Genetic characterization of diagnostic epitopes of cardiac troponin I in African rhinoceros.

African rhinoceros undergo chemical immobilization and prolonged transport during translocations for conservation purposes and, hence, experience several pathophysiologic changes, including skeletal muscle injury. Potential concurrent myocardial injury has not been investigated due to a lack of validated immunoassays. We aimed to use inferred cardiac troponin I (cTnI) amino acid sequences of southern white () and southern-central black () rhinoceros to assess the potential usefulness of several commercial cTnI immunoassays for detecting cTnI in African rhinoceros.

A Portable Fluid Administration System for Prolonged Intravenous Fluid Administration in Subadult and Adult White Rhinoceroses (Ceratotherium simum).

While translocations of white rhinoceroses have become an important conservation tool, dehydration during long-distance transports has been identified as a welfare concern. Intravenous (iv) fluid administration might therefore be useful to mitigate dehydration; however, special requirements need to be met to make iv fluid administration suitable for large, wild rhinoceroses during transport. Requirements include a portable and robust system that is capable of delivering high flow rates, is easy to set up, and remains patent and operating for long periods of time while allowing the animals to freely stand or lay down in the transport crates.

Dehorning Does Not Alter the Stress Response in Southern White Rhinoceroses (Ceratotherium simum simum) during Transport: A Preliminary Investigation.

Translocation and dehorning are common and important practices for rhinoceros management and conservation. It is not known if dehorning causes a stress response or negatively affects rhinoceroses during transport. Twenty-three subadult wild Southern white rhinoceros (Ceratotherium simum simum) bulls were immobilized and translocated >280 km for population management reasons.

Regenerative response in dogs naturally and experimentally infected with Babesia rossi.

Background: The regenerative response following Babesia rossi infection in dogs is mild, despite severe hemolytic anemia.

Objective: We aimed to compare the admission absolute reticulocyte count (ARC) and reticulocyte indices in 103 dogs naturally infected with B. rossi with 10 dogs suffering from immune-mediated hemolytic anemia (IMHA) and 14 healthy control dogs.

Guidelines for resident training in veterinary clinical pathology. IV: Laboratory quality management-Teaching domains, competencies, and suggested learning outcomes.

Background: The 2019 ASVCP Education Committee Forum for Discussion, presented at the annual ASVCP/ACVP meeting, identified a need to develop recommendations for teaching laboratory quality management principles in veterinary clinical pathology residency training programs.

Objectives: To present a competency-based framework for teaching laboratory quality management principles in veterinary clinical pathology residency training programs, including entrustable professional activities (EPAs), domains of competence, individual competencies, and learning outcomes.

Methods: A joint subcommittee of the ASVCP Quality Assurance and Laboratory Standards (QALS) and Education Committees executed this project.

Markers of inflammation in free-living African elephants (Loxodonta africana): Reference intervals and diagnostic performance of acute phase reactants.

Introduction: Acute phase reactants (APRs) have not been investigated in free-living African elephants (Loxodonta africana), and there is little information about negative APRs albumin and serum iron in elephants.

Objectives: We aimed to generate reference intervals (RIs) for APRs for free-living African elephants, and to determine the diagnostic performance of APRs in apparently healthy elephants and elephants with inflammatory lesions.

Methods: Stored serum samples from 49 apparently healthy and 16 injured free-living elephants were used.

Acute phase reactants in nondomesticated mammals-A veterinary clinical pathology perspective.

Applications for acute phase reactants (APRs) in nondomesticated mammals include identifying inflammatory disease, monitoring the course of specific disease processes and recovery during rehabilitation, detecting preclinical or subclinical disease, being used as bioindicators for monitoring population and ecosystem health, and as markers of stress and animal welfare. Serum amyloid A, haptoglobin, C-reactive protein, fibrinogen, albumin, and iron are most commonly measured. The procedure for evaluating an APR in a nondomesticated mammalian species should follow a stepwise approach beginning with an assessment of analytical performance, followed by an evaluation of overlap performance, clinical performance, and impact on patient outcomes and management.

Quality Assurance for Veterinary In-Clinic Laboratories.

Quality assurance and the implementation of a quality management system are as important for veterinary in-clinic laboratories as for reference laboratories. Elements of a quality management system include the formulation of a quality plan, establishment of quality goals, a health and safety policy, trained personnel, appropriate and well-maintained facilities and equipment, standard operating procedures, and participation in external quality assurance programs. Quality assurance principles should be applied to preanaltyic, analytic, and postanalytic phases of the in-clinic laboratory cycle to ensure that results are accurate and reliable and are released in a timely manner.

