Following an episode of sudden lethargy, an 18-month-old female black-capped parrot (Pionites melanocephalus) died while being examined. On gross examination, there was fluid within the coelom, hepatomegaly with yellow colouration and the heart appeared enlarged with pallor throughout the myocardium. On histological examination, cardiomyocytes were swollen with loss of cross striations and contained 6-12-μm diameter intrasarcoplasmic pale grey inclusions of storage material.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFReptile white blood cell (WBC) morphological features are strikingly variable across species. In the Argentine black and white tegu (), red tegu (), and Savannah monitor (Var), previous reports described a WBC type with a single distinct, clear, linear- to ovoid- to crescent-shaped inclusion of presumptive monocytic origin. The objective of this study was to further investigate the origin of this unique WBC type with crescent-shaped inclusions.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFis a genus of nonphotosynthetic, green algae in the family , closely related to . It is a known pathogen of invertebrates, and its occurrence in vertebrates has not been documented. A captive, 10-month-old, male, albino California kingsnake () was submitted for necropsy.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFFour of seven Patagonian maras () at a zoological institution developed acute neurologic signs that progressed to tetraparesis and death. All affected were young adult females (10 mon-5 yr old) that presented over 11 d. Clinical signs were rapidly progressive and unresponsive to supportive therapies.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBee stings (BS) are a life-threatening issue and a growing concern for public health and animals in the Americas. We describe the clinical, pathological, and ultrastructural findings of a massive lethal bee attack in two non-human primates (NHPs). Both animals showed BS scattered throughout the skin, surrounded by a local reaction, diffuse pulmonary congestion, edema, hemorrhage, and remarkable degeneration and necrosis of renal epithelial cells from the proximal and distal tubules, characterizing a systemic bee envenomation reaction.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMelanomas are tumors arising from externally uncontrolled melanocytes that produce varying amounts of melanin. In this study, we report a case of melanoma with neurological impairment without evidence of cutaneous neoplastic lesions in an adult buffalo in the state of Pará, Brazil. Clinically, the buffalo exhibited apathy, decreased mandibular tone, and occasionally an open mouth with motor incoordination, and eventually succumbed to the condition.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThis study investigated two outbreaks of spontaneous poisoning by (Asteraceae) in early-weaned beef calves in Tacuarembó, Uruguay. A total of 34 affected calves showed signs of salivation, anorexia, apathy, marked dehydration, and diarrhea. Deaths occurred 36-72 h after consumption and mortality varied from 37.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFFeline pulmonary Langerhans cell histiocytosis (FPLCH) is a rare histiocytic proliferative disease of middle-aged to older domestic cats. Langerhans cells in the terminal airways proliferate and infiltrate the interstitium and the airways to a lesser degree, widely effacing normal parenchyma. Historically, definitive diagnosis has required postmortem evaluation where pulmonary lesions have a classic gross and histologic morphology.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPedigree analysis, clinical, gross, microscopic, ultrastructural, and lipidomic findings in 4 female superb bird-of-paradise (SBOP, ) siblings led to the diagnosis of a primary inherited glycerolipid storage disease. These birds were the offspring of a related breeding pair (inbreeding coefficient = 0.1797) and are the only known SBOPs to display this constellation of lesions.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFTwenty years have passed since the emergence of hantavirus zoonosis in Panama at the beginning of this millennium. We provide an overview of epidemiological surveillance of hantavirus disease (hantavirus pulmonary syndrome and hantavirus fever) during the period 1999-2019 by including all reported and confirmed cases according to the case definition established by the health authority. Our findings reveal that hantavirus disease is a low-frequency disease, affecting primarily young people, with a relatively low case-fatality rate compared to other hantaviruses in the Americas (e.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe Costa Rican pygmy rice rat () is the primary reservoir of (CHOV), the causal agent of hantavirus disease, pulmonary syndrome, and fever in humans in Panama. Since the emergence of CHOV in early 2000, we have systematically sampled and archived rodents from >150 sites across Panama to establish a baseline understanding of the host and virus, producing a permanent archive of holistic specimens that we are now probing in greater detail. We summarize these collections and explore preliminary habitat/virus associations to guide future wildlife surveillance and public health efforts related to CHOV and other zoonotic pathogens.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMealworms are one of the most economically important insects in large-scale production for human and animal nutrition. Densoviruses are highly pathogenic for invertebrates and exhibit an extraordinary level of diversity which rivals that of their hosts. Molecular, clinical, histological, and electron microscopic characterization of novel densovirus infections is of utmost economic and ecological importance.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe only genus of the Francisellaceae family known to contain species pathogenic to mammals is Francisella, for which reported cases in the Southern Hemisphere have been limited to Australia. We describe severe necrotizing and inflammatory lesions and intralesional immunohistochemical identification of Francisella sp. lipopolysaccharide among aborted ovine fetuses in Uruguay.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFFour Indian ringneck parakeets (; syn. ringneck parrots or rose-ringed parakeets) were submitted by 2 private owners for autopsy following a history of dyspnea and death. Gross findings were varied and included thickening of the left caudal thoracic air sac, white spots throughout the liver, mild dilation of the proventriculus, coelomic effusion, splenomegaly, and pulmonary congestion and edema.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThis report describes 2 events of degenerative myelopathy in 4- to 27-day-old piglets, with mortality rates reaching 40%. Sows were fed rations containing low levels of pantothenic acid. Piglets presented with severe depression, weakness, ataxia, and paresis, which were more pronounced in the pelvic limbs.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCook Inlet beluga whales (CIBs) Delphinapterus leucas are Critically Endangered and genetically distinct from other beluga populations in Alaska. CIBs are exposed to numerous natural and anthropogenic sources of mortality and morbidity. This study describes congenital defects observed in 2 CIB calves.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFClostridium perfringens enterotoxin (CPE) is thought to cause lethal enterotoxemia when absorbed from the intestinal lumen into the circulation. CPE action sequentially involves receptor-binding, oligomerization into a prepore, and pore formation. To explore the mechanistic basis by which CPE alters permeability, this study tested the permeability effects of several recombinant CPE (rCPE) species: rCPE and rCPE (which form pores), rC-CPE and rCPE (which bind to receptors but cannot oligomerize), rCPE (which binds and oligomerizes without pore formation), and rCPE (which has poor receptor-binding ability).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe small intestinal mucosa constitutes a physical barrier separating the gut lumen from sterile internal tissues. Junctional complexes between cells regulate transport across the barrier, preventing water loss and the entry of noxious molecules or pathogens. Inflammatory diseases in cattle disrupt this barrier; nonetheless, mechanisms of barrier disruption in cattle are poorly understood.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Vet Diagn Invest
September 2022
Adenoviral infections among raptors are best described in falcons and are characterized most commonly by necrotizing hepatitis and splenitis; only one case has been reported in a hawk. Five red-tailed hawks () and a broad-winged hawk () had an adenoviral infection based on history, histopathology, negative-stain electron microscopy, and PCR. All birds had acute onset of illness resulting in death; 3 had evidence of a concurrent bacterial infection.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFA 16-year-old female spayed domestic shorthaired cat was examined for lameness and a mass on the fourth digit of the right hindlimb. Cytologic examination of an aspirate of the mass revealed large discrete cells admixed with low numbers of well-granulated mast cells. The discrete cells contained single to many variably sized light pink to purple granules in their cytoplasm and had pleomorphic nuclei, with intranuclear cytoplasmic inclusions.
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