Osteomyelitis associated with Salmonella enterica SS arizonae in a colony of ridgenose rattlesnakes (Crotalus willardi).

The identification of three Arizona ridgenose rattlesnakes (Crotalus willardi) with Salmonella arizonae-associated osteomyelitis led to a 5-yr prospective study of radiographic signs and Salmonella intestinal carriage rates in a 19-member colony of this rattlesnake species. Ventrodorsal radiographs were performed and cloacal swabs were cultured for Salmonella spp. annually. Ten snakes survived the 5-yr period, with six of them remaining free of bony lesions. Three snakes that had no bony lesions in 1995 developed radiographic signs of osteomyelitis during the study. Six snakes with bony lesions at the beginning of the study died or were euthanatized due to osteomyelitis during the study. The radiographic signs of osteomyelitis were progressive for five snakes that were serially radiographed. Only one snake with radiographic signs of osteomyelitis at the beginning of the study was still alive at the end of the study, and this animal's bony lesions were more extensive at the end. Thirty-nine intestinal S. arizonae isolates, representing 13 serotypes, were obtained from the 19 snakes. Salmonella arizonae serotype 56:Z4,Z23 was isolated only once from a cloacal culture, from a snake that had no radiographic bone lesions. Twelve extraintestinal Salmonella isolates, representing two serotypes, were isolated from six snakes. All extraintestinal isolates except one were of S. arizonae serotype 56:Z4,Z23, and all isolates from bone were of this serotype. One snake with characteristic bone lesions died, and Providencia rettgeri was cultured from each of the tissues cultured, whereas no Salmonella spp. were isolated from this snake. Salmonella arizonae serotype 56:Z4,Z23 [corrected] appears to have a tropism for bone and other extraintestinal sites in C. willardi and may cause a progressive, ultimately fatal disease in this species.     

Proliferative osteoarthritis and osteoarthrosis in 15 snakes.

Fifteen snakes representing seven species with segmental, proliferative osteoarthritis and osteoarthrosis of the spine were presented for examination. All the snakes were captive, privately owned, and fed domestic rodents. Physical examination, radiography, blood culture, bone culture, necropsy, and histopathology were performed on each snake. All the snakes had similar physical examination, radiologic, and necropsy findings. There were three histologic types of lesions: active bacterial osteoarthritis, predominantly noninflammatory osteoarthrosis with multifocal inflammation suggestive of chronic bacterial osteoarthritis, and noninflammatory lesions consistent with osteoarthrosis without evidence of inflammation or bacteria. These findings suggest that all these snakes represent a single disease process, bacterial infection of the vertebrae. The different histologic lesions observed in these snakes may be a continuum of lesions, from acute to chronic. Gram-negative bacteria were isolated from the blood or bone lesions of 8 of the 15 snakes. In six of these eight snakes, Salmonella species were isolated. Gram-positive bacteria (Streptococcus sp.) were isolated from two other snakes. Blood and bone culture results were well correlated, so blood culture may be effective for detecting active bacterial osteoarthritis.     

Aerobic bacterial flora of the vagina and prepuce of California sea lions (Zalophus californianus) and investigation of associations with urogenital carcinoma

To investigate the association between genital bacterial infection and urogenital carcinoma in California sea lions (Zalophus californianus), vaginal and preputial swabs for bacterial isolation were taken from 148 free-ranging and 51 stranded California sea lions including 16 animals with urogenital carcinoma. Cytological examination of vaginal or preputial smears showed a majority (65.5%, 57/87) of animals examined had mild or no inflammation. Aerobic bacteria were isolated from 116 (78.4%) wild sea lions and 100% of stranded animals. A total of 403 isolates were identified representing 51 unique bacterial species. The median number of isolates per animal increased with age in the wild group, but there was no difference in the number of isolates per animal between wild and stranded adults. The most common bacteria isolated from the wild sea lions were Psychrobacter phenylpyruvicus (39 isolates), non-hemolytic Streptococcus (35 isolates), Corynebacterium spp. (30 isolates), and Escherichia coli (20 isolates). More bacterial species were isolated from stranded animals than wild animals (33 versus 26) and there was significantly less growth of P. phenylpyruvicus, Corynebacterium spp., and Moraxella-like spp. in the stranded animals. Beta-hemolytic Streptococcus was the only bacterium significantly associated with urogenital carcinomas in California sea lions, but only in females.     

