Merle Olson

Alberta Veterinary Laboratories Ltd

Simple Summary Castration is commonly performed in young dairy calves and results in pain and discomfort. This study aimed to assess the effective tissue concentrations of the current standard of care for pain mitigation in calves during castration (injectable lidocaine) and to assess the ability of lidocaine-loaded bands (LLBs) to deliver effectiv...

Simple Summary In most high-income countries, piglets undergo certain elective surgical procedures such as castration and tail docking to eliminate behaviors that are associated with mortality and the condemnation of animals and meat. It has been well established that both castration and tail docking are both painful, yet there are limited products...

The development of novel antimicrobial technologies for the food industry represents an important strategy to improve food safety. Antimicrobial photodynamic disinfection (aPDD) is a method that can inactivate microbes without the use of harsh chemicals. aPDD involves the administration of a non-toxic, light-sensitive substance, known as a photosen...

The objectives of this study were to assess the pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of the current standard-of-care for pain mitigation in lambs during castration and tail docking (injectable lidocaine) and assess the ability of Lidocaine-Loaded Bands (LLBs) to deliver therapeutic concentrations into the contacted tissues over time. The study was...

A dipotassium phosphate bolus (K Phos-Boost) has been developed to treat both hypophosphatemia and hypokalemia, as the clinical signs of both conditions are similar and occur in the early post-partum period. The objective of this research was to evaluate the efficacy and application of the bolus for prevention and treatment of metabolic diseases th...

The objective of this study was to evaluate an easy to administer and economical oral nutritional supplement for neonatal calves. Neonates are at risk of nutrient deficiencies because of maternal deficiencies, low body stores at birth and low nutritional intake. The pre-ruminating calf relies solely on milk for adequate immunity and nutrition until...

The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of the extended-term delivery of anesthesia on the physiological and behavioral signs of pain caused by band castration in 1-month-old bull calves. Forty-eight calves (37.04 ± 8.98 days of age) were homogenously assigned by age to one of three band castration protocols (n = 16/protocol); 1) re...

Depending on the year, during the winter months, cattle begin to rub bare patches on their skin due to pruritus which leads to concern from cattle producers, especially the purebred breeders. Upon further investigation by veterinarians, the cause is not always caused by lice, as many may think. This study aimed to provide insight into the cause and...

The purpose of this study was to evaluate in vivo release concentrations of lidocaine into scrotal neck tissues and tail tissues following the application of lidocaine-loaded elastrator bands (LLBs) at acute time points (0.5, 1, 2, 24, and 72 hours) and chronic time points (14, 21, 28, and 35 days). To correlate the reaction of an animal to periphe...

This study investigated the effects of dystocia on milk production, somatic cell count, reproductivity, disease, and milk production. A total of 2159 cows across 21 dairy farms in Alberta, Canada were enrolled in this study. Multivariable models were created to explore associations between outcome variables and calving ease score. In total, 89.5% o...

Bacterial wilt is a re-emerging disease on dry bean and can affect many other crop species within the Fabaceae. The causal agent, Curtobacterium flaccumfaciens pv. flaccumfaciens (CFF), is a small, Gram-positive, rodshaped bacterium that is seed-transmitted. Infections in the host become systemic, leading to wilting and economic loss. Clean seed pr...

We evaluated a saliva urea test strip (Kidney-Chek; SN Biomedical), as a rapid, noninvasive method to screen for azotemia. The test is a semiquantitative method that assesses 7 levels of saliva urea concentration, and indirectly serum urea, from <3 to >17 mmol/L. Ninety-two dogs (14 azotemic) with serum urea of 1.3–37 mmol/L and 56 cats (16 azotemi...

Purpose: Neonatal calf diarrhea (NCD) is a major cause of death and economic loss in the cattle industry. Although NCD is caused by a variety of nutritional factors and non-bacterial pathogens, treatment typically includes systemic antimicrobial therapy, even for non-severe cases that are more likely to have non-bacterial causes. Novel, non-antimi...

Purpose: Calcium supplement boluses vary greatly in content and bioavailability. Methods: In vivo dissolution and bioavailability studies were conducted to compare commercial calcium supplement boluses with various contents of calcium chloride and calcium carbonate. The products studied included: Bolus 1 (high calcium chloride, no calcium carbon...

Castration is among the most common management procedures performed in the dairy and beef cattle industries and is mainly performed by surgery or elastic banding. Despite the various benefits of castration, all methods produce pain and distress. Castration by banding is simple, inexpensive, produces fewer complications, and can be performed in a hi...

