RCVS Statutory Membership Examination (SME) · UK · Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons
Original practice questions written to the published syllabus · not past papersBlood and gut protozoa of domestic animals, including trypanosomes, Babesia, Theileria and coccidia, with Anaplasma taught alongside, and their diagnosis and treatment.
In the exams: ICAR AICE-JRF core group 06; ICAR AIEEA-PG 13 (Parasitology)
How our questions for RCVS Statutory Membership Examination spread across the units of Veterinary Protozoology. Difficulty: 5 easy, 19 medium, 3 hard.
| Cryptosporidium | 5 | |
| Toxoplasma | 4 | |
| Giardia | 4 | |
| Leishmania | 4 | |
| Antiprotozoal chemotherapy | 3 | |
| Babesia | 2 | |
| Eimeria and coccidiosis | 2 | |
| Anaplasma (rickettsial, taught alongside protozoa) | 1 | |
| Trichomonas | 1 | |
| Histomonas | 1 |
Choose an answer, then open the working. Each explanation says why the right answer is right and why the others are not.
A ewe flock has abortions and mummified lambs; cotyledons show small white necrotic foci while the intercotyledonary membrane looks normal. The most likely cause is:
A. Toxoplasma gondii
White 1–2 mm foci on cotyledons with normal intercotyledonary areas and mummified foetuses are typical of ovine toxoplasmosis. Enzootic abortion (Chlamydia abortus) causes thickened, discoloured intercotyledonary placenta.
Further reading: Constable et al., Veterinary Medicine (11th ed.)
In a dairy herd with endemic Neospora caninum, the route that most maintains infection from one generation to the next is:
D. Transplacental transmission from infected dams to their calves
Vertical transmission is highly efficient, so infected heifers born to infected dams perpetuate infection even without dogs. Neospora is not venereal or tick-borne in cattle, and cattle do not eat meat.
Further reading: Constable et al., Veterinary Medicine (11th ed.)
Which statement about halofuginone lactate for calf cryptosporidiosis is correct?
C. It has a narrow safety margin and should not be given to dehydrated calves
Halofuginone is given orally once daily for seven days; it reduces shedding and severity but does not eliminate infection, and toxicity appears at about twice the recommended dose, especially in dehydrated or weak calves.
Further reading: MSD Veterinary Manual
A 6-month-old pedigree kitten from a cattery has chronic large-bowel diarrhoea with mucus and fresh blood; a fresh wet smear shows organisms with jerky forward motion and an undulating membrane. The most likely organism and treatment are:
C. Tritrichomonas foetus; ronidazole
Jerky motion with an undulating membrane distinguishes T. foetus from the falling-leaf motion of Giardia. Ronidazole is the drug most used (about 30 mg/kg orally once daily for 14 days is widely cited — confirm against the product label and your national formulary), with care over neurotoxicity.
Further reading: Sykes, Greene's Infectious Diseases of the Dog and Cat (5th ed.)
Accidental access of horses to cattle feed containing monensin is dangerous because:
B. Horses are highly sensitive to ionophore toxicity, which damages cardiac and skeletal muscle
Ionophores disrupt cellular ion gradients; horses have a very low tolerance, and poisoning causes myocardial necrosis and death. Monensin is an ionophore, not a nitroimidazole.
Further reading: MSD Veterinary Manual
In pigs and poultry, the ionophores monensin, narasin and salinomycin should not be given with which drug because of a dangerous interaction?
D. Tiamulin
Tiamulin inhibits the hepatic metabolism of these ionophores, causing toxicity (muscle damage, paralysis, death). Amoxicillin, ivermectin and vitamin E do not produce this interaction.
Further reading: MSD Veterinary Manual
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