Dog-bite wounds: bacteriology and treatment outcome in 37 cases

Bite wounds in 37 dogs were prospectively evaluated. Ninety-five percent of animals presented within 12 hours of injury. The most common wound locations were neck, limbs, head, chest, shoulder region, and abdomen. Eighty-six percent had wounds to multiple locations. Fifty-seven percent of wounds were Class 4 (i.e., most severe). Based on results of all samples, 65% had positive aerobic cultures, 15% had positive anaerobic cultures, and 33% had negative cultures. The most commonly isolated aerobic bacteria were Staphylococcus intermedius, Enterococcus spp., Staphylococcus coagulase negative, and Escherichia coli. Most common anaerobic isolates were Bacillus spp., Clostridium spp., and Corynebacterium spp. Severe bite wounds had a high rate of bacterial contamination at presentation. No single antibiotic or antibiotic combination was effective against all bacteria that were cultured.     

Aerobic oral bacteria in healthy captive snakes

Cotton swab samples were taken from the ventral surface of the mouth and from the proximal esophagus from 23 captive nonpoisonous snakes. The samples were cultured and investigated for aerobic bacteria. Both the mouth and the esophagus) samples of 6 snakes were negative. When the bacterial isolates of the mouth and the esophagus of the whole snake population were compared, it was found that the flora isolated from both locations were similar. However, when the samples of individual snakes were compared it was found that the same isolates were seldom found in both the mouth and the esophagus. The most common bacteria found were Pseudomonas sp., Alcaligenes-like organisms, Gram-positive rods and Gram-positive cocci belonging to the family Micrococcaceae. Important pathogens were seldom isolated. Salmonella virchow could be found from 2 snakes. The presence of bacteriologically negative samples, great variations in the composition of the flora between individual snakes, and the occurrence of typical environmental bacteria in the oral cavity all suggest that snakes lack a specific autochtonous flora: and the bacteria isolated from the oral cavity may be occasional environmental bacteria. The source of pathogens may be the environment, too.     

Venomous Snake Restraint and Handling

Venomous snakes may be maintained as captive animals and are commonly exhibited in both zoos and private zoological collections. Veterinarians who treat reptile species may be asked to provide medical care to venomous snakes. The addition of venomous snakes to the practice can be exciting and rewarding. Training and experience handling venomous snakes are required before treating these animals in a veterinary practice. Both training and experience with handling venomous snakes are important not only to protect hospital personnel but the owner and patient as well. Veterinarians who wish to provide care for venomous snakes need to be familiar with the many tools used to make restraint and handling venomous animals as safe as possible.     

Increased dietary zinc oxide changes the bacterial core and enterobacterial composition in the ileum of piglets

This study was conducted to investigate the effects of increased dietary ZnO on the bacterial core and enterobacterial composition in the small intestine of piglets that were fed diets containing a total of 124 or 3,042 mg of Zn per kilogram of diet, respectively. Zinc was supplemented to the basal diet as ZnO. Bacterial 16S rRNA genes of ileal DNA extracts were PCR-amplified with 2 bar-coded primer sets and sequenced by 454 pyrosequencing. The bacterial core species were calculated from the relative abundances of reads present in 5 of 6 samples per group and at a minimum of 5 sequences per sample. The reference database SILVA was used to assign sequence reads at an alignment minimum of 200 bases and 100% identity. Lactic acid bacteria dominated the bacterial core, but showed diverse responses to dietary ZnO. Of the dominant Lactobacillus spp., Lactobacillus reuteri was reduced due to increased dietary ZnO (44.7 vs. 17.9%; P=0.042), but L. amylovorus was not influenced. However, the changes of relative abundances of other lactic acid bacteria were more noteworthy; Weissella cibaria (10.7 vs. 23.0%; P=0.006), W. confusa (10.0 vs. 22.4%; P=0.037), Leuconostoc citreum (6.5 vs. 14.8%; P=0.009), Streptococcus equinus (0.14 vs. 1.0%; P=0.044), and S. lutetiensis (0.01 vs. 0.11%; P=0.016) increased in relative abundance. Nonlactic acid bacteria that were influenced by increased dietary ZnO included the strict anaerobic species, Sarcina ventriculi, which showed a strong numerical decrease in relative abundance (14.6 vs. 5.1%). Species of the Enterobacteriaceae increased their relative abundance, as well as species diversity, in the high dietary ZnO experimental group. Bacterial diversity indices were increased due to increased dietary ZnO (P < 0.05), which was traced back to the increase of sequences from subdominant species. Increased dietary ZnO led to an increase of less prominent species and, thus, had a major impact on the bacterial composition and diversity in piglets. This effect may help to stabilize the intestinal microbiota in the sensitive postweaning period.     

