Detection of SARS-CoV-2 RNA in a Zoo-Kept Red Fox (Vulpes vulpes).

Many different animal species are susceptible to SARS-CoV-2, including a few Canidae (domestic dog and raccoon dog). So far, only experimental evidence is available concerning SARS-CoV-2 infections in red foxes (Vulpes vulpes). This is the first report of SARS-CoV-2 RNA detection in a sample from a red fox. The RT-qPCR-positive fox was zoo-kept together with another fox and two bears in the Swiss Canton of Zurich. Combined material from a conjunctival and nasal swab collected for canine distemper virus diagnostics tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 RNA with Ct values of 36.9 (E gene assay) and 35.7 (RdRp gene assay). The sample was analysed for SARS-CoV-2 within a research project testing residual routine diagnostic samples from different animal species submitted between spring 2020 and December 2022 to improve knowledge on SARS-CoV-2 infections within different animal species and investigate their potential role in a One Health context. Within this project, 246 samples from 153 different animals from Swiss zoos and other wild animal species all tested SARS-CoV-2 RT-qPCR and/or serologically negative so far, except for the reported fox. The source of SARS-CoV-2 in the fox is unknown. The fox disappeared within the naturally structured enclosure, and the cadaver was not found. No further control measures were undertaken.

Morphological evidence for the physiological nature of follicular atresia in veiled chameleons (Chamaeleo calyptratus).

Follicular atresia (FA) has been assumed to serve different functions in reptiles, e.g. helping to develop hierarchies, limiting clutch size, and regression of ovarian structures. Reproductive output is dependent on a balance between ovulations and FA. Excessive rates of FA may not only be detrimental for the survival of a population, but have also been associated with pathological conditions. In order to gain insights into the physiological and potentially pathological processes of FA, we performed a decriptive study on the morphological features of the ovaries in sexually mature female veiled chameleons (Chamaeleo calyptratus, VC). Of 60 clinically healthy female VC with continuous ovarian cycling and at least one confirmed cycle with FA over at least 1.5 years, 30 were selected for macroscopic evaluation of ovarian appearance and 7 were subjected to histology and immunohistology. While FA of previtellogenic follicles happened at a low rate, expected for a species with two germinal beds per ovary and polyautochronic reproductive pattern, atresia in the late vitellogenic stage affected entire generations of follicles, consequential to ovulatory failure. Histologically, no pathological processes were identified in any of the animals. Rather, three stages of FA (early, middle, late) were defined and vitellogenic follicles showed two distinct morphological types of FA: yolky and cystic. Yolky FA was found in 21/30 (70%) animals, while cystic FA co-occurred in 9/30 (30%) of the animals.

Rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus) increase caecal calcium absorption at increasing dietary calcium levels.

Hindgut fermenting herbivores from different vertebrate taxa, including tortoises, and among mammals some afrotheria, perissodactyla incl. equids, several rodents as well as lagomorphs absorb more calcium (Ca) from the digesta than they require, and excrete the surplus via urine. Both proximate and ultimate causes are elusive. It was suggested that this mechanism might ensure phosphorus availability for the hindgut microbiome by removing potentially complex-building Ca from the digesta. Here we use Ussing chamber experiments to show that rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus) maintained on four different diets (six animals/diet) increase active Ca absorption at increasing Ca levels. This contradicts the common assumption that at higher dietary levels, where passive uptake should be more prevalent, active transport can relax and hence supports the deliberate removal hypothesis. In the rabbits, this absorption was distinctively higher in the caecum than in the duodenum, which is unexpected in mammals. Additional quantification of the presence of two proteins involved in active Ca absorption (calbindin-D9K CB; vitamin D receptor, VDR) showed higher presence with higher dietary Ca. However, their detailed distribution across the intestinal tract and the diet groups suggests that other factors not investigated in this study must play major roles in Ca absorption in rabbits. Investigating strategies of herbivores to mitigate potential negative effects of Ca in the digesta on microbial activity and growth might represent a promising area of future research.

ULTRASONOGRAPHIC AND COMPUTED TOMOGRAPHIC CHARACTERISTICS OF THE REPRODUCTIVE CYCLE IN FEMALE VEILED CHAMELEONS (CHAMAELEO CALYPTRATUS).

