A cautious interpretation of the results is urged as the epidemiological role of the wild mink is largely unexplored for most of these agents. Nevertheless, the information may be clinically relevant..

Fur ranching has been a prosperous industry for decades. Despite its worldwide distribution, little published information is available regarding the importance of the various causes of death in chinchilla (Chinchilla lanigera). In the period 1999-2013, 698 captive chinchillas from different commercial ranches were presented for necropsy at the Pathology Department (UNLP). Two-hundred and fortyfour animals (35.0%) had classical enteritis, 198 (28.4%) had pneumonia, 63 (9.0%) had other infections, 40 (5.7%) had traumatic injuries, 109 (15.6%) had miscellaneous conditions, meanwhile 44 (6.3%) had no significant lesions. Although some disease processes may be underrepresented (i.e. heat stroke and the shock syndrome), the data were collected from a field wide enough and over a sufficient period to give a reliable overview of the fatal problems of this rodent in captivity. ARTICLE HISTORY

The occurrence of ectoparasites in wild nutria is poorly understood. Fifty-five livetrapped wild nutria (Myocastor coypus) from its indigenous region were examined for ectoparasites after capture from December 2013 to December 2014. The captures came from the Buenos Aires Province, by far the area of the country most densely populated by nutria, characterized as a temperate grassland, which are prime areas for sustained agriculture. Only one species of chewing lice (Pitrufquenia coypus, Marelli, 1932), one flea (Nosopsyllus fasciatus, Bosc, 1800) and one tick (Rhipicephalus sanguineus, Latreille, 1806) were collected. Fourteen percent of the animals were infested and P.coypus, an obligate parasite of the nutria, which was the most prevalent ectoparasite. N. fasciatus and R. sanguineus occurrence remains controversial as they may or may not be some accidental host species. To our knowledge, this is the first comprehensive and systematic survey of ectoparasites in wild nutria from the southern hemisphere, the indigenous region of this species.

La dioctofimosis es ocasionada por Dioctophyma renale, nematodo parásito de ciclo indirecto, cuyo hospedador intermediario es un oligoqueto dulceacuícola y los definitivos, carnívoros silvestres o domésticos. El verme adulto se desarrolla en el hospedador definitivo, ubicándose generalmente en el riñón, o en otros tejidos. Las localizaciones ectópicas del parásito dificultan el diagnóstico debido a la falta de sintomatología específica. El objetivo del trabajo fue describir un caso de dioctofimosis extrarrenal en un canino, los parámetros bioquímicos e histopatológicos. Se halló una masa quística adherida a cápsula renal en el polo caudal, sin comprometer el parénquima del órgano, conteniendo en su interior un ejemplar de D. renale macho de 26,7 cm de longitud. Este hallazgo justificaría la mayor frecuencia de formas extrarrenales en caninos, diferentes anatómicamente de los Mustélidos, hospedadores definitivos naturales del parásito. Se remarca la importancia de los métodos complementarios de diagnóstico, ya que en la actualidad no existen métodos indirectos sensibles para diagnosticar esta infestación.