Letter

Several days following surgery the dog was discharged. His condition had not deteriorated. At recheck four weeks later we were surprised to be presented with an active, walking and running bulldog. There were still mild deficits of con- scious proprioception in the hindlimbs, but strength was good and ataxia was minimal (Fig 4). The dog continued to improve and one year later was considered to be normal by the owners.

This case makes two interesting points. First, not all dogs with vertebral abnormalities have spinal cord compression at the site of spinal deformity. Thus, myelography is indicated in

such cases. Secondly, not all these cases of young dogs with progressive spinal cord signs need to be referred to the pathologist without first mak- ing some attempt to retrieve the situation. This is not meant to be a criticism of the case report mentioned above, but it does illustrate that even the most pessimistic of us can be surprised at times.

SIMON J. WHEELER Assistant Professor, Neurology North Carolina State University USA

BOOK REVIEW

Infectious disease Infectious Diseases of the Dog and Cat Craig E. Greene. Published by W. B. Saunders, London. Price €53.50, 971 pages. 1990.

THIS volume is a sequel to ‘Clinical Microbiol- ogy and Infectious Diseases of the Dog and Cat’ edited by Greene in 1984 but has the declared intention of providing a more clinically orien- tated text. Authorship is international, although 76 of the 86 contributors come from North Amer- ica.

The book is divided into five sections, fol- lowed by appendices and an index. Section I, entitled ‘clinical problems’, first considers envi- ronmental factors in infectious disease including the basic definitions of epidemiology, informa- tion on methods of sterilisation and disinfection, and discussion of nosocomial infections. A chap- ter on immunisation follows which incorporates comparison of active vs passive immunisation, principles of vaccination and reasons for vacci- nation failure, vaccination recommendations and post vaccinal complications. Immunodeficiency disorders are then briefly categorised with sum- maries of hereditary and acquired immunodefi- ciencies recognised in dogs and cats. Some of these are as yet poorly characterised while oth- ers, such as Pelger-Huet anomaly, are of dubious clinical significance. Fever, including the investi- gation of persistent fever, is then discussed. The last chapter in this section outlines the pathogen- esis, presentation, diagnosis and management of infectious diseases as they occur in the various body systems. Some contributors have taken the opportunity to describe disorders like non-sup- purative cholangitis in cats, lymphocytic plasma- cytic enteritis and haemorrhagic gastroenteritis which, although inflammatory, have not been proven to be infectious diseases. However, the

chapter is a useful overview particularly with respect to details of sample collection and hand- ling which will maximise the likelihood of iden- tification of the causative agent.

Sections I1 to V deal, respectively, with viral, rickettsia1 and mycoplasmal infections; bacterial infections; fungal infections; and protozoal infec- tions. Section V includes diseases suspected to be of infectious origin such as canine granuloma- tous meningoencephalomyelitis. Each of these sections commences with a summary of relevant specimen collection, methods of laboratory detection (also detailed in the appendices], and chemotherapy, followed by descriptions of spe- cific diseases. Where appropriate, each disorder is considered under the headings of aetiology, epidemiology, pathogenesis, clinical findings, diagnosis, pathology, therapy, prognosis, preven- tion, and public health considerations. The list of disease conditions is comprehensive although no textbook can provide a formula by which a diag- nosis is reached. Important disorders are prop- erly considered in most detail but other conditions like feline astroviral and rotaviral infections, melioidosis and canine tularaemia also rate a mention.

Illustrations are in black-and-white and, although few, are quite adequate. Typographical errors are rare.

The appendices contain a deceptively large volume of data covering immunisation protocols and available biologics, and health and vaccina- tion requirements for international shipment of dogs and cats.

Coverage by this book of infectious diseases of the dog and cat is exhaustive, and its pages con- tain an enormous amount of information. For all that, the overall effect is pedestrian rather than excellent. The text is directed at the clinical vet- erinary student and veterinary practitioner, for whom it should provide a useful workhorse.

D. J. Middleton

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