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In the Nordic countries, antimicrobial use in animals and the prevalence of antimicrobial resistance are among the lowest in Europe. The network "Nordic Vets Against AMR" organized a meeting in 2021, with key actors including representatives from universities, veterinary authorities and veterinary organizations in Finland, Norway and Sweden. This paper reflects the most important discussions on education, research, policy and future perspectives, including the experiences of these countries. It concludes that Nordic veterinarians are well placed to lead the way in the fight against antimicrobial resistance and that the sharing of experiences can support colleagues in other countries. Veterinary education must go hand in hand with research activities and continuously updated guidelines and legislation. There is also a need for postgraduate training on antimicrobial resistance and prudent antimicrobial use. The veterinary profession must, by any means necessary, protect the efficiency of antimicrobials for the sake of animal health, animal welfare and productivity, as well as public health. While restrictive use of antimicrobials is crucial, the ability of veterinarians to use this medical tool is also important for the sake of animal welfare and global food security. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A study was made on causes of lower urinary tract disease in cats, and to investigate whether demographic data and factors related to husbandry might influence the occurrence of a particular diagnosis. The study was a prospective, descriptive, and analytical study of primary cases of feline lower urinary tract disease (FLUTD) in Norway. Only cats sampled by cystocentesis were included in the present study. Of the 119 cats included, 28.6% were diagnosed with obstructive FLUTD. The majority of cats were diagnosed with feline idiopathic cystitis (FIC) (55.5%). Urethral plugs were the second most common diagnosis (21.0%), whereas bacterial cystitis and urolithiasis each were diagnosed in 11.8%. Nearly one-third (28.6%) of the cats diagnosed with urolithiasis had significant bacteriuria. Thus, significant bacteriuria was diagnosed in a total of 15.1% of the cats. There were no significant differences in the urine specific gravity, pH and amount of epithelial cells in the urine sediment in the different aetiological categories of FLUTD. There was a higher amount of red blood cells in the urine sediment in cats diagnosed with urethral plugs and urolithiasis, whereas cats with bacterial cystitis and urolithiasis had a higher amount of white blood cells in their sediment. Regarding demographic data and factors related to husbandry, cats diagnosed with FLUTD were more often males and kept strictly indoors, when compared with a ‘reference population’. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Until 2010 the last verified incidence of European foulbrood caused by the bacteria Melissococcus plutonius'in Norway dates back to 1980 when it was found in one apiary. EFB is listed as a notifiable disease in Norway and suspicion of EFB should be reported to the Norwegian Food safety Authority. In July 2010 EFB was suspected in several apiaries and samples analyzed at the Norwegian school of veterinary science verified the presence of M. Plutonius in the samples. The goal of the strategy chosen to fight the disease has been to eradicate M. Plutonius in Norwegian apiaries. Testing positive for M. plutoniusin or more colonies/apiariesentails destruction of all colonies and destruction/disinfection of all beekeeping equipment. In 2010 about 3000 colonies belonging to 45 beekeepers were destroyed. Economical compensation paid to the beekeepers for the sanitation in 2010 was about 1000- 1.500 000 €. In 2011, by May 11, M. Plutonius has been found in the apiaries of 8 beekeepers. These 8 beekeepers have about 400 colonies and areal located with in the area of the out break in 2010. In 2010 colonies were inspected for clinical symptoms and a brood comb were sent for analyses using a standard PCR technique on larvae. In 2011 a more sensitive PCR on wax debris has been used which allows sampling on the levels of apiaries. Whether the strategy to minimize the distribution and prevalence of EFB is successful or not will be known within the next few years. It is not known whether M. Plutonius in Norway belong to the same clone, or if several genetically different strains are involved. A number of Norwegian M. Plutonius is lates will be sequenced and provide answer on this question. The virulence of the Norwegian M. Plutonius strain (s) will be evaluated and compared with other high and low virulent strains. