Twenty-nine cows from a 240-cow drylot Holstein dairy in north-central New Mexico aborted over a period of approximately 5 months. Nine aborted fetuses were necropsied, and all but 1 of the fetuses were between 5 and 7 months of gestation. Microscopic examination of fetal tissues revealed focal necrotizing encephalitis and nonsuppurative myocarditis in 7 of the 9 fetuses. Additional lesions observed in some fetuses were focal hepatic necrosis, nonsuppurative myositis, focal necrotizing placentitis, focal nonsuppurative pneumonia, and focal nonsuppurative nephritis. A few groups of Neospora caninum-like protozoan organisms were observed adjacent to necrotic foci in the brain of 2 fetuses and in the kidney of a third fetus. No other cause of abortion was detected.

Key Words: Hal icephalo bus; ho rses; Micron ern a; posth iti s.Halicephalobus in fectio n a pparen tly is a worldwi de ph enomeno n; it has been rep orted o n five co ntinents in seven diffe re nt co untries : the Un ited Sta tes , th e United Kingd om , Jap an , Egypt, Switzer land , Th e Neth er lands: and Co lo mbia.' Inflam mation o f the ce ntra l nervo us system is a co nsistent fea ture of Halicephaiobus infecti on in h uman bei ngs' an d is a lm ost a lwa ys in vol ved in eq uine in fecti on s." In a review of reported Halicephalobus infecti on in horses, the bra in was th e m ost co m monly in vo lved tissue, follow ed in descend ing order by th e kidne ys, o ra l a nd nasal ca vities, lym ph nod es, lu ngs, spina l co rd, a nd adrena l gla nd, with single rep orts o f hea rt , liver, sto mac h, ganglion, a nd bon e involvcm cnt. !" G ran ulom a tou s os teoa rt hr itis indu ced by II. deletrix has a lso been rep orted ."In Ja nu ar y 1990, a 5-year-o ld ma le Ara bia n showho rsc was exa mi ned by an Albuq uerq ue vete rinaria n becau se o f mu lti ple nod ules on th e exte rna l lam ina of th e prep uce. T he a nima l was nat ive to New Mexico. O ther horses in th e stable we re un affected . Antecedent tra uma had not bee n o bse rved by the ow ner. No d ule di a me ters were 0.5-1 cm , an d th e ski n was ulcera ted over the surfaces. No ot he r cli nica l signs were ev iden t. A bio psy was perfo rm ed , and th e spec ime n was exa mi ned by a patho logist with the New Mexico Depa rtment of Agricult ure . After a prelimina ry d iagnosis of cuta neo us hali cephalo biasis, th e ho rse was treated with ivermect in an d di eth ylcarbamazine. Th e rem a in ing nodules subse q ue ntly regressed. T he biop sy spec ime n was subm itte d to the Ar me d Fo rces In stitute of Pat hology for co nfir ma tio n of the d iagnosis.Hi st o logically, the dermi s was marked ly thi ckened by a d i ffuse gra n ulo ma to us in filt ra te th at di srupted dermal co llagen a nd exte nde d to the ulcerat ed surface. T he in filtra te co ns isted of a b unda nt mu lti n uclea ted gia nt cells, ma crophages, cos ino phils, nc utrop hi ls, and nodula r aggregates of lym ph ocytes a nd plasm a cells (F ig. I ). T hro ugh o ut the section , there were numerou s ad ults , la rvae, and developing eggs ofa nem at od e par asite. Ad ult fem a les, 20 Jlm at th eir grea tes t d iam et er, were ob ser ved . No ma les were seen. The parasite had a smoot h, th in cuticle ; a plat yrn yar ia n-rnerorn yar ian muscul at ure; a psc ud ococ lum ; a rh abditifo rm esophag us co mposed of a corpus , isthm us, a nd bul b (Fig . 2); a nd a n in testina l tract co m posed of single n uclea ted lo w cuboi da l ce lls. There was a single geni ta l tube con ta ini ng o nly one mat ure egg. T he ovary was do rso flcxcd, a nd the uterus was ve ntroflexed a t th e v ulva (Fig. 3). La rvae were up to 10 Jlm in d ia me ter and also had rha bd itifo rm eso phagi. Adults an d Fig. I. Prepuce; horse. A pleocellu lar gra n ulo ma to us reaction surro und...

A firm, infiltrative mass was found in the thyroid region of an adult castrated male ferret (Mustela putorius) presenting with vague signs of weight loss, minor inappetence, and decreased activity. Efforts to surgically excise the tissue were unsuccessful, and the animal was euthanatized. Gross and histopathologic evaluation revealed multiple endocrine neoplasms, including C-cell carcinoma, adrenocortical adenoma, pheochromocytoma, and endocrine tumor of the pancreas. This is the first descriptive account of a C-cell carcinoma, also known as medullary thyroid carcinoma, in a ferret, although other endocrine neoplasms in this species have been reported with some frequency. These findings mimic features observed in human multiple endocrine neoplasia syndromes.

Findings suggested that CNS migration of Parelaphostrongylus tenuis in American bison may cause clinical signs. These findings have implications for the management of captive bison and free-ranging bison sharing ranges with white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus), the definitive host, and elk (Cervus elaphus canadensis).

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