A Comprehensive Study of Dog Bites in Spain, 1995-2004

Dog bites in humans are a complex problem embracing public health and animal welfare. To prevent dog bites it is necessary to have comprehensive epidemiological data that allow the identification of associated risk patterns. This study was aimed at investigating the problem posed by dog bites in Spain. The epidemiology of medically attended dog bite-related incidents reported in Aragón was analysed from 1995 to 2004. Bite incidents were mostly associated with: (1) low-population areas (71.3/100,000 inhabitants); (2) males and children, particularly those aged 5–9; (3) single injuries directed to the head and neck area in children and to the extremities in adults; (4) young, male, medium to large, owned dogs that were known to the victim; (5) summer months, and (6) specific circumstances such as human interference with knocked down and fighting dogs. In the light of these risk patterns, a wide range of specific preventive measures could be proposed

Epilepsia refractaria canina

La epilepsia refractaria se define como una condición en la cual, en un animal diagnosticado con epilepsia, no se llega a un control óptimo de las convulsiones o sufre efectos secundarios, a pesar de un tratamiento apropiado con drogas antiepilépticas convencionales. Aproximadamente un 5% de la población canina sufre epilepsia, de la cual un tercio es refractaria. A pesar de ello no se dispone de suficiente información, ya que muchos aspectos de su fisiopatología son todavía desconocidos. A pesar de que no hay un método exclusivo de diagnóstico, el más aceptado es el de exclusión. En cuanto al tratamiento, las drogas antiepilépticas de referencia no surgen efecto en estos casos, escogiendo drogas de segunda, tercera y hasta cuarta generación, utilizadas solas o en combinación. Otros tipos de tratamiento están actualmente en desarrollo, tales como la estimulación eléctrica cerebral y una modificación de la dieta. Aunque diferentes terapias son utilizadas, la eficacia y seguridad de las mismas es limitada. Por ello, un diagnóstico temprano, un tratamiento farmacológico apropiado, así como una responsabilidad por parte de los propietarios, en combinación con las terapias no farmacológicas, es fundamental para mejorar el pronóstico. El objetivo del trabajo es realizar una revisión bibliográfica actualizada de la epilepsia refractaria, su patogenia y por qué no responden estos animales al tratamiento convencional con anticonvulsivantes, así como los últimos avances en su tratamiento. Así mismo, mediante las descripción de casos clínicos reales acercarnos a los problemas y limitaciones a los que deben enfrentarse tanto veterinarios como propietarios. El material necesario para el trabajo son, por un lado, las fuentes bibliográficas científicas Pubmed y Sciencedirect, así como libros especializados. Por otro lado, los historiales de los casos reales son proporcionados por el Hospital Clínico Veterinario de Zaragoza y l'Ecole Vétérinaire d'Alfort

SÍNDROME DE DISFUNCIÓN COGNITIVA EN EL PERRO Y EN EL GATO.

El envejecimiento cerebral y los trastornos neurodegenerativos generan cambios en la función cognitiva afectando al aprendizaje y la memoria. El Síndrome de Disfunción Cognitiva (SDC) es una patología neurodegenerativa que afecta al sistema nervioso central de los animales de compañía de edad avanzada y que se caracteriza por un declive cognitivo progresivo y los cambios en el comportamiento asociados, que incluyen entre otros, desorientación, pérdida de hábitos higiénicos y alteración del ciclo sueño-vigilia o de las interacciones sociales. En los últimos años, la prevalencia de esta enfermedad se ha incrementado debido, en gran medida, al crecimiento de la población de perros y gatos geriátricos, como consecuencia del aumento de su esperanza de vida. Sin embargo, pese al gran número de casos, sigue tratándose de una enfermedad infradiagnosticada.Con el fin de conocer en mayor profundidad los aspectos más relevantes del SDC, a lo largo de este trabajo se recogen aspectos sobre la etiología, el cuadro clínico, el diagnóstico y el tratamiento de esta enfermedad en el perro y el gato, así como una introducción sobre el normal funcionamiento del sistema nervioso y la función cognitiva. Se espera que los resultados de este trabajo, basado en una amplia revisión bibliográfica, contribuyan a seguir avanzando en el reconocimiento, diagnóstico y tratamiento del SDC en animales de compañía, que al mismo tiempo constituyen un modelo natural para el estudio de la Enfermedad del Alzheimer (EA). <br /

Estudio de prevalencia de redundancia esofágica en la raza Bulldog Francés

La redundancia esofágica es una alteración congénita que ha sido descrita en animales de razas braquicéfalas. Consiste en un esófago excesivamente elongado que describe una trayectoria sinuosa y con desplazamiento ventral en la entrada de tórax. En este artículo se calcula la prevalencia de esta patología en la raza Bulldog Francés y se analiza su posible relación con la aparición de síntomas digestivos en esta raza. Se realizó una anamnesis retrospectiva a los propietarios de los animales seleccionados sobre la presencia, el carácter y el tipo de presentación de síntomas digestivos (regurgitación-vómito) que pudieran haberse presentado a lo largo de la vida del paciente. La presencia o no de redundancia esofágica se determinó mediante una esofagografía positiva, para lo que se empleó una solución de sulfato de bario. Diez de los veintinueve animales sobre los que se realizó el estudio radiológico presentaron redundancia esofágica, siendo la prevalencia para esta anomalía del 34,5%. Los propietarios de ocho de los diez animales con redundancia esofágica (80%) relataron la presencia de regurgitación, de carácter crónico y presentación esporádica. Los resultados obtenidos sugieren que cabe considerar la redundancia esofágica como una posible causa de las alteraciones digestivas que se presentan en la raza Bulldog Francés

Effects of alternative bedding substrates on lamb welfare, productive performance, and meat quality during the finishing phase of fattening

