Diagnostics in Veterinary Medicine

A special issue of Veterinary Sciences (ISSN 2306-7381).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 May 2023) | Viewed by 16901

Special Issue Editors

Department of Diagnostics and Crisis Organisation, Wageningen Bioveterinary Research, 8221 RA Lelystad, The Netherlands
Interests: diagnostics; notifiable diseases; monitoring and surveillance; improvements and standardization in diagnostics

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Guest Editor
Antimicrobial Resistance in Animal Health, University of Murcia, 30100 Murcia, Spain
Interests: disease; emergent; re-emergent; surveillance; threat; wildlife; zoonosis
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

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Guest Editor
Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale del Piemonte, Liguria e Valle d’Aosta, 10154 Turin, Italy
Interests: food authenticity; frauds; illicit treatment; doping in animal; development of rapid untargeted methods
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

For a long time, diseases in animals have existed alongside human diseases and seemed only relevant when food-producing species were affected. However, times have changed, and food security is no longer the only concern in the context of veterinary diseases. Factors including the zoonotic potential of several agents, animal welfare, the role of companion animals in modern society, and antimicrobial resistance have not only increased attention to veterinary diseases but have also shaped the field of One Health. Diagnostics have proven to be key in the detection of disease, not only during outbreaks, but also in the context of monitoring and surveillance. The European Association of Veterinary Laboratory Diagnosticians (EAVLD) is a non-profit, independent organization of individual members with the mission of improving veterinary and public health by providing a platform for communication among veterinary laboratory diagnosticians and to promote the highest standards in European veterinary laboratories. In addition to veterinary diseases and their impact on human health, the EAVLD focuses on proficiency testing, quality systems and control, laboratory sample management and information management systems and innovations and new insights in diagnostic technologies. 

Heather Graham
Prof. María José Cubero Pablo
Dr. Marzia Pezzolato
Guest Editors

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Keywords

  • EAVLD
  • diagnostics
  • detection of disease
  • veterinary microbiology
  • monitoring and surveillance
  • one health
  • public health
  • sample management
  • laboratory information management systems
  • proficiency testing
  • developments in diagnostics
  • improvements and standardization in diagnostics

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Published Papers (7 papers)

