Determining factors and interspecific modeling for serum amyloid a concentrations in working horses, donkeys, and mules.

Serum amyloid A (SAA) is an acute phase protein and α-globulin that is produced in the liver in response to inflammatory cytokines. Considered a major acute phase protein in most domestic species, its concentrations rapidly decrease after resolution of inflammation, making SAA measurement a useful tool for monitoring the course of inflammation in an individual animal. The objective of this study was to compare SAA values in working equids including mules, donkeys and horses as well as values for different diseases at various times of the year. Samples were collected from 77 equids; 13 mules, 17 donkeys and 47 horses from sick or injured animals who presented to the clinic. Twenty-eight disease clinical diagnoses were compared with most cases being acute colitis. A highly significant differences between species was found when comparing SAA concentrations of mules to horses (P < .001) using Dunn comparison pairwise test. A difference (P < .05) was found between donkeys and horses, but not donkeys to mules (P > .05). The study suggests that SAA can be a helpful tool for disease diagnosis in mules and donkeys and suggests that the inflammatory response of mules maybe less than that of horses and donkeys but future studies evaluating SAA in healthy mules compared to diseased should be conducted.

Patients Without Borders: Using Telehealth to Provide an International Experience in Veterinary Global Health for Veterinary Students.

There is an increasing need to produce veterinarians with knowledge and critical thinking skills that will allow them to participate in veterinary global health equity delivery, particularly in the developing world, where many people remain dependent on animal-based agriculture for a living. This need for veterinarians trained in global health is reflected by the demand among students for greater exposure and education. At the same time, many students are held back from on-site training in global health due to constraints of cost, time, or family obligations. The purpose of this article is to describe the use of a telemedicine approach to educating veterinary students at Tufts Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine. This approach simultaneously provides expert consultation and support for a pro bono hospital in the developing world. The development of a telemedicine teaching service is discussed, from initial ad hoc email consultation among friends and associates to a more formal use of store-and-forward delivery of data along with real-time videoconferencing on a regular basis, termed tele-rounds. The practicalities of data delivery and exchange and best use of available bandwidth are also discussed, as this very mundane information is critical to efficient and useful tele-rounds. Students are able to participate in discussion of cases that they would never see in their usual clinical sphere and to become familiar with diagnostic and treatment approaches to these cases. By having the patient "virtually" brought to us, tele-rounds also decrease the usual carbon footprint of global health delivery.