Female veiled chameleons, Chamaeleo calyptratus, have a high fecundity and fast maturation, which makes them a suitable model species for squamate reproduction. The authors investigated the morphological follicular development of a group of 20 healthy adult animals over a 12-mon period using ultrasonography (US) and CT. Four stages of follicular development could be distinguished by imaging diagnostics and were confirmed by histology: previtellogenesis, vitellogenesis, gravidity, and atresia. Using a linear ultrasound transducer (18 MHz), previtellogenic follicles could be visualized as small, round, hypoechoic structures. Identification of this stage was unreliable on CT. On US, vitellogenic follicles remained round and showed increasing echogenicity from the hypoechoic center outwards, displaying vinyl-like hyperechoic banding in later stages. On CT, early vitellogenic follicles were round, hyperdense structures, which reduced in density as they grew. A hyperdense inner ring with a hypodense central point characterized late vitellogenesis. Following ovulation, eggs became distinctly oval on both CT and US, with formation of a hyperdense or hyperechoic outer ring, respectively. Atresia followed in cases where no ovulation occurred, and was divided into yolky and cystic atresia. Sonographically, early yolky atretic follicles became unevenly shaped, packed against one another, and developed heterogenous content. Late atretic follicles were homogenous and reduced in size. Reduction of density and uneven shape were also observed on CT. Cystic atretic follicles developed an anechoic cavity with a dense peripheral accumulation of content. In many animals 2-3 generations of atretic follicles were observed without indication of impairment to the development of the newest batch of follicles. Thus, follicular atresia need not necessarily lead to a pathological condition in veiled chameleons, at least not within a few consecutive cycles.

Formation and Replacement of Bone and Tooth Mineralized Tissues in Green Iguanas (Iguana iguana) Revealed by In-Vivo Fluorescence Marking.

Hard tissue formation patterns and rates reveal details of animal physiology, life history, and environment, but are understudied in reptiles. Here, we use fluorescence labels delivered in vivo and laser confocal scanning microscopy to study tooth and bone formation in a managed group of green iguanas (Iguana iguana, Linné 1758) kept for 1.5 years under experimentally controlled conditions and undergoing several dietary switches. We constrain rates of tooth elongation, which we observe to be slow when enamel is initially deposited (c. 9 µm/day), but then increases exponentially in the dentin root, reaching c. 55 µm/day or more after crown completion. We further constrain the total timing of tooth formation to ∼40-60 days, and observe highly variable timings of tooth resorption onset and replacement. Fluorescent labels clearly indicate cohorts of teeth recruited within Zahnreihen replacement waves, with faster sequential tooth recruitment and greater wave sizes posteriorly, where each wave initiates. Fluorescence further reveals enamel maturation after initial deposition. Rates of hard tissue formation in long bones range from 0.4 to 3.4 µm/day, correlating with animal weight gain and cortical bone recording the entire history of the experiment. We suggest additional labeling experiments to study hard tissue formation patterns in other reptiles, and propose strategies for chemical analyses of hard tissues in order to extract temporal information about past environments, behaviors, and diets from reptilian fossils throughout the Phanerozoic.

Macroscopic dental measures in guinea pigs (Cavia porcellus) fed natural and pelleted diets of different abrasiveness: implications for wear and compensatory growth in a hypselodont species.

The drivers of dental wear and compensatory hypselodont tooth growth are of current research interest. Expanding previous macroscopic dental wear measurements based on microtomographic scans of guinea pigs (Cavia porcellus) fed natural diets, we added diet groups with different predicted drivers of dental wear and analysed how measured variables relate to each other. The teeth of guinea pigs fed either pelleted diets containing external abrasives of various shapes, sizes and percentages (n = 66) or natural whole-leaf diets (n = 36, low-phytolith lucerne or grass or high-phytolith bamboo) were evaluated. The bamboo-fed animals showed the lowest tooth height with deep dentine basins, similar to the pellet-fed animals. Deeper dentine basins generally correlated with higher occlusal surfaces, allowing the hypothesis that changes in the pressure signal due to lower basins could initiate compensatory growth and broadening of the whole tooth surface in hypselodont teeth. Macroscopic dental wear did not categorically differ between whole-leaf or pelleted diets or between diets with internal phytoliths or with external silicate abrasives. Supporting interpretations that tooth wear should be viewed as a response to the biomechanical properties of ingested feed which may or may not be aptly summarized by broad descriptors such as 'whole/pelleted' or 'natural/artificial'.

