Effect of diet on the incidence of and mortality owing to gastritis and renal disease in captive cheetahs (Acinonyx jubatus) in South Africa.

Seventy-two adult cheetahs were evaluated for the degree of gastritis by endoscopic biopsy and for renal disease by serum creatinine. Cheetahs free of Grade 3 gastritis and renal disease were placed on Trial A; remaining cheetahs were placed on Trial B, which ran concurrently. All cheetahs were monitored for 4 years. Cheetahs exited Trial A and entered Trial B if they developed Grade 3 gastritis or renal disease. Cheetahs exited Trial B if they developed clinical gastritis or renal disease that required a dietary change or aggressive medical therapy or died owing to either disease. Cheetahs on Trial A were fed either a supplemented meat diet (N = 26) or commercial cat food (N = 22). Cheetahs on Trial B were fed either the same meat diet (N = 28) or a commercial dry cat food formulated for renal disease (N = 16). Cheetahs fed meat on Trial A had a daily hazard of developing Grade 3 gastritis 2.21 times higher (95% CI 0.95-5.15) than cheetahs fed commercial cat food. This hazard was not statistically significant (P = 0.07). Mean gastritis scores were not significantly different between the two groups. Cheetahs fed commercial cat food in both Trials had lower serum urea levels and higher creatinine levels than those fed meat. Evidence for the effect of diet in cheetahs with gastritis and/or renal disease (Trial B) was inconclusive. The number of cheetahs dying of gastritis or renal disease at the facility has dropped markedly since the study began. These results indicate that diet may play an important role in the incidence of Grade 3 gastritis and that dietary and/or therapeutic management of gastritis may reduce mortality owing to gastritis and renal disease in captive cheetahs.

Post mortem identification of Kalicephalus colubri colubri (Nematoda: Diaphanocephalidae) in a captive mole snake (Pseudaspis cana) in South Africa.

Necropsy examination of a captive emaciated, dehydrated adult female Mole snake (Pseudaspis cana) in October 2007 revealed multiple cutaneous abscesses. Other findings included renal and hepatic atrophy, hepatic haemosiderosis, multifocal granulomatous hepatitis associated with acid-fast bacteria as well as pulmonary congestion and oedema. Large numbers of the nematode Kalicephalus colubri colubri were recovered from the oesophagus and stomach, representing the 1st reported case of K. colubri from a Mole snake in South Africa. The lesions caused by K. c. colubri were insignificant, but the presence of worms may have contributed to weight loss.

Multiple cutaneous inverted papillomas in a dog.

Cutaneous inverted papillomas are described in an 8-month-old mixed breed domestic dog from Windhoek, Namibia. Multiple firm, rapidly growing, doughnut-shaped masses formed on the ventral abdomen, which histologically consisted of a cup-shaped rim of marked epithelial hyperplasia, giant keratohyaline granules and prominent koilocytes and marked hyperkeratosis filling the centre of the mass. Current literature on canine papillomas is briefly reviewed.

Histological evidence of chytridiomycete fungal infection in a free-ranging amphibian, Afrana fuscigula (Anura: Ranidae), in South Africa.

The 1st recorded histological evidence of chytridiomycete fungal infection in a free-ranging ranid amphibian in South Africa is presented. Literature on causes of a worldwide decline in amphibian populations is briefly reviewed.

Renal T-cell lymphoma with cerebral metastasis in a dog with chronic canine ehrlichiosis.

A renal T-cell lymphoma with exclusive cerebral metastasis was diagnosed in a 5-year-old Staffordshire bull terrier bitch euthanased for aggression. This is the first recorded case of primary renal lymphoma in a dog. Immune suppression, due to chronic canine monocytic ehrlichiosis, may account for the unusual primary site and metastatic pattern of the tumour.

Flaccid trunk paralysis in free-ranging elephants (Loxodonta africana) in Zimbabwe.

An epizootic of flaccid trunk paralysis began in free-ranging Zimbabwean elephants (Loxodonta africana) on the southern shore of Lake Kariba in 1989. It involved a selective neuropathy of peripheral nerves supplying the trunk, with axon and myelin degeneration, muscle atrophy, compensatory hypertrophy, and fine endomyseal fibrosis, without inflammatory changes.

An outbreak of haemorrhagic septicaemia (septicaemic pasteurellosis) in cattle in Zimbabwe.

An outbreak of haemorrhagic septicaemia caused by Pasteurella multocida in beef cattle in Zimbabwe grazing effluent-irrigated pastures, is described. The outbreak occurred during the wet summer months and predisposing stress factors included excessive rainfall and unusual cold weather during the preceding month. History, clinical features and post-mortem findings were consistent with reports of the disease from other countries, except that meningitis was also a constant feature. Morbidity approached 77% and mortality 5 per cent. Prophylactic treatment and vaccination with a killed bacterin together with a return of warmer and drier weather were probably important in halting the outbreak.

Concurrent systemic cryptococcosis and haemangiosarcoma in a dog.

A young dog with progressive neurological signs was humanely killed by the injection of barbiturate for postmortem examination. Lesions in the nose, lung, pancreas, lymph nodes, kidneys and the meninges were heavily infiltrated with Cryptococcus neoformans. In addition, haemangiosarcoma was detected in the right atrium. The finding of systemic mycosis and neoplasia together in a young dog suggests an immunosuppressed state.