has been associated with spontaneous and antibiotic-associated enteric disease (associated enteric disease, CSAED) in rabbits, which is clinically characterized by anorexia, diarrhea, or sudden death. Diagnosis is usually based on gross and microscopic lesions, coupled with finding the characteristic coiled bacteria in intestinal smears. Isolation of is often challenging, and a PCR protocol has been developed.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSalmonella infection causes epidemic death in wild songbirds, with potential to spread to humans. In February 2021, public health officials in Oregon and Washington, USA, isolated a strain of Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium from humans and a wild songbird. Investigation by public health partners ultimately identified 30 illnesses in 12 states linked to an epidemic of Salmonella Typhimurium in songbirds.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFDisease caused by the archetypical amdoparvovirus (APV), Aleutian mink disease virus (AMDV), has been well studied, but APV infections in other carnivores are poorly understood. Skunk amdoparvovirus (SKAV), one of a handful of newly discovered APVs, is apparently species-specific in striped skunks () and has a high prevalence across North America. We have evaluated the infection status and viral tissue distribution in a cohort of 26 free-ranging California skunks from a single rehabilitation facility who were euthanized due to poor prognosis for recovery from neurologic disease.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFVet Parasitol Reg Stud Reports
April 2023
An adult Indian ringneck parakeet (Psittacula krameri manillensis) from an outdoor aviary in Sacramento, California was found dead on the nest box. Postmortem examination showed firm, enlarged, yellow‑tinged liver and splenomegaly. Multifocal to coalescing, acute necrosis with macrophages, lymphocytes, plasma cells, and periportal ductular reaction were seen on liver histology with extra- and intracellular schizonts and merozoites.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFReproductive failure represents an important cause of economic loss for the equine industry. We reviewed the cases of equine abortion and stillbirth submitted to the California Animal Health and Food Safety Laboratory System, University of California-Davis from 1990 to 2022. A total of 1,774 cases were reviewed.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFA presumptive postmortem diagnosis of oleander () poisoning is made based on the histological observation of cardiomyocyte degeneration and necrosis, which is considered to be a reliable diagnostic marker, and can be confirmed via the detection of oleandrin in tissues or fluids. However, cardiac lesions may not be present in every case, and autolysis can often preclude the identification of subtle changes in the cardiomyocytes. Several studies of experimental oleander poisoning have noted the presence of renal lesions in multiple mammalian species, and case studies of accidental exposure have found similar, although more variably severe, renal abnormalities.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFTwo 7-wk-old broiler chickens presented with uniformly black livers upon postslaughter examination, while all other organs as well as their carcasses were grossly normal. No clinical signs were reported by the field veterinarian prior to slaughter. Other broiler chickens within the same flock were unaffected.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Vector control strategies typically rely on pesticides to target mosquitoes involved in enzootic and zoonotic transmission of West Nile virus (WNV). Nevertheless, increasing insecticide resistance and a desire to reduce pesticide usage provide the impetus for developing alternative strategies. Ivermectin (IVM), an antiparasitic drug which is widely used in human and veterinary medicine, is a potential alternative for targeted control because Culex mosquitoes experience increased mortality following ingestion of IVM in bloodmeals.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFInt J Parasitol Parasites Wildl
April 2022
Outbreaks of neurological disease associated with have been observed in captive and free-ranging rock pigeons () in Europe and the United States as well as in wild Brandt's cormorants () and captive psittacines in California, USA. Experimental and field studies have identified northern goshawks () and European sparrowhawks () as definitive hosts in Europe while the definitive hosts elsewhere remain unknown. In this study, we aimed to identify the potential definitive host(s) of through molecular analysis of intestinal samples from seven predatory (n = 85) and one omnivorous (n = 11) bird species in California.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFFrom 2014-2019, 8 juvenile black bears () from different geographic regions were presented to the California Department of Fish and Wildlife because of emaciation, alopecia, and exfoliative dermatitis that resulted in death or euthanasia. Autopsy and histopathology revealed that all 8 bears had generalized hyperkeratotic dermatitis, folliculitis, and furunculosis. Skin structures were heavily colonized by fungal hyphae and arthrospores; fungal cultures of skin from 7 bears yielded , a zoophilic dermatophyte reported only rarely in non-equid species.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFVector Borne Zoonotic Dis
November 2021
