ABSTRACT
A novel herpesvirus was detected in a 17-day-old Chilean flamingo (Phoenicopterus chilensis) with pneumonia, hepatopathy, and severe anemia that was housed in California. Postmortem examination identified a pale, enlarged liver, mildly increased fluid in the lungs, and red foci in the spleen. Histologic examination revealed marked hepatic necrosis with syncytia, splenic necrosis, and interstitial pneumonia with eosinophilic intranuclear inclusions within hepatocytes and in unidentified cells of the lung. Transmission electron microscopy identified virions consistent with a herpesvirus in the nucleus and cytoplasm of degenerative hepatocytes. Nested consensus PCR, sequencing, and phylogenetic analysis identified a novel herpesvirus within the genus Iltovirus in the subfamily Alphaherpesvirinae.
Subject(s)
Bird Diseases/diagnosis , Herpesviridae Infections/veterinary , Herpesviridae/isolation & purification , Animals , Bird Diseases/pathology , Bird Diseases/virology , Birds , California , Herpesviridae/genetics , Herpesviridae Infections/diagnosis , Liver/virology , Lung/virology , Phylogeny , Polymerase Chain Reaction/veterinaryABSTRACT
Ophthalmic examination under anesthesia of a 5-yr-old, captive, male New Zealand fur seal (Arctocephalus forsteri) with reduced visual capacity revealed bilateral cataracts. Surgical extraction of the lenses was performed by phacofragmentation. Preoperative mydriasis was unsuccessful using common topical mydriatic agents. Intraoperative intracameral epinephrine 1:10,000 produced minimal pupillary dilation, but excellent dilation was achieved with intracameral epinephrine at 1:1,000. Postoperative uveitis was controlled with oral prednisolone. Postoperative complications included generalized corneal edema persisting for approximately 1 wk and corneal ulceration caused by the lateral canthotomy sutures. Vision was restored in both eyes.
Subject(s)
Cataract Extraction/veterinary , Fur Seals , Ultrasonic Therapy/veterinary , Animals , Atropine/administration & dosage , Cataract Extraction/methods , Corneal Edema/etiology , Corneal Edema/veterinary , Corneal Ulcer/etiology , Corneal Ulcer/veterinary , Male , Mydriatics/administration & dosage , Postoperative Complications/veterinary , Prednisolone/therapeutic use , Uveitis/drug therapy , Uveitis/etiology , Uveitis/veterinaryABSTRACT
The routine occurrence of both short-term (daily) and long-term torpor (hibernation) in short-beaked echidnas, but not platypus, raises questions about the third monotreme genus, New Guinea's Zaglossus. We measured body temperatures (T(b)) with implanted data loggers over three and a half years in two captive Zaglossus bartoni at Taronga Zoo, Sydney. The modal T(b) of both long-beaks was 31 degrees C, similar to non-hibernating short-beaked echidnas, Tachyglossus aculeatus, in the wild (30-32 degrees C) and to platypus (32 degrees C), suggesting that this is characteristic of normothermic monotremes. T(b) cycled daily, usually over 2-4 degrees C. There were some departures from this pattern to suggest periods of inactivity but nothing to indicate the occurrence of long-term torpor. In contrast, two short-beaked echidnas monitored concurrently in the same pen showed extended periods of low T(b) in the cooler months (hibernation) and short periods of torpor at any time of the year, as they do in the wild. Whether torpor or hibernation occurs in Zaglossus in the wild or in juveniles remains unknown. However, given that the environment in this study was conducive to hibernation in short-beaks, which do not easily enter torpor in captivity, and their large size, we think that torpor in wild adult Zaglossus is unlikely.
