A Necropsy Study of Disease and Comorbidity Trends in Morbidity and Mortality in the Koala (Phascolarctos cinereus) in South-East Queensland, Australia.

Koalas are an iconic Australian marsupial undergoing precipitous population reduction in South-East Queensland from complex interacting threats. To investigate the causes of death and the interaction of comorbidities with demography in South-East Queensland koalas, a large scale, high-throughput prospective necropsy survey was conducted spanning 2013-2016. During this period, 519 necropsies were conducted in 155 young/subadult koalas, 235 mature, 119 old koalas and 10 of unknown age. Similar numbers of males and females were assessed. Trauma and infectious disease at were the most common single diagnoses. However, comorbidity was frequent, including multicentric infection or infectious disease in combination with trauma or senescence. Female koalas had proportionally more reproductive chlamydiosis compared to males in which the ocular and urinary systems were more commonly affected. Comorbidity and disease were strongly associated with poor body condition, and trauma was associated with good body condition. Animals affected by motor vehicle trauma were often in better body condition than those affected by animal attack, tree fall or other causes of trauma. This study identified a higher frequency of infections and comorbidity then previously reported, confirming the complex nature of interacting threats to the koala population.

A 5-Year Retrospective Review of Avian Diseases Diagnosed at the Department of Pathology, University of Georgia.

Avian samples (n = 827) submitted to the University of Georgia from 2006 to 2011 were reviewed to determine common disease entities and taxa-specific patterns. The study included 153 species, with 64.5% Psittaciformes, 11.3% Passeriformes, 7.9% Galliformes, 3.8% Columbiformes and 3.5% Anseriformes. Infectious agents were identified in 226 birds (27.3%); bacterial infections (n = 119; 14.4%) were most commonly gram-negative bacilli and Chlamydia psittaci and less commonly Mycoplasma and Mycobacterium spp. Mycotic infections (e.g. Aspergillus spp., Candida spp.) were identified in 66 birds (7.9%), followed by viruses in 30 birds (3.6%), most commonly polyomavirus and poxviruses. Eighteen birds had macroparasite infections, which were most common in Galliformes and most often involved gastrointestinal Capillaria spp. Neoplasia was diagnosed in 76 birds (9.2%) of 25 species, with 79% of the tumours deemed to be malignant. The most common neoplasm was lymphoma (n = 17; 22.4%), which was diagnosed in Psittaciformes, Galliformes and Passeriformes. Adenocarcinoma (n = 9) was found most frequently in the reproductive and gastrointestinal tracts. Haematopoietic neoplasms included myelocytoma and erythroid leucosis. Atherosclerosis was most common in psittacines (23/32; 71.8%) and in raptors and aquatic birds. Seventeen birds, mostly psittacines and aquatic birds, had amyloidosis, most often in the liver, kidney and spleen. Twenty-two birds had gout, most commonly the visceral form. Overall, bacterial infection was the most frequently diagnosed cause of death in captive birds, most commonly in Psittaciformes, followed by Passeriformes and Galliformes. Neoplasia was most common in Psittaciformes, which generally are longer lived than other taxa studied. Some disease entities (e.g. atherosclerosis and aspergillosis) may be associated with captive conditions, and some may involve a genetic predisposition (e.g. atherosclerosis, amyloidosis and haemosiderosis).

Multiple intra-abdominal serosal myxosarcomas in two koalas (Phascolarctos cinereus).

Two adult koalas (Phascolarctos cinereus) were presented for necropsy examination without any clinical history. A diffuse, severe gelatinous effusion was found in the abdominal cavity, while numerous 1-3 mm diameter, round, well-demarcated, multifocal to coalescing, raised, firm nodules containing a clear gelatinous fluid were scattered on the surface of the parietal peritoneum, diaphragm, liver, gastrointestinal tract and mesentery. Microscopically, the nodular lesions consisted of spindle-shaped to stellate neoplastic cells, with scant eosinophilic cytoplasm and moderate anisocytosis and anisokaryosis. The neoplastic cells were admixed with and surrounded by abundant acellular pale eosinophilic material that was stained by Alcian blue and only weakly by the periodic acid-Schiff reaction. Serosal proliferations are described rarely in koalas and to the authors' knowledge this is the first reported case of serosal myxosarcoma. The significance and pathogenesis of this condition in the koala population is unknown.

