Experimental infection of sheep with hydatids

Extract

Sir, — Readers of “Problems in Hydatid Eradication” (N.Z. vet. J. 28: 211, 1980) may have gained the impression that Wallaceville is a source of hydatid infection. However, the experiments alluded to took place at Wallaceville's Hydatid Field Unit on the Taieri Plain, Otago, and not at Wallaceville itself (the mis-report occurred in a MAF bulletin which I assume was your information source). Also, “hydatids” signified Taenia hydatigena and not Echinococcus granulosus (the experimental details can be found in Gemmell, Johnstone and Boswell, Res vet. Sci. 24: 334–338, 1978).     

A case of cystic hydatids in the cat

This is the first report of the identification of Acuaria skrjabini Ozerska, 1926 (Nematoda: Spirurida) in New Zealand. The nematodes were recovered from the gizzard of a Cordon Bleu finch (Uraeginthus bengalus) kept as a caged bird at Waldronville. Otago. Mebendazole (Telmin), at 12S parts per million in the drinking water for 6 days, appeared to treat the infection successfully.     

Pseudo-placentational Endometrial Cysts in a Bitch

Cystic alterations of the canine endometrium compromise reproduction and fertility of the bitch and may lead to life-threatening diseases, such as pyometra. Even without clinical evidence, reduction of the uterine lumen by cysts implicates disturbances during migration, nidation and development of the embryo. Several studies point to the high variability of morphology of uterine endometrial cysts but they lack detailed analyses of alterations. In the present study, immunohistochemistry was used to investigate the expression of steroid hormone receptors (oestrogen, progesterone), proliferation activity, inflammation and infection in the cystic affected tissue regions in contrast to the normal endometrium. Oestrogen receptor expression showed a high density of receptors throughout the surface epithelial cells, crypt epithelial cells, glandular epithelial cells and stromal cells of the normal endometrium as well as the cystic affected regions. Proliferation in the cysts was verified in the middle and basal cells of the crypts. Neither in the endometrium nor in the cysts inflammatory processes or evidence of infection could be detected. Furthermore, lectin histochemistry and electron microscopic methods showed that lectin binding patterns and cell morphology of internal epithelial lining and surface epithelium of the cysts can be used to characterize and distinguish different types of cystic alterations. Analogies between epithelial cells of the glandular chambers of the canine placenta and the cystic cellular morphology, steroid hormone receptor distribution as well as lectin binding patterns of the endometrial cysts, as observed in this study, suggest to introduce the term 'pseudo-placentational endometrial cysts'.     

Drug eruption in a cat resembling pemphigus foliaceus

An 18-month-old Siamese cat, under treatment with cimetidine, developed an exfoliative dermatitis involving the ears, face and feet. Foot-pad lesions and paronychia with a caseous exudate were also present. Histopathology of skin biopsies showed subcorneal pustules involving the hair follicles. These findings were suggestive of pemphigus foliaceus. However, the presence of cutaneous vasculitis and the results of immunofluorescence testing did not support this diagnosis. Skin lesions disappeared when cimetidine treatment was stopped and reappeared with its re-use. A diagnosis of drug eruption was made.     

Intrapericardial Cysts in the Dog

Intrapericardial cysts were identified as the cause of impaired cardiac filling in six young dogs. Pneumo-pericardiography and two-dimensional echocardiography showed the cysts in 2 of 2 dogs and in 4 of 4 dogs, respectively. One dog, which was also infected with heartworms, died before surgical excision of the cyst could be performed. In the remaining dogs, surgical excision of the cysts and subtotal pericar-diectomy was successfully accomplished. Histologic examination of the excised tissue from one dog suggested that it was a pericardial coelomic cyst. The gross and histologic characteristics of the cysts removed from the other five dogs resembled those of acquired cystic hematomas. The etiopathogenesis of these cysts was uncertain, but all cysts were connected to a fatty pedicle of tissue. In one dog, a stalk of tissue was observed to enter the pericardium through a small peritoneopericardial diaphragmatic hernia. In four dogs, the stalk of tissue was adhered to the apex of the parietal pericardium. These observations suggested that intrapericardial cysts, in some dogs, develop in association with, and possibly as a result of, congenital herniation and entrapment of omentum or a portion of the falciform ligament into the pericardial sac. (Journal of Veterinary Internal Medicine 1993; 7:364–369. Copyright © 1993 by the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine.)     