Trends in fluoroquinolone resistance of bacteria isolated from canine urinary tracts.

Fluoroquinolone (FQ) antimicrobial agents are used extensively in human and veterinary medicine. Widespread use of any antimicrobial agent can apply selective pressure on populations of bacteria, which may result in an increase in the prevalence of antimicrobial-resistant isolates. Antimicrobial-susceptibility data on bacteria isolated from the canine urinary tract by the University of Missouri-Columbia Veterinary Medical Diagnostic Laboratory, Columbia, MO, were used to determine whether there has been an increase in the prevalence of FQ-resistant bacteria over time. Between January 1992 and December 2001, minimum inhibitory concentrations of either ciprofloxacin (1992-1998) or enrofloxacin (1998-2001) were determined for 1,478 bacterial isolates from the canine urinary tract. The predominant bacterial species isolated were Escherichia coli (547 isolates), Proteus mirabilis (156), and Staphylococcus intermedius (147). In all, there were 13 bacterial species with more than 25 isolates each. A significant increase in the overall proportion of resistant bacterial isolates was documented from 1992 to 2001 (Cochran-Armitage test for trend, P < 0.0001). The same increase in resistant isolates was documented when either ciprofloxacin or enrofloxacin was analyzed separately (P < 0.0001 and P < 0.0002, respectively). No difference was detected in rates of bacterial FQ resistance with regard to the sex of the dog from which the bacteria were isolated. The frequency with which some bacterial species were isolated differed with the sex of the infected dog. Proteus mirabilis was found more often in females (P < 0.0001), whereas beta hemolytic Streptococcus spp., were found more often in males (P = 0.0003). Although the overall efficacy of FQ antimicrobials remained high with greater than 80% of isolates being susceptible, the data demonstrated an increase in the proportion of resistant bacteria isolated from the urinary tract of the dog.     

Bacterial contamination of commercial ear cleaners following routine home use

Ear cleaning solutions are designed for repeated use, which raises the possibility for bacterial contamination leading to recurrent or persistent infectious otitis. The purpose of this study was to investigate the prevalence of bacterial contamination of commercial ear cleaners following routine home use in dogs and to describe the characteristics that are associated with contamination. Used ear cleaner bottles and information regarding their use were obtained from canine owners visiting veterinary dermatologists. Both the bottle applicator tips and the solution contents were cultured for aerobic bacteria. Bacterial contamination was present on 10% of the bottle tips and in 2% of the solutions. Isolated bacteria included Staphylococcus pseudintermedius, Bacillus spp., coagulase-negative Staphylococcus spp., Micrococcus spp. and Burkholderia cepacia. The contamination rate was significantly higher on the applicator tips than in the solutions (P = 0.0076). The applicator tip contamination rate was significantly higher in expired samples (17%) than in-date samples (4%; P = 0.0277). The bottle sizes were significantly larger for the samples with contaminated applicator tips compared with noncontaminated tips (P = 0.0455). The contamination rate was significantly higher when Tris-EDTA was an ingredient. Cleanliness of the bottle, contact with the ear canal and infection status of the ear at time of culture had no bearing on the contamination rate. In summary, with routine home use of commercial ear cleaners, pathogenic bacterial contamination is of minor concern. This concern may increase when expired products or larger bottles of ear cleaner are used and when Tris-EDTA is an ingredient.     

