Mycotic dermatitis with digital gangrene and osteomyelitis,and protozoal intestinal parasitism in Marlborough green geckos (Naultinus manukanus)

CASE HISTORY: Thirty adult Marlborough green geckos (Naultinus manukanus) were collected from Stephens Island and held over winter, prior to their translocation. Five adult geckos developed skin lesions after husbandry changes affected the humidity of their enclosures. Two geckos underwent ecdysis and recovered. One animal died and two others progressively worsened and were presented for treatment.

CLINICAL AND PATHOLOGICAL FINDINGS: The geckos were in poor body condition and had multiple black powdery lesions and solitary raised white nodules on their skin. Both geckos died despite topical and supportive treatment. Histopathology showed the skin nodules contained branching non-septate hyphae infiltrating necrotic epidermal tissue, and associated dermal inflammation. There was necrosis of several digits and mycotic osteomyelitis. Mucor ramosissimus was cultured from skin biopsies from each animal. Large numbers of motile protozoa, resembling Trichomonas, and another unidentifiable, were recovered from fresh faecal smears, and Nyctotherus sp protozoa were present in the lumen of the intestine of one animal post mortem.

DIAGNOSIS: Mycotic dermatitis with digital gangrene and osteomyelitis due to Mucor ramosissimus, and enteric protozoal parasitism with Trichomonas sp and Nyctotherus sp.

CLINICAL RELEVANCE: The clinical course and pathological findings of mycotic dermatitis in two Marlborough green geckos involved in a wildlife translocation in New Zealand are reported, and also the first record of the Marlborough green gecko as a host for the enteric protozoa Trichomonas sp and Nyctotherus sp.     

Residues of zineb and ethylene thiourea in orchard treated pears and commercial pear products

Zineb and ethylene thiourea (ETU) residues were monitored in Bartlett pears after spraying with zineb (5.04 kg a.i./ha). Zineb dissipated seven times faster in the first 10 days after application than in the subsequent days of the study; ETU residues ranged from 0.02 to 0.01 mg/kg over the 21 day trial. A 3–6% conversion of ethylene-bisdithiocarbamate to ETU was found upon boiling treated pears. Analysis of randomly selected commercially canned pears and baby food pear purée showed no zineb residues but LT0.05 mg ETU/kg was present in four of the six samples of baby food.     

Leptospira interrogans serovar hardjo is not a major cause of bovine abortion in Victoria

The aim of this study was to determine whether evidence could be obtained of foetal infection with Leptospira interrogans serovar hardjo in aborted foetuses collected from dairy farms. Material from 197 abortions occurring over a wide area of Victoria was collected over 3 years. None of 195 foetal kidney cultures or 7 cultures from membranes was positive for leptospiral organisms. Immunogold silver staining for leptospires was performed on sections of kidneys, lungs or heart from 156 foetuses, with negative results. Evidence of transient leptospiral infection in 11 of 123 foetuses was obtained by foetal heart blood serology. Two isolates of L. interrogans serovar hardjo were obtained from the urine of milking cows. These strains were examined by restriction endonuclease analysis and both were shown to be of the genotype Hardjobovis, as have been all Australian isolates studied so far. It appears that foetal infection with serovar hardjo is not associated with any substantial proportion of bovine abortions in Victoria, in contrast to the situation in Northern Ireland. The apparent absence from Victoria of the pathogenic genotype Hardjoprajitno is a possible explanation.     

Thermal burns of the spectacle associated with supplementary heating in native New Zealand geckos

ABSTRACT

Case history: Gradual onset of ocular opacity was observed in three gold-striped geckos (Woodworthia chrysosiretica), and five Pacific geckos (Dactylocnemis pacificus) held in two adjacent terrariums in a zoological institution located in the North Island of New Zealand. Ultraviolet light and heat had been provided for the previous 3–4 years by a fluorescent bulb, but in the last 4 weeks of winter a ceramic heat bulb had been added, situated 10?cm above the upper mesh of the cage

Clinical findings: All eight geckos presented with mostly bilateral lesions of varying severity confined to the central or upper quadrant of the spectacles. These lesions ranged from variable areas of opacity within the stroma of the spectacle to similarly distributed ulcers of the surface epithelium of both spectacles. The spectacle lesions in the Pacific geckos responded well to treatment with topical combined antimicrobial therapy, within 18–29 days. The gold-striped geckos suffered complications including dysecdysis, severe spectacle ulceration and perforation, mycotic spectaculitis, and widespread mycotic dermatitis resulting in death or leading to euthanasia.

Pathological findings: In the three gold-striped geckos, there were extensive areas of deep ulceration and replacement of the spectacle with a thick serocellular crust containing large numbers of fungal elements. The affected areas of the stroma were expanded by large deposits of proteinaceous and mucinous material, pyknotic cellular debris and moderate numbers of heterophils and macrophages as well as infiltrating fungal hyphae.

Diagnosis: Mycotic spectaculitis with ulceration and perforation, and disseminated mycotic dermatitis likely secondary to thermal burns.

Clinical relevance: This is the first report of thermal burns of the spectacle in any reptile. There was species variation in the burn severity with gold-striped geckos showing more severe lesions, possibly due to a mix of behavioural and anatomical factors. The thermal burns to the spectacles in three cases were complicated by delayed healing, perforation, dysecdysis and severe mycotic infection.     

