Vaccination against infectious diseases is a cornerstone of veterinary medicine in the prevention of disease transmission, illness severity, and often death in animals. In North American equine medicine, equine vaccines protecting against tetanus, rabies, Eastern and Western equine encephalomyelitis, and West Nile are core vaccines as these have been classified as having a heightened risk of mortality, infectiousness, and endemic status. Some guidelines differ from the label of vaccines, to improve the protection of patients or to decrease the unnecessary administration to reduce potential side effects. In North America, resources for the equine practitioners are available on the American Association of Equine Practitioners (AAEP) website. Conversely, in small companion animals, peer review materials are regularly published in open access journals to guide the vaccination of dogs and cats. The aims of this review are to present how the vaccine guidelines have been established for small companion animals and horses in North America, to review the equine literature to solidify or contrast the current AAEP guidelines of core vaccines, and to suggest future research directions in the equine vaccine field considering small companion animal strategies and the current available resources in equine literature.

Exposure to phytotoxins that are present in imported ornamental or native plants is an important cause of animal disease. Factors such as animal behaviors (especially indoor pets), climate change, and an increase in the global market for household and ornamental plants led to the appearance of new, previously unreported plant poisonings in Europe. This has resulted in an increase in the incidence of rarely reported intoxications. This review presents some of the emerging and well-established plant species that are responsible for poisoning episodes in companion animals and livestock in Europe. The main plant species are described, and the mechanism of action of the primary active agents and their clinical effects are presented. Data reflecting the real incidence of emerging poisoning cases from plant toxins are scarce to nonexistent in most European countries due to a lack of a centralized reporting/poison control system. The diversity of plant species and phytotoxins, as well as the emerging nature of certain plant poisonings, warrant a continuous update of knowledge by veterinarians and animal owners. The taxonomy and active agents present in these plants should be communicated to ensure awareness of the risks these toxins pose for domestic animals.

Doxycycline (DXC) is a broad-spectrum antibacterial antimicrobial administered to horses for the treatment of bacterial infections which may also affect donkeys. Donkeys have a different metabolism than horses, leading to differences in the pharmacokinetics of drugs compared to horses. This study aimed to describe the population pharmacokinetics of DXC in donkeys. Five doses of DXC hyclate (10 mg/kg) were administered via a nasogastric tube, q12 h, to eight non-fasted, healthy, adult jennies. Serum, urine, synovial fluid and endometrium were collected for 72 h following the first administration. Doxycycline concentration was measured by competitive enzyme immunoassay. Serum concentrations versus time data were fitted simultaneously using the stochastic approximation expectation-maximization algorithm for nonlinear mixed effects. A one-compartment model with linear elimination and first-order absorption after intragastric administration, best described the available pharmacokinetic data. Final parameter estimates indicate that DXC has a high volume of distribution (108 L/kg) as well as high absorption (10.3 h⁻¹) in donkeys. However, results suggest that oral DXC at 10 mg/kg q12 h in donkeys would not result in a therapeutic concentration in serum, urine, synovial fluid or endometrium by comparison to the minimum inhibitory concentration of common equine pathogens. Further studies are recommended to identify appropriate dosage and dosing intervals of oral DXC in donkeys.

Zootoxins are produced by venomous and poisonous species and are an important cause of poisoning in companion animals and livestock in Europe. Little information about the incidence of zootoxin poisoning is available in Europe, with only a few case reports and review papers being published. This review presents the most important zootoxins produced by European venomous and poisonous animal species responsible for poisoning episodes in companion animals and livestock. The main zootoxin-producing animal species, components of the toxins/venoms and their clinical effects are presented. The most common zootoxicoses involve terrestrial zootoxins excreted by the common toad, the fire salamander, the pine processionary caterpillar, and vipers. The lack of a centralized reporting/poison control system in Europe makes the evaluation of the epidemiology of zootoxin-induced poisonings extremely difficult. Even if there are many anecdotal reports in the veterinary community about the exposure of domestic animals to terrestrial and marine zootoxins, the number of published papers regarding these toxicoses is low. Climate change and its consequences regarding species distribution and human-mediated transportation are responsible for the emerging nature of some intoxications in which zootoxins are involved. Although new venomous or poisonous animal species have emerged in regions where they were previously unreported, zootoxins produced by native species remain the main concern in Europe. The diversity of poisonous and venomous animal species and the emerging nature of certain poisonings warrant the continuous update to such knowledge by veterinary professionals and animal owners. This review offers an overview about zootoxin-related poisonings in domestic animals in Europe and also provides important information from a health perspective.