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Background: Vaccination of farmed minks against canine distemper virus (CDV) has proved to be very effective. In the Netherlands, vaccination of farmed minks against CDV was mandatory until the closure of the local agricultural product boards at the end of 2014. Objectives: To describe the first documented outbreaks of CD in Dutch mink farms since the closure of the agricultural product boards, as well as an outbreak in Belgium, with special attention to genotyping of the isolates. Methods: A full post-mortem was performed on three carcasses per submission from farms A–C and on two carcasses from farm D. Molecular detection with subsequent typing was performed on eleven samples originating from four different farms. To assess genetic diversity partial sequences of the H gene of CDV were compared based on phylogenetic analysis. Results: In 2017, there was a sudden series of CD outbreaks affecting four mink farms in the Netherlands (A–C) and Belgium (D). Gross, histologic and immunohistochemical findings were similar. There was a degree of genetic similarity between the viruses on farms A and D (98.5%) and between the viruses on farms B and C (97.3%), but the viruses from farms A and D belonged to a different clade than the viruses from farms B and C. Higher mortalities were reported in white and pastel minks. Conclusions: Findings indicated that the difference in severity of the outbreaks was partially related to the genetic composition of the farm populations. Vaccination against CDV on Dutch and Belgian mink farms seems warranted.

This is the first extensive report on the identification and characterization of Avibacterium paragallinarum (AVP) isolates obtained from outbreaks of infectious coryza (IC) in IC-vaccinated layer flocks from Sonora State in Mexico. Isolates obtained from IC outbreaks during the years 2007, 2014, 2015, 2017, and 2019 were identified by conventional PCR test and 16S rRNA gene analysis, serotyped by Page serotyping and genotyped by the recently described partial sequence analysis of the HPG2 region. Furthermore, antimicrobial susceptibility profiles were determined by a recently improved minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) test. The conventional PCR test and the 16S rRNA analyses confirmed the isolates as AVP. Serotyping results showed the involvement of isolates belonging to serotypes A, B, and C in the IC outbreaks. Genotyping of the HPG2 region revealed the presence of sequence type (ST)1, ST4, and ST11, of which the latter has also been identified in Europe. The MIC susceptibility test showed that all tested isolates were susceptible for the majority of tested antimicrobials, including erythromycin and tetracycline, which are important antibiotics for the treatment of IC. The IC situation in Sonora State, Mexico, is complex because of the presence of serotypes A, B, and C. This finding emphasizes the importance of biosecurity in combination with the application of the most optimal vaccination programs in the control of IC in Sonora State, Mexico.

Background The emerging skin disease fur animal epidemic necrotic pyoderma (FENP) has been attributed to infection with Arcanobacterium phocae (ABP). The exact pathogenesis and risk factors of FENP have yet to be elucidated. Animals Three mink from each of three different mink farms (A–C) with postvaccination skin wounds at the vaccination site and six mink from an unaffected mink farm (D) that had used the same vaccine batch and vaccination site (hind leg). Methods and results All minks from farms A–C had severe necrotizing to necropurulent dermatitis where they were vaccinated intramuscularly in the hind leg. ABP was the sole bacterium cultured from six of nine wounds. Using 16S–23S rDNA intergenic spacer region and BOX-PCR, the ABP isolates from these wounds were indistinguishable from isolates originating from several cases of FENP. Conclusions and clinical importance This is the first report of FENP-like lesions at the site of vaccination, in the days following the procedure, associated with ABP. At farms with FENP vaccination, procedures should be considered carefully.