In the National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (Rijksinstituut voor Volksgezondheid en Milieu, RIVM), veterinarians have always played a role in the field of public health. In 1921 the implementation of the law on meat hygiene was assigned to the Institute and in 1922 a separate...

An overview is presented of this meeting organized from 9 to 13 August 2009 at Calgary, Canada, by the World Association for the Advancement of Veterinary Parasitology (WAAVP). Topics included resistance against anthelminthis in sheep; endoparasites in cattle, horses and donkeys; protozoal...

Disease outbreaks in Passeriformes housed in group are often of infectious origin. Clinical signs observed are often similar and non-specific. In these cases, cytology is an invaluable tool for developing a presumptive or definitive diagnosis that can guide disease management decisions within a...

The outbreak of the bluetongue virus (vector Culicoides spp.) in 2006 is described, affecting sheep and cattle. Following a vaccination campaign, the country has been bluetongue-free since 15 February 2012. The first cases of the Schmallenbergvirus (vectors C. pulicaris and C. obsoletus) in cattle, ...

Fleas and ticks may transmit zoonotic diseases. This is an overview of tick- and flea-borne zoonoses where dogs and cats are involved in the epidemiology.

Every now and then the consumption of self-picked mushrooms gives rise to intoxications, some-times even with fatal outcome. Much more frequent are cases in which small children or pets inadvertently eat small pieces of mushroom, causing anxiousness for parents or owners. When confronted with...

A fifteen-months-old, male, neutered Labrador retriever was presented with severe apathy, brown-red colored urine, polyuria and polydipsia. Leptospirosis, intoxication and acute kidney injury were initially assumed as possible diagnoses. Blood- and urine analyses revealed severe muscle damage. The...

Until the 21st century, the tick Ixodes ricinus was almost the only tick species found on dogs in the Netherlands. The thick Dermacentor reticulatus has now been confirmed on dogs as well. This species is apparently increasing in numbers. This tick is a potential carrier of the protozoa Babesia, a ...

A Dutch guideline for diagnosis and treatment of infectious diseases in horses is presented. This guideline deals with Cyathostominae, Parascaris equorum, Anaplocephala perfoliata, Strongyloides westeri, Strongylus vulgaris, Cryptosporidium parvum, Giardia intestinalis, Eimeria leuckarti, as well...

Cases of nitrate and copper poisoning in Dutch cattle are briefly described, due to the inadequate transformation of nitrate into plant proteins. Data from the last 9 years show increasing (from 4 to 6%) levels of Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae in pigs. Avian influenza infections were detected on...