Effects of environmental temperature on pharmacokinetics of, and clinical response to xylazine in goats

The clinical use of xylazine may result in morbidity and mortality in small ruminants, and it was suspected that exposure to changes in environmental temperature may contribute to these effects. Xylazine hydrochloride was administered intravenously at a dose of 0.1 mg/kg to a group of six indigenous domestic goats with a mean body mass of 28.2 kg. Xylazine was administered at a room temperature of 14°C and relative humidity of 33%, at 24°C and a relative humidity of 55%, and at 34°C with a relative humidity of 65%. The following variables were evaluated: clinical behaviour, cardiopulmonary function, haematology, acid-base balance, plasma glucose and insulin, body temperature, and the pharmacokinetic characteristics of xylazine. Xylazine administration resulted in transient restlessness, followed by sedation, muscle relaxation, and salivation. The onset of these clinical signs was not influenced by environmental conditions. Administration of xylazine resulted in a transient increase in respiratory rate in the 24 and 34°C environments. In the 14°C environment, the respiratory rate decreased significantly (p<0.05) from baseline and continued to decrease for the full duration of the 60 minutes observation period. Heart rate decreased in all three environments, but this decrease was only significant in the 14°C environment for the duration of the observation period. Changes in haemoglobin concentration, haematocrit, red blood cell count and mean red blood cell volume were significantly (p<0.05) different 15 minutes after xylazine administration and continued to be so for the duration of the observation period. Total serum protein changed significantly (p<0.05) in the 24° and 34°C environments from 15 minutes after xylazine administration. The white cell count changed significantly (p<0.05) from 15 minutes after xylazine administration for the duration of the observation period in all three environments. Significant (p<0.05) changes occurred after xylazine administration in acid-base balance and arterial blood gas variables independent of environmental conditions. Arterial pH and the partial pressure of oxygen decreased significantly within 5 minutes of xylazine administration, and the partial pressure of carbon dioxide, total carbon dioxide and base excess increased significantly (p<0.05). Environmental conditions had no observable on plasma glucose and insulin concentration. Significant (p<0.05) changes occurred in all three environments. Environmental conditions had no influence on body temperature in the control (untreated) animals. Following the administration of xylazine, the body temperature of the goats in the 14 and 24°C environments was significantly (p<0.05) lower than that of the goats in the 34°C environment. The maximum decrease in oesophageal temperature of 1.57°C was observed 60 minutes after xy1azine administration to goats maintained in the 14°C environment. Environmental conditions had no influence on all of the pharrnacokinetic parameters of xylazine hydrochloride evaluated. It is concluded that apart from changes in body temperature, changes that occurred in clinical and pharmacokinetic variables after xylazine administration, were independent of the three environmental temperature and humidity conditions.Thesis (DPhil (Surgery))--University of Pretoria, 1999.Companion Animal Clinical Studiesunrestricte

Zoonotic disease research in East Africa

Abstract Background The East African region is endemic with multiple zoonotic diseases and is one of the hotspots for emerging infectious zoonotic diseases with reported multiple outbreaks of epidemic diseases such as Ebola, Marburg and Rift Valley Fever. Here we present a systematic assessment of published research on zoonotic diseases in the region and thesis research in Kenya to understand the regional research focus and trends in publications, and estimate proportion of theses research transitioning to peer-reviewed journal publications. Methods We searched PubMed, Google Scholar and African Journals Online databases for publications on 36 zoonotic diseases identified to have occurred in the East Africa countries of Burundi, Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda and Uganda, for the period between 1920 and 2017. We searched libraries and queried online repositories for masters and PhD theses on these diseases produced between 1970 and 2016 in five universities and two research institutions in Kenya. Results We identified 771 journal articles on 22, and 168 theses on 21 of the 36 zoonotic diseases investigated. Research on zoonotic diseases increased exponentially with the last 10 years of our study period contributing more than half of all publications 460 (60%) and theses 102 (61%) retrieved. Endemic diseases were the most studied accounting for 656 (85%) and 150 (89%) of the publication and theses studies respectively, with publications on epidemic diseases associated with outbreaks reported in the region or elsewhere. Epidemiological studies were the most common study types but limited to cross-sectional studies while socio-economics were the least studied. Only 11% of the theses research transitioned to peer-review publications, taking an average of 2.5 years from theses production to manuscript publication. Conclusion Our findings demonstrate increased attention to zoonotic diseases in East Africa but reveal the need to expand the scope, focus and quality of studies to adequately address the public health, social and economic threats posed by zoonoses

Occurrence, treatment protocols, and outcomes of colic in horses within Nairobi County, Kenya

