Polycystic liver in two adult llamas.

Polycystic liver is usually considered an incidental finding in human and veterinary medicine. Two unrelated adult llamas ( Lama glama) with a history of marked anorexia and weight loss were received for autopsy and diagnostic workup. The main gross change in the liver of both animals was multiple variably sized cysts randomly distributed throughout the parenchyma. Histologically, the cysts compressed the adjacent parenchyma and were lined by a single layer of cuboidal-to-columnar epithelium, surrounded by a fibrous collagen capsule. The lumen of the cysts contained finely granular-to-homogeneous basophilic material. The lining epithelium displayed strong immunoreactivity for pancytokeratin AE1/AE3 and cytokeratins 7, 8, 8/18, and 19, and was negative for vimentin, confirming the biliary epithelial origin of the cysts. No parasitic or infectious agents, or neoplastic changes, were detected. All other laboratory tests performed in both llamas were negative or non-diagnostic, suggesting that the congenital hepatic cysts described may have been at least partly responsible for clinical disease in both animals.

Outbreaks of bovine herpesvirus 2 infections in calves causing ear and facial skin lesions.

We describe 3 outbreaks of superficial dermatitis caused by bovine herpesvirus 2 (BoHV-2) in dairy breed calves. Clinically, all of the affected calves were 12-26 d of age, had alopecia and crusts on the face and ears, and were non-pruritic and afebrile. Affected animals recovered spontaneously without any treatment within 2-4 wk after onset of clinical signs based on 1 herd with follow up. Histologic examination of all skin crust or tissue samples identified neutrophilic inflammation, mild hyperkeratosis, multinucleate syncytial cells, and intranuclear inclusion bodies in the syncytial cells. Real-time PCR testing on affected surface crusts or tissue provided evidence of BoHV-2, and testing, where performed, was negative for parapoxvirus including bovine papular stomatitis virus and the ovine form of malignant catarrhal fever tested in EDTA blood samples. Bovine viral diarrhea virus also was negative by ELISA, as well as bovine herpesvirus 1 by immunohistochemistry. Direct electron microscopy of infected tissues in the first outbreak revealed herpesvirus-like particles.