Purpose A variety of silver-based antimicrobial dressings are available on the market and are commonly used to prevent infection. Such prophylaxis is particularly important in treating burns, yet there is a paucity of evidence confirming the efficacy of commercially available dressingsin vivo. We describe here an in vivo porcine model of burns, whi...

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0209236.].

Background: The initiation of lactation challenges the ability of the modern lactating cow to maintain calcium homeostasis, and typically results in a drop in blood calcium levels, leading to mobilization of calcium reserves from skeletal stores. As such, the recommendation to provide supplemental calcium at parturition to older cows has become an...

The dairy industry needs evidence-based solutions to mitigate painful procedures and conditions in dairy cattle. The objective of this study was to compare the pharmacokinetic properties of orally versus subcutaneously administered meloxicam in early-lactation dairy cattle. The study was conducted at a commercial dairy herd in southwestern Ontario,...

The initiation of lactation challenges the ability of the modern lactating cow to maintain calcium homeostasis, and typically results in a drop in blood calcium levels; leading to mobilization of calcium reserves from skeletal stores. As such, the recommendation to provide supplemental calcium at parturition to older cows has become an industry-sta...

Parturition is a painful event experienced by cows at the onset of lactation. This pain could lead to a reduced feed intake, altered metabolic and immunological status, and a host of other diseases that could seriously limit her productive herd lifespan. The objective of the current study was to assess the effect of administration of a single dose...

Introduction: We report our early clinical observations on the use of topical meloxicam and lidocaine gel for patients with vulvodynia. Methods: This is an early experience in participants with a history of vulvodynia evaluated and treated at the Queen's University Pelvic and Bladder Pain Clinic. Combination meloxicam 0.3% and lidocaine 5% were...

Bovine respiratory disease (BRD) is the most important illness of feedlot cattle. Disease management targets the associated bacterial pathogens, Mannheimia haemolytica, Mycoplasma bovis, Pasteurella multocida, Histophilus somni, and Trueperella pyogenes. We conducted a cross-sectional study to measure the frequencies of antimicrobial-resistant BRD...

D Nagel,1 R Wieringa,2 J Ireland,3 Merle E Olson1 1Solvet/Alberta Veterinary Laboratories, Calgary, AB, 2Heartland Veterinary Services, Listowel, 3Albadon Farm Ltd, Teeswater, ON, Canada Abstract: Lameness in beef and dairy cattle is responsible for economic losses and has significant animal welfare implications. It has been proposed that early tre...

Background Castration is one of the most common procedures performed on beef and dairy cattle. The objective of the study was to determine the efficacy of meloxicam oral suspension in reducing pain and inflammation in calves following band or surgical castration. Methods Two identical trials with the exception of the method of castration (Band Cas...

The objective of the study was to evaluate the efficacy and ease of treatment of an oral meloxicam suspension for the treatment of chronic musculoskeletal lameness in horses. A cross-over palatability study consisting of 30 healthy, horses and ponies was conducted to compare the time to consume a 400g meal of oats alone to a 400 g meal of oats top-...

The objective of the study was to evaluate the efficacy of a meloxicam oral suspension (MOS) for pain and inflammation control after castration in horses. The study consisted of 88 healthy, unbroken, 2-year-old mixed breed horses (primarily Quarter horse and draft type). Group 1 animals (n = 44) received MOS at the dose of 0.6 mg per kg body weight...

For many pathogenic microbes, biofilm formation is a critical component of the disease cycle and is required for pathogenicity or full virulence. Recent innovation in in vitro biofilm reactors has allowed high throughput evaluation and testing of chemical treatments against microbial biofilms. For example, the BESTTM Assay is a versatile and specia...

Abstract Text: The objective of this study was to evaluate if oral meloxicam could mitigate post-procedural indicators of pain associated with band castration in beef calves. One hundred intact Angus bull calves (BW 299 ± 3.3 kg) were randomly assigned to treatments according to a 2 × 2 factorial design assessing castration method (band castratio...

Infection is the leading complication associated with intravascular devices, and these infections develop when a catheter becomes colonized by microorganisms. To combat this issue, medical device manufacturers seek to provide healthcare facilities with antimicrobial medical devices to prevent or reduce the colonization. In order to adequately evalu...

The goal of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of Advanced Formula Zymox (R) Otic Plus on biofilms of P aeruginosa, S. aureus, Methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) and C. albicans based on biofilm clearance and eradication using the MBEC assay. In addition, the goal was to also determine the effects of Advanced Formula Zymox (R) Otic Plus on...

