugs approved for use in sheep and goats, information is needed on the antimicrobial susceptibility patterns of common respiratory tract pathogens as a basis for the rational extralabel use of drugs approved for use in other species. Analysis of 41 respiratory tract isolates from sheep and 36 isolates from goats revealed that Pasteurella multocida and Mannheimia haemolytica were the most common isolates. All isolates were susceptible to amoxicillin-clavulanic acid, ceftiofur, ciprofloxacin, and florfenicol. Four of the 77 (5%) isolates were resistant to tetracycline.
Serum IgG and total protein concentrations in dairy calves fed colostrum replacers
1282
Despite the widespread use of colostrum replacement products in dairy calves, there is little information available on the efficacy of these products. In a study in which Holstein bull calves were fed colostrum or 1 of 2 colostrum replacement products, it was found that calves fed colostrum had higher serum IgG and total protein concentrations than did calves fed the replacement products. However, proportions of calves with adequate passive immunity (ie, serum IgG concentration > 1,000 mg/dL) were not significantly different between colostrum-fed calves and calves fed one of the products.