Aim: The aim of this study was to determine the treatments and their outcomes in horses with colic in Nairobi County, Kenya. Materials and Methods: This is a retrospective study to determine the occurrence, treatments, pain management, and outcomes of colic in horses in Nairobi County. Association between pain management protocols and the outcomes of colic with regard to recovery or death was also determined. Data collected from four equine practitioners were organized manually and given numerical codes as appropriate to facilitate entry into the computer. The coded data were entered into Microsoft Excel 2010 and exported to StatPlus pro 5.9.8 statistical package for analysis. Simple association tests were done between various factors and occurrence of colic. Results: The incidence of colic for the 11 years was 3.1%, which constituted 68.0% spasmodic colic, 27.8% impaction colic, and 4.2% displacement colic. Flunixin meglumine as a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) was used as the only pain management treatment in 85.3% of the cases, flunixin meglumine and butorphanol as NSAID-OPIOD combination in 6.4% of the cases, while buscopan as an antispasmodic was recorded in 5.9% of the cases mainly in spasmodic colic. Univariate analysis revealed simple association between various factors and the type of colic a horse was having. There was an association between the type of colic and the decision-making on the pain management protocol to use, whether single analgesic protocol (χ2=22.5, p<0.001) or use of analgesic combinations (χ2=18.3, p<0.001). The type of colic strongly influenced the decision for performing nasogastric intubation (χ2=265, p<0.001), but performing nasogastric intubation was weakly (χ2=4.9, p=0.03) associated with horse recovery from colic. Type of colic also strongly influenced the need for the use of metabolic stimulants, particularly vitamin B-complex (χ2=99.3, p<0.001). Recovery or death of the horse from colic was strongly associated with the type of colic (χ2=250, p<0.001). The possibility of recurrence of colic was weakly (χ2=4.6, p=0.04) determined by the type of colic, a horse had. Multivariate logistic regression revealed that the main cause of death was intestinal displacement and the majority of the horses with intestinal displacement died (β-estimate 2.7, odds ratio=0.07, p=0.007) compared to horses that had impaction colic. Conclusion: The incidence of colic is 3.1%, and the most common type of colic is spasmodic followed by impaction. The most common pain management protocol for colic is NSAIDs, mainly flunixin meglumine, followed by flunixin-butorphanol combination. Surgery for horses with colic in Nairobi County is not commonly done due to impeding poor prognoses. The horse owners tend to prefer euthanasia for such cases

A systematic review of analgesia practices in dogs undergoing ovariohysterectomy

Aim: This was a systematic review conducted to evaluate the analgesic drugs and techniques used in the management of pain in dogs undergoing ovariohysterectomy. Materials and Methods: Systematic searches in PubMed, Google Scholar, and ScienceDirect were conducted for peer-reviewed articles written in English and published from 1995 to 2015. The key search words were dogs, ovariohysterectomy, pain, and analgesics. This was followed by a manual search of the references within the primary data sources. Inclusion and exclusion of studies and data extraction were performed independently by two reviewers. All randomized studies evaluating the effects of analgesics during ovariohysterectomy in dogs were included. Results: A total of 31 trials met the criteria and were, therefore, included in the study. Data on the type of analgesic drugs used, the technique of administration, and the need for rescue analgesia were extracted from the papers. Individual analgesic protocols were used in 83.9% of the studies compared to multimodal drug therapy, which was used in 16.1% of the studies. Opioids were used in 39.0% of studies, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) in 19.4%, a combination of NSAIDs and opioids in 19.4%, local analgesics in 6.5%, and acupuncture in 3.2% of the studies. Drug administration was done using three approaches that included pre-operative (64.5%), post-operative (22.6%) as well as combined pre- and post-operative approach (12.9%). In 77.4% of the studies, administration of analgesics was done once, while in 12.9%, it was done as a 72-h post-operative course. 24-h and 48-h courses of post-operative pain therapy were done in 6.5% and 3.2% of the studies, respectively. About 57% of the dogs in the control groups required rescue analgesia as compared to 21.6% in the single and 11.3% in multimodal drug therapy groups. The requirement for rescue analgesics was highest in dogs treated using acupuncture (43.8%) and lowest in dogs treated using NSAID-opioid combination (8.6%). Fewer dogs among those that received pain medication preoperatively and postoperatively required rescue analgesia compared to those in groups given drugs before and after surgery only. More dogs (26.4%) among those given analgesics only once postoperatively required rescue analgesia as compared to those that received analgesics daily for 72 h (4.4%). Conclusions: This study provides evidence that opioids are the mainstream analgesic drugs used in managing acute post-operative pain in dogs' post-ovariohysterectomy. In addition, multimodal drug therapy, particularly, NSAID-opioids combination is more effective for pain management than single drug administration. Administering analgesics both before and after surgery is associated with better outcomes and so is a protracted course of post-operative pain therapy. Although these practices should be encouraged, controlled studies should be conducted to conclusively determine the best practices for pain management in dogs undergoing ovariohysterectomy

Annual abortion rates per 100,000 by species and predominant AEZs.

Annual abortion rates per 100,000 by species and predominant AEZs.</p

Proportion of livestock abortions (%) across 18 counties of Kenya, 2019.

Proportion of livestock abortions (%) across 18 counties of Kenya, 2019.</p

Distribution of the 18 counties (in which the 523 wards lie) selected by agroecological zone.

Distribution of the 18 counties (in which the 523 wards lie) selected by agroecological zone.</p

Weekly abortion events per 1,000,000 in cattle, sheep and goats reared in the ASAL zones (top panel) and in the non-ASAL zones (agro-alpine/humid and high and medium potential AEZs) (bottom panel), in Kenya 2019–2020.

Weekly abortion events per 1,000,000 in cattle, sheep and goats reared in the ASAL zones (top panel) and in the non-ASAL zones (agro-alpine/humid and high and medium potential AEZs) (bottom panel), in Kenya 2019–2020.</p

Abortions per 100,000 cattle (left), sheep (middle) and goats (right) across counties in Kenya 2019–2020.

Abortions per 100,000 cattle (left), sheep (middle) and goats (right) across counties in Kenya 2019–2020.</p