The present study reports the first case of fatal Acinetobacter baumannii infection in the critically endangered European mink ( Mustela lutreola ). Gross examination revealed a severe, diffuse hemorrhagic pneumonia and generalized congestion as main features. Microscopically, the main lesions were an acute, severe fibrinous-hemorrhagic pneumonia associated with proliferation of coccobacilli and generalized acute-subacute congestion. Cultures yielded A. baumannii ; the species was confirmed by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry and the strain presented a multidrug-resistant pattern. The results are not only of conservation concern but also of public health concern given A. baumannii is one of the most important pathogens implicated in nosocomial infections in humans.

We studied modifications in the adenohypophysis of chickens subjected to experimental septic shock by repeated intraperitoneal inoculations with Escherichia coli 026 B6. We observed vascular modifications characterized by capillary dilation and endothelial defects, together with marked perivascular edema and collagen fibers in the groups receiving the most inoculations. Similarly, there was a proliferation of mononuclear cells, belonging mainly to the mononuclear phagocyte system, and plasma cells and lymphocytes. The lesions found in chickens receiving only one inoculation may be evidence of a morphopathological relationship between shock induced by E. coli and lesions that develop in the swollen-head syndrome.