King’s birthday weekend
All of our laboratories will be open normal business hours on Saturday June 3, but will be closed on Monday June 5 to celebrate the King’s birthday.
Roll with the punches
GEOFF ORBELLWhen taking skin biopsies for alopecic conditions in animals, there are a few key points that can improve your chances of a diagnostic biopsy.The most important factor for alopecic skin biopsies is being able to determine the orientation of the hair follicles as we need to assess the entire length of the follicle to […]
Bonfires and calves
MICHAEL HARDCASTLEClinical historyThree Hereford weaners showed signs of staggering, hypermetria or recumbency and two died; one recovered with supportive care. There was possible access to cholecalciferol or cyanide, but the clinical signs were not considered consistent with those intoxications. The weaner mob had been kept in a paddock where rubbish had recently been burned.Laboratory findingsSerum […]
Mastitis toolbox
Mastitis is estimated to cost the New Zealand dairy industry approximately $180 million a year (1).Our new mastitis toolbox will enable you to reduce the cost of mastitis, by detecting cows with clinical and subclinical mastitis early allowing you to make informed treatment decisions. It provides you with the right tools to use in any […]
A little bit blue
KAREN BAILEYClinical history:An adult male kororā / little blue penguin (Eudyptula minor) was brought to a wildlife hospital. On examination it was severely underweight at 805g (should be 1 – 1.2 kg) and had white mucous membranes. The PCV was 6% (normal 38-52%). An image from a blood smear (100x objective, 1000x magnification) is shown […]
Handle with care!
SUNAO FUJITAAmmonia (predominantly ammonium, [NH4]+) is largely produced in the gastrointestinal tract by gastrointestinal microflora that metabolize amino acids. The ammonia produced in the gastrointestinal tract is transported through the portal vein to the liver where the ammonia is converted to urea by the urea-cycle in the hepatocytes. Abnormal blood flow/structure or significantly reduced numbers […]
FECRT submission forms
Faecal egg count reduction tests (FECRT) inform you about the drench resistance status of the parasite population on a specific property. This helps ensure the drenches in use are highly effective.We have had an outstanding uptake of our FECRT testing but sometimes don’t receive all the information we require to generate the report. To make […]
Our organisation’s name is changing
The Asia Pacific Healthcare Group is proud to announce on 20 April 2023, our organisation will change its name to Awanui.Awanui means big river, and represents the journey of bringing our network together to form a national organisation. Like our nation’s rivers, our network of services, laboratories, collection centres and people, intersect and join.When we join […]
When size really does matter
We have recently received a few cytology cases submitted for immunocytochemistry (ICC) where the size of the slides used were too wide to fit in the slide holders for the testing.We have attempted to physically file down the slides to try and make them fit, but the associated health and safety issues made it too […]
Equine ACTH samples are nice on ice
With the Boehringer Ingelheim ACTH testing promotion starting in April, it’s a good time to remind you of the sample handling requirements for these blood samples. All samples for equine ACTH testing must still be cold when received in the laboratory. If they are ambient temperature on receipt, the samples are not suitable for testing.We […]