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Research

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13 pages, 750 KiB  
Article
European Inter-Laboratory Proficiency Test for Dourine Antibody Detection Using the Complement Fixation Test
by Laurent Hébert, Delphine Froger, Anthony Madeline, Fanny Lecouturier, Charlène Lemans and Stephan Zientara
Vet. Sci. 2023, 10(10), 592; https://doi.org/10.3390/vetsci10100592 - 26 Sep 2023
Viewed by 1788
Abstract
Dourine is a sexually transmitted parasitic disease affecting equids. Its causative agent is referred to as Trypanosoma equiperdum and the prescribed serodiagnosis method is the complement fixation test (CFT). In the context of our European Reference Laboratory mandate for equine diseases (excluding African [...] Read more.
Dourine is a sexually transmitted parasitic disease affecting equids. Its causative agent is referred to as Trypanosoma equiperdum and the prescribed serodiagnosis method is the complement fixation test (CFT). In the context of our European Reference Laboratory mandate for equine diseases (excluding African horse sickness), we organised dourine CFT inter-laboratory proficiency tests (ILPTs) in 2015, 2018 and 2022 to evaluate the performance of the European Union network of National Reference Laboratories (NRLs) for dourine. ILPT panels were composed of horse sera with or without antibodies against Trypanosoma spp. originating from non-infected, immunised or experimentally infected horses. Twenty-two NRLs participated in at least one of the three sessions. In 2015, 2018 and 2022, the percentage of laboratories obtaining 100% of the expected results was 57, 90 and 80, respectively. These dourine CFT ILPTs showed the benefits of standardising the method’s detection limit and underlined the constant need to evaluate NRLs to improve the network’s performance. These results also argue in favour of the need for a representative bio-bank to improve the representativeness of ILPT samples and to allow the adoption of alternative serological methods for international surveillance of dourine. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Diagnostics in Veterinary Medicine)
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11 pages, 1206 KiB  
Article
An In-House ELISA for Treponema Antibodies in Bulk Milk as Part of a Monitoring Tool for Claw Health in Dairy Herds
by Menno Holzhauer, Jet Mars, Manon Holstege and Harold van der Heijden
Vet. Sci. 2023, 10(9), 571; https://doi.org/10.3390/vetsci10090571 - 13 Sep 2023
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1531
Abstract
Digital dermatitis (DD) is a painful inflammation at the coronary band of the claws, a major cause of lameness in cattle and associated with infections with several Treponema spp. Clinical inspection of the feet is the best way to diagnose DD, but this [...] Read more.
Digital dermatitis (DD) is a painful inflammation at the coronary band of the claws, a major cause of lameness in cattle and associated with infections with several Treponema spp. Clinical inspection of the feet is the best way to diagnose DD, but this is laborious and stressful for cattle. A simple diagnostic tool was developed to monitor DD prevalence at the herd level. An antibody ELISA based on antigens from four different Treponema spp. has been developed and validated in two field studies. In one study, bulk milk and individual milk samples of seven dairy herds, of which clinical claw scores were obtained, were tested. In the second study, bulk milk was tested from 110 herds of which clinical scores were obtained. A weak correlation between clinical scores of cows and the ELISA results in individual milk samples was observed. The ELISA response in bulk milk was higher in herds with higher mean clinical scores. Using the ELISA results in bulk milk, herds with a low or high proportion of cattle with DD lesions could be distinguished. This ELISA is useful to obtain insight into the DD status at the herd level, and is nowadays being used in a claw health monitoring program for dairy cattle in the Netherlands. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Diagnostics in Veterinary Medicine)
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12 pages, 771 KiB  
Article
Internal Validation of the ASFV MONODOSE dtec-qPCR Kit for African Swine Fever Virus Detection under the UNE-EN ISO/IEC 17025:2005 Criteria
by Gema Bru, Marta Martínez-Candela, Paloma Romero, Aaron Navarro and Antonio Martínez-Murcia
Vet. Sci. 2023, 10(9), 564; https://doi.org/10.3390/vetsci10090564 - 8 Sep 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1866
Abstract
African swine fever virus is considered an emerging virus that causes African swine fever, a disease characterised by high mortality and elevated transmission rates and that, as it is for most other viral diseases, cannot be treated with specific drugs. Effective and reliable [...] Read more.
African swine fever virus is considered an emerging virus that causes African swine fever, a disease characterised by high mortality and elevated transmission rates and that, as it is for most other viral diseases, cannot be treated with specific drugs. Effective and reliable detection of the virus is relevant to prevent uncontrolled contagion among boar populations and to reduce economic losses. Moreover, animal health laboratories are demanding standardisation, optimisation and quality assurance of the available diagnostic assays. In the present study, the ASFV MONODOSE dtec-qPCR kit was validated following the UNE-EN ISO/IEC 17025:2005 guidelines. Analytical validation terms include in silico and in vitro specificity, sensitivity, efficiency and reliability (repeatability/reproducibility). Diagnostic validation of the method was assessed through the analysis of a total of 181 porcine samples originating from six different matrix types doped with African swine fever virus DNA received from the European reference laboratory for African Swine Fever (INIA-CISA, Madrid, Spain): whole blood, blood serum, kidney, heart, liver and tonsil. Results agreed with those obtained from a reference detection method also based on real-time PCR, endorsed by WOAH, but the ASFV MONODOSE dtec-qPCR kit incorporates some technical innovations and improvements which may benefit end-users. This kit, available worldwide with full analytical and diagnostic validation, can recognise all known ASFV genotypes and brings additional benefits to the current qPCR technology. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Diagnostics in Veterinary Medicine)
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15 pages, 1000 KiB  
Article
Evaluation of Antibody Tests for Mycobacterium bovis Infection in Pigs and Deer
by Penny Barton, Nick Robinson, Sonya Middleton, Amanda O’Brien, John Clarke, Maria Dominguez, Steve Gillgan, John Selmes and Shelley Rhodes
Vet. Sci. 2023, 10(8), 489; https://doi.org/10.3390/vetsci10080489 - 27 Jul 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1469
Abstract
This study addressed the need in Great Britain for supplementary blood tests for deer and pig herds under movement restrictions due to confirmed Mycobacterium bovis infection—to enhance the overall sensitivity and reliability of tuberculosis (TB) testing and contribute to an exit strategy for [...] Read more.
This study addressed the need in Great Britain for supplementary blood tests for deer and pig herds under movement restrictions due to confirmed Mycobacterium bovis infection—to enhance the overall sensitivity and reliability of tuberculosis (TB) testing and contribute to an exit strategy for these herds. We evaluated four antibody tests (lateral flow DPP VetTB Assay for Cervids, M. bovis IDEXX ELISA, Enferplex Cervid and Porcine antibody tests and an in-house comparative PPD ELISA) using serum samples from defined cohorts of TB-infected and TB-free deer and pigs. TB-infected deer included two separate cohorts; farmed deer that had received a tuberculin skin test less than 30 days prior, and park deer that had received no prior skin test. In this way, we were able to assess the effect of the skin test anamnestic boost upon antibody test sensitivity. We tested a total of 402 TB-free pigs and 416 TB-free deer, 77 infected farmed deer and 105 infected park deer, and 29 infected pigs (including 2 wild boar). For deer, we found an equivalent high performance of all four tests: specificity range 98.8–99.5% and sensitivity range 76.6–85.7% for skin test-boosted infected deer, and 51.4–58.1% for non-boosted infected deer. These data suggest an overall approximate 25% increase in test sensitivity for infected deer following a skin test boost. For pigs, the tests again had equivalent high specificity of 99–99.5% and a sensitivity range of 62.1–86.2%, with substantial agreement for three of the four tests. Retrospective application of the ELISA tests to individual culled park deer and wild boar that showed no obvious evidence of TB at larder inspection identified a significant seropositivity within wild boar suggestive of low-level M. bovis infection that would otherwise not have been detected. Overall this investigation provided a robust evaluation of four antibody tests, which is essential to generate confidence in test performance before a wider deployment within TB control measures can be considered. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Diagnostics in Veterinary Medicine)
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15 pages, 8069 KiB  
Article
A Multiplex PCR Method for Simultaneous Detection of Infectious Laryngotracheitis Virus and Ornithobacterium rhinotracheale
by Van-Giap Nguyen, Thi-Bich-Phuong Cao, Van-Truong Le, Ha-Thai Truong, Thi-Thanh-Huong Chu, Huu-Anh Dang, Thi-Hoa Nguyen, Thi-Luyen Le and Thi-My-Le Huynh
Vet. Sci. 2023, 10(4), 272; https://doi.org/10.3390/vetsci10040272 - 3 Apr 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 3021
Abstract
To date, many fluorescence- and gel-based multiplex polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assays have been developed for the simultaneous detection of multiple infectious agents of respiratory disease in poultry. However, PCR assays are not available for other important emerging respiratory bacteria, such as Ornithobacterium [...] Read more.
To date, many fluorescence- and gel-based multiplex polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assays have been developed for the simultaneous detection of multiple infectious agents of respiratory disease in poultry. However, PCR assays are not available for other important emerging respiratory bacteria, such as Ornithobacterium rhinotracheale (ORT). We aimed to fill this gap by establishing a new duplex PCR method for the simultaneous detection of infectious laryngotracheitis virus (ILTV) and ORT. Multiplex primer design software was used to select the compatible multiplex primer pairs. It was determined that an annealing temperature of 65 °C and an initial concentration of 2.5 pmol/µL for each primer set were the most suitable conditions for multiplex PCR. The assay was confirmed to be specific, as it only detected the target pathogens, even in the presence of six non-target agents. The limit of detection was up to 103 copies/µL of template DNA for both ILTV and ORT. In the screening of 304 field samples, 23, 88, and 44 were positive for both ILTV and ORT, solely for ILTV, and solely ORT, respectively. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Diagnostics in Veterinary Medicine)
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18 pages, 1999 KiB  
Article
A Comparison of Different Matrices for the Laboratory Diagnosis of the Epizootic American Foulbrood of Honey Bees
by Julia Ebeling, Antonia Reinecke, Niklas Sibum, Anne Fünfhaus, Pia Aumeier, Christoph Otten and Elke Genersch
Vet. Sci. 2023, 10(2), 103; https://doi.org/10.3390/vetsci10020103 - 1 Feb 2023
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 2191
Abstract
American Foulbrood (AFB) of honey bees caused by the spore-forming bacterium Paenibacillus larvae is a notifiable epizootic in most countries. Authorities often consider a rigorous eradication policy the only sustainable control measure. However, early diagnosis of infected but not yet diseased colonies opens [...] Read more.
American Foulbrood (AFB) of honey bees caused by the spore-forming bacterium Paenibacillus larvae is a notifiable epizootic in most countries. Authorities often consider a rigorous eradication policy the only sustainable control measure. However, early diagnosis of infected but not yet diseased colonies opens up the possibility of ridding these colonies of P. larvae spores by the shook swarm method, thus preventing colony destruction by AFB or official control orders. Therefore, surveillance of bee colonies for P. larvae infection followed by appropriate sanitary measures is a very important intervention to control AFB. For the detection of P. larvae spores in infected colonies, samples of brood comb honey, adult bees, or hive debris are commonly used. We here present our results from a comparative study on the suitability of these matrices in reliably and correctly detecting P. larvae spores contained in these matrices. Based on the sensitivity and limit of detection of P. larvae spores in samples from hive debris, adult bees, and brood comb honey, we conclude that the latter two are equally well-suited for AFB surveillance programs. Hive debris samples should only be used when it is not possible to collect honey or adult bee samples from brood combs. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Diagnostics in Veterinary Medicine)
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Review

