Background: Vaccination is an important part in cats? welfare. It both helps to prevent the individual cat from catching a disease or lessen the symptoms of it, and protects the entire cat population from an epidemic. It is the cat owner who makes the decision to vaccinate or not. Understanding the cat owners? perspective regarding vaccination may improve communication between the owner and the veterinary nurse, which may lead to a higher vaccination rate among cats.

The Clinical Pathology Laboratory at SLU in Uppsala has analysed several blood samples from Dachshunds with severe anemia. As there are no previous studies on this topic, a study was performed to evaluate if Dachshunds are more prone to severe anemia compared with other breeds. In addition, a retrospective case study on Dachshunds with severe anemia was done to search for common risk factors or diseases. Hemoglobin values in samples from 1272 Dachshunds and 2269 German Shepherds analyzed from September 1994 to October 2007 were used to compare the frequency of severe anemia in Dachshund and German shepherd. The samples were identified by laboratory information system.

Parkinson's disease is a progressive degenerative neurological disorder. In Sweden there are 15 000-20 000 individuals affected by the disease.The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence of oral diseases in individuals with Parkinson's disease. The material for the literature review was gathered in the medical database PubMed. Keywords used for the data research were ?Parkinson?s disease?, ?oral diseases?, ?dry mouth?, ?gingivitis?, ?caries? and ?periodontitis?.

Lameness causes suffering and poor performance in sheep, as in other species. The cause of lameness often originates in problems of the claws. Many claw diseases of sheep are described in British and Australian research, but this field has previously not been of special concern in Sweden. This graduate thesis contains the first claw health survey made on Swedish sheep. The chief objective was to give an overview of sheep claw diseases and to assess claw health in adult sheep.

Background: Over the past 30 years the incidence of overweight and obesity has increased. Obesity is a risk factor for many diseases, for instance type 2 Diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, many types of cancer and musculoskeletal diseases. That ready available food today is so accessible can be a reason for the public health problems of overweight and obesity.Objective: The aim was to study what possibilities and barriers there are for fast-food restaurants to sell healthy food.Methods: Information was collected by seven telephone interviews and two respondents answered by e-mail. Nine persons that were in charge of the menu at different fast-food restaurant chains in Sweden participated in the study.Results: To have a large variety was considered to be a problem for selling healthy food, also because the sale of it was low in some of the fast-food chains. Some of the informants did not find any problems with selling healthy food and it was regarded as an opportunity to get more consumers.Conclusion: The demand for healthier food has increased, and the offer and sales of it has also escalated.

In this essay dog as a compatible model were put against human. The major histocompatibility complex (MHC) genes were compared between dogs, human, cat and mouse. To evaluate dog as a model and study similarities and differences was the aim with this review. Dog as a model contributes to understand mechanisms behind autoimmune diseases and showed clearly histological similarities between human and dogs concerning the skin disease mucous membrane pemphigoid (MMP)/cicatricial pemphgioid (CP). Further genetic evidence motivated the choice of using dog as a comprehensive model when the MHC-complex correlated with hypothyroiditis in Doberman dog as it does in human. Physiological similarities with low levels of thyroid hormones (T3 and T4) together with high level of thyroid releasing hormone (TSH) were found in the same way as in human.

Obesity is a problem that increases exponentially in humans and companion animals. It is defined as a big accumulation of fat in the body and is usually connected with several diseases. This study describes how obesity can be diagnosed, in which way the gut flora can affect obesity, if the gut flora is genetically influenced or not, and how it differs between individuals with obesity and obesity-related diseases. Conclusions of the study are that both the bacterial strains Bacteriodetes and Firmicutes probably have a connection to obesity. The intestinal flora is probably also genetically related.

Emerging infectious diseases are a recurring threat to both human and animal health. Understanding the multiple causes behind the emergence of new diseases is key to the prevention of new and potentially devastating outbreaks. The list of underlying causes is long, including a variety of anthropogenic, environmental, molecular and climatic changes that promote the emergence and spread of disease. Two of these factors are central to the emergence of new diseases and receive special attention in this study. The spread of disease from wildlife to livestock and diseases that spread from animals to humans (zoonoses) are of importance as they implicated in the majority of EID events.