Experimental infection with African Horse Sickness Virus in horses induces only mild temporal hematologic changes and acute phase reactant response.

Objective: African Horse Sickness (AHS) is a vector-borne disease endemic to sub-Saharan Africa caused by African Horse Sickness Virus (AHVS). Infections in naïve horses have high morbidity and mortality rates. AHS pathogenesis is not well understood; neither the hematologic changes nor acute phase response occurring during infection has been fully evaluated.

ASSESSMENT OF CAPILLARY ZONE ELECTROPHORESIS AND SERUM AMYLOID A QUANTITATION IN CLINICALLY NORMAL AND ABNORMAL SOUTHERN WHITE RHINOCEROS () AND SOUTHERN BLACK RHINOCEROS ().

Capillary zone electrophoresis (CZE) and an immunoassay for serum amyloid A (SAA) were used to examine serum samples from clinically normal and abnormal southern white rhinoceros () and southern black rhinoceros () under managed care. CZE resolved seven fractions as well as subfractions for α1 globulins. Reference intervals were calculated for white rhinoceros ( = 33) and found to have some differences over previously reported intervals generated using agarose gel electrophoresis (AGE) methods in sera from free-ranging animals.

Comparison of three hematocrit measurement methods in the southern white rhinoceros (Ceratotherium simum simum).

Background: Hematocrit (HCT) determination is an integral part of health and disease assessments in captive and wild white rhinoceroses. Several affordable automated hematology analyzers have been developed for in-clinic and field use and have the advantage of being able to measure a large number of additional measurands. However, the accuracy of these analyzers for rhinoceros HCT measurements has not yet been investigated.

Serum cobalamin concentrations in dogs infected with canine parvoviral enteritis.

Objective: To compare the serum cobalamin concentrations in canine parvovirus (CPV)-infected dogs with those of healthy control dogs.

Animals: 45 dogs with CPV enteritis and 17 healthy age-matched control dogs.

Procedures: Infection was confirmed by visualization of CPV-2 through fecal electron microscopy.

Reference Intervals for Selected Hematology and Clinical Chemistry Measurands in Temminck's Pangolin ().

Pangolins are the world's most trafficked non-human mammals. A significant number of Temminck's pangolins () are presented for veterinary care and rehabilitation in southern Africa. Little is known about the physiology and normal health of this species, making diagnosis and medical management difficult.

Oxidative burst and phagocytic activity of phagocytes in canine parvoviral enteritis.

Canine parvoviral enteritis (CPE) is a severe disease characterized by systemic inflammation and immunosuppression. The function of circulating phagocytes (neutrophils and monocytes) in affected dogs has not been fully investigated. We characterized the functional capacity of canine phagocytes in CPE by determining their oxidative burst and phagocytic activities using flow cytometry.

CHALLENGES TO ANIMAL WELFARE DURING TRANSPORTATION OF WILD MAMMALS: A REVIEW (1990-2020).

Wild mammal transport is an important component of conservation translocation as well as the economic wildlife trade. This article reviews the physiological responses to transport that have been measured in wild mammalian species, factors associated with these responses, and interventions that have been applied to mitigate these responses. By organizing the literature review along the "five domains model" of animal welfare, namely, the physical-functional domains (nutrition, environment, health, behavior) and the mental domain (mental state), it can be demonstrated that wild mammal transport is associated with challenges to ensuring positive animal welfare in all five domains.

Reference Intervals for Hematology and Clinical Chemistry for the African Elephant ().

The African elephant () is listed as vulnerable, with wild populations threatened by habitat loss and poaching. Clinical pathology is used to detect and monitor disease and injury, however existing reference interval (RI) studies for this species have been performed with outdated analytical methods, small sample sizes or using only managed animals. The aim of this study was to generate hematology and clinical chemistry RIs, using samples from the free-ranging elephant population in the Kruger National Park, South Africa.

Effects of storage time and temperature on thromboelastographic analysis in dogs and horses.

Background: The accessibility of thromboelastography (TEG) to general practitioners is limited by short sample storage times (30 minutes) and storage temperatures (20-23°C).

Objectives: We aimed to evaluate the stability of canine and equine citrated blood samples when stored for extended periods of time, both at room temperature (RT) (20-23°C) and refrigerator temperature (FT) (2-7.5°C).

Clinical and hematologic features of experimental theileriosis in roan calves (Hippotragus equinus).

Theileria sp. (sable) infection commonly causes significant calf mortality in endangered roan antelopes (Hippotragus equinus). Schizont-induced leukocyte transformation and systemic immune dysregulation with associated cytopenias characterizes theileriosis in livestock.