Mixed germ cell tumor composed of a tridermic testicular teratoma and seminoma in a rooster.

A 5-y-old backyard Araucana-Americana rooster was presented to the regional diagnostic laboratory with a history of progressive lethargy and respiratory signs. Autopsy revealed a single large mass of testicular origin in the coelomic cavity, causing compression of other organs. Histologically, the mass was 1 neoplasm with mixed components of 2 different germ cell tumors, namely a teratoma composed of elements of all 3 primordial germ cell lines (ectoderm, mesoderm, and endoderm), and a seminoma consisting of round or polygonal cells arranged in sheets supported by a scant fibrovascular stroma. Teratomas and seminomas are both considered to be uncommon neoplasms in poultry medicine. A testicular teratoma is composed of mature embryonic tissue derived from at least 2 of the 3 germinal layers. Seminomas and teratomas both arise from the germinal epithelium of seminiferous tubules and are classified as germ cell tumors. This neoplastic mass thus is a rare case of a mixed germ cell tumor.

Characterization of a Vesivirus Associated with an Outbreak of Acute Hemorrhagic Gastroenteritis in Domestic Dogs.

Four of eleven affected dogs died despite aggressive treatment during a 2015 focal outbreak of hemorrhagic gastroenteritis following a stay in a pet housing facility. Routine diagnostic investigations failed to identify a specific cause. Virus isolation from fresh necropsy tissues yielded a calicivirus with sequence homology to a vesivirus within the group colloquially known as the vesivirus 2117 strains that were originally identified as contaminants in CHO cell bioreactors. In situ hybridization and reverse transcription-PCR assays of tissues from the four deceased dogs confirmed the presence of canine vesivirus (CaVV) nucleic acids that localized to endothelial cells of arterial and capillary blood vessels. CaVV nucleic acid corresponded to areas of necrosis and hemorrhage primarily in the intestinal tract, but also in the brain of one dog with nonsuppurative meningoencephalitis. This is the first report of an atypical disease association with a putative hypervirulent vesivirus strain in dogs, as all other known strains of CaVV appear to cause nonclinical infections or relatively mild disease. After identification of the CU-296 vesivirus strain from this outbreak, four additional CaVV strains were amplified from unrelated fecal specimens and archived stocks provided by other laboratories. Broader questions include the origins, reservoir(s), and potential for reemergence and spread of these related CaVVs.

Zinc Toxicosis in a Boxer Dog Secondary to Ingestion of Holiday Garland.

INTRODUCTION: Increased admissions occur in small animal veterinary emergency clinics during some holidays, and some of the increased caseload is due to ingestion of toxic substances. This report documents zinc toxicosis contributing to the death of a dog after ingestion of holiday tinsel garland. CASE STUDY: A mature boxer dog presented with a 4-day history of vomiting and diarrhea. Radiodense foreign material was detected in the stomach and removed via gastrotomy. The patient clinically worsened over the next several days with evidence of hemolytic anemia, severe hypernatremia, and an elevated WBC count with a suspected dehiscence of the surgical site and acute renal failure. The serum zinc concentration was moderately elevated. Postmortem findings included surgical dehiscence from the gastrotomy and enterotomy sites, hepatic extramedullary hematopoiesis, hemoglobinuric nephrosis, and pancreatic fibrosis. The foreign material removed from the stomach also contained zinc. DISCUSSION: Ingestion of holiday tinsel garland made from metal-coated plastic film has not previously been implicated in zinc toxicosis. Zinc toxicosis has a good prognosis in veterinary medicine when diagnosed and treated promptly, but the unique source of zinc in this dog contributed to the delay in diagnosis and grave outcome in this case.

Characterization of a wild-type strain of Francisella tularensis isolated from a cat.

Francisella tularensis type A is the primary cause of tularemia in animals and humans in North America. The majority of research on F. tularensis has been done with the attenuated live vaccine strain (LVS), which is a type B, but very few wild-type F. tularensis strains have been characterized. A gram-negative coccobacillus that was isolated in pure culture from the lungs of a cat that died after being lost for 5 days was received for identification at the Virginia-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine Teaching hospital. The isolate (strain TI0902) was not identified (or was misidentified) by commercial identification systems; however, it was identified as F. tularensis subspecies tularensis (type A) by sequencing a portion of the 16S ribosomal RNA gene. Furthermore, repetitive extragenic palindromic sequences-polymerase chain reaction amplified a 4-kb DNA fragment from TI0902 that was characteristic of F. tularensis type A but not type B. The electrophoretic profile of the lipopolysaccharide of strain TI0902 was identical to that of the LVS by Western blotting with antiserum to LVS. The protein-enriched outer membrane of strain TI0902 contained 6-8 proteins, which were similar in molecular size to those from the LVS. Electron microscopy of negatively stained and alcian blue-stained LVS and TI0902 cells showed that both strains were coccobacillary in shape and may be encapsulated. However, after mouse challenge, the TI0902 strain was clearly more virulent than the LVS strain. Results of this study indicate that the genotype and phenotype of wild-type F. tularensis type A strain TI0902 is similar, but not identical, to that of the LVS strain. Further studies will help determine whether pathogenesis and host-pathogen interactions are also similar between the 2 strains.