A survey of the aerobic bacteria in the feces of captive raptors

Feces of 47 captive raptors belonging to the order Falconiformes or Strigiformes were cultured for bacteria. Gram-negative bacteria, which were cultured from the feces of 45 of the 47 raptors, were the most common isolates. A wide variety of species were identified, including a newly described genus (Moellerella wisconsensis), two newly described species (Escherichia fergusonii and Proteus penneri), and a member of a newly described enteric group (CDC Enteric group 41). Additional organisms identified that have not been reported in previous bacteriological surveys of raptors were Salmonella heidelberg, Salmonella braenderup, Morganella morganii, Yersinia ruckeri, Serratia spp., and Kluyvera sp. Escherichia coli, isolated from the feces of 42 of the 47 raptors, was the most frequently recovered. Streptococcus faecalis, the second most common isolate, was cultured from 30 birds. Several differences were observed between fecal bacteria isolated from raptors fed commercially prepared chicken and those isolated from raptors not fed chicken. The most obvious difference was that birds fed chicken had more varied gram-negative bacterial species and in greater numbers per fecal sample. The potential for the isolated bacteria from raptors as pathogens in humans and avian species is discussed.     

Pyothorax in 26 cats: clinical signs, laboratory results and therapy (2000-2007)

Common historical findings in 26 cats with pyothorax were dyspnea (85%), lethargy (65%), and anorexia (62%), common clinical findings were dyspnea (89%), tachypnea (73%), fever (39%), and hypothermia (27%). Frequent laboratory abnormalities were leukocytosis (68%) with a left shift (100%), anemia (65%), hypoalbuminemia (91%), hyperglobulinemia (86%), hyperbilirubinemia (60%) as well as azotemia (52%). The thoracic effusion was purulent in all cats, the thoracic fluid evaluation (n = 19) met the criteria for an inflammatory exudate (protein 32-63 g/l, median 44; cell count 54.4-390 x 10(9)/l, median 100). Cytological analysis revealed bacteria in 21 of 24 cats. From 16 cats 13 different genera were isolated, 5 cultures were without bacterial growth. In 12.5% of the cats a single population of bacteria was identified, and in 87.5% a mixture of 2-4 different bacterial species were cultured. Obligate anaerobic bacteria were the most common isolates (70%) followed by facultative anaerob (22.5%) and aerob growing (7.5%) bacteria. Bacterial culture most often yielded Fusobacteria spp., Prevotella spp., Pasteurella spp., Porphyromonas spp. and Bacteroides spp. Three cats were euthanized at the day of presentation. A thoracic lavage was performed in 22 cats; mechanical complications with the chest tubes occured in 4 cats. Thoracotomy was performed in 2 cats. Of the 23 treated cats 17 survived (74%).     

Bacterial infection of the lower respiratory tract in 34 horses

OBJECTIVE: To investigate associations between the bacteriology and aspects of history, clinical presentation, outcome and pathology of lower respiratory tract disease of 34 horses. PROCEDURE: Detailed aerobic and anaerobic bacteriological investigations were performed on clinical specimens from horses with pneumonia, lung abscessation and necrotic pneumonia with or without pleurisy in an attempt to identify those bacteria that might contribute to the initiation and progression of infection. RESULTS: Bacteria were cultured from 33 of the 34 horses. In ten cases, only aerobic/facultatively anaerobic isolates were cultured while aerobic/facultatively anaerobic bacteria and obligately anaerobic bacteria were isolated in the other 23 cases. Moderate to large numbers of anaerobic bacteria were isolated only when the estimated duration of illness was at least five days. Bacteria were not cultured from 12 of the pleural fluid samples but were always cultured from pulmonary samples (either transtracheal aspirates from live horses or pulmonary lesions at necropsy). Streptococcus equi subsp zooepidemicus was isolated in the three cases where only one bacterial species was cultured. In the other 30 cases, multiple species were isolated. These included most often and in greatest numbers, Streptococcus equi subsp zooepidemicus, Pasteurellaceae, Escherichia coli, anaerobic cocci, Eubacterium fossor, Bacteroides tectum, Prevotella heparinolytica, Fusobacterium spp, and pigmented members of the genera Prevotella and Porphyromonas. Aerobic/facultatively anaerobic organisms were isolated from 97% of horses, while obligately anaerobic organisms were cultured from 68% of horses. CONCLUSION: There was no association between the isolation of any specific bacterium and the outcome of disease. However, obligately anaerobic bacteria (such as anaerobic cocci, Bacteroides tectum, P heparinolytica and Fusobacterium spp) and the facultatively anaerobic species Escherichia coli, were recovered more commonly from horses that died or were euthanased than from those that survived. There was an association between failure of horses to recover from pleuropneumonia and delay in diagnosis and initiation of treatment.     

