Through evaluation of serum and plasma buterylcholinesterase (BChE) and brain acetylcholinesterase (AChE) activity, we investigated the possibility of the involvement of an acute organophosphate toxicosis in the pathogenesis of ongoing annual outbreaks of paresis and paralysis that in some cases progress to death, in endangered Western Australian Carnaby's cockatoos (Zanda latirostris). The condition, named Carnaby's hindlimb paralysis syndrome (CHiPS), was first described in 2012. Following initial investigations involving clinical, epidemiologic, toxicologic, gross necropsy, and histologic evaluation, a toxic etiology, specifically an organophosphate toxicosis, was considered most likely.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: To describe the diagnosis, management, and outcome of a dog with a right distal radial osteochondroma that penetrated the ulna, causing expansile lysis and fracture.
Animal: A 9-month-old entire female German Shorthaired Pointer.
Clinical Presentation, Progression, And Procedures: The dog had a 2-month history of weight-bearing lameness of the right forelimb and a 2-week history of a progressively enlarging, firm swelling on the distolateral antebrachium.
The aim of this study was to describe the gross and histopathological features of a neurological syndrome in endangered Western Australian Carnaby's black cockatoos (Zanda laitirostris) that was first observed in 2012. The syndrome, named hindlimb paralysis syndrome in Carnaby's cockatoos (CHiPS), is characterized by annual outbreaks of hindlimb paralysis with occasional loss of deep pain and cloacal tone, typically occurring between January and March. Previous limited investigations suggested a possible toxic aetiology.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Gastroesophageal reflux and regurgitation occurs in brachycephalic dogs, but objective assessment is lacking.
Objectives: Quantify reflux in brachycephalic dogs using an esophageal pH probe and determine the association with scored clinical observations.
Animals: Fifty-one brachycephalic dogs.
The control of feral cats () in Australia is a key biological conservation issue. Male cats are more difficult to control than female cats. Collared and tagged female cats displaying estrous behavior have been considered as a way to lure male cats and reveal their locations.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe anaerobic intestinal spirochaete Brachyspira hyodysenteriae colonises the large intestine of pigs and causes swine dysentery (SD), a severe mucohaemorrhagic colitis. SD occurs worldwide, and control is hampered by a lack of vaccines and increasing antimicrobial resistance. B.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe mosquito-borne West Nile virus (WNV) is responsible for outbreaks of viral encephalitis in humans and horses with particularly virulent strains causing recent outbreaks in Eastern Europe, the Middle East, and North America. In Australia, a strain of WNV, Kunjin (WNVKUN), is endemic in the north and infection with this virus is generally asymptomatic. However, in early 2011, following extensive flooding, an unprecedented outbreak of WNVKUN encephalitis in horses occurred in South-Eastern Australia, resulting in more than 1,000 cases and a mortality of 10-15%.
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