The Welfare of Laboratory Animals

Veterinary Research Communications -     

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Effects of oil pollution at Kuwait's Greater Al-Burgan oil field on the timing of morning emergence, basking and foraging behaviors by the sand lizard Acanthodactylus scutellatus

An attempt was made to study the effects of oil pollution in a desert location (the Greater Al-Burgan oil fields, an area damaged in the second Gulf War) in Kuwait on the behaviour of the Sand lizard A. scutellatus. Polluted sites with apparently different degrees of contamination (namely tar mat, soot and clear sites) were compared with control areas outside this region. Between 2002 and 2003, ten lizards (5 of each sex) on each polluted and each control site were observed in the field at a time of the year when they were highly active. Air, substrate and burrow temperatures were recorded and lizards were monitored for their morning emergence times, as well as their basking and foraging activities. The present study confirmed that the morning emergence times and the basking behavior varied in sand lizards among the different pollution site categories. Physical changes in the tar mat sites caused the substrate temperatures in these locations to rise more quickly in the morning in response to solar gain than was the case in the other sites. This gives lizards in these locations the opportunity to emerge earlier and to start eating more quickly, giving them an energetic advantage (perhaps, in turn, influencing their rates of growth and fecundity). The clear sites had the next earliest emergence and were the next hottest but it is difficult to account for this in terms of the physical characteristics of this site. The basking times were clearly shorter on the dark soot and tar mat sites that appeared to have higher solar gain than control or clear sites. There did not appear to be any obvious differences in foraging activity of lizards in the different locations. It appears that some aspects of simple behaviour in these lizards provides a reliable, noninvasive indices for assessing oil pollution in desert locations. The precise impact of these changes in these reptiles on their long-term viability needs to be evaluated.     

Feline cholecystitis and acute neutrophilic cholangitis: clinical findings, bacterial isolates and response to treatment in six cases

Clinicopathological findings from six cats with confirmed cholecystitis or acute neutrophilic cholangitis are presented. Historical findings included lethargy and anorexia or inappetence of up to five days duration. On physical examination all cats were pyrexic and four out of six were jaundiced and had cranial abdominal pain. Bile samples were obtained by cholecystocentesis at exploratory coeliotomy (two cases) or by percutaneous, ultrasound-guided cholecystocentesis (four cases). Gall bladder rupture and bile peritonitis occurred subsequent to ultrasound-guided cholecystocentesis in one case. The most common bacterial isolate was Escherichia coli (four cases); E coli was isolated alone in two cases, in combination with a Streptococcus species (one case) and in combination with a Clostridium species (one case). Streptococcus species alone was isolated from one case, as was Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium. The latter is the first reported case of Salmonella-associated cholecystitis in a cat. Concurrent pancreatic or intestinal disease was detected histologically in three cases. All cases were treated with antimicrobials based on in vitro susceptibility results. Treatment was successful in five cases. One cat with concurrent diffuse epitheliotropic intestinal lymphoma was euthanased. Percutaneous ultrasound-guided cholecystocentesis is an effective, minimally-invasive technique enabling identification of bacterial isolates in cats with inflammatory hepatobiliary disease.     

Resolution of life-threatening dysphagia caused by caudal occipital malformation syndrome following foramen magnum decompressive surgery

A Cavalier King Charles Spaniel was presented with acute onset, life-threatening dysphagia suspected to be secondary to medulla oblongata compression caused by caudal occipital malformation syndrome. The patient required urgent tracheostomy tube placement to remain stable and was subsequently cured of the presenting neurological deficits by foramen magnum decompressive surgery. Neurogenic dysphagia is a relatively common presenting sign in human Chiari malformation syndromes, but has not been described as a major clinical sign in veterinary patients. Caudal occipital malformation syndrome should be included in the differential diagnosis list for susceptible breeds presenting with dysphagia. Early recognition favours expeditious surgical intervention and a positive outcome in human patients, and this may also be the case in veterinary patients.     

Lipid profiles of canine spermatozoa as revealed via matrix‐assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry

In this study, we investigated the ability of matrix‐assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry (MALDI‐MS) to characterize the lipid contents of canine spermatozoa. For that, samples of pure semen were analysed. Indeed, quite comprehensive lipid coverage was observed, and the most abundant phospholipid ions detected were from four phosphatidylcholines, that is those of m/z 760.6; 782.6; 808.6; and 830.6 and one of m/z 725.6 from a sphingomyelin. In conclusion, MALDI‐MS was found to offer an easy, fast, accurate, and sensitive analytical method for lipid profiling in canine spermatozoa and could be used as a tool to select sires by assessing the relationship between sperm lipid profiles and variables such as age and breeding history as well as to study the effects of cryopreservation on lipid contents.