Comparison of two methods for presurgical disinfection of the equine hoof.

OBJECTIVES: To determine for equine hooves the normal resident aerobic bacterial population and the efficacy of 2 methods of disinfection. Study Design-Measurement of total bacterial, gram-positive bacterial, and gram-negative bacterial surface populations from the frog, sole, and hoof wall after each step of 2 different preoperative surgical disinfection techniques. ANIMALS: Six adult horses. METHODS: Hoof wall, sole, and frog samples were collected for quantitative bacteriology before, during, and after 2 multistep antiseptic preparation techniques: Method A-6-minute scrub with povidone-iodine soap, followed by 24-hour submersion in povidone-iodine solution-soaked cotton; and Method B-initial removal of superficial layer of hoof capsule before completing Method A disinfection procedures. RESULTS: Removal of the superficial hoof layer, application of the povidone iodine scrub, and completion of the povidone-iodine soak all significantly (P < .0008) decreased total bacterial numbers. Method B had significantly lower bacterial counts than method A at each consecutive step. Final total bacterial counts remained greater than 10(5) bacteria per gram of tissue regardless of preparation method. CONCLUSIONS: The hoof surface hosts a broad spectrum of aerobic gram-positive and -negative bacteria, many of which are potential pathogens. Bacterial numbers can be significantly reduced by removal of the superficial hoof surface, by application of a povidone-iodine scrub, and by use of a 24-hour povidone-iodine soak. However, bacterial populations >10(5) g per tissue persist after these disinfection procedures. CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Regardless of the preparation methods used in this study, bacterial populations capable of inducing wound infection remain on the hoof capsule.

Treatment of Oslerus osleri infestation in a dog: case report and literature review.

Oslerus osleri (O. osleri), found throughout the world, reportedly is the most common respiratory nematode of wild and domestic dogs. Oslerus osleri infestation was diagnosed in a 1.5-year-old Scottish terrier presenting with a seven-week history of progressive cough. Diagnosis was based upon visualization of characteristic lesions on bronchoscopic evaluation and recovery of O. osleri larvae from tracheal and bronchoalveolar lavage samples on fecal analyses. Therapy was successful using anti-inflammatory doses of prednisone (0.5 mg/kg body weight, per os [PO] every other day) and thiabendazole (35 mg/kg body weight, PO q 12 hrs for five days; then 70 mg/kg body weight, PO q 12 hrs for 21 days).

Osteomyelitis and disseminated infection caused by Corynebacterium renale in a goat.

A 1.5-year-old female goat was examined for recurrence of lameness involving the right forelimb. Radiography of the thorax and right scapulohumeral joint revealed a pathologic fracture of the supraglenoid tubercle, and circumscribed radiolucent lesions in the right third and fourth ribs, and the base of the spinous process of T3. Bone scintigraphy demonstrated additional lesions in the lumbar spine and the wings of the ilium. At necropsy, disseminated infection and hematogenous osteomyelitis were diagnosed. Corynebacterium renale was cultured from the rib lesions. In food animals, osteomyelitis usually develops secondary to traumatic wounds, and members of the genus Actinomyces are frequently incriminated as the causative organism. This case is unusual because the osteomyelitis was unrelated to a traumatic wound, and the gross and microscopic lesions were reminiscent of caseous lymphadenitis, an infection caused by C pseudotuberculosis.

Serological studies on the infection of dogs in Ontario with Borrelia burgdorferi, the etiological agent of Lyme disease.

A serological study was undertaken to determine whether dogs in Ontario are being exposed to Borrelia burgdorferi, the etiological agent of Lyme disease. This study consisted of a survey of randomly selected dogs and testing of diagnostic submissions from candidate Lyme disease cases. The survey of 1,095 dogs, bled between January 1988 and August 1989, revealed a total of 65 (5.9%) enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) reactors, of which 22 had immuno-fluorescent antibody assay (IFA) titers >/=1:32. All but one of the IFA-positive and 10 of the ELISA-positive, IFA-negative sera were further tested by western blot. Eight western blot positive and three equivocal reactors were obtained. Three of the eight confirmed reactors had visited areas known to be endemic for Lyme disease, leaving five reactors that might have been infected in previously undocumented areas for B. burgdorferi activity in Ontario. Diagnostic submissions of sera from 223 dogs were received between August 1987 and February 1992. Test results revealed 21 (9.4%) IFA reactors, of which only six had significant titers (>/=1:256) and were reactive by an immunodot Borrelia test. All six dogs had travelled to known Lyme endemic areas. Based on results obtained from this study, it seems likely that the agent of Lyme disease is not widespread in Ontario.