Hernia diafragmática congénita: revisión de casos en el Hospital Guillermo Grant Benavente 2001-2007 / Congenital diaphragmatic hernia

The congenital diaphragmatic hernia is one of the most common severe malformations, with a high mortality that has been maintained for the time. There have been numerous markers that predict postnatal survival, of which the LHR and the presence of intrathoracic liver are the most reliable. Materials and methods: A review of the tabs of patients carrying fetuses with diagnosed CHD in the HGGB’s Department of Echography, as well as records of entry, exit and neonatal mortality in the same hospital. Results: We found 20 cases of CHD with an incidence of 1:1.647 births. Two patients were discarded by incomplete data. The 77,7 percent were diagnosed leftists. A 50 percent presenting deformities partners, among which one was diagnosed as Sd. Pallister Killian. The presence of intrathoracic liver was found in 38,8 percent. The mortality was 66,6 percent. Patients with LHR <1 were 100 percent mortality. Patients with liver Intrathoracic had 71,4 percent of mortality. Conclusion: The HDC is a malformation of high perinatal mortality. The indicators used as predictors of survival were very effectively. Our results are comparable to current publications.

La hernia diafragmática congénita constituye una de las malformaciones severas más comunes, con una alta mortalidad que se ha mantenido durante el tiempo. Se han formulado numerosos marcadores predictores de sobrevida postnatal, de los cuales el LHR y la presencia de hígado intratorácico son los más confiables. Material y método: Se realizó una revisión de las fichas de pacientes portadoras de fetos con hernia diafragmática congénita diagnosticadas en el Departamento de Ecografía del HGGB, además de registros de ingreso, egreso y mortalidad de neonatología del mismo hospital. Resultado: Se encontraron 20 casos de hernia diafragmática congénita con una incidencia de 1:1.647 partos. Se descartaron 2 pacientes por data incompleta. El 77,7 por ciento fueron diagnosticadas izquierdas. Un 50 por ciento presentó malformaciones asociadas, entre las cuales una fue diagnosticada como síndrome Pallister Killian. La presencia de hígado intratorácico se encontró en el 38,8 por ciento. La mortalidad fue de 66,6 por ciento. Las pacientes con LHR<1 tuvieron 100 por ciento mortalidad. Las pacientes con hígado intratorácico tuvieron 71,4 por ciento de mortalidad. Conclusión: La hernia diafragmática congénita constituye una malformación de alta mortalidad perinatal. Los indicadores utilizados como predictores de sobrevida tuvieron una alta efectividad. Nuestros resultados son comparables a las publicaciones actuales.

[Veterinary Services: how to establish quality assurance in developing countries]. / Servicios Veterinarios: cómo establecer el aseguramiento de la calidad en países en desarrollo.

The authors put forward a methodological proposal for introducing quality assurance into animal health service provision in developing countries, based on the experience of Brazil. This proposal is based on three key elements. The first and most important element is the continuing development of those involved in the process, not only from the technical and administrative standpoint (know-how), but also in terms of modelling new forms of behaviour and attitudes for the provision of services (social and personal skills). This requires a culture of ethical values, motivation and team working to ensure that those involved in the process become committed, highly effective employees who identify with the Veterinary Service's objectives as if they were their own. The second key element of this methodology is to consider the various health services to be provided as processes and to treat each of these services as a set of activities, inputs and procedures that are systematically organised for delivering the specified animal health service. Working with processes not only makes it possible to properly plan each service, it also facilitates the identification, analysis and effective resolution of any problems that may arise while the service is being delivered. The third key element of the proposed methodology is the constant control and improvement of the processes making up the various health services, in particular using the Deming cycle (plan--do--check--act). The proposed strategy calls for realism and pragmatism in order to avoid creating false expectations by developing over-ambitious quality systems. It is advisable to avoid major publicity at the start of activities and to create well-defined, localised improvement programmes with anticipated results that are simple, direct and discernible to any observer within a short time frame. In the early stages, the term "quality" needs to be replaced with "better service delivery". It is necessary to ensure that staff is given some type of acknowledgement or feedback when positive results are achieved. Great emphasis must be placed on staff motivation and awareness-raising activities.