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14 pages, 1475 KiB  
Review
A Review of Radiomics and Artificial Intelligence and Their Application in Veterinary Diagnostic Imaging
by Othmane Bouhali, Halima Bensmail, Ali Sheharyar, Florent David and Jessica P. Johnson
Vet. Sci. 2022, 9(11), 620; https://doi.org/10.3390/vetsci9110620 - 8 Nov 2022
Cited by 11 | Viewed by 3219
Abstract
Great advances have been made in human health care in the application of radiomics and artificial intelligence (AI) in a variety of areas, ranging from hospital management and virtual assistants to remote patient monitoring and medical diagnostics and imaging. To improve accuracy and [...] Read more.
Great advances have been made in human health care in the application of radiomics and artificial intelligence (AI) in a variety of areas, ranging from hospital management and virtual assistants to remote patient monitoring and medical diagnostics and imaging. To improve accuracy and reproducibility, there has been a recent move to integrate radiomics and AI as tools to assist clinical decision making and to incorporate it into routine clinical workflows and diagnosis. Although lagging behind human medicine, the use of radiomics and AI in veterinary diagnostic imaging is becoming more frequent with an increasing number of reported applications. The goal of this paper is to provide an overview of current radiomic and AI applications in veterinary diagnostic imaging. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Diagnostics in Veterinary Medicine)
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