Preliminary results of an anticircumsporozoite DNA vaccine trial for protection against avian malaria in captive African black-footed penguins (Spheniscus demersus).

Captive juvenile African black-footed penguins (Spheniscus demersus) housed in an outdoor enclosure at the Baltimore Zoo have an average 50% mortality from avian malarial (Plasmodium sp.) infection each year without intense monitoring for disease and chemotherapeutic intervention. During the 1996 malaria transmission season, the safety and efficacy of an anti-circumsporozoite (CSP) DNA vaccine encoding the Plasmodium gallinaceum CSP protein against P. relictum were studied. The goal was to reduce clinical disease and death without initiating sterile immunity after release into an area with stable, endemic avian malaria. The birds were monitored for adverse clinical signs associated with vaccination, the stimulation of an anti-CSP antibody response, and protection afforded by the vaccine. The presence of P. relictum in trapped culicine mosquitoes within the penguin enclosure was monitored to assess parasite pressure. Among the vaccinated penguins, the parasitemia rate dropped from approximately 50% to approximately 17% despite intense parasite pressure, as determined by mosquito infection rate. During the year of the vaccine trial, no mortalities due to malaria occurred and no undesirable vaccination side effects occurred. This is the first trial of an antimalarial vaccine in a captive penguin colony.     

Current therapies in exotic animal oncology.

The majority of information on oncology therapies has been reported in humans, canine, and feline patients, and laboratory animals with experimentally induced tumors. A variety of treatments,including radiation therapy, chemotherapy, photodynamic therapy, and others have been used with exotic animals. There are many species of exotic pets, and anatomic differences, as well as husbandry and nutritional requirements, must be taken into account to provide optimal care. By providing a broad overview of therapies and considerations for treatment, this article is intended to provide the practitioner with an overview of approach and options when addressing oncology cases in exotic animals.     

Managing the production, storage, and delivery of colostrum.

Provision of an adequate immunoglobulin mass to dairy calves is an essential component for survival, health, and future productivity. To prevent FPT of immunity due to suckling of the dam, newborn dairy calves should be removed from the calving area within 30 minutes of birth. First and later lactation cows are suitable colostrum donors, provided they are healthy, well-vaccinated, have had optimal transition management, and an appropriate dry-period length. Early colostrum collection yields an adequate immunoglobulin mass provided that 3 to 4 L of colostrum is fed to the newborn calf. Regular testing for the adequacy of the dairy's colostrum feeding program is an excellent way to prevent calf health problems and identify potential need for CSs or replacement products.     

Pancreatic islet fibrosis in rock hyraxes (Procavia capensis), Part 1: Case histories, clinical pathology, and epizootiology.

Two adult female rock hyraxes (Procavia capensis) at the Dallas Zoo were confirmed with spontaneous diabetes mellitus from 1997-2000, whereas a third animal with a similar clinical presentation never became hyperglycemic. The pancreas in all three animals showed pancreatic islet fibrosis (PIF). Retrospective examination of medical records for rock hyraxes acquired by this collection or born into it from 1991-2002 identified eight more animals affected with PIE All affected animals, including three males and eight females, were 1-7 yr of age and presented either with vague clinical signs of soft feces and rough hair coat or were acutely moribund or dead. Clinical pathology data was available for seven of the animals before onset of overt clinical signs and revealed inappropriate hyperglycemia in six, as well as elevated serum concentrations of creatine phosphokinase, amylase, and lipase in all seven animals. Pedigree evaluation did not support a familial pattern for PIE Review of the histopathology findings from nine other zoologic collections with rock hyrax deaths during the study period identified six institutions with 12 additional cases genetically unrelated to the incident collection. Histopathology and viral serology did not support an infectious cause. Analysis of serum anti-islet and anti-insulin antibodies did not suggest autoimmune disease, and none of the animals had known exposure to toxic substances. Limited nutritional analyses did not support a nutritional basis for the condition, and the cause for PIF remains unknown.     

Endoscopic sex determination and gonadal manipulation in Gulf of Mexico sturgeon (Acipenser oxyrinchus desotoi).

Seventeen Gulf of Mexico sturgeons (Acipenser oxyrinchus desotoi) underwent endoscopic sex determination, gonadal biopsy, and various reproductive surgeries as part of a conservation development plan. The fish were anesthetized with tricaine methanesulfonate (MS-222) buffered with sodium bicarbonate and maintained on a recirculating water anesthesia circuit. A 6-mm Ternamian EndoTip Cannula, placed through the ventral midline, midway between pectoral and pelvic fins, permitted the introduction of a 5-mm telescope. Swim bladder aspiration and CO2 insufflation of the coelomic cavity provided excellent observation. Second and third cannulae were placed under direct visual control, lateral and cranial or caudal to the telescope cannula. Sex determination was successfully performed in all fish; however, five of 17 sturgeons (29%) required endoscopic gonadal biopsy to confirm sex. Bilateral ovariectomy or orchidectomy was successfully performed in three males and four females. Unilateral ovariectomy and bilateral ligation of the müllerian ducts using an extracorporeal suturing technique was accomplished in an additional three females. No apparent morbidity was associated with the anesthesia or endoscopic surgery in any fish. The ability to safely perform minimally invasive reproductive surgery in fish may have important management and conservation benefits.     

Non-target toxicology of a new mosquito larvicide, trypsin modulating oostatic factor

Trypsin modulating oostatic factor (TMOF), a peptide hormone originally isolated from the ovaries of adult Aedes aegypti, is currently under commercial development as a new pesticide chemistry with a novel mode of action for the control of larval mosquitoes. The objective of the current research is to evaluate potential risks of the use of TMOF as an insecticide on non-target organisms. TMOF (YDPAP₆) was degraded in vitro (as determined by HPLC and LC/MS) to DPAP₆, PAP₆, and then AP₆ by leucine aminopeptidase, a pancreatic enzyme found in the digestive system of vertebrates. The rate of degradation of TMOF and PAP₆ was significantly greater than that of DPAP₆, while no metabolism of AP₆ was found. TMOF technical insecticide was produced on a commercial scale by recombinant yeast (heat-killed before application). The technical TMOF when administered in a single dose by gavage to male and female mice at 2000 mg dry weight/kg body weight produced no negative effects as compared to controls up to 12 days after treatment. When male and female mallard ducks were treated by gavage with 1250 mg dry weight of technical TMOF/kg body weight each day for 5 days, again no toxic effects were noted through 35 days after the last treatment. TMOF technical insecticide was also applied to the shaved skin of male and female rabbits at the rate of 2000 mg/kg for 1-2 days, with no effect. The end point observations in these in vivo experiments were mortality; changes in growth rate, behavior, body structure, and color; and possible lesions observed during necropsy. Finally, Daphnia incubated with technical TMOF in rearing water at the level of 1.0 × 10⁶ yeast cells/ml (10 mg/ml) also demonstrated no negative effects on mortality, growth, molting, time to first brood, and production of viable neonates. It appears from these studies that TMOF can be degraded by vertebrate digestive proteases and technical TMOF is not toxic to the non-target organisms examined.