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cleaner wrasse eat sea lice (Lepeophtheirus salmonis) directly from the skin of the Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar). To reduce harvest from the wild wrasse populations and to increase the quality and availability of cleaner fish, lumpfish (Cyclopterus lumpus) have been increasingly developed as a service industry to the farming of Atlantic salmon in the last few years. Acquired resistance against the de-lousing chemicals is occuring at an increasing speed particularly in mid- and western-Norway has made the farming of lumpfish more important in the control of the sea lice infestations in farmed Atlantic salmon. Outbreaks of disease in farmed lumpfish occur in all its life stages. Some outbreaks of disease caused by pathogenic bacteria are resulting in high mortality while other bacteria cause lower but more chronic mortality. To reduce the mortality and improve the health of farmed lumpfish microbial enhancement with a probiotic bath approach has been tested. In five trials at two lumpfish aquaculture facilities in Norway, two probiotic isolates of Aliivibrio bacteria were added to the rearing water. The lumpfish were bathed in the probiotic bacteria in 10–30 min, the cfu (colony-forming units) of probiotic bacteria in the rearing water varied from 7.5 × 105 to 5 × 107/mL. The average weights of the lumpfish at time of bathing were from 0.025 g to 16.3 g in the various trials. The lumpfish were observed and sampled from 45 to 87 days after bathing. Growth, ulcers and survival were recorded. The survival of lumpfish in trials 3, 4 and 5 in which the fish were bathed 1 to 2 weeks before vaccination was significantly better for the probiotic exposed groups compared to the control groups. In trials 4 and 5, a natural outbreak of disease caused by Moritella viscosa occurred. The groups exposed to probiotic bacteria had significantly fewer ulcers than the control groups. The growth of the fish exposed to probiotic bacteria at weight 0.025 g was significantly better in the bathed group compared to the controls. In three trials the growth of the probiotic exposed lumpfish one to two weeks before vaccination was also higher than non-exposed fish. Bathing of lumpfish with two Aliivibrio bacteria increased growth and made the fish more resistant to bacterial diseases. To our knowledge, this is the first scientific report of probiotic bacteria applied to lumpfish. • Bathing lumpfish with probiotic bacteria for the first time • Improved robustness against M. viscosa for lumpfish after bathing with probiotic Aliivibrio spp. • Important contribution to make farming of lumpfish more sustainable and with improved animal welfare. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rapeseed meal is a sustainable feed ingredient that can be used as an alternative to imported soybean meal in European pig production. The gut microbiota plays an important role on pig physiology and health but the impact on microbiota of using rapeseed in diets is still not well known. In this study, 84 purebred Norwegian Landrace pigs with average initial weight of 25 kg were divided into two groups and fed for approximately three months with either a control diet containing soybean meal (CON) or a high-fiber experimental diet where 20% rapeseed meal (RSF) was included as an alternative to soybean meal in CON. The composition and function of microbiome in gut digesta samples were analyzed by performing 16S rRNA gene sequencing and culturing of bacteria. The microbiota diversity and composition were similar between the dietary treatments; however, relative abundance of a variety of bacterial groups and imputed functions of microbiome in the ileum and large intestine were altered when the pigs were fed with a rapeseed-based diet. It was notable that the immune-inducing bacterial group Mucispirillum and anti-inflammatory stimulating bacteria Lachnospira were more abundant in the ileum and large intestine of the RSF group, respectively. Moreover, there was a higher abundance of major amino acid fermenters and amylolytic bacteria in the CON group and a high abundance of putative short chain fatty acid producers in RSF group. In comparison with the CON group, the gut microbiome of RSF group possessed an enhanced potential for carbohydrate and energy metabolism and a reduced potential for bacterial pathogenicity-related pathways.

Piscirickettsiosis, caused by the intracellular Gram-negative bacteria Piscirickettsia salmonis, is at present the most devastating disease in the Chilean salmon industry. The aim of this study was to analyse disease development after challenge with a P. salmonis strain (EM90-like) under a controlled environment by comparing intraperitoneal challenge with cohabitation challenge. The P. salmonis EM90-like isolate was cultured in a liquid medium for the challenge of 400 Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) smolts. Cumulative mortality was registered, necropsy was performed, and bacterial distribution in the tissues and histopathological changes were analysed. The results revealed a similar progression of the disease for the two different challenge models. Pathological and histopathological changes became more visible during the development of the clinical phase of the disease. Bacterial DNA was identified in all the analysed tissues indicating a systemic infection. Bacterial tropism to visceral organs was demonstrated by real-time quantitative PCR and immunohistochemistry. Better knowledge of disease development during P. salmonis infection may contribute to further development of challenge models that mimic the field situation during piscirickettsiosis outbreaks. The models can be used to develop and test future preventive measures against the disease., (© 2019 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