Fatal mycotic dermatitis in captive brown tree snakes (Boiga irregularis).

Cutaneous fungal infections occurred in four captive brown tree snakes (Boiga irregularis). The ventral scales were most commonly affected, and lesions began as areas of erythema and edema with vesicle formation, followed by development of caseous brown plaques. Lesions usually started where ventral scales overlapped and spread rapidly. All snakes died within 14 days after clinical signs were first noted. The deaths of three of the snakes were directly attributable to the cutaneous disease; the other snake died from renal failure and visceral gout, most likely induced by gentamicin therapy. Histologically, lesions consisted of epidermal hyperplasia and hyperkeratosis, with foci of epidermal necrosis, intraepidermal vesicle formation, and subacute inflammation of the underlying dermis. These lesions were associated with bacteria and numerous septate, branched fungal hyphae within the epidermis and overlying serocelluar crusts. Hyphae that penetrated through the superficial surface of the epidermis often formed terminal arthroconidia. The same species of fungus was isolated in pure culture from the skin of three snakes, but fungal cultures were not performed on samples from the fourth snake. The fungus has been identified as the Chrysosporium anamorph of Nannizziopsis vriesii based on its formation of solitary dermatophytelike aleurioconidia and alternate and fission arthroconidia. The source of the fungus in this outbreak was not determined; however, the warm, moist conditions under which the snakes were housed likely predisposed them to opportunistic cutaneous fungal infections.     

Mastitis in Camelus dromedarius in Saudi Arabia

The correlation between camels' milk samples collected from abnormal inflamed udders and samples positive in the California Mastitis Test (CMT) was +0.803 (P less than 0.01). The bacterial count ranges of milk samples differed significantly (P less than 0.05) for those with a negative CMT and those with a positive CMT. Infection with many but not all bacterial species was associated with positive CMT results. The highest percentage of camel milk samples was included in the bacterial count range of 3.0 x 10(2) to 3.0 x 10(3) cfu/ml rather than in the greater than 3.0 x 10(3) cfu/ml range for most of the bacterial species. The most predominant bacterial isolates were Micrococcus spp., Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus spp. and Corynebacterium spp. followed by eight other flora. Chloramphenicol was the most effective antimicrobial agent of six tested against 118 bacterial isolates. Preliminary observations are made on chemotherapy of mastitis cases in camels.     

Necrotizing granulomatous hepatitis in slaughtered broilers

The present study describes a subclinical necrotizing granulomatous hepatitis in normal broilers routinely slaughtered in a medium-sized (72,000 birds per day) abattoir in the Netherlands. An exploratory investigation was scheduled on line during 20-min periods for 82 flocks (3000 birds examined per period). Liver and duodenum samples were collected for histopathology from 365 birds with liver pathology. Bacteriology was performed from 240 livers with lesions and 80 control livers. In addition to the hepatic pathology, other gross lesions of the carcasses, such as footpad dermatitis and broken legs/wings, were noted. The average prevalence for gross liver lesions was 0.16% (ranging from 0% to 0.63% per flock); 89.59% of the livers were enlarged, had a firm consistency, and revealed multifocal necrotic spots. Microscopically, 51.66% showed a granulomatous reaction in addition to the necrosis. There was no consistent anaerobic or aerobic bacterial growth in comparison to normal livers. A large proportion of the livers revealed growth of Escherichia coli, Bacteroides spp., Lactobacillus spp., Staphylococcus spp., and Streptococcus spp., and this was often with more than one type of bacterial colony. The duodenum mucosa grossly showed some redness with a mucous mass on its surface. Microscopically (n = 176) in 5.70% there were no changes in anatomy and cellular activities; 64.20% had a mildly increased number of lymphoid cells and heterophils in the lamina propria and between villus epithelial cells. The remaining 30.10% had moderate degenerative changes of villus epithelium with a mixed cellular infiltration in the lamina propria; 23.29% of the duodenum samples contained coccidia (infestation stage: mild to moderate). Signs of overgrowth with Clostridium spp. were not observed. There was a small, but significant correlation (rs = 0.30; P = 0.006) between prevalence of liver pathology and footpad dermatitis.     

