Fatal Amanita muscaria poisoning in a dog confirmed by PCR identification of mushrooms.

Diagnosing mushroom poisoning in dogs can be difficult and often includes identification of suspect mushrooms. Visual identification may be hindered by mastication, oral medications, or poor quality of environmental mushroom samples. Other analytical techniques may thus be necessary to aid in mushroom identification.

Fatal bromethalin intoxication in 3 cats and 2 dogs with minimal or no histologic central nervous system spongiform change.

Use of the neurotoxic rodenticide bromethalin has steadily increased since 2011, resulting in an increased incidence of bromethalin intoxications in pets. Presumptive diagnosis of bromethalin toxicosis relies on history of possible rodenticide exposure coupled with compatible neurologic signs or sudden death, and postmortem examination findings that eliminate other causes of death. Diagnosis is confirmed by detecting the metabolite desmethylbromethalin (DMB) in tissues.

Equine antibody response to larval Parascaris equorum excretory-secretory products.

Parascaris equorum is an intestinal nematode of foals and young horses that can produce mild to severe pathology. Current diagnosis is limited to detection of patent infections, when parasite eggs are identified during fecal examinations. This study examined the use of larval P.

In vitro culture of Parascaris equorum larvae and initial investigation of parasite excretory-secretory products.

Currently, diagnosis of Parascaris equorum infection in equids is limited to patent infections. The goals of this study were to culture P. equorum larvae in vitro and identify excretory-secretory (ES) products for prepatent diagnostic testing.

Diagnostic value of tissue monensin concentrations in horses following toxicosis.

Two separate incidents of monensin exposure in horses resulting in toxicosis provided insight into the diagnostic value and interpretive criteria of various biological samples. In case 1, 25 horses broke into a shed and ingested feed that was supplemented with 800 g/ton (880 µg/g) of monensin. Within 48 hr, 1 horse had died, 2 developed cardiac arrhythmias, lethargy, and recumbency, and another was euthanized due to severe deterioration.

OAS1 polymorphisms are associated with susceptibility to West Nile encephalitis in horses.

West Nile virus, first identified within the United States in 1999, has since spread across the continental states and infected birds, humans and domestic animals, resulting in numerous deaths. Previous studies in mice identified the Oas1b gene, a member of the OAS/RNASEL innate immune system, as a determining factor for resistance to West Nile virus (WNV) infection. A recent case-control association study described mutations of human OAS1 associated with clinical susceptibility to WNV infection.

Renal mucus gland cystadenomas in a horse.

A 35-year-old horse was submitted to the necropsy service at the University of Kentucky Livestock Disease Diagnostic Center. At necropsy, multiple 1-4-cm-diameter cystic structures were incidentally identified unilaterally in the right renal medulla and the cortex. On histologic examination, the cystic structures compressed the normal renal architecture, were lined by tall columnar epithelium that formed occasional papillary projections, and contained large amounts of mucicarmine and periodic acid-Schiff-positive mucinous material.

Halicephalobus gingivalis-associated meningoencephalitis in a Thoroughbred foal.

A 13-week-old Thoroughbred colt from central Kentucky was euthanized after an acute onset of ataxia, blindness, head tremors, leaning to the right, recumbency, and seizures. Microscopically, there was a verminous meningoencephalitis characterized by an eosinophilic and granulomatous inflammatory reaction primarily affecting the cerebellum. Dispersed within regions of inflammation were numerous cross and longitudinal sections of intact and degenerative small nematodes.