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Summary: Bovine tuberculosis is a contagious and zoonotic disease of animals and humans. In Europe, the number of reported cases of tuberculosis has decreased. Equidae are relatively rarely infected even in endemic areas. The presented report describes a case of chronic Mycobacterium bovis tuberculosis in a 30‐year‐old female donkey. The donkey initially presented with persistent lymphadenopathy; however, as the disease progressed, weight loss became apparent. To the authors' knowledge, this is the second confirmed case of tuberculosis in a donkey in Europe. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article presents the case of asymptomatic renal hypoplasia and ectopy as an incidental finding in a nine-year-old Polish Thorough-Warmblood-Mixed-Bred mare. The abnormal kidney position was initially diagnosed during the rectal examination (the left kidney was not palpable). The finding was confirmed in the transcutaneous abdominal ultrasonographic examination. The left kidney was located between the middle and lower third of the abdominal cavity in the left flank, medial to the spleen, under the L1–L2 vertebrae. It was smaller than normal, more round in shape and its inner echostructure was poorly defined. The right kidney was located anatomically and had normal dimensions. The complete blood count, serum biochemistry and complete urinalysis revealed normal urinary tract function. Congenital urinary tract defects, particularly those affecting the kidneys, are rare in horses. They are most commonly described in foals and young horses. To the authors' best knowledge, renal ectopy has not been described in horses, while bilateral renal hypoplasia has been described in four horses with signs of kidney failure. Renal ectopy is a congenital anomaly characterised by abnormal organ location. Studies suggest that a developmental anomaly affecting one kidney is often accompanied by other disorders. In this case, renal ectopy was accompanied by renal hypoplasia, associated with incomplete organ development. The cause of congenital urinary tract disorders has not been fully determined. It is speculated that teratogenic drugs used either during pregnancy or to treat intrapartum uterus infections or systemic infections may result in offspring urinary tract anomalies. Due to the fact that the ultrasonographic findings of many renal pathological deformations are unspecific, a renal biopsy and histopathologic assessment of the collected specimen are needed to determine the type of structural lesion. The limitation of the presented case study is the absence of either a biopsy and histopathologic tissue examination as owner's consent could not be obtained for these procedures. Hence, the type and degree of parenchymal lesions could not be determined definitively, and the presumptive diagnosis was based on the ultrasonographic examination. In the presented mare, the incorrect kidney location and structure did not give any clinical symptoms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

14-year old Polish half bred mare, with a three months history of weight loss and recurrent colic was referred to the clinic. A series of diagnostic tests were performed, including glucose absorption test, abdominal ultrasound examination, abdominocentesis, endoscopy with duodenum biopsy and a rectal biopsy. Complete examination revealed a moderate inflammatory infiltrate consisting of lymphocytes and plasma cells in the lamina propria in large intestine and peritonitis. The horse was treated with dexamethasone, anthelmintics and a proper diet. The mare initially responded well to the medication course. Clinical signs of colic reappeared during treatment, and there was no response to analgesic and antispasmodic drugs. The owner elected euthanasia. Histopathology at necropsy confirmed progression of lymphocytic-plasmacytic enteritis in all parts of intestine. In the presented horse, there was an exacerbation of the disease after arrival at the Clinic, which may be associated with the development of the disease or its earlier asymptomatic advance. Due to the diagnostic difficulties associated with this condition, it may be undiagnosed in a large number of horses suffering from recurrent colic and weight loss. The exact cause and predisposition to develop IBD is not diagnosed in all horses. Further studies are needed to enable early diagnosis and the introduction of an effective treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Equine asthma syndrome is an allergic, inflammatory airway disease that usually affects older horses. Respiratory acidosis is an acid-base imbalance caused by alveolar hypoventilation. The acid-base balance may be assessed using the Henderson-Hasselbalch equation as well as the Stewart model. The authors hypothesized that systemic respiratory acidosis changes the ionic concentrations affecting water dissociation. The study group included 16 Warmblood, mixed breed horses of both sexes with a history of severe equine asthma, and 10 healthy horses were used as controls. Arterial and venous blood were collected from all the horses. The pH, pO 2 , and pCO 2 and HCO 3- were assessed in the arterial blood. Na, K, Cl, albumin, and P inorganic (P i ) were assessed in the venous blood. The obtained results were used to calculate the anion gap (AG), modified AG, actual strong ion difference (SID a ), weak non-volatile acids, and effective strong ion difference (SID e ) values for all the horses. A systemic, compensatory respiratory acidosis was diagnosed in the study group. The concentration of Na in the blood serum in the study group was significantly higher, whereas the concentration of Cl was significantly lower than the values in the control group. The SID a and SID e values calculated in the horses from the study group were significantly higher than those in the control group. Significantly higher SID a and SID e values confirm the presence of ionic changes that affect water dissociation in the course of respiratory acidosis in horses. The SID a and SID e values may be useful in the diagnosis and treatment of respiratory acidosis in horses, which warrant further investigation., (Copyright © 2019 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)