Seven captive eastern box turtles (Terrapene carolina carolina) from a large collection of North American chelonians in North Carolina became acutely ill in the fall of 2002. Five of the turtles died. Clinical signs included cutaneous abscessation, oral ulceration or abscessation (or both), respiratory distress, anorexia, and lethargy. The predominant postmortem lesion was fibrinoid vasculitis of various organs, including skin, mucous membranes, lungs, and liver. No inclusion bodies were detected by histopathology or electron microscopy of formalin-fixed tissue. An iridovirus was isolated from tissues obtained postmortem from two of the box turtles that died. The virus was characterized by electron microscopy, polymerase chain reaction, and sequence analysis of a portion of the major capsid protein as a member of the genus Ranavirus.
Computed tomography was used to evaluate a 7-year-old English bulldog with a history of facial swelling and to aid in the diagnosis of parotid duct sialolithiasis. Removal of the sialolith with repair of the duct was not possible because of ductal fibrosis. Histological evaluation revealed glandular atrophy and fibrosis with lymphoplasmacytic inflammation. The parotid duct was ulcerated and fibrotic, with a mixed inflammatory infiltrate. Surgical excision of the parotid duct and salivary gland was curative.
An adult female European cuttlefish (Sepia officinalis) from a public aquarium presented with an eruptive skin lesion of the dorsal mantle. Radiographs, hemolymph collection, and excisional biopsy were performed using anesthesia with ethanol 1.5-3% in seawater. Elastic and freely mobile skin permitted closure with minimal tension following wide excision around the lesions, which did not appear to penetrate deep to the underlying cuttlebone. Biopsy revealed hemocyte granulomas surrounding thin, septate, infrequently branching fungal hyphae, and culture yielded Cladosporium sp. Itraconazole was administered postoperatively in food items. The cuttlefish recovered to normal feeding and activity levels with complete surgical site healing. Two months following the procedure, the animal was found dead in exhibit. Histopathologic examination revealed multisystemic fungal infection.
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