EMMA GULLIVERClinical historyA one-year-old male, neutered, domestic shorthair cat was seen by the referring veterinarian for evaluation of ataxia and a head tilt. Routine haematology and biochemistry were within normal limits, and there were no abnormalities detected on skull radiographs. The cat otherwise seemed well in himself, however clinical signs were progressive and there was […]
All of our laboratories will be closed on Tuesday 6 February for Waitangi day.(Photo credit: Aaron Mickan, Unsplash)
REBECCA ALLANI listen to a very cool veterinary podcast called the Vet Vault. In a recent episode, they interviewed an Australian veterinary epidemiologist, Jane Heller, who cofounded AMR Vet Collective, a not for profit organisation aiming to educate veterinarians about antimicrobial resistance.It has some amazing teaching tools and resources, including guidelines on appropriate antibiotic usage […]
Like any type of farming, inspection for bee diseases is an important part of beekeeping. The healthier your colony, the more productive they will bee, and in turn will help ensure the honey produced is as sweet as. Bees are however not just producers of honey. Their pollination of crops and native plants helps ensure […]
With the summer in full swing and molluscs invading the vegetable patch, the opportunity for accidental ingestion of slug/snail bait products is increased.In New Zealand there are two main compounds used in slug/snail bait products: metaldehyde and iron EDTA. While most of us are familiar with metaldehyde toxicity, cases of toxicity due to ingestion of […]
ALICE FRASERNon-aureus staphylococci (NAS) isolated from cultures of milk samples, are often reported as coagulase-negative staphylococci (CoNS) – this was historically based on their ability to clot rabbit plasma, a key manual identification step in conventional bacteriologic methods for staphylococci.With the increased use of MALDI-TOF, which, as detailed previously, increases the ability to identify some […]
ALICE FRASERWith the advancement in technology in diagnostics, many of you may be aware that Gribbles now use Matrix-assisted laser desorption ionisation-time of flight (MALDI-TOF) equipment in microbiology.MALDI-TOF can be used for several different applications, but in microbiology we use it as a rapid method for identification of microorganisms using their species-specific protein patterns, which […]
BERNIE VAATSTRAClinical historyAn adult pony mare developed chronic progressive weight loss over the course of 9 months. Clinical examination revealed increased respiratory effort and a draining lesion of the right mandible with bony proliferation. Ultrasound examination and radiography of the lungs revealed multinodular soft tissue opacities throughout the lung fields. Biochemistry and haematology were unremarkable […]
Summer is upon us and it is never too early to ensure plans are in place to protect the herd. To be effective, preventative measures need to be in place before Pithomyces chartarum spores are detected.For every clinical case of facial eczema you see, there will be at least 10 sub-clinically affected animals. Affected stock will […]
GEOFF ORBELLThe onset of spring often coincides with an increased number of dogs, cats and horses presenting with pruritus and secondary skin and ear infections due to atopic dermatitis or feline atopic skin syndrome (FASS).The diagnosis of atopic dermatitis is based on history, clinical presentation and ruling out other causes of pruritus including external parasites, […]