• Korean Journal of Veterinary Research
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• v.49 no.4
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• pp.297-307
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• 2009

Animal shelters are potentially vulnerable to constant exposure to a variety of diseases for both animals and humans, because thousands of animals with unknown histories are being admitted to each shelter on a yearly basis in Korea. The control of disease spread, therefore, can be a major challenge to veterinarians in most shelters. This study investigated the health status of stray dogs admitted to the Gwangju Animal Shelter during the year of 2008, and analyzed types of disorders at the time of admission as well as newly acquired diseases while housed in the shelter. Canine heartworm disease was the most prevalent infection among stray dogs at the time of admission, while the respiratory disorder was the most common shelteracquired disease. The majority of dogs (93.5%) was either small or middle-sized breeds with Maltese (19.7%) and Shih Tzu (16.0%) being the most commonly found stray dogs. Out of 1,143 dogs admitted to the shelter, owners of 128 dogs (11.2%) visited the shelter and found their lost dogs, while 518 dogs (45.3%) were adopted to new families. Results of this study strongly indicate that stray dogs in Korea are exposed to a variety of diseases and the disease control by veterinarians is one of the most important aspects of the shelter management.

• Journal of Veterinary Clinics
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• v.36 no.2
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• pp.102-105
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• 2019

Nitrotyrosine was found to be dependent on the severity of myxomatous mitral valve disease (MMVD). However, a correlation of serum nitrotyrosine concentration in dogs with MMVD and the progression of the disease has not been investigated. This study compared changes in serum nitrotyrosine concentration with the progression of MMVD. Nine client-owned dogs were recruited for the study. Dogs were classified by measuring the amount of regurgitation using echocardiography into mild, moderate, or severe MMVD groups. Serum nitrotyrosine concentration was measured by an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay test. Serum nitrotyrosine concentration was significantly higher at 180 days than at 0 day (P < 0.05). However, serum nitrotyrosine concentration at 360 days was lower than that at 180 days (P < 0.05). Serum nitrotyrosine concentration at 540 days was lower than at 180 days (P < 0.05). There was no correlation between serum nitrotyrosine and left atrial to aortic root diameter ratio (LA/Ao ratio) (n = 33, $R^2=0.003$, P = 0.759). Also, there was no correlation between serum nitrotyrosine and vertebral heart score (VHS) (n = 33, $R^2=0.026$, P = 0.368) and left ventricular end-diastolic diameter, normalized for body weight by the formula (LVEDDN) (n = 33, $R^2=0.053$, P = 0.196). The results of the study suggest that the progression of MMVD is correlated with changes in serum nitrotyrosine concentration, which shows potential for use as a cardiac biomarker which can be used to analyze the progression of disease in MMVD.

• Korean Journal of Veterinary Research
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• v.63 no.4
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• pp.34.1-34.9
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• 2023

Dogs exhibit patterns of health issues that vary by life stage. An understanding of disease incidence with respect to breed and age/life stage could be an important component of canine health management and welfare. This study aimed to describe the age-specific disease incidence of 3 small dog breeds that attended veterinary clinics in the Republic of Korea, based on data from electronic veterinary medical records (EVMRs). A total of 40,785 EVMRs from Maltese (n = 21,355), Miniature Poodle (n = 11,658) and Shih Tzu dogs (n = 7,772) were analyzed. Common health problems in 3 small dog breeds were 'diseases of the skin' and 'diseases of the ear,' respectively. Among dogs aged ≤ 3 years, 'preventive medicine' was the most common cause cited for veterinary clinic visits. Among dogs aged 4 to 8 years, the most frequent health problems were 'diseases of the skin.' Among dogs aged 9 to 13 years, 'heart diseases,' 'kidney diseases,' 'mammary gland tumor,' and 'neoplasia (unspecified)' were considerably more frequent, compared to the rates in dogs ≤3 years. Among dogs aged ≥ 14 years, 'heart diseases' and 'sneezing/cough' were the main health problems. In all breeds, the frequencies of 'diseases of circulatory system,' 'diseases of respiratory system,' 'diseases of the nervous system,' 'endocrine' and 'neoplasia' increased rapidly with aging. This surveillance could inform strategies for disease screening tests and management based on life stage in these dog breeds and enable more effective health management.