Quantification of whole brain arginine vasotocin for two <Emphasis Type="Italic">Syngnathus</Emphasis> pipefishes: elevated concentrations correlated with paternal brooding

The neurohypophysial hormone arginine vasotocin (AVT) and the neuroendocrine system strongly interact with the rest of the teleostean endocrine system. The aim of this study is to investigate the effects of exposure to an endocrine disruptor on whole brain AVT concentrations for the pipefishes Syngnathus floridae and S. fuscus. Following treatment over the entire brood period, AVT concentrations were significantly higher for Aroclor 1254-exposed, post-brooding males compared to controls for both species. Considering both previously documented seventeen-fold increases in AVT for brooding males with embryos in some developmental stages and changes in parental nutrient concentrations after Aroclor 1254 exposure, these data begin to address potential physiological mechanisms that may underlie paternal activities in syngnathid males.     

Detection of genetically modified coho salmon using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification

A PCR-based protocol for the identification of genetically modified salmon carrying a growth hormone transgene was developed. Several primer pairs were examined, and the primers that gave consistent results were selected to conduct routine testing. Comparison among several DNA extraction procedures, as well as different buffer compositions, led to the adoption of TriZol as the method of choice. Low potassium and high magnesium chloride concentrations were very important in the overall success of the PCR reaction, whereas buffer pH, ranging from 8.3 to 9.2, had little impact on the amplification reaction. The optimal primer annealing temperature was 52 degrees C. Although fish muscle tissues were the primary source for DNA samples, detection of the transgene was also possible in bones, skin, fins, and other organs. No benefits were achieved by the addition of additives such as dimethyl sulfoxide and betaine to the PCR reaction. This optimized PCR method was used to identify all samples tested (61 samples and 17 controls) with 100% accuracy.     

Clinical and pathological findings associated with congenital hypovitaminosis A in extensively grazed beef cattle

Objective   To determine the cause of exceptionally high mortality (41.4%) in perinatal calves on a beef cattle property 50 km south-west of Julia Creek in north-western Queensland.
Design   Investigations were based on clinical assessment of affected calves and laboratory analysis of pre- and postmortem specimens taken from 12 calves aged from 6 to 36 h of age.
Methods   Associations between gross and histopathological findings and biochemical analyses conducted on serum and tissue samples were examined in relation to clinical observations.
Results   Clinical signs varied, but commonly included mild to severe ataxia, difficulty finding a teat and sucking, blindness (partial or complete, as judged by avoidance of obstacles) and depression with prominent drooping of the head. Gross and histopathological findings included herniation of the cerebellar vermis through the foramen magnum, squamous metaplasia of interlobular ducts in the parotid salivary glands and Wallerian degeneration of the optic nerves. Biochemical analysis of serum and liver samples available from four of the calves revealed low or undetectable levels of both vitamin A and vitamin E.
Conclusion   Although vitamin E is known to have a sparing effect on vitamin A, the role (if any) played by deficiency of this vitamin was uncertain. The combination of clinical signs, postmortem findings, histopathological features and biochemical findings indicate that gestational vitamin A deficiency was highly likely to have been an important contributor to perinatal calf mortalities in this herd.     

Fatal levamisole toxicosis of captive kiwi (Apteryx mantelli)

CASE HISTORY: Nine of 24 captive kiwi treated with oral levamisole at a dose between 25–43 mg/kg showed signs of respiratory distress. Six died within 4 h of treatment and the remaining three made a full recovery within 24 h.

CLINICAL AND PATHOLOGICAL FINDINGS: Within 3–4 h of treatment, the affected birds had an elevated respiratory rate, mucoid nasal discharge and rapidly became comatose. Post mortem examination revealed accumulation of thick mucus in the oral cavity and trachea. There was severe pulmonary congestion and oedema and early bronchopneumonia in the lungs of five of the birds. In two birds, there was acute hepatic degeneration and necrosis and one bird had acute pancreatic degeneration and necrosis.

DIAGNOSIS: Acute levamisole toxicity.

CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Kiwi were acutely sensitive to levamisole toxicity at doses that are well within the safe range for domestic poultry. Levamisole should not be used as an anthelmintic in kiwi.     

Development of self-incompatible Brassica napus: (III) B. napus genotype effects on S-allele expression

Use of self‐incompatibility (SI) as a pollination control method for Brassica napus hybrid production requires the development of a sufficient number of S‐alleles that are expressed consistently in a range of B. napus lines. Self‐incompatibility (SI) alleles have been transferred from Brassica oleracea and Brassica rapa into B. napus var. oleifera. An understanding of expression of these alleles in B. napus is essential for their commercial use. Four SI B. napus doubled haploids containing the B. oleracea S‐alleles S2, S5, S13 and S24 were crossed to three B. napus cultivars to measure the B. napus genetic background effect on S‐allele expression. A line x tester analysis indicated that the largest source of variation in the expression rate of SI was the S‐allele itself. The B. napus genotypes tested contained modifier gene(s), some that enhanced SI expression and others that inhibited SI expression. The B. napus Canadian cultivar ‘Westar’ generally had a negative effect on SI expression while the European cultivar ‘Topas’ had a positive effect on the B. oleracea S‐allele expression. The B. oleracea S‐allele S24 was very similar in expression to the B. rapa allele W1. The application of these results for the use of B. oleracea S‐alleles for hybrid production in B. napus is discussed.