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Genotype 2 strains of Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome Virus (PRRSV-2) have been reported sporadically in Europe. Even if, PRRSV-2 reported to be genetically homogenous in Europe due to the introduction of an MLV vaccine strain, independent introductions of PRRSV-2 field strains have been reported. The aim of the present study was to report the complete genome sequence and evaluate the histopathological lesions of a PRRSV-2 strain, isolated for the first time in Greece. During a routine blood sampling in a commercial pig farm, the results revealed positive samples in weaners of 40-60 days for the PRRSV-2, using real-time polymerase chain reaction. The clinical picture was characterized from respiratory symptoms in weaners, as well as coughing and poor performance at finishing stage and less than 3% mortality rate from weaning stage to finishing stage. The use of ORF5 for PRRSV phylogenetic analysis of the isolated PRRSV strain, named "x1544-1 strain", was successfully determined, belonging to the genotype PRRSV-2. Comparison of the obtained sequence revealed nucleotide sequence identity >98% with PRRSV-2 strain VR2332 and other related strains from Denmark and China. The histopathological evaluation revealed diffuse interstitial pneumonia, multifocal interstitial nephritis, while in the lymphoid organs, follicular and paracortical hyperplasia, coexisting with necrosis and depletion of germ cells were detected. The results of current study undersign the importance for veterinary practitioners to have up-to-date access to phylogenetic data linked to phenotypic information to follow-up the control and prevention strategies against PRRSV.

Hemorrhagic pneumonia can be a major cause of mortality in farmed mink in the fall. In its classic form, hemorrhagic pneumonia is caused by the bacterium Pseudomonas aeruginosa. In recent years, however, outbreaks of this type of pneumonia that are associated with hemolytic Escherichia coli have also occurred in farmed mink. The purpose of this study was to compare histological lesions of acute hemorrhagic pneumonia associated with both P. aeruginosa and E. coli in mink, including a description of tissue distribution of pathogens, in an attempt to differentiate between the 2 disease entities based on histopathology. The study included material submitted for diagnostic investigation to the National Veterinary Institute in Denmark from 2006 to 2009. Altogether, 19 cases of hemorrhagic pneumonia with a pure lung culture of P. aeruginosa and 18 cases of hemorrhagic pneumonia with a pure lung culture of E. coli were examined. Formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded lung tissue obtained from the mink was examined by histology and fluorescence in-situ hybridization (FISH). It was possible to detect a slight histological difference between hemorrhagic pneumonia caused by P. aeruginosa and by E. coli, as P. aeruginosa was most often found surrounding blood vessels and lining the alveoli, while E. coli showed a more diffuse distribution in the lung tissue. Furthermore, P. aeruginosa often elicited a very hemorrhagic response in the lung, while infection with E. coli was associated with a higher frequency of alveolar edema and mild lymphoid cuffing in the lungs.

Hemorrhagic pneumonia is an acute and fatal disease of farmed mink caused by Pseudomonas aeruginosa. The pathogenesis of this disease has not yet been resolved. Mink are the only animals known to be susceptible to acute, contagious, and fatal lung infections caused by P. aeruginosa. The purpose of this study was to investigate the correlation between dose-response and season of infection and to clarify whether Danish mink are carriers of P. aeruginosa on their nasal mucosa during the season for hemorrhagic pneumonia. To elucidate the pathogenesis of the disease, an infectious dose-response trial was carried out on adult mink and mink kits, both in the season for hemorrhagic pneumonia (November) as well as out of season (July). It proved difficult to infect mink via the intra-nasal route. Only 4 out of 60 infected mink developed clinical disease and were euthanized, all of them in November, illustrating that predisposing factors in the mink itself and not infectious dose might be crucial for disease development. We were able to culture P. aeruginosa from the nasal cavity of the clinically healthy experimental mink 8 d after inoculation. This indicated that the mink can carry P. aeruginosa on their nasal mucosa without developing the disease. It was not possible, however, to culture P. aeruginosa from the nasal cavity of clinically healthy mink obtained from farms in November, which indicates that the organism is not a normal part of the nasal mucosal flora of mink.