The oxidation of 2-propanol and cyclobutanol by stoichiometric amounts of sodium ruthenate has been studied. Contrary to previously published speculations, it has been found that these reactions are not initiated by traces of perruthenate present as a contaminant in the ruthenate solutions. This conclusion is supported by both the kinetic rate law...

The only detectable product obtained from the oxidation of cyclobutanol by ruthenium tetroxide or sodium ruthenate is cyclobutanone. This indicates that both of these reagents act as two-electron transfer oxidants and that the oxidation of alcohols by ruthenium tetroxide likely proceeds via a mechanism that involves a pair of successive two-electro...

Although the protozoan parasite Giardia duodenalis is worldwide recognized as an important cause of gastro-intestinal disease in human patients, the relevance as a pathogen in production and pet animals and the zoonotic potential of animals were prone to more debate. Since long, clinical disease has been associated with giardiasis in companion anim...

The impact of microbial biofilm formation on survival, tolerance and virulence is now well documented for many pathogenic bacteria and yeast. One of the challenges of biofilm research has been difficulty asssociated with culturing, characterizing and testing biofilms in traditional biofilm reactors. These traditional techniques can be cumbersome wh...

Clavibacter michiganensis subsp. michiganensis (Cmm) is an infectious, biofilm-forming bacterium that causes bacterial canker on tomato, a destructive disease of both field and greenhouse-grown tomatoes. Chemical disinfection of tools, equipment and structures is a commonly used method of disease management for bacterial canker. The potential of Cm...

For many pathogenic microbes, biofilm formation is a critical component of the disease cycle and is required for pathogenicity or full virulence. Recent innovation in in vitro biofilm reactors has allowed high throughput evaluation and testing of chemical treatments against microbial biofilms. For example, the BESTTM Assay is a versatile and specia...

Cryptosporidium andersoni has not been previously reported in feedlot beef cattle in Western Australia. Faecal samples were collected from 10 groups of cattle ranging in age from 11 to 36 months in five different feedlots in Western Australia. The incidence of C. andersoni ranged from 0% to 26%. There were no clinical signs associated with C. ander...

Peritoneal dialysis (PD)-related peritonitis is a common and morbid complication of PD. Bacteria are able to create a biofilm on the PD catheter, which can be a source of recurrent infection. Biofilms undergo a phenotypic change resulting in increased antibiotic resistance. ♢ 21 clinical isolates of different patients with PD peritonitis secondary...

Giardia and Cryptosporidium are protozoan parasites known to cause enteric disease in terrestrial wildlife species (mammals, reptiles and birds). Few surveys for Giardia and Cryptosporidium in marine wildlife species, such as pinnipeds, have been reported. The objective of this study was to determine the prevalence and genotype of Giardia and Crypt...

Batch culture of biofilms on peg lids is a versatile method that can be used for microtiter determinations of biofilm antimicrobial susceptibility. In this paper, we describe a core protocol and a set of parameters (surface composition, the rate of rocking or orbital motion, temperature, cultivation time, inoculum size, atmospheric gases and nutrit...

The SNAP fecal enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) Giardia test was used to determine the prevalence of Giardia in dogs and cats with gastrointestinal signs. The test was positive in 241 (13.0%) dogs and 16 (4.1%) cats. Giardia cysts were detected in only 61 of the 241 dogs and 4 of the 16 cats that were test positive.

To elucidate the mechanism of action of the silver-coated endotracheal tube in models of the early pathogenesis of ventilator-associated pneumonia. Open-labeled, prospective, controlled, sequentially conducted, preclinical studies, and in vitro assessment of tubes from patients. Microbiology laboratory of a device manufacturer, animal research faci...

While antibiotic resistance has grabbed the headlines and the attention of the pharmaceutical industry, the lack of susceptibility of biofilms formed both on animate and inanimate surfaces deserve greater attention from the industry, medical practitioners and regulators. The current literature tells us that the inherent tolerance to antibiotics dem...

The discovery of biofilm formation in bacteria and yeasts has led to a better understanding of microbial ecology and to new insights into the mechanisms of virulence and persistence of pathogenic microorganisms. However, it is generally assumed that filamentous fungi, some of which have a significant impact on our health or our economy, do not form...