Comparative evaluation of three products for the detection of Borrelia burgdorferi antibody in human serum.

Eighty human serum specimens tested concomitantly by immunoblot and an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay developed jointly at the University of Connecticut School of Medicine and the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station were used to evaluate three commercially available diagnostic products for Lyme borreliosis. The sources of the kits were Hillcrest Biologicals, Cypress, Calif.; Whittaker Bioproducts, Walkersville, Md.; and Cambridge Bioscience, Worcester, Mass. When compared with Western blot analysis, the sensitivities and specificities, respectively, for the diagnostic assays were as follows: Hillcrest Biologicals, 93 and 75%; Whittaker Bioproducts, 73 and 100%; Cambridge Bioscience, 89 and 100%; and University of Connecticut School of Medicine, 96 and 92%.

Survival of Borrelia burgdorferi in blood products.

The incidence of Lyme disease is rapidly increasing in the United States. To assess the potential of transmission of the disease through blood transfusion, we studied the survival of Borrelia burgdorferi in blood products under blood bank storage conditions. Two units of whole blood, separated into red cells (RBCs), fresh-frozen plasma (FFP), and platelet concentrates (PCs), were inoculated with B. burgdorferi (strain B31) in concentrations of approximately 3000 organisms per mL of RBCs and FFP and 200 organisms per mL of PCs. Products were then stored under blood banking conditions and sampled at several storage times. The viability of the spirochete in blood components was determined by darkfield microscopic examination of cultures in modified Kelly's medium. The organism was shown to survive in RBCs (4 degrees C) and FFP (below -18 degrees C) for 45 days and in PCs (20-24 degrees C) for 6 days. The results of this study do not exclude the possibility of transmission of Lyme disease through blood transfusion.

Human necrotizing splenitis caused by Borrelia burgdorferi.

A 25-year-old Hispanic male presented to the emergency room with complaints of severe left upper quadrant pain. Physicians determined that the patient had an acute inflammatory process with a possible diagnosis of splenic abscess. A splenectomy was performed. Histologic examination of the tissue sections revealed extensive necrosis and inflammation, but no etiologic agent was discernible. Microbiologic cultures of the tissue had negative results. A Dieterle silver stain revealed an overwhelming number of spirochetal bacteria most closely resembling Borrelia spp. The patient's serum was tested for serologic evidence of antibody to Borrelia burgdorferi with the following results; by indirect fluorescent antibody 1:32; by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay for IgM, 1:320; and Western blotting had positive results for the presence of B. burgdorferi outer-surface protein antibodies. This is the first human case report of an acute necrotizing splenitis resulting from B. burgdorferi.

Joint report of the Second International Workshop on Lymphocyte Alloantigens of the Horse, held 3-8 October 1982.

The Second International Workshop on Lymphocyte Alloantigens of the Horse was held 3-8 October 1982. At this workshop, the 6 specificities identified at the first workshop were confirmed and an additional 5 new specificities were identified and given workshop nomenclature. Four of the new specificities, products of the ELA locus, were named ELA-W7, W8, W9, and W10. An additional specificity, designated ELY-2.1, is the product of a locus independent of the ELA locus. Cell isolation methods were compared at this workshop. Technical variation in methods clearly affected reactivity of many reagents. However, when highly selected reagents were used, antigen assignment did not differ regardless of the cell isolation method. Based on the comparison of methods, isolation procedures in which thrombin was used were more effective than those relying on carbonyl iron or slow centrifugation.