Background: Hemorrhagic pneumonia is a disease of farmed mink (Neovison vison) caused by Pseudomonas aeruginosa. The disease is highly seasonal in Danish mink with outbreaks occurring almost exclusively in the autumn. Human respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) has been shown to augment infection with P. aeruginosa in mice and to promote adhesion of P. aeruginosa to human respiratory cells., Findings: We tested 50 lung specimens from mink with hemorrhagic pneumonia for bovine RSV by reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and for human RSV by a commercial real-time PCR. RSV was not found., Conclusions: This study indicates that human and bovine RSV is not a major co-factor for development of hemorrhagic pneumonia in Danish mink.

During the summer of 2002 a distemper-like disease was observed in the free-ranging badger population in Denmark. It was characterised by grand seizures, abnormal behaviour and death; the badgers all had severe chronic pneumonia and some had non-suppurative encephalomyelitis. In this study, eight of the affected badgers were examined by gross pathological, histological, immunohistological, bacteriological, parasitological and virological methods, and were diagnosed with distemper; canine distemper virus was identified.

During 1 year, the association between microbiological and pathological findings in 72 lungs from calves submitted to the Danish Veterinary Laboratory for diagnostic purposes was studied. All cases were evaluated pathologically and bacteriologically, whereas only 68 cases were examined for the presence of bovine respiratory syncytial virus (BRSV), parainfluenza-3 virus (PI-3 virus) and bovine coronavirus, 62 cases for bovine viral diarrhoea virus (BVD), 45 cases for bovine adenovirus and 51 cases for mycoplasmas. Based on histopathological examination, the cases were diagnosed as fibrinous and/or necrotizing bronchopneumonia, suppurative bronchopneumonia, embolic pneumonia and others. The diagnoses were based on the dominating and most severe lesions in each lung. Haemophilus somnus, Pasteurella multocida, Actinomyces pyogenes, P. haemolytica and BRSV were the most commonly found bacterial and viral lung pathogens, respectively. Pasteurella spp. and H. somnus were often associated with the more severe fibrinonecrotizing type of bronchopneumonia, whereas BRSV was primarily detected in cases of suppurative bronchopneumonia. Mycoplasma bovis was isolated from one case only, whereas M. dispar, M. bovirhinis and Ureaplasma diversum were present, often concomitantly, in the majority of cases. Aspergillus fumigatus was isolated from one case.

A cross-sectional study was performed on the occurrence of IgG antibodies to lipid A of the Gram-negative bacterial lipopolysaccharide (LPS, endotoxin) on serum of 2272 cattle distributed on 19 Danish dairy herds. The relationship between the concentration of antibodies to lipid A (ALI) and age, herd, pregnancy rate and occurrence of mastitis, bovine virus diarrhoea (BVD), reproductive and digestive disorders, diarrhoea, pneumonia, foot disorders, various infections and traumatic udder lesions was investigated. ALI generally was low in calves and increased during their first 1.5 years of life to a steady state, which could be altered by the occurrence of disease. There were significant differences in the mean ALI among the herds (P < 0.001). High ALI was associated with a low herd pregnancy rate, to preceding occurrence of mastitis (P < 0.048), BVD (P < 0.01), reproduction diseases (P < 0.041) and digestion disorders (P < 0.064) in animals older than 2 years. The calf mortality rate was not associated to ALI and there was no correlation between the ALI in calves and their dams. The occurrence of high ALI levels on a herd basis may be an indication of increased challenge or enhanced immunological defense to Gram-negative bacteria or endotoxin.

During a two-year period, Streptococcus suis serotypes 1-8 were isolated from 108 pigs examined at the laboratory. S. suis serotypes 2 and 7 represented 75% of the isolates. S. suis serotype 7 was isolated more frequently than reported from other countries, and mostly from piglets less than 3 weeks of age. Experimental inoculation of 7-day-old piglets with S. suis serotype 7 provoked severe illness within a week in 6 out of 7 animals. By bacteriological and pathological examination it was found that S. suis serotype 7 was pathogenic to piglets, giving rise to septicemia with predilection for joints, serous membranes and meninges.

A survey was made of available data files to gain a preliminary insight into the association between environmental factors and the prevalence at slaughter of lung lesions. Herd size was the factor that showed the most predominant association with the prevalence of lung lesions. This was largely independent of the recruitment system for weanlings. There was a moderate trend toward positive association between the prevalence of lung lesions and the prevalence of other lesions. Lung lesions were weakly but significantly associated with the occurrence of infectious diarrhoea in the herd. The investigation demonstrated the feasibility of and the need for continuous epidemiological studies to identify disease determinants. Studies of the nature reported here makes it possible to define essential health factors with an accuracy that could never be achieved through clinical observations in a few herds.