Surgical site infections are a recurrent problem in veterinary medicine. A 2-5 % infection rate in clean surgery has been reported. During the last years the increase in methicillin resistant staphylococci has also taken its toll on veterinary medicine, demanding a stricter hygiene and antibiotic regime. The 2008 outbreak of methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) at the University animal hospital, Swedish University of Agriculture indicated that that the MRSA problem was now a real, possibly zoonotic problem.Since the first dog, in Sweden, was diagnosed as a carrier of methicillin resistant Staphylococcus pseudintermedius (MRSP) in a study in 2006, the infection rate by this bacterium has increased. In 2009 (January 1st - December 2nd) the National Veterinary Institute (SVA) has identified 58 samples as MRSP positive.

Conjunctival swabs from 12 cats in a Swedish animal shelter were analyzed by real-time PCR for FHV-1, Mycoplasma felis and chlamydiae. The purpose of this study was to see whether and to what extent these agents can be detected and if they were detected from cats housed in quarantine or in the adoption department. Samples were first taken upon arrival at the quarantine and then a second sample was taken two weeks after moving to the adoption department, or upon presentation of signs of disease. The cats spent the quarantine period in two separate quarantines: five in a new quarantine (quarantine A) and seven in a room in the old shelter (quarantine B). The difference between these quarantines was that in B the cats were often mixed together ant the hygiene routines were not as good as in quarantine A.

Hepatitis E virus, HEV, is a frequent causative agent behind, especially waterborne, infections in developing countries such as India. However, during the last years the number of non-travel-associated infections in industrialised countries, for example US, Germany and Sweden, has increased. The symptoms vary from mild with nausea to icterus and it can even be lethal. There are four different genotypes of HEV and many studies consider HEV infection to be a zoonosis. Scientists have by using phylogenetic analyses found great genetic similarity between strains isolated from humans, pigs and food, such as pork and liver, especially among viruses belonging to genotype 3.

Working as a veterinary nurse includes advising animal owners, helping them to make discisions through well-based facts and experience. Preemptive spaying of the healthy bitch brings many advantages and disadvantages. It leads to cessation of gonadal hormone production, and how the exact extent the surgery affects the dog is not yet fully understood. The sex hormones mainly control the reproductive system, but receptors of these hormones are found in many tissues of the body, and have complex relationships with other hormone systems. Spaying decreases the metabolism although the bitch gets an increased appetite, which enhance the risk of obesity, unless the owner restricts food intake.

Title: To build and transport brands to the Internet ? A qualitative case study of Getinge Infection Control and von Braun Sports Cars. Seminar date: 2009-06-09. Course/ subject: FÖ6016, Degree Project Undergraduate level, 15 University Credits Points (ECTS). Authors: Kristoffer Eriksson and Erik Kaplar.

Clostridium difficile is a pathogen for both humans and animals and is often associated with antibiotic-associated diarrhea. Recently, several human cases of C. difficile-infection with increased mortality and morbidity have been reported. In studies performed in different countries C. difficile has been found in meat.

During the last years, meticillin resistant Staphylococcus pseudintermedius (MRSP) have caused an increasing number of infections in Swedish dogs. MRSP is resistant against a majority of the antimicrobials available for dogs in Sweden, making it difficult to treat the infection. Our knowledge of the bacterium is limited, making it hard to handle infected dogs in a proper way. The aim of this study was to investigate for how long time dogs, who have an infection caused by MRSP, become carriers of the bacterium. Other factors like treatment with antimicrobials, the correlation between clinical symptoms and carriage, common diagnoses and institutionalization where also looked upon.

Aim: The aim of this paper was to investigate whether scientific evidence exists to improve, of students? perceived, insufficient infection control in isolation facilities in companion animal hospitals in Sweden. Material and methods: A question was emailed to the students in the last year of the animal nursing program at SLU in the spring 2012 to get their view of perceived insufficient infection control. A literature study was thereafter preformed using the search engine Web of Knowledge. Results: The students reported several perceived shortcomings which were divided into five categories: basal hygiene, isolation routines, cleaning and disinfection, patient flow and other. Studies supporting that the shortcomings perceived by the students also exist in human health care and to some extent in animal clinics and hospitals were found. Furthermore, scientific evidence that improved hand hygiene, glove procedures and cleaning and disinfection reduces the risk of nosocomial infections in humans was reported. Conclusion: There is not a lot of research performed in the area of infection control in animal nursing.