Review of the status of foot and mouth disease in countries of South America and approaches to control and eradication.

Since the signing in 1987 of the Hemispheric Plan for the Eradication of Foot-and-Mouth Disease (PHEFA) by the countries of South America, clinical cases of foot and mouth disease (FMD) have decreased significantly throughout the continent. During the early 1990s, national laboratories diagnosed an average of 766 cases per year in South America. By the late 1990s, this continent-wide average had fallen to 130. By the end of the 1990s, the international community recognised Argentina, Chile, Guyana and Uruguay as free of FMD without vaccination. In 1999, clinical signs of FMD were absent in 60% of all cattle of the continent. These cattle represented 41% of all herds in South America and extended over 60% of the geographical area of the continent. However, in the spring of 2001, FMD re-appeared in certain countries of the Southern Cone. This widespread re-occurrence of the disease in Argentina, Uruguay and the State of Rio Grande do Sul in Brazil called into question the basic premise of the PHEFA--that countries in South America can achieve and maintain FMD-free status, with or without vaccination. The authors suggest that these countries can regain their FMD-free status by supporting the PHEFA. A successful disease eradication strategy relies on high levels of vaccination, effectiveness of outbreak responses, and control of animal movement. This strategy must have a regional, not national, focus and must be based on risk analysis methodology. The multilateral administration of vaccination campaigns and field activities to ensure wide and simultaneous vaccine application, along with primary prevention and joint border activities, is the key to eradicating FMD and maintaining areas free of the disease.

Global perspective for foot and mouth disease control.

The world distribution of foot and mouth disease (FMD) is almost a mirror image of the global economic structure. In general, industrialised countries are free while the disease is endemic in developing countries. In recent years, several incursions of FMD have been recorded in countries belonging to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), all of which have been financially and socially costly to eliminate. At the same time, this single disease bars many developing countries from participation in formal trade, both regionally and internationally. However, recent studies have predicted an unprecedented high demand for animal protein, which can only be met through enhanced participation of developing countries in trade in livestock products. Accordingly, globalisation trends will exacerbate the exclusion of poor communities and countries from markets unless a long-term strategy is implemented to progressively build market opportunities for these countries, without placing the livestock of industrialised countries at undue risk from FMD and other major transboundary animal diseases. The authors submit that there is sufficient knowledge of FMD to make an international initiative for the progressive control of FMD a viable objective. Consequently, a four-stage pathway is proposed for developing a global FMD programme. The proposed strategy involves a build-up of the epidemiology and global status of FMD, including establishing an international early warning system, a risk-reduction phase to lower the incidence of FMD in the primary endemic areas and a control phase leading to the creation of zones of assured FMD-freedom. The authors also propose that an international FMD programme be co-ordinated, based on the experience of the Global Rinderpest Eradication Programme, the Hemispheric Plan for the eradication of FMD for the Americas, the South-East Asia Foot and Mouth Disease control and eradication campaign and the European Commission for the Control of FMD.