An outbreak of disease characterized by skin ulcers, fin rot and mortality was observed a few days after the transfer of Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) from a freshwater smolt production facility to a land-based seawater post-smolt site. Dead and moribund fish had severe skin and muscle ulcers, often 2-6 cm wide, particularly caudal to the pectoral fins. Microscopic examination of smears from ulcers and head kidney identified long, slender Gram-negative rods. Histopathological analysis revealed abundance of long, slender Tenacibaculum-like bacteria in ulcers and affected fins. Genetic characterization using multilocus sequence analysis (MLSA) of seven housekeeping genes, including atpA, dnaK, glyA, gyrB, infB, rlmN and tgt, revealed that the isolates obtained during the outbreak were all clustered with the Tenacibaculum dicentrarchi-type strain (USC39/09 T ) from Spain. Two bath challenge experiments with Atlantic salmon and an isolate of T. dicentrarchi from the outbreak were performed. No disease or mortality was observed in the first trial. In the second trial with a higher challenge dose of T. dicentrarchi and longer challenge time, we got 100% mortality within 48 hr. This is the first reported outbreak of disease caused by T. dicentrarchi in Norwegian farmed Atlantic salmon., (© 2019 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

Flavobacterium psychrophilum is the causative agent of the recognized diseases 'bacterial coldwater disease' and 'rainbow trout fry syndrome' and is found in many farmed freshwater and marine fish species. In Norway, the bacterium has mainly been isolated from Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar L.) and brown trout (Salmo trutta L.). In the present study, 26 isolates from Norwegian farmed salmonids were examined. All isolates were tested for susceptibility towards various antibacterial drugs by the disk diffusion method, and minimum inhibitory concentration values for oxolinic acid and flumequine were established for selected isolates. All isolates from rainbow trout displayed reduced susceptibility towards quinolones, while brown trout and Atlantic salmon isolates were susceptible. The quinolone resistance determining regions (QRDRs) of the gyrA, gyrB, parC, and parE genes were sequenced. Sequence analysis of the QRDR of gyrA in quinolone resistant isolates revealed a threonine:arginine amino acid substitution at position 82 in all 16 isolates from Norwegian rainbow trout and a single reference strain isolated from rainbow trout in Sweden. No evidence for plasmid-mediated quinolone resistance was found in any of the isolates. Pulsed-field gel electrophoresis and phylogenetic analysis of parC and gyrB sequences indicate a clonal relationship between rainbow trout isolates.

Knowledge of the occurrence of bacteriuria in adult, healthy cats is scarce in the scientific literature. A study was designed to investigate the occurrence of bacteriuria in healthy cats without current or previous signs of lower urinary tract disease. The study included 108 cats, 53 males (49.5%) and 55 females (50.5%). The cats ranged in age between 7 months and 18 years, with a mean age of 4.4 years and a median age of 4.0 years. Urine was obtained by cystocentesis from all the cats, and was submitted for bacteriological analyses. Urine and urine sediment was cultured on separate blood agar plates for quantification and species identification by standard procedures. Detection of ≥10(3)colony forming units (cfu) per ml urine was defined as significant bacteriuria. Significant bacteriuria exceeding 10(5) cfu/ml was detected in one sample with a combination of Enterococcus species and Staphylococcus species. There was no bacterial growth in the urine samples from 107 cats (99.1%). Results from our study indicate that the prevalence of bacteriuria in clinically healthy, adult cats is low. Also, that contamination of samples is rare when urine is collected by cystocentesis., (Copyright © 2011 ISFM and AAFP. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Feline lower urinary tract disease (FLUTD) is considered to be one of the most common diagnoses in feline patients. Several authors have concluded that feline idiopathic cystitis is the most common cause of FLUTD, whereas infectious cystitis is diagnosed in only 2% of the cases. In the period from January 2003 to February 2005, 134 cats that presented with signs of lower urinary tract disorders were included in a study at the Norwegian School of Veterinary Science. Ninety-seven percent were first opinion cases. All the cats went through a physical examination, and blood samples were collected for haematology and clinical chemistry. The urine analysis included urine stix, specific gravity, microscopic examination of the sediment and microbiological culturing. The urine samples were collected as voided mid-stream urine samples, by catheter or by cystocentesis and the method used was registered. Of the 134 cats included in the study, 37% were diagnosed as having obstructive and 63% as having non-obstructive FLUTD. In total 44 cats (33%) were diagnosed with bacteriuria, exceeding 10(3) colony forming units per millilitre (cfu/ml) and 33 (25%) of these cats had bacterial growth exceeding 10(4) cfu/ml, either alone or in combination with crystals and/or uroliths. Six cats (18%) with bacterial growth exceeding 10(4) cfu/ml were older than 8 years. No significant difference was found between the sampling methods performed with regard to bacteriuria. This study indicates that bacteriuria may have been underdiagnosed in Norwegian cats with clinical signs of FLUTD. It also confirms the importance of microbiological culturing in first opinion cases with FLUTD and that a skilled operator can get representative samples regardless the choice of method.