Neospora caninum is an intracellular parasite that was first recognized in dogs in 1984. The parasite is now one of the most commonly diagnosed infectious causes of abortion in cattle word wide. N. caninum is transmitted to cattle in two ways. They may be infected from eating food contaminated with oocysts from a definitive host or they may be infected in utero from an infected mother. The infection is transmitted efficiently from cow to her offspring and this can occur for generations.

Magnesium is an essential mineral that is important for several physiologic and biochemical processes in the body. Deficiency of magnesium is mainly associated with grass tetany, but can also appear in cows during the indoor period. Since long it is known that potassium has a negative effect on the absorption of magnesium. Due to the fact that potassium fertilisation leads to a higher potassium content in forage, it is of interest to study interactions of potassium on the magnesium balance in dairy cows. There are few studies about magnesium feeding to dairy cows in Sweden and the purpose of this study was to investigate how much magnesium and from which feed-sources dairy cows in Sweden get their magnesium. Data was collected from seven farms in the northern part of Uppland and from seven farms in Skaraborg in Sweden.

Canine parvovirus is associated with two disorders: enteritis, which is common, and myocarditis, which is rare. Prominent clinical signs of parvovirus enteritis are vomiting, diarrhea and rapid dehydration. Canine parvovirus type 2 (CPV-2) is very contagious. When CPV-2 first emerged it had high rates of mortality, but later studies have shown that most infections are self-limiting and do not require veterinary care. Mortality rates vary greatly, and therefore it is important to determine risk factors for developing severe canine parvovirus enteritis.

African swine fever, ASF, was first described 1921, in Kenya. The virus has thereafter spread through many African countries as well as in Europe, Asia, South- and Central America. The virus is spread via three different cycles, of which one is sylvatic and includes warthogs and soft ticks. The other two are between domestic pigs and the one most common one is caused by humans, who not always realize the seriousness of precautions. The infection manifests as hemorrhagic fever, but can also be more or less unnoticed. The aim of this study was to use molecular tools to detect and partly genetically characterize ASFV both in soft ticks and in serum from domestic pigs in Uganda. Comparing viruses detected in ticks with those detected in domestic pigs I also wanted to investigate possible links between the sylvatic and domestic cycle.

It has been observed by both onion producers and a plant protection advisor on Öland (an island off the east coast of Sweden) that basal rot is the largest contributory factor to reduced onion quality and yield. Basal rot is mainly caused by species of Fusarium fungi. The aim of this study was to: a) investigate which species of Fusarium that can be found in onion produced on Öland, b) describe the symptoms caused by the different Fusarium fungi found and c) explore, through interviews with the onion producers on Öland, the mechanisms that may be involved in the observed increase in basal rot.Onion bulbs (Allium cepa) were sampled on two occasions. In total 181 onions from 11 different fields were analysed. In addition, eight onion producers were interviewed.

Infection with intestinal parasites can in many cases be the reason for decreased performance or production. The gastro-intestinal nematode, Ostertagia ostertagi, and the lungworm, Dictyocaulus viviparus, are the most pathogenic nematodes of cattle and severe infection can lead to death. They have both a direct lifecycle and on the pasture the parasites spread as freeliving worms. The parasites are mainly a problem for the first season grazers. They have not developed immunity against the parasites and are therefor more sensitive to parasite infections.

Rotavirus causes diarrhea in young mammals all over the world, including infant humans. The diarrhea leads to severe dehydration that can be fatal if left untreated. The dehydration can be treated with fluid therapy and the infection heals itself. Despite the relatively easy treatment half a million children under the age of five dies every year due to diarrhea caused by rotavirus. Rotavirus sorts into the family Reoviridae and is a double-stranded RNA virus with a segmented genome.