Aseguramiento de la calidad de atención sanitaria en servicios veterinarios que cuentan con participación social

La globalización económica mundial, caracterizada por la apertura de los mercados, en el campo del comercio internacional del tipo pecuario, ha provocado relevantes cambios en los paradigmas zoosanitarios a partir del cierre de la Ronda Uruguay (GATT/OMS)en que se establece el Acuerdo sobre la Aplicación de Medidas Sanitarias y Fitosanitarias y del consecuente uso del Análisis de Riesgo y de la Regionalización. Esta metodología ha sido entronizada con el fin de reducir el efecto negativo de las barreras sanitarias a un mínimo. Un riesgo minimo, en cualquier operación de comercio internacional de animales o productos de origen animal, solo es posible considerarlo cuando es certificado en forma confiable. Esta certificación, de acuerdo con las normas internacionales aceptadas, debe ser dada por los Servicios Veterinarios, de ahi que uno de los pilares de sustentación de la puesta en práctica de estos nuevos paradigmas y procedimientos está constituido por el nivel de organización, de procedimientos y de operaciones de los Servicios Veterinarios (sistemas de atención sanitaria animal). De esta manera es posible dar las necesarias garantias a los países importadores, acerca de las certificaciones sanitarias hechas por países exportadores.

Risks of introducing foot and mouth disease through the importation of beef from South America.

The safety of beef with respect to foot and mouth disease (FMD) is determined by the level of risk which the exporting region poses through disease prevalence, the reliability of the surveillance system of the region, the efficacy of the prevention and control measures, the efficiency of the Veterinary Services and the support of the private sector. The South American continent has been regionalised in accordance with these criteria. Today there are approximately 90 million cattle in a territory of over 5 million km2 comprising regions classified as having a very low to low level risk for FMD with regard to the export of animals and animal products. Another 50 million cattle live in regions classified as posing a moderate risk. These risk categories reflect varying levels of risk. The harvest of beef in the meat-exporting regions of South America includes a series of risk mitigation measures, from the origin of the source herd to the final packing of the beef. These measures reduce the unrestricted risk estimate by almost six orders of magnitude. Therefore, the final risk of FMD for the global trade of beef originating from the low risk regions in South America is extremely small.

Risk assessment and risk regionalization, based on the surveillance system for foot and mouth disease in South America.

Within the framework of the International Animal Health Code of the Office International des Epizooties (OIE), important contributions have been made by the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service/United States Department of Agriculture (APHIS/USDA), the Ministry of Agriculture of Canada, the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries of New Zealand and other organisations, by the development of risk assessment methods and regionalization criteria for risk assessment. The authors attempt to contribute to these efforts by proposing a regional risk evaluation of foot and mouth disease (FMD) in South America. Two examples of risk assessments for international trade, i.e., in bovine embryos and in meat, are used to demonstrate the importance of an effective disease surveillance system as the basis for risk regionalization for international trade in animals and animal products. As a result of progress in the control and eradication of FMD in South America, it is expected that major livestock production regions will soon be in low- to very low-risk categories.

Participación social en la erradicación de la fiebre aftosa en América del Sur

[Introducción] La salud animal, tanto en su estado medido por indicadores bioproductivos cuanto en las formas de intervención de los hombres, está condicionada por criterios de rentabilidad, de comercio y de nutrición humana. Esta característica explica la relación entre las estrategias de los distintos sectores involucrados en la atención pública veterinaria y las condiciones macroeconómicas y sociales prevalecientes. Independientemente de los cambios que pueden esperarse respecto al rol del estado, para el tratamiento de los problemas de salud animal, tiene cada vez más consenso la necesidad de fortalecer esas instancias locales mediante una participación creciente del sector privado.

Regionalización en el análisis de riesgo de fiebre aftosa para América del Sur

En este trabajo se propone una evaluación de riesgo específica y regional de la fiebre aftosa en América del Sur para la exportación de productos animales basada en la situación de los programas de control, erradicación y prevención de la fiebre aftosa de cada país o región.