Bacterial Identity and Characteristics in Healthy and Unhealthy Respiratory Tracts of Sheep and Calves

Barbour, E.K., Nabbut, N.H., Hamadeh, S.K. and Al-Nakhli, H.M., 1997. Bacterial identity and characteristics in healthy and unhealthy respiratory tracts of sheep and calves. Veterinary Research Communications, 21 (6), 421-430The aim of this study was to compare different bacteriological aspects of the respiratory systems of healthy (H) versus unhealthy (UH) animals with respiratory signs. The prevalence of different bacterial species was determined in the upper and lower respiratory tract of H and UH Najdi sheep, Somali sheep and Holstein calves. The characteristics of Pasteurella spp. isolates, and the biotype of Pasteurella haemolytica were identified in H and UH animals. Eighteen out of 28 (64.3%) of the identified bacterial species in the upper respiratory tract were more prevalent in the nasal cavities of UH Najdi and Somali sheep and Holstein calves with respiratory signs than in apparently healthy animals; four of the most prevalent bacteria in the upper respiratory system of UH sheep were Moraxella spp., Pseudomonas pseudomallei, Erysipelothrix spp., and Pasteurella multocida, while three of the most prevalent bacteria in UH calves were Pasturella haemolytica, Actinomyces spp., and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. The prevalence of six different bacterial species was greater in the lungs of UH animals, namely Actinomyces pyogenes, Erysipelothrix spp., P. haemolytica, Pasteurella ureae, Staphylococcus aureus, and Staphylococcus epidermidis, which could be risk factors in the complexity of the prevalent respiratory diseases of the animals surveyed.Of the biochemical, cytological and colonial characteristics studied in the identified P. haemolytica and P. multocida, two characters were significantly different (p < 0.05) in organisms isolated from UH as compared to those from H animals. These were the higher loss of haemolytic power by the strains of P. haemolytica and the decreased fermentation of trehalose by all the strains of P. multocida recovered from healthy animals.The only biotype of P. haemolytica isolated from H animals was biotype A, while both biotypes A (88.0% of the isolates) and T (12.0% of the isolates) were recovered from UH animals.     

Conjunctival flora observed in 70 healthy domestic rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus)

Conjunctival swabs were taken from both eyes of 70 healthy domestic rabbits and cultured to determine the microbial population. Bacteria were recovered from 83 per cent of the specimens. DNase-negative Staphylococcus species (57 per cent) were the most commonly recovered organisms followed by Micrococcus species (25 per cent) and Bacillus species (19 per cent). Other organisms isolated included Stomatococcus species (8 per cent), Neisseria species (8 per cent), Pasteurella species (6 per cent), Corynebacterium species (6 per cent), Streptococcus species (6 per cent) and Moraxella species (4 per cent), and other bacteria were isolated less frequently. Statistical analysis showed that there appeared to be no significant difference between the bacterial isolation rates from different breeds of rabbit. Significantly more of the swabs taken from young rabbits yielded cultivable bacteria than did those taken from rabbits over 12 months of age.     

