More Fun With Differential Diagnoses-- Neuro

Cattle Neurological System Infections
Bovines Can Clap. Holy Listeria!
Bovine spongiform encephalopathy (prion)
Clostridium tetani
Clostridium botulinum
Histophilus somni
Listeria monocytogenes

Horse Neurological System Infections
Equines Can Clap Equally Well
Equine herpes virus 1
Clostridium tetani
Clostridium botulinum
Eastern, Western, Venezualan encephalitides
West Nile Virus

Pig Neurological System Infections
Pseudorabid Swine Clap
Streptococcus suis
Clostridium tetani
Pseudorabies

Sheep&Goat Neurological Infections
Caprines Can Clap Lovely Scrapies
Caprine arthritis encephalomyelitis
Clostridium tetani
Clostridium botulinum
Listeria monocytogenes
Scrapie

Dog Neurological Infections
Rabid Canids Clap
Rabies
Clostridium tetani
Cryptococcus neoformans

Cat Neurological Infections
Felines Clap
Cryptococcus neoformans
Feline panleukopenia

Bird Neurological Infections
Avians Clap
Avian encephalitis
Clostridium botulimun

Rabbit Neurological Infections
Encephalitozoon cuniculi

Zoonotic Neurological Infections
Listeria Sucks Rabid Eggs
Listeria monocytogenes
Streptococcus suis
Encephalitozoon cuniculi
Rabies

Hint Of Winter

sun warms my skin
wind, silky soft, licks my face and bare arms

i could almost forget
it is fall

except in the shade
there is the hint of winter
a slight nip to the air,
an unexpected chill

and all around me
the trees are exploding with color
leaves leaching chlorophyll
to yield
fiery orange and blood red maples
burnt copper oaks

i want it to stay like this forever
yellow-orange leaves brushing against
robin egg blue sky

but winter is knocking
hail pinging against my windshield
portends the ominous cold to come

i prepare to hibernate
hunker down against the now bitter, driving wind
in the spring my heart and mind will thaw
*
Note: It hailed for the first time Friday and snowed for the first time Sunday, on Halloween (and also hailed again). I wrote this poem on Saturday afternoon while taking a lovely walk from a friend's house to the commons where I perused the local used bookstore and bought an old out of print book of Hebrew poetry which I read walking home and which inspired me to write a series of poems instead of studying Saturday night.

There's A First Time For Everything

Today I fell asleep in class for the first time in my entire multi-decade academic career. I've zoned out before, but never konked out.

My friend says that it was extremely obvious I was asleep because I put my head down on the table and sprawled my arm out. I feel kind of bad about it. Oh well.

There's a first time for everything but perhaps it would have been better if there hadn't been in this case. I guess I'll never know the history of Marek's disease research at Cornell (yes, we have historical lectures as well as scientific ones!) Too bad.

Fun With Differential Diagnoses Or How To Goof Off When You Don't Want To Study

I know I haven't posted anything veterinary related in a long time, which is a reflection that I now have a much more balanced life. In fact, I have been entertaining renaming my blog Skies Of Ithaca since mostly I post photos of the interesting clouds and sunsets.

However, I have to buckle down now. In the next five days I somehow have to learn a massive number of differential diagnoses. I guess I should've started this earlier. I am hoping to come up with some good neumonics. Any help appreciated! (Note: the lists are not exhaustive, simply the most important pathogens. There are always more!)

Cattle Respiratory Tract Infectious Ddx:
Man! My, My, My, My, Holy Infectious Bovine Pasteurella=
Manheimia hemolytica-- shipping fever
Mycobacterium bovis
Mycoplasma bovis
Mycoplasma mycoides spp. mycoides (small colony type)-- contagious bovine pleuropneumonia
Mycoplasma dispar
Histophilus somni
Infectious bovine rhinotracheitis (BHV-1)
Bovine respiratory syncitial virus
Pasteurella multocida

Horse Respiratory Tract Infectious Ddx:
Alas! My! A Runover Sloth Stinks, Ew, Ew, Ew=
Actinobacillus equuli
Mycoplasma felis
Aspergillus spp.
Rhodococcus equi
Streptococcus equi spp. equi-- strangles
Streptococcus equi spp. zooepidemicus
Equine herpes virus 1 (equine abortion virus)
Equine herpes virus 4 (equine rhinopneumonitis virus)
Equine influenza

