Browsing by Subject "Veterinary medicine"
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Item Effect of arthroscopic surgery and post-surgical triamcinolone acetonide administration on synovial fluid, serum, urine and kinetic biomarkers in an equine metacarpophalangeal osteochondral injury model(2012-07) Manfredi, Jane M.Objective- The purpose of this pilot study was to investigate the effects of arthroscopic surgery and post-surgical administration of triamcinolone acetonide (TA) on biomarkers and lameness. Animals- Seven adult Quarter Horses had an osteochondral (OC) fragment arthroscopically created on the first phalanx of one metacarpophalangeal joint (MCPJ). Procedures- Lameness exams, force plate data, SF from both MCPJs, serum, and urine, were collected on weeks 0 (fragment creation), 16 (fragment removal), 17 (1 week post removal), 18 (1 week post injection, 2 weeks post removal) and 20 (3 weeks post injection, 4 weeks post removal). After week 17 fluid collection, horses were randomly divided into 2 intra-articular treatment groups: 10 mg TA (n=4) or 1 ml saline (n=3). Biomarkers of joint metabolism (BAP, CP II, C1,2C, C2C, CTX II, NO, and HMGB1) were evaluated in SF, serum, and/or urine using ELISAs. Repeated measures ANOVAs were used for analysis, significant at P < 0.05. Results- OC fragment creation resulted in collagen degradation as seen by SF increases of CTX II and C2C at week 16 from week 0 (P=0.048 and P<0.001). After TA administration, SF C2C concentrations increased, but CTX II concentrations decreased compared to saline controls (P<0.001). Bone production (SF BAP concentrations) in TA treated horses increased compared to saline controls at week 20 (P=0.028). All horses became more lame at week 17 according to trained observers (P=0.003) and force plate analysis (P=0.007), but by week 20, lameness had returned to pre-OC fragment removal (week 16) levels. There were no significant differences in SF, serum, urine and inflammatory biomarkers. Conclusions and Clinical Relevance- Arthroscopic surgery appears to have no effect on cartilage metabolism with little resultant SF inflammation. TA administration is not indicated after surgery for removal of OC fragments with superficial cartilage damage since collagen degradation increases compared to controls.Item Effect of immunity on influenza virus transmission and surveillance in pig populations.(2011-03) Mestres, Anna RomagosaSummary abstract not available.Item Effect of of water level on kinematics of healthy horses walked on an aquatic treadmill compared to conventional rehabilitation techniques(2012-08) Mendez-Angulo, Lose LeandroObjective: To calculate maximal flexion/extension of the carpal, and fetlock joints, as well as the stance and swing percentage of the stride in horses walking on the underwater treadmill (UWTM) at four different levels, and walking on three conventional footings. Animal-9 clinically sound adult horses. Procedure-Two dimensional data was collected of horses walking on the UWTM at 4 water levels [,1cm of water (Baseline-B0 fetlock (F), tarsus (T), and stifle deep (s), and on hard ground (HD), soft ground(SF), and land treadmill (LT), Zinc oxide (for UWTM) or retroreflective markers (for conventional surfaces) were used as skin markers and placed at four specific anatomical locations on the left fore and hind limbs. Five gait cycles of each horse for each surface were analyzed. Maximal flexion/extension angles and range of motion (ROM) were calculated for each joint. Results- Underwater treadmill- ROM was greater for all evaluated joints walking in water (F,T,and S) compared to walking in no water (B), mainly due to an increased in flexion. The greates ROM for each joint was attained at the following water depths (in parentheses): carpus (T), tarsus (S), for fetlock (F and T), and hind fetlock (F and T). Conventional surfaces- Maximal flexion of the tarsus and hind fetlock was greater on LT an SF compared to HD and carpus on LT compared to HD and SF compared to LT, and both fetlocks on LT compared to HD and SF. The greatest overall ROM of the carpus and fetlocks was achieved on LT, and tarsus on SF. Conclusions and clinical relevance- These findings suggest that the UWTM is a usefull rehabilitation modality fo increaing ROM of the distal limbs, and that the depth of water should beconsidered. Aditionally, conventional walking surfaces have a subtle effect on flexion/extension of the distal limb. Therefore, data from this study could help equine clinicians decide which footing surface/water depth is the best for each individual orthopedic patient in the early rehabilition period.Item Epidemiological and economic implications of air filtration systems to prevent PRRSV in large sow herds.