Conjunctival bacterial and fungal flora in healthy horses in the UK

Objectives To describe the bacterial and fungal flora of the normal conjunctiva of horses in the UK; to determine the effect of horse age, sex, geographic location, and housing on this flora; and to determine the most appropriate antimicrobial drug(s) for prophylactic treatment of corneal ulcers. Animal studied A total of 60 adult healthy horses were studied. Procedure Swabs of the conjunctiva were obtained from 60 horses housed in two locations within the UK. Specimens were cultured for aerobic bacteria and fungi, and sensitivity against six ophthalmic antimicrobials assessed. The effect of age, sex, location and housing on the frequency of microbial isolation was evaluated. Results Fifty‐four bacterial isolates, representing thirteen genera of bacteria were cultured from 31 (52%) horses. The most frequently isolated bacterial species was Acinetobacter sp (17/32 horses). The majority of isolates (28/54: 52%) were gram‐positive. Three genera of fungi (Mucor, Absidia and Aspergillus spp) were isolated from eight (13%) horses. There was no significant effect of geographic location, sex, age or housing on frequency of microbial isolation. Horses from which gram‐negative bacteria were isolated were significantly older than horses from which gram‐positive bacteria were isolated. High efficacy (greater than 90% of isolates sensitive in vitro) was displayed by chloramphenicol, gentamicin and tetracycline. Conclusions The microbial species isolated are comparable with studies performed in other countries, although the frequency of Acinetobacter isolation was higher which may reflect a geographic difference. The topical antimicrobials gentamicin and chloramphenicol are appropriate first line antimicrobials for empirical treatment of corneal ulcers in the UK.     

Elapid snake envenomation in dogs in New South Wales: a review

Elapid snake envenomation in dogs is a commonly occurring yet poorly described clinical entity. Twelve species of dangerously venomous elapid snakes are found in New South Wales that are capable of causing disease in dogs. Geographical distribution of these species varies, as does their venom composition and systemic envenomation syndromes produced in target species. Elapid venom may be divided into the components of prothrombin activating enzymes, lipases and peptidic neurotoxins. Each species of elapid snake may possess venom components that fit any or all of these classifications. The action of these venom components may result in neurotoxic (pre-synaptic and post-synaptic), haemotoxic (red-cell destruction and coagulation disturbance), cardiovascular, myotoxic and secondary nephrotoxic effects. Marked variability may occur in venom composition between and within snake species, resulting in varying toxicity between species and also potentially unreliable clinical syndromes following envenomation. The existence of certain components consistently within the venom of each snake species allows the broad definition of basic pathological processes and clinicopathological changes resulting from snake species-specific envenomation and these are discussed. Diagnosis of snake envenomation is unreliable if based on clinical signs alone and the use of these signs in conjunction with history, physical examination and laboratory investigation, including snake venom detection kits, is recommended. Treatment of systemic envenomation should be undertaken with initial effective first aid and subsequent administration of snake species-specific antivenom.     

Characterization and cooled storage of semen from corn snakes (Elaphe guttata).

The phylogenetic order Squamata has many representatives that could benefit from the use of semen preservation as a tool for assisting conservation. To date, few studies have been made evaluating the potential for collecting and preserving semen from snakes. The objectives of this study were to characterize semen parameters of the corn snake (Elaphe guttata), including appearance, volume, concentration, sperm motility, and sperm morphology, and to determine the longevity of corn snake sperm motility stored at 4 degrees C. Single semen samples were collected from 22 adult corn snakes. The appearance of the corn snake semen was generally cloudy, and the color was white to tan. Corn snake spermatozoa initially exhibited a median motility of 92.5%. Corn snakes were found to produce small-volume ejaculates (median 0.01 ml). However, the overall concentration of the snake ejaculate was high (chi = 852 x 10(6) +/- 585 x 10(6) spermatozoa/ml). Morphologically, a mean of 75.7 +/- 9.3% of the sperm cells in an ejaculate were normal. Snake ejaculate with a white appearance had significantly higher sperm concentrations (chi = 1,859 x 10(6) +/- 1,008 x 106 sperm cells/ml; F = 15.74, P = 0.001) than tan ejaculates (chi = 601 x 10(6) +/- 439 x 106 sperm cells/ml). Sperm motility decreased significantly in samples that were stored at 4 degrees C for greater than 48 hr in a refrigerator or Equitainer I. This is the first study to characterize semen volume, appearance, and concentration; sperm motility; and sperm morphology in captive corn snakes. The information derived from this study can be used to develop a model for a collection, cooled storage, and shipping program for semen from endangered or threatened captive and wild snakes.