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The list of standard abbreviations for JDS is available at adsa.org/jds-abbreviations-24. Nonstandard abbreviations are available in the Notes. Salmonella Dublin latent carrier cows represent a high risk for infection of newborn calves via intrauterine transmission and shedding of bacteria in feces and colostrum at calving. Vaccination of these latent carrier dams during late gestation boosts immunity against Salmonella Dublin. This could reduce the activation of the dormant bacteria during the periparturient immune dysfunction period, thereby reducing the risk of early-life infection in the offspring. Thus, the objective of this study was to evaluate the extent to which vaccinating Salmonella Dublin latent carrier cows at dry-off with a commercial live culture vaccine reduces bacterial shedding at calving and intrauterine infection to calves. To identify latent carriers, we screened 1,084 cows in 4 Michigan commercial dairy farms with a history of Salmonella Dublin. Cows were defined as latent carriers when they showed 3 consecutive positive milk antibody ELISA tests conducted every 2 mo. Subsequently, 148 latent carriers were randomly allocated to the vaccine or control group. Vaccine cows received a commercial live culture vaccine s.c. at dry-off and a booster 2 wk later. Control cows received saline s.c. at the same times. At calving, we collected fecal and colostrum samples from the dam and a precolostral serum sample from the calf. Bacterial shedding was evaluated in feces and colostrum both qualitatively and quantitatively through bacterial culture and quantitative PCR (qPCR), respectively. Intrauterine transmission was defined when a calf was positive for serum antibody ELISA at birth. Vaccination decreased the likelihood of calves being born Salmonella Dublin seropositive (relative risk [95% CI]) = 0.19 [0.04–0.84]). However, no Salmonella Dublin positive isolates were identified through either bacteriological culture or qPCR in feces or colostrum. Vaccination of Salmonella Dublin latent carrier cows at dry-off reduced intrauterine transmission to calves. Further research is warranted into the potential of vaccination to decrease vertical transmission of Salmonella Dublin in dairy farms. Additionally, the absence of Salmonella Dublin positive fecal and colostrum samples warrants further evaluation of the detection methods for identifying latent carriers or Salmonella Dublin isolation, as well as the role of latent carriers in infecting newborn calves in the maternity area at birth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Scedosporium apiospermum is an opportunistic mold that is an emerging disease in humans and animals. This report describes a case of S. apiospermum infection inciting a mural urinary bladder mass and focal peritonitis in a dog that had a history of multiple traumatic events several years prior. For diagnosis, culture followed by MALDI-ToF, PCR, and sequencing was performed to accurately identify the species. Susceptibility testing was also performed due to the inherent resistance of S. apiospermum to numerous antifungal agents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Phaeohyphomycosis is a rare but emerging disease caused by dematiaceous fungi. Here we describe the case of an immunosuppressed dog with disseminated phaeohyphomycosis secondary to Bipolaris spicifera infection. Regionally extensive infiltration of the paw pads, skin, myocardium, liver, renal interstitium and diaphragm was identified on histopathology. Candida glabrata and Fusarium oxysporum were also cultured from multiple sites post-mortem. The dog was treated with fluconazole, itraconazole, terbinafine and liposomal amphotericin B, but was euthanized due to its poor prognosis after 12 days of therapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Conidiobolomycosis is a rare fungal disease of both humans and animals, occurring mainly in tropical and subtropical climates. We describe a disseminated fungal infection in a young, apparently immunocompetent dog who initially presented for antibiotic resistant pneumonia. Histopathology and mycology identified a Conidiobolus sp ., further confirmed as Conidiobolus incongruus through DNA sequencing of D1/D2 regions. This is the first report of this species causing disease in dogs and the fifth reported infection in animals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Early phylogenetic analysis of Pythium insidiosum , the etiologic agent of pythiosis in mammals, showed the presence of a complex comprising three monophyletic clusters. Two included isolates recovered from cases of pythiosis in the Americas (Cluster I) and Asia (Cluster II), whereas the third cluster included four diverged isolates three from humans in Thailand and the USA, and one isolate from a USA spectacled bear (Cluster III). Thereafter, several phylogenetic analyses confirmed the presence of at least three monophyletic clusters, with most isolates placed in clusters I and II. Recent phylogenetic analyses using isolates from environmental sources and from human cases in India, Spain, Thailand, and dogs in the USA, however, showed the presence of two monophyletic groups each holding two sub-clusters. These studies revealed that P. insidiosum possesses different phylogenetic patterns to that described by early investigators. In this study, phylogenetic, population genetic and protein MALDI-TOF analyses of the P. insidiosum isolates in our culture collection, as well as those available in the database, showed members in the proposed cluster III and IV are phylogenetically different from that in clusters I and II. Our analyses of the complex showed a novel group holding two sub-clusters the USA (Cluster III) and the other from different world regions (Cluster IV). The data showed the original P. insidiosum cluster III is a cryptic novel species, now identified as P. periculosum. The finding of a novel species within P. insidiosum complex has direct implications in the epidemiology, diagnosis, and management of pythiosis in mammalian hosts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]