KAREN BAILEY Clinical history: An adult male kororā / little blue penguin (Eudyptula minor) was brought to a wildlife hospital. On examination it was severely underweight at 805g (should be 1 – 1.2 kg) and had white mucous membranes. The PCV was 6% (normal 38-52%). An image from a blood smear (100x objective, 1000x magnification) […]
SUNAO FUJITA Ammonia (predominantly ammonium, [NH4]+) is largely produced in the gastrointestinal tract by gastrointestinal microflora that metabolize amino acids. The ammonia produced in the gastrointestinal tract is transported through the portal vein to the liver where the ammonia is converted to urea by the urea-cycle in the hepatocytes. Abnormal blood flow/structure or significantly reduced […]
Faecal egg count reduction tests (FECRT) inform you about the drench resistance status of the parasite population on a specific property. This helps ensure the drenches in use are highly effective. We have had an outstanding uptake of our FECRT testing but sometimes don’t receive all the information we require to generate the report. To […]
The Asia Pacific Healthcare Group is proud to announce on 20 April 2023, our organisation will change its name to Awanui. Awanui means big river, and represents the journey of bringing our network together to form a national organisation. Like our nation’s rivers, our network of services, laboratories, collection centres and people, intersect and join. When […]
We have recently received a few cytology cases submitted for immunocytochemistry (ICC) where the size of the slides used were too wide to fit in the slide holders for the testing. We have attempted to physically file down the slides to try and make them fit, but the associated health and safety issues made it […]
With the Boehringer Ingelheim ACTH testing promotion starting in April, it’s a good time to remind you of the sample handling requirements for these blood samples. All samples for equine ACTH testing must still be cold when received in the laboratory. If they are ambient temperature on receipt, the samples are not suitable for testing. […]
LISA HULME-MOIR We don’t often receive cytology samples from farm animals but just like in dogs and cats, cytology has the potential to yield a quick diagnosis that assists with decision making, optimising animal welfare and promoting judicious use of antibiotics. Clinical history: A fine needle aspirate was submitted from a lesion on the nose […]
SANDY WELTAN There are many advantages to performing cytology. It is generally quick and simple to perform with rapid results, inexpensive and minimally invasive. Inconclusive results from non-diagnostic slides are a source of frustration for the practitioner and the pathologist. A good slide contains an adequate number of intact, appropriately stained cells in a monolayer […]
New Zealand has never had a detected case of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI). The risk of a HPAI virus such as H5N1 arriving here is low as New Zealand is isolated from other landmasses, is not on the flyways for any migratory waterfowl and we have strong border biosecurity. Biosecurity New Zealand has monitoring […]
RACHEL WHITEHEAD We are seeing a continual emergence of drench resistance in cattle. The importance of monitoring the efficiency of drenches in cattle, particularly dairy, is key to halt the production limiting effect of resistant parasite burden. Faecal egg counting (FEC) alone does have its limits when used for cattle. The host immune response can […]