Now that spring has sprung we thought it a timely to remind you of the recommended trace element panels in our current price book. The suggested panels are examples of appropriate analytes for assessing what is happening in the dairy herd.Testing for trace element status is an important part of mineral supplementation plans on farm. […]
Clinical history:A one year-old, female horse presented with weight loss and diarrhoea. She was euthanased, but was one of four horses that had died in the last 2 months on the same property (with a history of Salmonella, Cryptosporidium and Coronavirus on the farm).On post mortem examination pinpoint lesions were observed on the intestinal lining. […]
KATHRYN JENKINSWhen performing in-house haematology, or requesting a CBC from a reference lab, preparing a fresh blood film is important to help correctly identify an inflammatory response, and provides valuable prognostic information.A recent study demonstrated the startling artefactual changes that occur to neutrophil morphology with prolonged sample storage. The appearance of cytoplasmic Döhle bodies can […]
LISA HULME-MOIRThis month has seen two cases from the Northland and Taranaki districts involving late-term abortions due to Salmonella Bovismorbificans.In both instances, mixed-age dairy cattle were involved and in one case, eight of the nine cattle aborting did not show any observable clinical signs other than having dead near full-term calves. The aborted calves in […]
AMY WEEDENClinical history:An adult, castrated male, Oriental breed cat presented with severe diarrhoea and cachexia. Abdominal ultrasound revealed several abnormalities to include mild diffuse small intestinal changes, moderate hepatopathy/hepatomegaly, bilateral chronic renal degeneration, and trace peritoneal effusion.Laboratory results:Serum biochemistry identified azotaemia and hyperbilirubinaemia with a moderate non-regenerative anaemia and an inflammatory leukogram on the CBC. […]
LISA HULME-MOIRClinical history:A 15-year old male, neutered Chihuahua presented with a large 6x5x3cm subcutaneous mass in the left inguinal region. A fine needle aspirate of the mass was submitted to the laboratory for cytology.Laboratory results:On cytology, the submitted slides contained many medium to large cells that were frequently arranged in rosette fashion around variably sized […]
KATHRYN JENKINSWe recently had a very rare case of suspected plasma cell leukaemia, with an initial clinical finding of marked hyperglobulinemia.Clinical history:After being missing for a week, an 8-year-old cat presented with a jaw mass. In-house biochemistry showed a marked increase in TP (125 g/L; reference interval (RI) 56 – 80 g/L), with a marked […]
REBECCA ALLANA palpable thyroid gland in an elderly cat equals hyperthyroidism, right? Not always!When we think of thyroid issues in adult cats we usually think of hyperthyroidism, however occasionally the opposite problem of hypothyroidism can occur. Coco a 15-year-old Burmese is a case in point.Clinical history:Coco presented to the veterinary clinic with a history of […]
BERNIE VAATSTRAClinical history:An 8-week-old male Domestic Shorthair rescue kitten died overnight three days after being castrated, vaccinated and transported. A post-mortem was conducted and samples collected for histopathology .Laboratory testing:Sections of heart, liver, spleen, pancreas, stomach and small intestine were unremarkable. Examination of the large and small airways of the lung revealed numerous nematode larvae […]
– the season is approaching . . .ROB FAIRLEYEach year significant numbers of acorn poisoning cases are seen in our laboratories and almost always in calves. They often occur when feed is short and animals are driven to consume acorns, or because animals have been put into areas to clean rank grass out – areas […]