Two sessions at BVA Live from neurology specialist Mark Lowrie will help delegates differentiate between true spinal emergencies and the many conditions that can mimic them.

Brucella canis is a canine pathogen of zoonotic concern. It is not considered endemic in the UK, with most infections diagnosed in travelled dogs or their offspring. Between March 2021 and December 2022, all dogs with a history of travel outside of the UK or clinical signs compatible with brucellosis referred for veterinary care at a single UK centre underwent serological testing against B. canis. Their records were retrospectively reviewed, and signalment, reason for referral, travel history and B. canis serology results were collected. Of 375 dogs screened for B. canis using various assays, positive serological results were obtained in nine. Only one of five dogs with a positive lateral flow test (LFT) had a confirmatory positive result at a governmental laboratory. Meanwhile, two dogs with a negative LFT had positive results at a governmental laboratory. B. canis prevalence in travelled dogs tested at a governmental laboratory was 2.8% (5/179; 95% confidence interval 1.2%-6.4%). Too few positive cases hindered robust estimation of LFT sensitivity, although the results suggest suboptimal LFT performance within the tested population. The apparent prevalence of B. canis in this population of 'at risk' dogs was low. Positive LFT results should be followed up with additional serological testing.

In England, transmission of Mycobacterium bovis between cattle and certain species of free-roaming, wild deer has been implicated in some endemic bovine tuberculosis (bTB) regions. However, there are still data and knowledge gaps regarding the role of deer in the epidemiology of this disease. This paper presents the results of a serological survey to estimate the prevalence of M. bovis infection in a large wild deer population in the bTB high-risk area of southwest England. Blood samples were collected postmortem over a 12-month period from wild deer shot during annual population controls in the Exmoor area and tested for M. bovis serum antibodies. True seroprevalence of M. bovis infection in the study population was estimated by accounting for the imperfect diagnostic accuracy of the IDEXX test used. Overall, 432 individual animal samples were tested, predominantly from red deer (80.3%). Sixty-nine (16.0%) were seropositive, with the estimated true seroprevalence being 27.4% (95% confidence interval 19.9%-36.3%). Prevalence did not appear to differ between sexes or species. Few positive samples were observed in the youngest animals. As convenience sampling of deer carcases was used, a degree of bias in the results cannot be excluded. Estimation of true seroprevalence was affected by the imperfect performance of the IDEXX test in deer. This study provides valuable insight into M. bovis seroprevalence in this wild deer population, which is at the upper end of prevalence estimates reported in deer worldwide. Our results should be interpreted alongside other relevant information, including species-specific ecology, epidemiology and disease pathology, to inform potential transmission risks between cattle and wild deer.

Reliable body condition scoring in rabbits is essential in managing healthy bodyweight. The commonly used Rabbit size-o-meter (RSOM) has shown poor inter-rater reliability, particularly among inexperienced raters. This study aimed to develop a reliable, reproducible body condition scoring scale for companion rabbits across breeds, ages and sexes. We evaluated the impact of rewording RSOM descriptors, expanding scales from five to nine points, and using single-point anatomical assessments on inter- and intra-rater reliability. Eleven raters from three rater groups (veterinary professionals, students and laypersons) gave 400 rabbits 3113 scores using nine modified scales. Ordinal mixed models assessed the effects of age, sex, rater group and scale on scores. Reliability was assessed using Krippendorff's alpha and Cohen's kappa. Intra-rater reliability ranged from moderate to almost perfect (κ = 0.61‒0.92). Expanding to nine points improved overall inter-rater reliability (α = 0.60‒0.65), with inter-rater reliability being highest among experienced raters (α = 0.79). The revised nine-point scale with detailed descriptors achieved the highest inter-rater agreements. Single-point assessments showed low agreement (α = ‒0.32 to 0.62), except dewlap scoring by veterinary professionals (α = 0.77). Rater group and scale significantly affected scores, unlikeage and sex. Different rabbits were used acrossscale comparisons. A revised nine-point scale modestly improved reliability for experienced raters, though not overall statistically significant.