Flamingos in managed care are vulnerable to inflammatory states, including pododermatitis, trauma, and capture myopathy. Fatty acids are an important component of well-balanced nutrition and crucial to endogenous immune responses associated with these conditions, yet fatty acids have not been assessed in flamingos. This study reported complete whole blood circulating fatty acid profiles in two flamingo species in managed care receiving different diets.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFHerpesviruses can be significant reptile pathogens. Herpesviral infection in a wild-caught, male spider tortoise () under human care was detected during a routine wellness examination prior to transition between zoologic organizations. The tortoise had no clinical signs of illness.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObstructive and incidental urolithiasis cases were evaluated in 5 Asian colobine monkey species (= 21 individuals) that included 12 silvery langurs (), 6 spectacled langurs (), 1 Javan langur (), 1 François' langur (), and 1 red-shanked douc langur () from eight zoologic institutions. All institutions that responded were Association of Zoos and Aquariums, European Association of Zoos and Aquaria, or World Association of Zoos and Aquariums accredited. Males were more commonly represented in the total number of cases (86%), and all cases of obstructive urolithiasis occurred in males.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe objective of this 20-yr retrospective study was to review and summarize causes of mortality in the North American (NA) snow leopard population to inform and enhance animal health and husbandry practices. Pathology reports were requested from all NA zoological institutions housing snow leopards that died between 01 January 1999 and 31 December 2019. Data were reviewed and cause of death (COD) and concurrent diseases were summarized and compared by age group, organ system, and disease process.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: An obstetrician on standby assessed an 18-year-old primiparous captive gorilla with a term singleton fetus with a protracted labor course.
Case: After it was determined that an arrest of descent had occurred, a viable, 2,280 g male neonate was delivered through an operative vaginal birth with forceps assistance without major complications.
Conclusion: Given the numerous anatomic and biochemical similarities of humans and other great apes, it is possible that the high maternal mortality and stillbirth rates of gorillas could be reduced by using the same principles of obstetric management in a multidisciplinary fashion.
Data on canine distemper virus (CDV) vaccination were collected on 812 large felids (351 tigers, ; 220 lions, ; 143 snow leopards, ; 50 leopards, ; and 48 jaguars, ) from 48 institutions to assess vaccine use and safety. The documented individual vaccination events with multiple products numbered 2,846. Canarypox-vectored CDV vaccines were the most commonly used vaccines (96.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFRed pandas () are susceptible to canine distemper, with a number of reported vaccine-induced canine distemper cases. Canarypox-vectored recombinant canine distemper vaccines (PureVax Ferret Distemper [PFD] and Recombitek CDV [rCDV]) provide protection without inoculating a live distemper virus, but there are currently no published data regarding these vaccines' safety and efficacy in red pandas. One hundred twenty-two serum samples were collected from 50 captive red pandas and analyzed for antibodies to canine distemper.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWest Nile virus (genus Flavivirus) outbreaks and mortality events have been documented in both wild and captive avian species, including penguins. Serologic response to vaccination in avian species has varied and appears to be largely species dependent; however, Humboldt penguins ( Spheniscus humboldti ) previously showed excellent rates of seroconversion. The goal of this study was to determine virus neutralization titers of 17 Humboldt penguin hens and their subsequent eggs, chicks, or both following vaccination with a killed West Nile vaccine.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAspergillosis is a common respiratory fungal disease in penguins managed under human care. Triazole antifungal drugs, including itraconazole, are most commonly used for treatment; however, itraconazole treatment failures from drug resistance are becoming more common, requiring newer treatment options. Voriconazole, a newer triazole, is being used more often.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFEight free-ranging timber rattlesnakes (Crotalus horridus) from two geographically isolated Massachusetts populations were observed with skin lesions located primarily on the head but occasionally also on the lateral and ventral surfaces of the body. The snakes underwent health assessments that included physical examination, clinical pathology, full body radiographs, and full thickness biopsies of skin lesions. Each snake had fungal elements present histologically in tissue sections from skin lesions.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAll anuran specimens in the Wildlife Conservation Society's collections testing positive for Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd) were treated with itraconazole and then studied after treatment to assess the long-term effects of itraconazole and the drug's effectiveness in eliminating Bd carriers. Twenty-four individuals and eight colonies of 11 different species (75 total specimens) tested positive for Bd via polymerase chain reaction (PCR) on multicollection survey. All positive individuals and colonies were treated with a 0.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFNonspecific responses to intradermal tuberculin skin testing (TST) have been frequently documented in silvered langurs (Trachypithecus cristatus ultima) at the Wildlife Conservation Society's Bronx Zoo. A commercial rapid lateral flow immunoassay (RT) for the identification of Mycobacterium tuberculosis and M. bovis antibodies was employed to assess this test's correlation with TST results and tuberculosis status.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSeven captive adult male guanacos (Lama guanicoe) weighing 112.0 +/- 10.9 kg (mean +/- standard deviation) were anesthetized with a combination of medetomidine (90.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFTen cases of hematuria in Grant's gazelle (Gazella granti) (two male and eight female) from five institutions were examined and the clinicopathologic data summarized. Five gazelles died spontaneously and five were euthanized. All gazelles had marked hematuria without pyuria.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFLaboratory records of serology results from captive macropodidae sampled between 1997 and 2005 were reviewed to assess the seroprevalence of retrovirus exposure. Serum samples from 269 individuals (136 males, 133 females) representing 10 species of macropods housed in 31 North American captive collections were analyzed for retrovirus antibody using an indirect immunofluorescent assay. The prevalence of positive antibody titers comparing male versus female, between species, between age groups, and among animals with identified parentage was examined by nonparametric statistical analyses.
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