Análisis de riesgo. Su importancia, metodología y aplicación

[Introducción] Al tratar el tema de "Análisis de Riesgo en Sanidad Animal" es necessario considerar algunos hechos ocurridos en el ámbito económico y comercial de los países. La realización de la Ronda Uruguay del GATT, el pleno desarrollo de la Unión Europea, el NAFTA en América del Norte y el MERCOSUR en el sur de América Latina son algunas, entre otras, manifestaciones de los países del mumdo para fortalecer el libre comercio entre países y bloques de países, como estrategia que apunte al desarrollo económico y social de los mismos. Este processo, que está siendo uno de los elementos responsables por la globalización de la economía mundial, incluye también reglas que aseguran la protección de la salud de las personas y de los animales y la preservación del sector vegetal. En el campo de la sanidad animal, estas reglas se dirigen a proteger países y regiones del mundo que están libres de determinados agentes patógenos para que, como consecuencia de las práticas de abertura, comercial, no lleguen a ser infectados. La instrumentación del análisis de riesgo y la regionalización de países y continentes a partir de la clasificación de áreas según el nivel de riesgo, han sido propuestos como métodos para alcanzar estos objetivos.

Convenio de cooperación técnica internacional para el control y la erradicación de la fiebre aftosa en la Cuenca del Río de la Plata: logros y perspectivas

Los Gobiernos de Argentina, Brasil y Uruguay, con la Organización Panamericana de la Salud (OPS), a través del Centro Panamericano de Fiebre Aftosa (PANAFTOSA), en junio de 1987 suscribieron un Convenio de Cooperación Técnica Internacional para el Control y Erradicación de la Fiebre Aftosa en la Cuenca del Río de la Plata. El convenio comenzó a ejecutarse en 1989 y en 1992 se incorporó al mismo Paraguay. La aplicación de una estrategia coordinada a través del Proyecto Subregional de Control y Erradicación de la Fiebre Aftosa en la Cuenca del Río de la Plata y ejecutada por los servicios veterinarios de los países con la cooperacíon técnica de PANAFTOSA, de acuerdo con la caracterización epidemiológica de la región logró, al término de los cinco años de la primera etapa-partiendo de una situación inicial con importante presencia de fiebre aftosa, la eliminación gradual del endemismo viral y la ausencia clínica de la enfermedad en la casi totalidad del área inicial del convenio. También se logró la participación activa en los programas de los productores pecuarios y en menor grado de los veterinarios de la actividad privada, las universidades y agroindustrias. Los resultados obtenidos, incluso en el campo internacional como en el caso de Uruguay, reconocido por la Oficina Internacional de Epizootias (OIE) como país libre de fiebre aftosa con vacunación, posibilitaron la continuidad del convenio en una segunda etapa, 1994-1998, con el propósito de consolidar los resultados en la región inicial y ampliar el área geográfica hacia nuevas fronteras epidemiológicas interrelacionadas con aquella.

Potency control of foot-and-mouth disease vaccine in cattle. Comparison of the 50% protective dose and the protection against generalization.

Potency tests of a total of 658 foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) vaccine batches by bovine protective dose (PD50) showed that 22% of the tests did not follow the expected theoretical model and the results could not be interpreted because of the lack of a dose-response relationship. The protection against generalization (PG) method, using undiluted vaccine, proved to be highly reliable from the analysis of the results of 65 replicate potency tests of three hydroxide-saponin (HS) vaccines and two oil-adjuvanted (OL) vaccines. The PG results were consistent in 64 out of the total of 65 tests. The data obtained indicated that, with regard to direct tests in cattle, the PG test is the preferred method for FMD vaccine potency control. This study also showed that the incorporation of a reference vaccine in routine potency tests is essential to ensure normality of the test system and that good quality HS and OL FMD vaccines may maintain immunogenic stability for at least 27 and 36 months, respectively, when stored at 2-8 degrees C.