Metabolic diseases in dairy cows are considered to increase the risk for claw lesions, most of all laminitis, sole haemorrhages and sole ulcers, but also to increase the risk for environmental claw lesions. The aim of this study was to compare claw health in 27 Swedish dairy farms, 18 with high incidence of metabolic diseases and 9 with low incidence. Data on claw health status was retrieved from recordings at routine claw trimmings and analysed on herd level regarding the prevalence of: any lesion, interdigital dermatitis, heel-horn erosion, sole haemorrhages, sole ulcer, lameness, abnormal claw shape, and other diseases (abscess in the white line, limb disorders, double sole, laminitic groove, white line disease, interdigital phlegmon, interdigital hyperplasia, toe abscess and verucose dermatitis). Mean prevalence of any lesion for herds with low incidence of metabolic diseases was 48 % and in herds with high incidence 41 %, and there was no statistical difference between the two groups. Mean prevalence for interdigital dermatitis was 2,0 % and 6.4 % in the low and high incidence groups, respectively (p.

Hydropericardium or pericardial effusion (PE) is the accumulation of fluid in the pericardial sac and is often secondary to pericardial diseases or diseases related to the heart. It is unusual with clinically relevant pericardial diseases in cats but pericardial effusion is the most common one. Since PE causes serious symptoms and may lead to death it is important with a quick diagnosis and treatment. PE can be acute and cause cardiac tamponade, which gives severe clinical signs. Cardiac tamponade needs to be treated immediately or else the cat will die from cardiogenic chock. More common is chronic PE where the fluid accumulates during a longer period of time and the pericardial sac stretches.

Since early civilization, herbal tea has been used as remedies for an abundance of different diseases. Among these herbal remedies, peppermint (Mentha piperita) was used for its effect on bowel related ailments. Even though peppermint was not described until late 17th century, it has been used since 1000 years before Christ by the Egyptians. In present day it is still considered a remedy for stomach pain etcetera, and much of the recent research is concentrated on the positive effects of peppermint on pain and bowel diseases. A large section of the research is also reviewing positive effects of peppermint on cancer, allergy and also on its potential as antibacterial agent.

Hydropericardium or pericardial effusion (PE) is the accumulation of fluid in the pericardial sac and is often secondary to pericardial diseases or diseases related to the heart. It is unusual with clinically relevant pericardial diseases in cats but pericardial effusion is the most common one. Since PE causes serious symptoms and may lead to death it is important with a quick diagnosis and treatment. PE can be acute and cause cardiac tamponade, which gives severe clinical signs. Cardiac tamponade needs to be treated immediately or else the cat will die from cardiogenic chock. More common is chronic PE where the fluid accumulates during a longer period of time and the pericardial sac stretches.

A zoonosis is a disease or infection that is naturally transmitted between vertebrate animals and humans. The majority of infectious diseases that affect humans are zoonoses. Environments where wild animals, domestic animals and humans live in close proximity with no or small boundaries in the ecological system favor the transmission of diseases between animals and humans. The above described situation is more common in low income countries, where humans and animals live in high density and zoonoses are generally more common. The study was conducted in Cambodia.

The aim of this study was to document treatments of sick and injured reindeer in Tornedalen and the area around Gällivare. I also wanted to find out the basis for the treatments, how they are considered to work and if they agree with established veterinary science. The occurrence of ?folk remedies? was especially studied. In all, 40 reindeer owners were interviewed.

Rabbits, Oryctolagos cuniculus, rapidly increases as pets. During the right circumstances, rabbits are friendly, social and playful. A rabbit who shows an abnormal behavior should always be examined by a veterinary, though there is almost always a medical problem. This essay is a result of a literature studie with the aim to find the prophylactic measures that may give pet rabbits a more healthy life. Rabbits have got a lot of common health problems, including dental, skin and gastrointestinal problems.