An outbreak of epidemic diarrhea in adult dairy cattle occurred on a dairy farm in Saitama Prefecture, Japan in September 2011. Nearly all of the cows in the herd suffered from anorexia, and almost half of them exhibited signs of mild to watery and foul-smelling diarrhea. Daily milk production of the herd dropped significantly. Salmonella Nagoya (SN) was isolated from all 12 of the fecal samples taken from diarrheic cows. No other pathogens were detected through bacteriological and virological examinations, so the cows were diagnosed as salmonellosis caused by SN. To our knowledge, this is the first report of diarrhea in cattle attributable to SN infection. In addition to heat stress, lactation, and calving, changes in the rumen environment due to dietary change have been considered as potential factors for this outbreak. To assess the genetic diversity and potential sources of infection, pulse-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) profiles of the isolates were characterized and compared to that of other SN isolates previously isolated from patients, healthy cattle, and raccoons (Procyon lotor) in Saitama Prefecture. All of the isolates from the present outbreak demonstrated an identical pattern on PFGE, but they were characterized as different from previous SN isolates. In the dendrogram for PFGE, clusters of these isolates exhibited relatively low similarities (62.8‐71.7%) with the isolates from the present outbreak.

A 12-year-old neutered female Miniature Schnauzer weighing 5.1 kg was presented for a syncope evaluation (Day 1). Bradyarrhythmia was noted on auscultation, so a decision was made to initiate a series of clinical and laboratory tests. There was nothing unusual about the hematology and serum biochemistry results, including the thyroid hormone values, other than anemia and elevated triglyceride. The abdominal ultrasound revealed a splenic mass, and sinus bradycardia and sinus arrest were noted in the electrocardiograms. The Holter monitor and atropine response tests were performed, and these confirmed that syncope was indeed caused by sick sinus syndrome. On Day 15, pacemaker implantation and splenectomy were performed simultaneously. Syncope did not occur again after surgery. A histopathological evaluation of the splenic mass was performed, and hemangiosarcoma was diagnosed. The dog was put on adjuvant doxorubicin and cyclophosphamide chemotherapy, but ultimately died at home on Day 358.

The increase of methicillin-resistant (MR) staphylococci in dogs and cats, and the spread of MR staphylococci to humans has become a concern, but there was no report on MR staphylococci in pet guinea pigs in Japan. A guinea pig, which was kept as a commercial pet in a shop, was sent to an animal hospital because it exhibited the main symptoms of alopecia. MR-Staphylococcus haemolyticus TUM14414 was isolated from the skin lesion, and S. haemolyticus TUM14414 was thought to be the bacteria causing dermatitis. In the drug sensitivity test, the isolated S. haemolyticus TUM14414 was resistant to fluoroquinolones, and susceptible to chloramphenicol, tetracyclines, glycopeptides, and aminoglycosides. Whole-genome sequencing analysis of S. haemolyticus TUM14414 showed that ① the mutation of S84L was detected in the quinolone resistance-determining region of the GyrA, and that ② SCCmec was type V, which was found in the community that had become infected. Because MR-S. haemolyticus was isolated from a pet guinea pig, there is the possibility that guinea pigs can transmit MR-S. haemolyticus to humans.

A survey was conducted of the bovine leukemia virus (BLV) prevalent in Okayama prefecture based on the 59 bovine leukosis cases found between 2009 and 2015. The presence of BLV proviral DNA in the tumor tissue samples for each case was detected using PCR and the BLV genotypes were determined using the RFLP method. All samples tested positive for BLV- and genotype 1 was the most predominant (45 samples), followed by genotype 3 (8 samples), genotype 5 (2 samples), and genotype 6 (2 samples). Cases of mixed infection were recognized in 2 samples. It is notable that this is the third case where genotype 6 has been identified in Japan. Genotypes 1 and 3 were distributed throughout the prefecture, while genotypes 5 and 6 were respectively distributed in the northern area and in limited areas. The detection rate of genotype 3 was significantly higher in Japanese Black cattle than Holstein cattle. Phylogenetic analysis of the nucleotide sequences of the genotype 6 strains isolated in this study demonstrated that the strains were classified as an independent cluster and were more closely related to the strains in genotypes 1 and 3 than the known genotype 6 strains.