The objectives of the study were to determine the optimal dose of febantel, pyrantel embonate and a combination of febantel/pyrantel embonate required to effectively treat Giardia in a gerbil model and to determine if there is a synergistic effect with the two drugs. SPF gerbils were infected by oral inoculation with 105 Giardia duodenalis trophozo...

The autochthonous microbial flora of the gastrointestinal and biliary system were studied in ten cats using standard bacteriological cultures and electron microscopic techniques. The most common organisms isolated from the gastrointestinal tract were streptococci, anaerobes and coliform bacteria. A spiral organism was identified in the feline stoma...

Coyotes from southern Alberta and Saskatchewan, Canada, were examined for the presence of Giardia and Cryptosporidium and cohabiting helminths. Toxascaris was present in over 90% of the 70 animals examined, and Taenia sp. in 6.5-25% of the two groups of animals studied. Giardia (12.5-21.7%) and Cryptosporidium (0-17.4%) were also common and molecul...

Biofilms are slimy aggregates of microbes that are likely responsible for many chronic infections as well as for contamination of clinical and industrial environments. Pseudomonas aeruginosa is a prevalent hospital pathogen that is well known for its ability to form biofilms that are recalcitrant to many different antimicrobial treatments. We have...

IntroductionEtiologic AgentLife HistoryMorphologyEpizootiologyClinical SignsPathology and PathogenesisDiagnosisImmunity and VaccinationTreatmentPublic Health ConcernsDomestic Animal ConcernsManagement ImplicationsLiterature Cited

Antibiotic-resistant Escherichia coli in 300 feedlot steers receiving subtherapeutic levels of antibiotics was investigated through the collection of 3,300 fecal samples over a 314-day period. Antibiotics were selected based on the commonality of use in the industry and included chlortetracycline plus sulfamethazine (TET-SUL), chlortetracycline (TE...

The GacS/GacA two-component regulatory system in pseudomonads regulates genes involved in virulence, secondary metabolism and biofilm formation. Despite these regulatory functions, some Pseudomonas species are prone to spontaneous inactivating mutations in gacA and gacS. A gacS(-) strain of Pseudomonas aeruginosa PA14 was constructed to study the p...

Although they differ considerably with respect to their biology, both Giardia duodenalis and Cryptosporidium parvum are common in ruminants, whereas Cryptosporidium andersoni is not. G. duodenalis infections are acquired during the first few months of life, tend to be chronic, and may be a production-limiting disease of ruminants. C. parvum infecti...

The objective of this study was to determine effect of pasture type on methane and carbon dioxide production by heifers grazing alfalfa or grass pastures at three sites across western Canada. All pastures were intensively managed so that heifers had ad libitum access to new forage material each day, and pastures were back-fenced to prevent the heif...

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) was temporally assessed in campylobacters isolated from beef cattle (7,738 fecal samples from 2,622 animals) in four commercial feedlots in Alberta. All calves were administered chlortetracycline and oxytetracycline in feed, and a majority of the animals (93%) were injected with long-acting oxytetracycline upon arriva...

Fibroproliferative scars in humans often demonstrate familial inheritance patterns, and genetics may contribute to healing and scarring. Genetic factors may also influence the scarring phenotype in a porcine model. Healing of full thickness excisional skin wounds in Yorkshire pigs closely resembles normal healing in humans, while identical wounds i...

Many issues concerning the taxonomy of Echinococcus have been resolved in recent years with the application of molecular tools. However, the status of Echinococcus maintained in transmission cycles involving cervid intermediate hosts remains to be determined. The recent characterization of the parasite from cervids in Finland has highlighted the pa...

A 51-d study was conducted to determine creep feed intake by suckling beef calves (N = 51) on range. Daily mean attendance at the creep feeder was 21 ± 10.3%, (range 2 to 43%) and mean intake was 1009 ± 634.4 g calf-1 d-1 (range from 67 to 3424 g calf-1 d-1). Creep feed intake and attendance by calves on range may be too variable to be considered a...

Skin wounds in red Duroc pigs heal with the formation of hypercontractile, hyperpigmented scars, similar in some respects to human hypertrophic scars. The goal of this study was to characterize the mRNA expression patterns for a subset of relevant cytokines, growth factors, receptors, and transcription factors involved in the red Duroc scarring phe...

Environmental pollution with human and domestic-animal fecal material is recognized as a potential pathogen pathway for wildlife infections with zooanthropomorphic protozoan parasites such as Giardia and Cryptosporidium. In this article, we review current knowledge about the diversity of free-living and captive terrestrial and marine mammalian wild...