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Tuberculosis in goats WE read with interest the recent papers about goat tuberculosis (TB) (Crawshaw and others 2008, Daniel and others 2009). Reports of caprine TB are increasing in several countries. Here, we describe a TB outbreak in goats in Portugal, disclosed between September 2007 and April 2008, affecting a herd with 127 animals of a native Portuguese breed-Serrana-in the northeast of Portugal. The affected animals presented initially with dry coughing, progressive emaciation, and occasional diarrhoea, and there were high mortality rates. Postmortem examination revealed circumscribed, yellowish white, caseous or caseocalcareous lesions of various sizes, FIG 1: Mediastinal lymph node with caseocalcareous lesions in an adult female goat with tuberculosis

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Q fever is an important zoonotic disease which has been recently diagnosed, mainly in sheep and goats, in Portugal. The aim of the present study was to determine the prevalence of bovine Coxiella burnetii antibodies in dairy farms from the northwest of Portugal. Bulk tank milk samples were randomly obtained, on November 2013, from 90 dairy farms and assayed using an ELISA kit. The apparent prevalence was 61.1% (95% C.I. from 50.8 to 70.5%). The proportion of negative and intermediate (inconclusive) herds was 34.5% (25.5 to 44.7%) and 4.4% (1.7 to 10.9%), respectively. In conclusion, a high level of exposure to Coxiella burnetii was observed in Portuguese dairy cattle herds, highlighting the needs to better understand the epidemiology of Q fever in Portugal by the implementation of a monitoring program based on harmonized serologic and molecular methodologies and elucidation of the infection status of the herds.

Ovine pulmonary adenocarcinoma (OPA), also known as sheep pulmonary adenomatosis and jaagsiekte, is a contagious pulmonary tumor of sheep, characterized by neoplastic proliferation of type II pneumocyte and club cells. OPA is induced by the oncogenic activity of the envelope glycoprotein (Env) of exogenous jaagsiekte sheep retrovirus (JSRV). This disease is associated with significant economic losses in numerous sheep raising countries. The onset of suggestive clinical signs is often late, making difficult the early diagnosis of the disease and timely implementation of control measures on the affected farms. Further, the lack of diagnostic tests that can be performed routinely by veterinary clinicians to accurately assess infected animals (e.g., serological or others) means that the true prevalence at flock level is not known. Imaging diagnostic methods (e.g., ultrasound, X-ray and computed tomography) can be used to support the clinical diagnosis, even in pre-clinical stages in affected flocks. The diagnosis must be confirmed by PCR of nasal excretions or immunohistochemistry and PCR of tumor lesions. No vaccine for OPA has yet been developed. Thus, in this work, we review the main methods of diagnosis of OPA in order to support the clinician in the identification of the disease, avoid underdiagnosis and allow the implementation of suitable measures to prevent and control its spread.

Synchronic occurrence of tuberculosis mastitis and mammary cancer is rare in humans and, to the best of our knowledge, not reported in domestic animals. Here, we present a case of a female adult goat of Serrana breed with simultaneous occurrence of a granulomatous mastitis, due to Mycobacterium caprae, and a mammary carcinoma. Both pathological conditions are rare in goats and should be included in differential diagnosis of mammary lesions.

Pseudomonas aeruginosa is a pathogenic bacterium that can cause serious infections in both humans and animals, including dogs. Treatment of this bacterium is challenging because some strains have developed multi-drug resistance. This study aimed to evaluate the antimicrobial resistance patterns and biofilm production of clinical isolates of P. aeruginosa obtained from dogs. The study found that resistance to various β-lactam antimicrobials was widespread, with cefovecin and ceftiofur showing resistance in 74% and 59% of the isolates tested, respectively. Among the aminoglycosides, all strains showed susceptibility to amikacin and tobramycin, while gentamicin resistance was observed in 7% of the tested isolates. Furthermore, all isolates carried the oprD gene, which is essential in governing the entry of antibiotics into bacterial cells. The study also investigated the presence of virulence genes and found that all isolates carried exoS, exoA, exoT, exoY, aprA, algD, and plcH genes. This study compared P. aeruginosa resistance patterns worldwide, emphasizing regional understanding and responsible antibiotic use to prevent multi-drug resistance from emerging. In general, the results of this study emphasize the importance of the continued monitoring of antimicrobial resistance in veterinary medicine.