The study analyzed the effect of using sawdust, cellulose, straw, and rice husk bedding on the welfare, performance and meat quality of lambs during the finishing phase of fattening. Ninety-six lambs (fed ad libitum with concentrate) were assigned to pens containing 1 of 4 bedding materials in groups of 12 for 14 days. Live weight and feed consumption were recorded to estimate daily gain and conversion index, and carcass and meat quality variables were measured. Stereotypies, exploratory interactions with bedding material, and agonistic and affiliative interactions between animals were recorded by continuous sampling techniques using video recording. The substrates affected behavior and stress response variables. There were more stereotypies and agonistic interactions at the beginning of the experiment in all treatments (P ≤ 0.05). The lambs fattened on cellulose bedding interacted more with the substrate throughout the finishing stage (P ≤ 0.05), where there were also more affiliative interactions (P ≤ 0.05). Stress levels were lower in lambs on straw, followed by cellulose. No significant differences in production or carcass and meat quality traits were observed between treatments. The results suggest that all substrates evaluated could be efficiently incorporated into the system as bedding material without affecting productivity or product quality

Critical points in the transport of cattle to slaughter in Spain that may compromise the animals’ welfare

The welfare of cattle depends greatly on the attitudes and training of stockpersons and on the availability of appropriate facilities. Much has been learned about stress during transport, but less attention has been paid to identifying and correcting critical points, partly because they vary widely both nationally and internationally. A survey of cattle transport in Spain was made in an effort to determine which parts of the process most compromised the animals&apos; welfare. Data were collected on the methods and facilities for loading and unloading, transport times, types of vehicle and slaughterhouse practices. Loading facilities were adequate and loading times generally short but some farms continued to use an electric goad and weather-proofing was generally poor. The average journey time within Spain was three-and-a-half hours, but many trips were made abroad (especially to Italy), few drivers received specific training courses and the types and quality of vehicles varied widely. The average unloading time was very short but the animals were not always inspected for injuries or dirtiness. Lairage times were normally more than eight hours but few slaughterhouses had air-conditioning equipment to prevent excessive heat or dehydration. Almost all stockpersons avoided either regrouping animals or housing or transporting animals at high densities

A comparison of welfare outcomes for weaner and mature Bos indicus bulls surgically or tension ban castrated with or without analgesia: 2. responses related to stress, health and productivity

Tension banding castration of cattle is gaining favour because it is relatively simple to perform and is promoted by retailers of the banders as a humane castration method. Two experiments were conducted, under tropical conditions using Bos indicus bulls comparing tension banding (Band) and surgical (Surgical) castration of weaner (7-10 months old) and mature (22-25 months old) bulls with and without pain management (NSAID (ketoprofen) or saline injected intramuscularly immediately prior to castration). Welfare outcomes were assessed using a range of measures; this paper reports on some physiological, morbidity and productivity-related responses to augment the behavioural responses reported in an accompanying paper. Blood samples were taken on the day of castration (day 0) at the time of restraint (0. min) and 30. min (weaners) or 40. min (mature bulls), 2. h, and 7. h; and days 1, 2, 3, 7, 14, 21 and 28 post-castration. Plasmas from day 0 were assayed for cortisol, creatine kinase, total protein and packed cell volume. Plasmas from the other samples were assayed for cortisol and haptoglobin (plus the 0. min sample). Liveweights were recorded approximately weekly to 6 weeks and at 2 and 3 months post-castration. Castration sites were checked at these same times to 2 months post-castration to score the extent of healing and presence of sepsis. Cortisol concentrations (mean. ±. s.e. nmol/L) were significantly (

Matricaria chamomilla CH12 decreases handling stress in Nelore calves

Matricaria chamomilla CH12 is a phytotherapeutic or homeopathic product, which has been used to reduce stress. Here, we examined its effect on preventing handling stress in bovines. Sixty Nelore calves were randomly distributed into two equal groups. One group was administered Matricaria chamomilla CH12 in diet and the other the 'control' was not. Animals in both groups were maintained unstressed for 30 days to adjust to the feeding system and pasture, and were then stressed by constraint on the 31th, 38th, 45th and 60th experimental days. Blood samples were taken on these days after animals had been immobilization in a trunk contention for 5 min. Stress was followed by analyzing serum cortisol levels. These peaked on the 45th day and then decreased, but not to baseline, on the 60th day. On the 45th day cortisol levels were significantly lower in animals fed Matricaria chamomilla CH12, suggesting that this product reduces stress. These effects may be a consequence of its inhibiting cortisol production and its calming and anxiolytic effects

Measurement of the cross-section of high transverse momentum vector bosons reconstructed as single jets and studies of jet substructure in pp collisions at √s = 7 TeV with the ATLAS detector

This paper presents a measurement of the cross-section for high transverse momentum W and Z bosons produced in pp collisions and decaying to all-hadronic final states. The data used in the analysis were recorded by the ATLAS detector at the CERN Large Hadron Collider at a centre-of-mass energy of √s = 7 TeV;{\rm Te}{\rm V}$and correspond to an integrated luminosity of$4.6\;{\rm f}{{{\rm b}}^{-1}}$. The measurement is performed by reconstructing the boosted W or Z bosons in single jets. The reconstructed jet mass is used to identify the W and Z bosons, and a jet substructure method based on energy cluster information in the jet centre-of-mass frame is used to suppress the large multi-jet background. The cross-section for events with a hadronically decaying W or Z boson, with transverse momentum${{p}_{{\rm T}}}\gt 320\;{\rm Ge}{\rm V}$and pseudorapidity$|\eta |\lt 1.9$, is measured to be${{\sigma }_{W+Z}}=8.5\pm 1.7$ pb and is compared to next-to-leading-order calculations. The selected events are further used to study jet grooming techniques