(2012-07) Alonso García-Mochales, CarmenAbstract summary not availableItem Epidemiology of Mycoplasma hyorhinis in U.S swine production systems(2014-08) Clavijo Michelangeli, Maria JoseMycoplasma hyorhinis has recently emerged as one of the main concerns of swine veterinarians dealing with post-weaning morbidity and mortality. Since the introduction of PCR in 2009, M. hyorhinis is detected in about 50% of polyserositis and 12% of arthritis cases submitted to the Minnesota Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory (MVDL) every year. In the field, swine practitioners are applying different antibiotic and autogenous vaccine protocols with varying degrees of success. Part of the minimal success is due to the lack of essential epidemiological information, which is scarce and obsolete. The main goal of this dissertation was to advance the knowledge on the infection dynamics and the epidemiology of M. hyorhinis in swine populations in the US. Such information will contribute to the better implementation of control and prevention strategies for this pathogen. The lack of accurate and thoroughly evaluated diagnostic tools represents a major limitation to study the dynamics of M. hyorhinis infection in swine populations. A high-throughput, sensitive and specific quantitative PCR was developed for the detection of M. hyorhinis DNA in diverse clinical samples. The qPCR showed suitable precision within and between runs. The qPCR will be a valuable tool to characterize infection dynamics and to quantify bacterial load in order to evaluate selected intcccerventions targeting M. hyorhinis. Essential information, such as the prevalence of pigs in commercial populations is absent. The prevalence of M. hyorhinis infection was estimated in different age groups across three commercial swine populations by means of a cross-sectional study. The results consistently showed an extremely low prevalence in the sows and suckling piglets. The prevalence of nasal infection after weaning increased in two distinct patterns. In two herds a high proportion of PCR-positive pigs were detected shortly after weaning while in the third herd the prevalence of nasal infection remained extremely low until the last week in the nursery when all pigs tested PCR-positive. In addition, this study provided the opportunity to confirm the role of M. hyorhinis as a cause of systemic disease. While M. hyorhinis was detected in the upper respiratory tract of both healthy and diseased pigs, it was only detected in systemic sites of diseased pigs and frequently associated with the typical lesions of fibrinous serositis. Information related to M. hyorhinis transmission and spread within infected populations is largely unknown. The prevalence and incidence of M. hyorhinis in naturally infected pigs and the relationship between sow infection and serological status with piglet infection was evaluated through a longitudinal study. While the prevalence of M. hyorhinis infection observed in suckling piglets and sows was low (<5%), over 90% of the pigs became colonized during the nursery phase. Moreover, the incidence rate estimations demonstrated a relatively high number of pigs acquiring the microorganism within a short period of time, indicating that a rapid transmission occurred after placement in the nursery.The development of an MLST-s typing scheme for epidemiological and genetic characterization of M. hyorhinis field isolates was described. This study demonstrated genetic variation within M. hyorhinis strains circulating in US swine production systems. While no clear relationships were observed between ST and state of origin, sample type and pig age, the majority of isolates from each system clustered together. The application of the MLST-s protocol described will allow studying M. hyorhinis epidemiology and dynamics of infection in U.S swine herds. Molecular typing will also aid in better understanding transmission routes, in assessing sources of infection and in evaluating interventions such as vaccination and use of antibiotics.The information generated in this thesis provided essential M. hyorhinis epidemiological information applicable to modern US swine production systems. Forthcoming M. hyorhinis research could focus on identifying risk factors for pathogen transmission and disease manifestation. The tools developed, evaluated and presented here can aid in such studies. Moreover, new information on the prevalence and incidence of infection could be used to better target control measures such as antibiotic and vaccine administration.Item Heat-treatment of colostrum: effects on colostrum characteristics and on passive transfer and health in commercial dairy calves.(2010-08) Donahue, Mary IreneAbstract summary not availableItem Serological responses of infected and vaccinated pigs to recombinant influenza a proteins.(2011-10) Oliveira, Amanda RodriguesInfluenza A virus is constantly evolving in swine herds and it is important to evaluate the performance of serological diagnostic tools in the screening of pigs. Hemagglutination inhibition (HI) and ELISA are frequently used in the subtype specific detection of swine influenza virus (SIV) infections, but there is poor correlation reported between these assays. Conserved proteins of the virus, such as nucleoprotein (NP) and matrix 1 (M1), are potential antigen candidates to detect antibody response across different SIV subtypes. Although good candidates for use in diagnostic assays, the antibody profile against these proteins in infected and vaccinated animals is not fully understood. In an attempt to improve the agreement between ELISA and HI assays, and to better understand the antibody profile against M1 and NP proteins in infected and vaccinated pigs, 433 sera were screened using an indirect H3 ELISA, 384 samples were screened using a commercial NP ELISA, 433 were screened using recombinantly expressed M1 in indirect ELISA, and 304 were screened using HI. Sera were obtained from pigs vaccinated and challenged with a diverse SIV subtypes in an attempt to mimic the diversity of strains circulating in the field. Agreement between ELISA assays and HI was low, and induction of anti NP and M1 antibodies in vaccinated pigs was delayed in comparison to antibodies directed against hemagglutinin. Contrary to anti NP antibodies, anti M1 antibody levels did not increase after