BERNIE VAATSTRAThis month we present two cases caused by the same aetiological agent.Case 1:Seven first-calving Friesian heifers from a Waikato dairy herd developed fever and respiratory distress and three died after returning from grazing and presumably being exposed to BHV-1 circulating in the home herd. Necropsy findings included severe necrotising tracheitis (Figure 1) and pneumonia. […]
We featured an article in June 2019 regarding factors that can interfere with ACTH testing for diagnosis of Pars Pituitary Intermedia Dysfunction (PPID) in horses. Since both non-PPID and PPID horses display higher ACTH concentrations in autumn (March, April, May) compared with other times of the year, now is a timely reminder of these interfering factors.>> […]
ROB FAIRLEYDid you know that encephalitic listeriosis and enteric listeriosis are two quite separate diseases? It would be uncommon for these two conditions to occur at the same time.Enteric listeriosis mainly occurs when sheep are fed poor-quality baleage or silage, and clinical signs develop within a few days of consuming the poor-quality feed as large […]
MICHAEL HARDCASTLEClinical history:A sixteen year old Domestic Short Hair cat presented with a two-week history of severely crusted, erythematous and painful skin around the nail beds of both forelimbs and the caudolateral aspects of the pinnae. (Figures 1-3). The cat’s skin was otherwise unremarkable, and the only other clinical findings were lean body condition and […]
GEOFF ORBELLDo you often have small or fragile biopsies or samples for histology that would benefit from some TLC?We stock special cassettes with an extremely fine mesh that prevents tissue loss during processing and protects small or fragile biopsies. These are great for endoscopic biopsies, nasal biopsies, crusts from skin disease, or small biopsies where […]
Gribbles Veterinary now have a wide range of salmon tests available across haematology, biochemistry, coagulation, serology, endocrinology and histology.Over the past four years Gribbles Veterinary have been working with Cawthron Institute researchers on a project to determine the normal biochemistry and haematology reference intervals for NZ Chinook Salmon. This diagnostic work was conducted at our […]
CATHY HARVEYClinical history:A four-year-old spayed female Staffordshire bull terrier presented after a one-week history of anorexia with vomiting and diarrhoea. She had been treated with antibiotics, anti-emetics, antacids and antiulcer medications. When the dog deteriorated (white gums and lethargic) further work-up was consented to by the owner.On abdominal ultrasound, there was free fluid in the […]
MSD Animal Health is running a roadshow for veterinary staff featuring speakers from MPI, MSD Animal Health, and the fabulous Lisa Hulme-Moir from Gribbles Veterinary.Salmonella is a significant disease of sheep and cattle and case reports in cattle are increasing. Join us to learn more about how Salmonella is affecting farms nationwide and how to […]
… correctly!Imagine several liquid bovine faecal samples in zip-lock bags, sent in another plastic bag via NZ Couriers to one of our laboratories. What is the worst-case scenario you come up with?Some of you may have seen our Facebook post in January regarding a very inappropriately packaged faecal sample received at one of our laboratories. […]
MICHAEL HARDCASTLEIt is very common for clinicians to call the laboratory asking how long they should wait before sampling a skin problem that has already been treated empirically with glucocorticoids.If one consults standard texts on veterinary dermatology, these generally contain recommendations to wait because “anti-inflammatory agents can dramatically affect the histologic appearance of many dermatoses”.1,2 […]