• Korean Journal of Veterinary Research
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• v.60 no.4
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• pp.195-202
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• 2020

Feline calicivirus (FCV) infection results in a common upper respiratory disease associated with oral ulceration in cats. Although FCV infection has been reported in cats worldwide, the biologic and genetic features of South Korean FCV are unclear. We aimed to investigate the biological and genetic features of South Korean FCV isolates. Crandell-Rees feline kidney (CRFK) cells were used to isolate FCV from 58 organ homogenate samples. The FCV isolates were confirmed by cytopathic effects, immunofluorescence, electron microscopy, and reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction assays. Viral genetic analysis was carried out with VP2 gene and complete genomes of FCVs. Five viruses propagated in CRFK cells were confirmed to be FCVs. The FCV17D283 isolate showed the highest viral titer of 107.2 TCID50/mL at 36 h post-inoculation. Korean FCV isolates did not grow well in Vero, BHK-21, A72, or Madin-Darby canine kidney cells. The FCV17D03 and FCV17D283 isolates had the highest genetic similarity (80.1% and 86.9%) with the UTCVM-H1 and 14Q315 strains, which were isolated in the United States and South Korea in 1995 and 2014, respectively. We isolated five FCVs from cats and detected important genetic differences among them. FCV isolates did not show any virulent effects in mice.

• Korean Journal of Veterinary Research
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• v.41 no.1
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• pp.79-83
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• 2001

Dirofilaria immitis parasitizes mainly in the pulmonary arteries and in the heart of dogs and cats. The parasite is also of public health importance, because it often elicits nodules in the pulmonary parenchyma and in the subcutaneous tissues, or sometimes parasitize itself in the eyes of human. In this study, we investigated the prevalence of heartworm infection among 165 dogs on three breeding farms in the vicinity of Seoul, Korea. Of 165 dogs, 83 dogs (50.3%) were infected with the parasite, as revealed by an antigen-detecting test using the peripheral blood. Of these, 23 dogs (20.2%) contained microfilaria using the peripheral blood, which are potential source of transmission to uninfected animals and to humans in the endemic area. None of infected dogs showed any clinical signs associated with the disease. Since the three farms were located in the vicinity of Seoul, the unexpectedly high infection rate could imply that the possibility of exposure of both animals and humans living in the metropolitan Seoul area to the parasite is higher than in the other area of Korea.

• Journal of Veterinary Science
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• v.21 no.3
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• pp.42.1-42.22
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• 2020

Regenerative medicine using stem cells from various sources are emerging treatment modality in several refractory diseases in veterinary medicine. It is well-known that stem cells can differentiate into specific cell types, self-renew, and regenerate. In addition, the unique immunomodulatory effects of stem cells have made stem cell transplantation a promising option for treating a wide range of disease and injuries. Recently, the medical demands for companion animals have been rapidly increasing, and certain disease conditions require alternative treatment options. In this review, we focused on stem cell application research in companion animals including experimental models, case reports and clinical trials in dogs and cats. The clinical studies and therapeutic protocols were categorized, evaluated and summarized according to the organ systems involved. The results indicate that evidence for the effectiveness of cell-based treatment in specific diseases or organ systems is not yet conclusive. Nonetheless, stem cell therapy may be a realistic treatment option in the near future, therefore, considerable efforts are needed to find optimized cell sources, cell numbers and delivery methods in order to standardize treatment methods and evaluation processes.

• Journal of Veterinary Clinics
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• v.37 no.1
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• pp.9-14
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• 2020

Left atrial enlargement (LAE) is an important diagnostic factor in dogs with myxomatous mitral valve disease (MMVD). It is associated with the onset of congestive heart failure (CHF). Recently, a new radiographic left atrial measurement called vertebral left atrial size (VLAS) was introduced. This can be considered as a left atrial enlargement above 2.3. It appears to be related to the severity of MMVD. However, serial changes in VLAS in relation to disease progression and improvement in patients have yet to be studied. This study aims to assess the value of VLAS as a left atrial size monitoring indicator by examining correlations with VHS, LA/Ao ratio and LVIDDN, and comparing serial changes in dogs. A total of 126 dogs were studied with their owners' consent. The dogs were classified into four MMVD groups (Control, B1, B2, C-D) following the ACVIM Guideline by performing a physical examination, radiography and echocardiography. Besides, 24 and 17 dogs were reevaluated to compare values in relation to the progression and improvement of MMVD. VLAS showed significant increase according to the progress of the MMVD stage. This was the same in the Maltese breed group. A strong positive correlation was found between LVIDDN, VHS, LA/Ao ratio, and VLAS. The results of this study found VLAS to be significantly different according to left atrium size, and there was a correlation between disease progression and VLAS levels in each dog. Therefore, VLAS may be used to detect changes in left atrium size as an additional monitoring index of MMVD.