Infectious bronchitis virus (IBV) causes significant losses in the poultry industry throughout the world. Here we characterize the lesions of infectious bronchitis (IB) and IBV prevalence and identify the circulating strains in small flocks in California. Backyard chickens (BYCs) submitted to the Davis (Northern California; NorCal) and San Bernardino (Southern California; SoCal) branches of the California Animal Health and Food Safety Laboratory System from January through March 2019 were included in the study.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCaprine arthritis encephalitis virus (CAEV) is a monocyte/macrophage-tropic lentivirus that primarily infects goats resulting in a well-recognized set of chronic inflammatory syndromes focused on the joint synovium, tissues of the central nervous system, pulmonary interstitium and mammary gland. Clinically affected animals generally manifest with one or more of these classic CAEV-associated tissue lesions; however, CAEV-associated renal inflammation in goats has not been reported in the peer-reviewed literature. Here we describe six goats with chronic, multisystemic CAEV infections in conjunction with CAEV-associated renal lesions.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSquamous cell carcinoma (SCC), which is a neoplasm that usually arises from the integument, is reported uncommonly in pet birds. Only a few reports of SCCs in the alimentary tract of birds, including psittacines, have been published, and a detailed description of the pathology is not available in the literature. We present here 12 cases of alimentary SCC in psittacines.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFA mortality event involving at least 14 Western Gulls (Larus occidentalis) was observed on 10 October 2019 on Huntington State Beach, Orange County, California, US. Clinical signs of affected gulls included generalized weakness and difficulty standing and flying. Six additional Western Gulls with similar clinical signs were admitted for rehabilitation between 24 October and 7 November, including birds from Newport Beach and Laguna Beach, south of Huntington Beach.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFEurasian collared doves (Streptopelia decaocto) were introduced into Florida in the 1980s and have since established populations throughout the continental United States. Pigeon paramyxovirus-1 (PPMV-1), a species-adapted genotype VI Avian orthoavulavirus 1, has caused periodic outbreaks among collared doves in the U.S.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground/aim: The objective of this work was to assess the value of 68Ga-DOTAGA-(3-iodo-y)fk(Sub-KuE) positron emission tomography (68Ga-PSMA-I/T PET-CT) and multiparametric magnetic resonance imaging (mp-MRI) for preoperative staging in prostate cancer (PCa) patients who underwent radical prostatectomy (RP) by validating with postoperative histopathology data.
Materials And Methods: We prospectively investigated 30 consecutive PCa patients who had both mp-MRI and 68Ga-PSMA-I/T PET-CT before laparoscopic RP. The seminal vesicle invasion (SVI), lymph node metastasis (LNM), bladder neck invasion (BNI), and extracapsular extension (ECE) were investigated separately.
Between March and May 2019, wildlife rehabilitation centers along coastal southern California admitted increased numbers of Brandt's cormorants () with neurological disease including head tilt, nystagmus, torticollis, tremors, paresis, paralysis, and ataxia. Seven cormorants from Los Angeles County and one cormorant from Orange County were submitted for postmortem examination. Gross findings included thin to fair body condition, generalized congestion/hyperemia, nematode parasites in the ventriculus, and diarrhea in the seven birds from Los Angeles County while the one bird from Orange County had icterus.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFA comprehensive understanding of common diseases of backyard poultry flocks is important to providing poultry health information to flock owners, veterinarians, and animal health officials. We collected autopsy reports over a 3-y period (2015-2017) from diagnostic laboratories in 8 states in the United States; 2,509 reports were collected, involving autopsies of 2,687 birds. The primary cause of mortality was categorized as infectious, noninfectious, neoplasia or lymphoproliferative disease, or undetermined.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFInfectious laryngotracheitis (ILT) can cause severe losses in backyard flocks (BYFs) and commercial poultry. The prevalence of ILT, the circulating strains of ILT virus (ILTV) in BYFs, and the correlation of disease in BYF and commercial operations, is largely unknown. Of 8,656 BYF submissions, 88 cases of ILT were diagnosed at the California Animal Health and Food Safety Laboratory System in 2007-2017.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPulmonary alveolar proteinosis (PAP) is a disease of surfactant clearance in which functional abnormalities in alveolar macrophages lead to accumulation of surfactant within alveoli in mammals. Histologic examination of 6 avian autopsies, including 4 chickens, a turkey, and a cockatiel, revealed accumulation of hypereosinophilic densely arrayed lamellar material in the lungs that was magenta by periodic acid-Schiff stain and diastase resistant. Transmission electron microscopy of the proteinaceous material in 2 cases demonstrated alternating electron-dense and electron-lucent lamellae that formed whorls and had a regular periodicity of 6-14 nm, consistent with pulmonary surfactant.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFUpon invasion of Lewis rat macrophages, rapidly induces programmed cell death (pyroptosis), which prevents replication, possibly explaining the resistance of the Lewis rat to Using a chemical mutagenesis screen, we identified mutants that no longer induced pyroptosis. Whole-genome sequencing led to the identification of three parasitophorous vacuole-localized dense granule proteins, GRA35, GRA42, and GRA43, that are individually required for induction of Lewis rat macrophage pyroptosis. Macrophage infection with Δ, Δ, and Δ parasites led to greatly reduced cell death rates and enhanced parasite replication.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFTwenty-two feral rock pigeons ( Columba livia) from 10 counties in California with ataxia, torticollis, and difficulty standing and flying were admitted to rehabilitation centers in late winter and spring of 2017 and died or were euthanized. Common necropsy findings included thin body condition, generalized deep red discoloration of organs, and hemorrhagic subcutaneous neck tissues. Meningoencephalitis was observed microscopically in 16 pigeons, and 3 also had protozoal schizonts in the brain.
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