Parasitological examination results of zoo animals in Germany between 2012 and 2022.

Parasitic infections in zoo animals are a critical concern for both animal health and management. The aim of this study was to assess the occurrence of endo- and ectoparasites among zoo animals in Germany. A retrospective analysis of the submitted samples of a diverse range of zoo animals (5768) from a ten-year period (2012-2022) was conducted.

Detection of Coxiella burnetii DNA and anti-Coxiella burnetii IgG antibodies in precolostral blood samples of stillborn calves in an endemically infected Holstein dairy herd.

Coxiella burnetii (C. burnetii), an intracellular zoonotic bacterium causing Q fever, occurs widely in cattle herds. After invasion of the pregnant uterus and initial localization in the placenta, active C.

[Investigation of the presence of the etiological agents of malignant catarrhal fever in clinically healthy ruminants in zoological gardens].

Malignant catarrhal fever (MCF) is an infectious disease in even-toed ungulates including domestic cattle and wild living ruminants, which repeatedly also occurred in zoological gardens in Europe. The goal of the study presented here was to determine whether wild ruminants--here in the sense of non-domesticated ruminant species in zoological collections--normally not known as carriers of MCF viruses, may carry and shed these viruses and thus might play a possible role as source of infection. To this end, swap samples from eye, nose, and rectum, and also some blood samples, collected from different ruminant species in 11 zoological gardens and animal parks in the years 2007 to 2009 were examined with real-time polymerase chain reaction (rt-PCR) for the presence of the genome of viruses known to cause MCF most frequently: alcelaphine herpesvirus 1 (AIHV-1), ovine herpesvirus 2 (OvHV-2), caprine herpesvirus 2 (CpHV-2) and malignant catarrhal fever virus--white-tailed deer (MCFV-WTD) The results of this investigation showed the presence of the genomes of one--or more--of these MCF viruses in five of the contributing institutions.

[Breeding management of black rhinos (Diceros bicornis michaeli) in Magdeburg Zoo].

Objective: The African black rhino is an endangered species. In Germany there are only five zoos where this species is kept and breeding has not been successful in all of them. In Magdeburg Zoo the last birth occurred in December 2005, and during the following years, no matings could be observed.

Thoracic auscultation in captive bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus), California sea lions (Zalophus californianus), and South African fur seals (Arctocephalus pusillus) with an electronic stethoscope.

Thoracic auscultation is an important diagnostic method used in cases of suspected pulmonary disease in many species, as respiratory sounds contain significant information on the physiology and pathology of the lungs and upper airways. Respiratory diseases are frequent in marine mammals and are often listed as one of their main causes of death. The aim of this study was to investigate and report baseline parameters for the electronic-mediated thoracic auscultation of one cetacean species and two pinniped species in captivity.