Boosaardige catarraal koorts: een wolf in schaapskleren

During recent years an increasing number of outbreaks of Malignant Catharral Fever (MCF) in cattle has been reported in several European countries. The clinical picutre also seems to be changing: the disease used to be characterized by a low morbidity and a high mortality, but large outbreaks with high morbidity and high mortality have recently been reported in several European countries, including Belgium and the Netherlands. This evolution implies that MCF becomes increasingly an economically important disease. In this article an overview is presented on the current knowledge on MCF with emphasis on epidemiology, diagnosis and preventive measures. Due to the high seroprevalence in adult sheep and the absence of protective vaccines for cattle, the conclusion of this review is that at this moment prevention of MCF in cattle mainly depends on the stringent avoidance of all contacts between sheep and cattle

Uterine torsion in the mare: a review and three case reports

When a mare exhibits signs of colic during the last trimester of gestation, uterine torsion should always be part of the differential diagnosis. Uterine torsion is an infrequently occurring but serious complication in pregnant mares. In this article a review is given of the appearance, causes, symptoms, diagnostic examinations, treatment options and prognosis for the mare, as well as for her foal. At the end, three unusual cases are described

An outbreak of the peracute form of malignant catarrhal fever in Belgian cattle

A large outbreak of the peracute form of malignant catarrhal fever in cattle in Belgium is described. The main symptoms were nervous signs and high fever. Over a four-month period, 13 Belgian Blue yearlings and one cow died. Mortality was 16.3% of the herd. The diagnosis was confirmed by identifying ovine herpesvirus-2 DNA by PCR, both in the affected cattle and in the sheep on the farm. This case report illustrates the increasing importance of malignant catarrhal fever as a herd problem and the occurrence of the peracute form, as also reported in other European countries. It also illustrates the importance of malignant catarrhal fever as a differential diagnosis for nervous disorders in cattle

Evaluation of the pocH-100iV DIFF hematology analyzer for use in horses and cattle

The results of the analysis of equine and bovine blood samples with the automated pocH-100iV DIFF hematology analyzer were compared with the results obtained with reference methods or other analyzers (Vet ABC, Coulter Counter ZF, Coulter LH 750 analyzer). For equine blood and most parameters in bovine blood good to excellent correlations between methods and analyzers were obtained. For bovine blood good to poor correlations and significant differences were obtained between the pocH-100iV DIFF and other methods or analyzers mainly for hematocrit and hemoglobin determinations and platelet counts. Overall the pocH-100iV DIFF seems to be a reliable and user-friendly analyzer