You are called to evaluate a lamb that is having trouble wal…
You are called to evaluate a lamb that is having trouble walking. The ewe lamb is approximately six months old, and she is the only animal in the group that is abnormal. When she was a week old she had an infection at the site where her tail was docked (amputated as a normal production practice), but it cleared up after the owner gave her some penicillin at the dose on the label. The lamb has been growing well until about a week ago, when the owner noticed she was walking abnormally. On physical examination she is alert and in good body condition. She has a normal rectal temperature, heart rate, and respiratory rate, with no physical exam abnormalities outside the nervous system. A neurologic examination reveals the lamb to have normal mentation, no cranial nerve abnormalities, and normal strength, sensation, and proprioception in her forelimbs. However, she is very weak and ataxic in both hind limbs, and when you try to get her to walk, she sways side to side and falls down into a dog-sitting position. She does have a withdrawal reflex in both hind limbs. Given the history and your examination findings, and assuming no financial constraints, which diagnostic test would you run FIRST to try to rule in the MOST LIKELY cause of this lamb’s signs?
Read DetailsMites are a common cause of alopecia, crusting, and pruritis…
Mites are a common cause of alopecia, crusting, and pruritis in ruminants and camelids. Of the mites that can affect ruminants, the most common mite tends to affect the distal extremities and perineum, causing mild to moderate pruritis. Because this mite does not burrow into the epidermis, topical treatment with insecticides such as lime lime sulfur dip tend to be more effective than injectable products. This mite is:
Read DetailsYou are presented with a mid-lactation Holstein cow approxim…
You are presented with a mid-lactation Holstein cow approximately 5 years in age. Her rectal temperature is 101.1°F, her heart rate is 100bpm, and respiratory rate is 35brpm. She has a ping in her right paralumbar fossa with a gas filled structure in her pelvic canal resembling the shape of a bread loaf. What is your diagnosis and what is your recommendation?
Read DetailsYou are called to a client’s farm to evaluate chronic respir…
You are called to a client’s farm to evaluate chronic respiratory disease. The farrow to finish farm breeds and gestates sows in outdoor dirt lots and then moves them into a modern confinement barn for farrowing and lactation. Once pigs are weaned, they are housed in a barn that has minimal environmental control, a dirt floor and deep bedding of corn stalks for manure management. You notice that clinical signs are most frequent in the growing pigs and evenly distributed between mild coughing and diarrhea. You elect to humanely euthanize an acute pig for necropsy evaluation. The lungs have no noticeable gross lesions but the liver has numerous bright white scars. What is the most likely cause of the clinical signs?
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