challenge. Although high specificity was obtained, antigenic mismatches between strains used in the vaccination and challenge of pigs seemed to interfere with the sensitivity of H3 ELISA. Anti-NP and -M1 antibodies were detected regardless of the infecting influenza subtype or the strain used for vaccination, but poor performance of M1 ELISA excluded the possibility of using this antigen in a diagnostic tool to screen swine herds for anti-influenza A virus antibodies.Item Turkey arthritis reovirus: pathogenesis and immune response(2015-01) Sharaf Eldin, Tamer Ahmed IbrahimIn 2011, turkey reoviruses were isolated from tendons and synovial fluids of >15-week-old lame turkeys displaying swollen joints and occasionally ruptured leg tendons in Midwest, USA. These reoviruses were tentatively called turkey arthritis reoviruses (TARV) to differentiate them from reoviruses isolated from intestinal contents and feces of turkeys namely turkey enteric reoviruses (TERV). TARV were found to be genetically distinct from chicken arthritis reoviruses (CARV). Five experiments were conducted to test the pathogenicity of TARV in turkeys and in chickens and to compare it with that of TERV and CARV. Additionally, this work investigated the virus pathogenesis and cytokine immune responses. TARV showed unique capability to induce significantly higher tenosynovitis scores in turkeys as compared with TERV and CARV which induced minimal scores. Clinical lameness was first displayed at 8 weeks of age in TARV-inoculated turkeys at 1 week of age. Lameness in infected group reached approximately 50% at 16 weeks of age. TARV did not induce any lesions in chickens via intratracheal or oral route. TARV inoculation via footpad route induced tenosynovitis in chickens at 2 and 3 weeks PI with no clinical lameness. In pathogenesis study, TARV displayed the greatest replication in intestines and bursa of Fabricius than in leg tendons of turkeys. Viral infection mediated effective antiviral cytokines immune response that limited virus replication in the intestines. Furthermore, viral infection mediated a significantly elevated T helper-1(Th1) cytokine response in intestines and tendons and minimal Th2 and Th17 cytokine response during the early stage (2 weeks) of infection. This work established an experimental model to study TARV which provides early end points that are indicative of disease pathogenicity. Additionally this work developed a new grading system for histologic tenosynovitis which can be used in a wide variety of experimental models. For lameness evaluation in turkeys, this work developed a grading system for gait scores. In summary, this work showed unique pathogenicity of the newly isolated TARV and added significant knowledge to TARV pathogenesis and immune response using the newly established reproducible experimental model and the newly developed grading systems for evaluation of tenosynovitis and clinical lameness.Item The use of spatiotemporal analytical tools to inform decisions and policy in One Health scenarios(2019-02) Kanankege, KaushiThe use of spatiotemporal analytical tools to generate risk maps and risk scores that facilitate early detection of health and environmental threats is increasingly popular in many countries and international organizations around the world. The traditional approach of spatial epidemiology focuses on mapping and conducting tests for detection of spatial aggregation of cases, referred to as “clusters”, to determine visual and geographical relational clues, and then ecologic approaches to recognize etiologic signs of disease distribution in relation to explanatory factors. The advances in spatial epidemiology are focused on the application of spatiotemporal findings to inform mitigation measures, use of big data to improve the validity and reliability of case-data based analyses, and eventually to provide risk estimates in a timely manner to support decision and policy in preventive and control measures, while supporting the improvement of existing data collection processes. This study provided a framework for choosing spatiotemporal analytical tools, summarizing the features of tools commonly used in spatial analysis, and discussing their potential use when informing decisions related to One Health scenarios. To this end, three case studies addressing endemic conditions affecting ecosystem health, animal health, and public health in Minnesota were compared. A risk score; an estimate/characterization of the disease spread, and suggestions on risk zones were introduced, using spatiotemporal analytical tools, addressing aquatic invasive species in Minnesota waters, Johne’s disease in dairy cattle, and Anthrax, affecting wildlife, livestock, and humans, respectively. The One Health concept promotes a collaborative approach, through effective communication and cooperation across disciplines and sectors, to solve complex problems that intersect animal, human and environmental health. An essential component in the process is understanding the stakeholder perspectives of the problem. Therefore, the comparison between the case studies focused on the lessons learned through the researcher-stakeholder interactions and identification of the opportunities and challenges in the process. Overall, the work presented through this dissertation, serves as precedent for establishing a protocol of “good practices” when promoting the use of spatiotemporal analytical tools to inform the implementation of scientifically driven risk management and policy solutions to One Health scenarios.