Análisis epidemiológico y atención veterinaria en salud animal

La epidemiología veterinaria se concibe como una disciplina cuyo objeto de estudios es la comprensión de los problemas de la salud productiva animal, incluyendo su base organizativa y los procesos de intervención. Esta disciplina es un instrumento indispensable en la planificación de la salud animal y en la intervención veterinaria. En este trabajo se definen los espacios y planos de explicación epidemiológica que permiten integrar la problemática de la salud animal, tanto desde la perspectiva esencial y general definidas por el sistema económico-social prevaleciente, como del carácter específico que se corresponde con los modelos particulares de las enfermedades transmisibles y de la producción. Los problemas de la salud productiva y la elaboración de sus estrategias de transformación demandan análisis prospectivos que permiten configurar el cuadro más probable de los escenarios donde el proceso de cambio de desarrollará.

Veterinay epidemiology is conceived as a discipline whose purpose of study is an understanding of the problems of productive animal health, including its organizational basis and the processes of intervention. This discipline is an indispensable instrument in animal-health planning and in veterinary intervention. This paper defines the spaces and planes of epidemiological explanation that enable observers to assess the problems of animal health from the essential and general perspectives defined by the prevailing economic and social system, as well as from the specific character corresponding to the particular models of the transmissible diseases and of production. The problems of productive health and the conception of its strategies of transformation, require prospective analyses that lead to a configuration of the most probeble of the scenarios wherein the process of change will be developed.

Aspectos intersectoriales e interdisciplinarios en los sistemas de atención veterinaria local

Se observan cambios profundos en los sistemas de atención veterinaria que se caracterizan por la creciente participación de los productores en diversas campañas de sanidad animal, en particular en el control de la fiebre aftosa. Este proceso se inscribe en la descentralización administrativa de un significativo número de actividades sanitarias. La atención a nivel local y la participación han sido un estímulo y una exigencia para que las instituciones relacionadas con la actividad agropecuaria coordinen esfuerzos para la promoción del desarrollo. Por otra parte, hay una creciente demanda para que, en la elaboración y seguimiento de los planes de trabajo y de investigación agropecuaria en el ámbito geográfico del sistema, participen técnicos de las diversas disciplinas, orientándose a tratar a los problemas sanitarios conjuntamente con los aspectos relacionados a la productividad y la rentabilidad pecuaria.

The veterinary attention systems are undergoing profound changes characterized by the producers growing participation in various animal health campaings, particularly in the control of foot-and-mouth disease. This process is viewed as part of the administrative decentralization of a sigficant number of sanitary activities. Animal-health attention and participation at the local level have become a stimulus and a necessity, enabling the institutions involved in the agricultural and livestock-raising activities to coordinate efforts to promote development. Moreover, there is a growing demand that technical personnel from the various disciplines participate more fully in the drafting and follow-though of work plans and livestock-related research plan within the system's geographic scope. Their participation should focus on dealing with the sanitary problems joint with the aspects related to the livestock industry's productivity and profitability.

La importancia de PANAFTOSA en los programas de investigación y de desarrollo para el control y erradicación de la fiebre aftosa en las Américas

La contribución del Centro Panamericano de Fiebre Aftosa para el conocimiento de las enfermedades vesiculares de los animales, especialmente la fiebre aftosa, ha sido de gran trascendencia para los programas de control iniciados durante las últimas cuatro décadas. En esta revisión se examina la importancia de la investigación en el pasado y los enfoques futuros para la investigación y el desarrollo sobre el control y erradicación de la enfermedad de las Américas.

The contribution made by the Pan American Foot-and Mouth Disease Center to our knowledge of vesicular diseases of animals and, in particular, foot-and-mouth disease, has assisted greatly the control programs initiated during the last four decades. This review examines the relevance of past research and explores future directions for research and development in relation to the control and eradication of the disease from the Americas.

The relevance of the research and development programs of PANAFTOSA to the control and eradication of foot-and-mouth disease in the Americas

[Summary] The contribution made by the Pan American Foot-and-Mouth Disease Center to our knowledge of vesicular diseases of animals and, in particular, foot-and-mouth disease, has assisted greatly the control programs initiated during the last four decades. This review examines the relevance of past research and explores future directions for research and development in relation to the control and eradication of the disease from the Americas.