• Journal of Veterinary Clinics
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• v.37 no.6
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• pp.311-316
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• 2020

Biomarkers used in dogs with heartworm disease include N-terminal pro B-type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) and cardiac troponin I (cTnI), which are associated with damage to the myocardium. Pulmonary hypertension is one of the clinical signs of canine heartworm disease. The purpose of this study is to investigate the change in the concentration of each biomarker, severity of pulmonary hypertension and the correlation between biomarkers according to the severity of clinical signs. Five healthy dogs and 10 heartworm-infected dogs were recruited for the study. The heartworm-infected group was classified based on the history, clinical signs, and blood assay, thoracic radiography, and echocardiography after confirming the infection according to the results of the commercial ELISA kit (SNAP test, IDEXX Laboratories, Maine, USA). NT-proBNP was higher in the severely infected group than the control group (p < 0.05); cTnI was also higher in the severely infected group than the control group (p < 0.05). The pressure gradient of pulmonary hypertension was higher in the severe group than the mild group (p < 0.05). The severity of pulmonary hypertension was correlated with NT-proBNP (r = 0.818, p < 0.01), cTnI (r = 0.894, p < 0.01). When the correlation of the two serum values for each group was examined, a correlation was not found in the mild group (r = 0.707, p = 0.182), but a correlation was found in the severe group (r = 0.9, p < 0.05). NT-proBNP and cTnI were significantly increased and correlated with severe clinical signs. Pulmonary hypertension was significant higher in the severe group than in the mild group (p < 0.05). Evaluation of blood biomarker concentration and severity of pulmonary hypertension and referring to each correlation between these indicators may be helpful to assess the severity of the heartworm disease.

• Korean Journal of Veterinary Service
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• v.46 no.1
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• pp.15-27
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• 2023

Bordetella (B.) bronchiseptica, Mycoplasma (M.) cynos, and M. canis are the major bacterial pathogens that cause canine infectious respiratory disease complex (CIRDC). In this study, we developed a triplex real-time polymerase chain reaction (tqPCR) assay for the differential detection of these bacteria in a single reaction. The assay specifically amplified three bacterial genes with a detection limit of below 10 copies/reaction. The assay showed high repeatability and reproducibility, with coefficients of intra- and inter-assay variations of less than 1%. The diagnostic results of the assay using 94 clinical samples from household dogs with CIRDC clinical signs, the prevalence of B. bronchiseptica, M. cynos, and M. canis was 22.3%, 18.1%, and 20.2%, respectively, indicating that the diagnostic sensitivity was comparable to those of previously reported qPCR assays. The dual infection rate of B. bronchiseptica and M. cynos, B. bronchiseptica and M. canis, and M. cynos and M. canis was 5.3%, 7.4%, and 3.1%, respectively. Moreover, the triple infection rate of B. bronchiseptica, M. cynos, and M. canis was 2.1%. These results indicate that coinfections with B. bronchiseptica, M. cynos, and M. canis have frequently occurred in the Korean dog population. The newly developed tqPCR assay in the present study will be a useful tool for etiological and epidemiological studies on these three CIRDC-associated bacterial pathogens. The prevalence and coinfection data revealed through this study will contribute to expanding knowledge on the epidemiology of CIRDC in the recent Korean dog population.

• Journal of Veterinary Clinics
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• v.35 no.5
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• pp.178-183
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• 2018

The object of this study was to compare magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) findings and neurological signs in canine brain diseases. Brain diseases can cause severe neurological deficits and may be life-threatening. The antemortem diagnosis of the brain diseases is difficult for the clinician, since definitive diagnosis is based upon histopathological confirmation. Brain diseases are often associated with specific clinical signs, signalment, progression, and location. Accurate lesion localization through neurological examination and MRI findings is helpful for developing a differential diagnosis. A retrospective study was performed to compare the neurological examination of dogs with suspected brain disease to the MRI findings. Based on this study, neurological examination is a reliable way to localize most brain lesions. Postural reaction deficits do not provide sufficient information to localize lesions. Additionally, not all brain lesions present clinical signs and inflammatory lesions may cause no detectable abnormalities on MRI. Therefore, in clinical practice, a combination of neurological examination and MRI findings recommended for accurate brain lesion localization.