Goat Respiratory Tract Infectious Ddx:
Man! My, My, My!=
Manheimia haemolytica
Mycoplasma mycoides ssp mycoides (large colony type)
Mycoplasma mycoides spp capri
Mycoplasma capricolum ssp capripneumoniae-- contagious caprine pleuropneumonia

Pig Respiratory Tract Infectious Ddx:
Alack! My! Pasteurella Porcines Have Strong Backs!=
Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae
Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae
Pasteurella multocida
Porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus
Haemophilus parasuis
Streptococcus suis
Bordatella bronchiseptica

Sheep Respiratory Tract Infectious Ddx:
Man! My! Pasteurella!=
Manheimia haemolytica
Mycoplasma ovipneumoniae
Pasteurella multocida

Dog Respiratory Tract Infectious Ddx:
Cough, Cough, Cough, Cough! No! No! Bad Aspergillosis!=
Canine parainfluenza virus-- canine tracheobronchitis
Canine distemper virus
Canine adenovirus type 1
Canine adenovirus type 2
Nocardia asteroides
Nocardia nova
Bordatella bronchiseptica
Aspergillus spp. (A. fumigatas most common)

Cat Respiratory Tract Infectious Ddx:
Such Fat Felines!=
Streptococcus canis
Feline viral rhinotracheitis
Feline calicivirus

Chicken Respiratory Tract Infectious Ddx:
My, My! An Aspergillosis Egg! Insidious Avian Infectious Newcastle=
Mycobacterium avium ssp. avium-- tuberculosis
Mycoplasma gallisepticum
Avibacterium paragallinararum-- infectious coryza
Aspergillosis spp (A. fumigatas most common)
Escheria coli

Turkey Respiratory Tract Infectious Ddx:
My, My! A Bad Cold Egg!=
Mycoplasma gallisepticum
Mycoplasma meleagridis
Aspergillus spp. (A. fumigatus most common)
Bordatella avium-- turkey coryza
Chlamydophila psittaci
Escheria coli

Mice Respiratory Tract Infectious Ddx:
Mycoplasma pulmonis

Rabbit Respiratory Tract Infectious Ddx:
Pasteurella multocida-- snuffles

Bird Respiratory Tract Infectious Ddx:
Mycoplasma gallisepticum
Chlamydia psittaci

ZOONOTIC respiratory tract pathogens:
My! Pasteurella Can Rock!
Mycobacterium bovis
Pasteurella multocida
Chlamydophila multocida
Rhodococcus equi

Leaves Of Ithaca

Goodbye Dear Sweet, Gentle, Handsome Moose

I was working in the hospital this morning when Moose came in hit by car and died. He had massive internal injuries and possibly a broken back.

He had been up on Mr. Right's land with IntrepidHomeImprovmentMom and had run after her other dog who had escaped an electric fence and went onto the highway. It all happened in the blink of an eye. It's one of those freak accidents that makes you wonder the unanswerable questions about life-- why do good things happen to wonderful animals (or people)?

It was a huge shock to everyone. IntrepidHomeImprovementMom was very protective of her dogs and always made sure the fence gate was shut and did frequent perimeter checks of the fence at home. Sometimes freak accidents happen and it doesn't make any sense.

He was my favorite dog in the house. So happy all the time. So incredibly good looking-- he was huge for a Boxer and had the nicest face.

I will miss him terribly as will everyone else.

So Much Light and In Love With The World

Above: Every Saturday morning I go to the farmer's market and every Saturday this fall it has been sunny and I have spent minutes just admiring and photographing the glowing light-infused honey. This morning was especially beautiful.

It's been a long time since I've been really truly happy. A long time since I was able to be fully present in the moment, although there are times in my life that I have been much better about mindfully living and not worrying so much about the past or the future.

I realized upon returning to school this year, after having such a difficult time adjusting to moving across the country last year, that I was actually happy this fall.

There's a passage in Sara Greenslit's _The Blue Of Her Body_ that captures how I've been feeling lately, especially today:

Lovely. The fields are butter, the trees.

The light, so much light, now lower, hits the trees at leaf-level.

She is in love with the world at these moments. She sustains the present tense, briefly. The sound of driving over leaves. Light, and be lit. This moment is good enough.