Small-intestinal cryptosporidiosis in a chicken

Severe small-intestinal cryptosporidiosis was diagnosed in a chicken that had diarrhea, was weak, and had failed to thrive. Intestine segments also were parasitized by Eimeria sp. and bacteria. Disseminated foci of malignant lymphocytes were present in several organs. Spontaneously occurring intestinal cryptosporidiosis has not been reported in chickens.     

Dermatitis and lymphadenitis resembling juvenile cellulitis in a four-year-old dog

A four-year-old, entire male toy poodle was presented with a two-and-a-half-week history of ocular discharge progressing to periorbital alopecia, depigmentation, alopecia and ulceration around the muzzle. There was also a haemorrhagic discharge from the ears, pyrexia, lethargy and generalised lymphadenopathy. The clinical, cytological, bacteriological and histopathological findings were consistent with a diagnosis of dermatitis resembling juvenile cellulitis in an adult dog. Glucocorticoid therapy led to rapid resolution of the clinical signs and the dog has remained in remission for two years after cessation of treatment.     

Neutrophilic dermatosis resembling pyoderma gangrenosum in a dog with polyarthritis

This report describes a case of neutrophilic dermatosis in a dog, with a number of clinical and pathological similarities to human pyoderma gangrenosum. A seven-year-old, female German shepherd dog with a history of non-erosive idiopathic polyarthritis was presented with severe facial swelling, bilateral erosivoulcerative lesions on the muzzle and multiple, eroded, dermal-subcutaneous nodules on the cranial trunk. Histopathological examination of skin biopsies revealed a necrotising neutrophilic dermatitis. No infectious agents could be detected using specific stains, immunohistochemistry, serology and bacterial aerobic, anaerobic or fungal cultures. A sterile neutrophilic dermatosis resembling human pyoderma gangrenosum was presumptively diagnosed, and the patient showed an excellent response to treatment with prednisone and ciclosporin.     

Dystocia attributable to a fetal monster resembling schistosomus reflexus in a donkey

A schistosomus reflexus fetal monster was removed from a jenny via cesarean section. This type of anomaly is seen principally in ruminants and swine. Only 3 cases have been reported in Equidae.     

A malignant neoplasm resembling a circumanal gland adenocarcinoma in a dog.

In the neoplasm of this report a final diagnosis of a circumanal gland adenocarcinoma invading the vertebral column and canal was made based on the histologic appearance. No growths were noted in the circumanal gland region and the location of the primary neoplasm is open to debate.     

An oral choristoma in a foal resembling hairy polyp in humans

A neonatal foal was presented with a 6.5-cm pedunculated mass arising from the upper deciduous incisors. The distal end was soft and covered by haired skin, whereas the proximal end was firm, covered with mucosal epithelium, and at the point of transection contained a fully developed tooth. Microscopically, the mass was covered by epidermis and mucosal epithelium and the remaining portion of the mass consisted of mature collagen, nonneoplastic fat and smooth muscle, and a single tooth within a bony socket. The mass is consistent with an oral choristoma and has features similar to those described for hairy polyp in humans.     

Extracutaneous neutrophilic inflammation in a dog with lesions resembling Sweet's Syndrome

A 7-year-old-spayed female standard poodle dog presented to the Iowa State University Veterinary Teaching Hospital with an 8-day history of lethargy, left hind limb lameness, ptyalism and peripheral lymphadenomegaly. On physical examination, the dog was lethargic, febrile (40.5 °C) and had multifocal to coalescing erythematous papular to pustular eruptions on the skin of all four limbs, periocularly and on the ventral and lateral thorax and abdomen. Histopathological findings from skin biopsies of the papules revealed a severe diffuse neutrophilic dermatitis with sub- and intra-epithelial pustules. Four days after being admitted the dog died from cardiac and respiratory failure. At necropsy, in addition to the multifocal to coalescing erythematous papules, the skin contained scattered pustules. Additionally, the subcutaneous tissue surrounding the right stifle was diffusely oedematous, and the peripheral and visceral lymph nodes were enlarged. The predominant histologic lesion was neutrophilic inflammation, in the absence of detectable bacteria in the skin, heart, lungs, oesophagus and left tarsus. In the absence of neoplasia or bacteraemia, a syndrome similar to Sweet's Syndrome should be considered as a differential diagnosis in dogs with cutaneous and extracutaneous neutrophilic infiltrates.