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Anesthetic effects of alfaxalone-ketamine-midazolam and alfaxalone-ketamine-dexmedetomidine administered intramuscularly in black-tailed prairie dogs (Cynomys ludovicianus)

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Am J Vet Res. 2022 Jul 11;83(9):ajvr.21.11.0193. doi: 10.2460/ajvr.21.11.0193.

Free article

Abstract

Objective: To evaluate and compare the anesthetic effects of alfaxalone-ketamine-midazolam (AKM) and alfaxalone-ketamine-dexmedetomidine (AKD) in black-tailed prairie dogs (Cynomys ludovicianus).

Animals: 9 male black-tailed prairie dogs.

Procedures: Prairie dogs were anesthetized with AKM (6 mg/kg alfaxalone, 30 mg/kg ketamine, and 1.5 mg/kg midazolam) and AKD (6 mg/kg alfaxalone, 30 mg/kg ketamine, and 0.15 mg/kg dexmedetomidine) in a prospective, complete cross-over study. Atipamezole (1.5 mg/kg) after AKD or flumazenil (0.1mg/kg) after AKM was administered 45 minutes after induction of anesthesia. Onset of general anesthesia, physiologic parameters, depth of anesthesia, and time to recovery after reversal administration were evaluated for each treatment.

Results: Both AKM and AKD produced a deep plane of anesthesia in black-tailed prairie dogs that varied in duration. The median induction times for AKM and AKD were 82 and 60 seconds, respectively. The median recovery times for AKM and AKD were 27 and 21 minutes, respectively. There were no significant differences between protocols for induction (P = .37) and recovery (P = .51) times. All measured reflexes were absent in all animals at 5 minutes postinduction, with hindlimb reflexes returning prior to forelimb reflexes. Heart rate was lower but respiratory rate was higher in the AKD treatment. Body temperature decreased significantly for both protocols (P < .001) and was significantly lower with AKM than AKD (P < .001).

Clinical relevance: Both AKM and AKD produced a deep plane of anesthesia in black-tailed prairie dogs. For both protocols, heat support and oxygen support are indicated.

Monkey Pox Talking Points

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Thanks to Kaitie Schneider, Program Coordinator, Rockies and Plains Program, Defenders of Wildlife who put together the following talking points regarding the Monkey Pox outbreak:

According to the CDC, in the summer of 2003, health officials and scientists investigated several reports of monkeypox among individuals who became ill after having contact with sick captive prairie dogs. Investigators determined that a shipment of animals from Ghana were imported to Texas in April 2003 and introduced monkeypox virus to captive prairie dogs in the United States. In total, 47 persons became ill with monkeypox during this time. The disease is caused by the monkeypox virus, which belongs to the orthopoxvirus group of viruses. The prairie dogs in the pet trade acquired the monkeypox virus following contact with these infected rodents that were imported as exotic pets. These prairie dogs were sold as pets before they developed signs of infection. This was the first time that human monkeypox cases were reported outside of Africa.

Read more at:  Monkey Pox

 

Reevaluation of the Role of Blocked Oropsylla hirsuta Prairie Dog Fleas (Siphonaptera: Ceratophyllidae) in Yersinia pestis (Enterobacterales: Enterobacteriaceae) Transmission.

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Miarinjara A(1)(2), Eads DA(3), Bland DM(1), Matchett MR(4), Biggins DE(3), Hinnebusch BJ(1). Author information: (1)Laboratory of Bacteriology, Rocky Mountain Laboratories, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, NIH, Hamilton, MT, USA. (2)Department of Environmental Sciences, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA. (3)U.S. Geological Survey, Fort Collins Science Center, Fort Collins, CO, USA. (4)U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Lewistown, MT, USA. Prairie dogs in the western United States experience periodic epizootics of plague, caused by the flea-borne bacterial pathogen Yersinia pestis. An early study indicated that Oropsylla hirsuta (Baker), often the most abundant prairie dog flea vector of plague, seldom transmits Y. pestis by the classic blocked flea mechanism. More recently, an alternative early-phase mode of transmission has been proposed as the driving force behind prairie dog epizootics. In this study, using the same flea infection protocol used previously to evaluate early-phase transmission, we assessed the vector competence of O. hirsuta for both modes of transmission. Proventricular blockage was evident during the first two weeks after infection and transmission during this time was at least as efficient as early-phase transmission 2 d after infection. Thus, both modes of transmission likely contribute to plague epizootics in prairie dogs. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Entomological Society of America 2022. DOI: 10.1093/jme/tjac021 PMID: 35380675