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A three year old nulliparous Boerboel bitch presented with complaints of fever and inappetence six weeks after an elective caesarean section was diagnosed with an extrauterine foetus. A per-cutaneous abdominal ultrasound revealed a foetal sac showing a well-developed skeletal structure and the absence of foetal movement or heartbeat. During laparotomy, a foetal sac containing a dead foetus was located between the spleen and the stomach. The foetal sac was excised following ligation of its mesenteric attachment to the spleen. The previously operated uterus was observed to have involuted but revealed a small bud observed on the middle portion of the left uterine horn. The histological findings of the foetal sac revealed fibro-adipose tissue with numerous congested vessels. It was concluded that the Boerboel bitch had a secondary abdominal ectopic pregnancy and recommended that owing to the difficulty of diagnosing the condition before or during routine elective caesarean surgery, post-operative abdominal ultrasound would have been instructive.

Tamoxifen is a non-steroidal, anti-estrogenic and selective estrogen receptor modulator commonly used as adjuvant chemotherapy in humans with breast cancer and occasionally in dogs following mastectomy. This report presents a case of cystic endometrial hyperplasia-pyometra in a dog following oral administration of the Tamoxifen. A 4-year-old intact nulliparous Boerboel bitch presented at Veterinary Teaching Hospital, Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta. It was diagnosed with mammary carcinoma of the right cranial lumbar mammary gland. Mastectomy was performed followed by oral administration of Tamoxifen (10mg daily) for six weeks as adjunct chemotherapy. Eight weeks after, the owner reported that the bitch was lethargic, anorexic and had a purulent vaginal discharge. Abdominal ultrasound revealed cystic endometrial hyperplasia. Results of complete blood counts showed neutrophilic (absolute neutrophil count = 19.5×10³ /L) leukocytosis (total leukocyte count = 24.9X10³ /L), while bacterial culture yielded moderate growth of Staphylococcus aureus, which was sensitive to Ciprofloxacin, Ofloxacin, Sparfloxacin and Gentamycin. The bitch was treated with 400µg of Misoprostol and 500mg of Ciprofloxacin twice daily for two weeks. Ovariohysterectomy (OVH) was performed using a ventral midline approach when no significant improvement was observed from medical treatment. The dog improved significantly after ovariohysterectomy and was discharged one week after OVH. It was concluded that, although tamoxifen is routinely used as adjuvant chemotherapy following mastectomy, more research is required to evaluate its safety in intact bitches. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Resistance to trypanocidal drugs or relapse of infection poses a big challenge to the effective treatment of trypanosomosis. This study investigated the efficacy and effect of multiple daily doses of diminazene aceturate (DA) in Nigerian indigenous dogs (NID) experimentally infected with Trypanosoma congolense (2.5 x 105). Fifteen NID of both sexes and mean weight of 9.4± 0.98 kg were randomly divided into 3 equal groups. Group A dogs were infected but not treated. Groups B and C were infected with T. congolense, and treated with single and four multiple daily divided doses of 3.5 mg/kg of DA, respectively. Parasitaemia was detected in the infected dogs on day 10 post infection (pi) and treatment was instituted in Groups B and C dogs on day 17 pi. Parasitaemia was cleared on days 10 and 8 post-treatment in Groups B and C respectively. There was an increase in urea, creatinine, aminotransferase and aspartate aminotransferase levels in all the groups while, alkaline phosphatase, Packed Cell Volume and Red Blood Cells count decreased. There was relapse of infection in treated groups on day 25 post- treatment. We concluded that four multiple daily divided doses of DA (3.5 mg/kg) were not effective in preventing relapse of T. congolense infection in NID. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Animal African Trypanosomosis (AAT) is a devastating protozoan disease of animal and humans caused by Trypanosoma spp. resulting in a great economic loss in the livestock industries, in the sub-Saharan Africa. A survey for canine trypanosomosis was carried out in Warri, Uvwie and Okpe Local Government Areas of Delta State, using molecular technique. A total of 110 dogs of different ages and sexes were randomly screened for trypanosome in Okpe (19), Uvwie (45) and Warri South (41) Local Government Areas of Delta State. Extracted DNA samples were subjected to polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test using generic primers set that target the internal transcribes spacer 1 (ITS 1) (CF:5'-CCGGAAGTTCACCGATATTG-3' and BR: 5'-TGCTGCGTTCTTCAACGAA-3') of ribosomal DNA (rDNA). The gel electrophoresis of the ITS1 PCR products of 5 samples revealed band sizes of 700 bp which corresponded with the expected band size of Trypanosoma congolense. One (5%) dog from Okpe was positive while Uvwie and Warri south recorded 2 (4.3%) and 2 (4.7%) positives, respectively. The prevalence was significantly higher in Nigerian indigenous dogs than exotic breeds of dogs. Overall prevalence was 5 (4.5%). We concluded that canine trypanosomosis is prevalent in Warri, Uvwie and Okpe Local Government Areas of Delta State. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]