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Proventricular dilatation disease (PDD) is a neurologic syndrome of birds caused by the infectious agent Psittacine Bornavirus (PaBV). Clinical disease may be based on the T-cell-mediated immune response to PaBV within the central and peripheral nervous system, similar to Borna disease virus, a closely related mammalian virus. Lymphoplasmacytic infiltrations may occur in ganglia, nerve plexuses, peripheral nerves and the central nervous system of the infected bird. Clinical disease may result in multiple neurologic disorders and life-threatening morbidity. Treatment of PDD with antivirals and non-steroidal anti-inflammatories has thus far been non-curative and unsuccessful long-term. Cyclosporine is an immunosuppressant drug that decreases cell-mediated immune responses by inhibiting T-cell proliferation and decreasing cytokine production. In avian species, cyclosporine is a potent immunosuppressant with T-cell-specific action. A pilot study performed in PaBV-infected cockatiels showed increased weight gain and a lack of morbidity or mortality following experimental PaBV infection and cyclosporine treatment at 10 mg/kg orally every 12 h. In this case series of six psittacine birds affected by PDD, cyclosporine at this dose alleviated or reduced clinical signs in multiple birds without severe sequelae. Itraconazole was used concurrently in these cases to prevent secondary fungal infections during immunosuppression but may have had a synergetic effect when used in combination with cyclosporine. Further prospective research is indicated to better evaluate cyclosporine use in birds with PDD. However, these preliminary clinical findings suggest that cyclosporine and itraconazole administration is a treatment option for palliation of PDD in psittacine patients, especially those refractory to other treatments. Full article

Bovine mastitis is the predominant cause for antimicrobial use on dairy farms and is a major source of economic losses in the dairy industry. In this study, the antimicrobial susceptibility profiles of common mastitis-causing pathogens, Staphylococcus aureus (n = 62), Streptococcus agalactiae (n = 46), and Escherichia coli (n = 129), were determined for dairy cattle with mastitis across 142 Ukrainian farms. The results showed that there were more gentamicin resistant S. aureus isolates (16.95%) identified in this study than previously reported for Ukrainian dairy cattle. Moreover, low levels of amoxicillin susceptibly (13.51%) were observed for St. agalactiae, which contrasted a previous study showing susceptibility levels of >50%. St. agalactiae resistance to tetracycline was observed in 80% of the isolates. Cephalosporin use was most ineffective against E. coli, with 43.27–56% of the isolates exhibiting this resistant trait. Overall, this study performed a preliminary analysis of antimicrobial resistance on mastitis isolates from Ukrainian farms. However, given the limited numbers of the isolates tested in this study and that the publications on antimicrobial resistance in animal husbandry of Ukraine are very few, more extensive investigations are needed to comprehensively examine susceptibility patterns of mastitis-causing pathogens in dairy cattle in Ukraine. Full article