Treatment options, complications and long-term outcomes for limb fractures in pet rabbits.

BACKGROUND: Limb fractures represent the most common orthopaedic disease in pet rabbits. However, only a few studies have evaluated therapeutic details of limb fractures. There are no data available for long-term outcomes of limb fracture treatment. METHODS: The medical records of six institutions were reviewed retrospectively to identify cases of traumatic limb bone fractures in pet rabbits between 1999 and 2020. The medical records (n = 387) were analysed for details of fracture prevalence, aetiology, therapy protocols, treatment complications, outcome and long-term effects. In addition to the retrospective data evaluation, 13 rabbits were re-evaluated in person in recent clinical analyses, including orthopaedic examination, radiography and computed-tomographic imaging. Details of long-term effects of fracture treatment were requested over the telephone for a further 232 animals using a standardised questionnaire. RESULTS: Long bone fractures accounted for the majority of all fractures (296/387; 76.5%). Hindlimb fractures (301/387; 77.7%) were more common than forelimb fractures (86/387; 22.2%), and tibial fractures and combined fractures of the tibia and fibula (119/387; 30.8%) were observed most frequently. Most fracture treatments were based on osteosynthesis procedures (243/328; 74.1%). Treatment complications occurred in 130 out of 328 (39.6%) cases. A high bodyweight (p = 0.047) and an older age (p = 0.01) were found to be significant risk factors for the emergence of therapy complications. Overall, 75.4% of animals (175/232) had a satisfactory long-term outcome. Limb posture anomalies were evaluated in 61 cases (26.3%). LIMITATIONS: The multi-centre approach led to the inclusion of various institutions, veterinarians, treatment protocols and rabbit populations that might have influenced the results. The medical records were reviewed retrospectively, so there were some data that were lacking or could not be collected in a standardised manner. Furthermore, rabbit owners' evaluation of long-term outcomes might be prone to error, despite the use of a standardised interview questionnaire. CONCLUSION: Limb fractures are a common orthopaedic issue in pet rabbits. The patient's bodyweight and age are significant risk factors for the emergence of complications during the fracture treatment process. Long-term orthopaedic effects, such as abnormal limb posture and permanent lameness of the affected limb, were observed regularly.

The Ruminant sorting mechanism protects teeth from abrasives.

Dental wear due to ingestion of dust and grit has deleterious consequences. Herbivores that could not wash their food hence had to evolve particularly durable teeth, in parallel to the evolution of dental chewing surface complexity to increase chewing efficacy. The rumen sorting mechanism increases chewing efficacy beyond that reached by any other mammal and has been hypothesized to also offer an internal washing mechanism, which would be an outstanding example of an additional advantage by a physiological adaptation, but in vivo evidence is lacking so far. Here, we investigated four cannulated, live cows that received a diet to which sand was added. Silica in swallowed food and feces reflected experimental dietary sand contamination, whereas the regurgitate submitted to rumination remained close to the silica levels of the basal food. This helps explain how ruminants are able to tolerate high levels of dust or grit in their diet, with less high-crowned teeth than nonruminants in the same habitat. Palaeo-reconstructions based on dental morphology and dental wear traces need to take the ruminants' wear-protection mechanism into account. The inadvertent advantage likely contributed to the ruminants' current success in terms of species diversity.

Effect of the Prolactin Inhibitor Cabergoline and the Gonadotropin Releasing-Hormone Agonist Deslorelin in the Suppression of Plasma Prolactin Concentrations and Egg Laying in Quail (Coturnix japonica).

Egg binding and excessive laying frequently affect avian patients, and in many cases the treatment includes suppression of egg production. Currently, for the suppression of egg production in avian patients, a gonadotropin-releasing hormone agonist, in the form of a deslorelin implant, is often used. However, the commercially available deslorelin implants have an undesired delayed onset, as well as a potential brief increase in gonadotropin secretion after administration ("flare-up" effect) that can lead to oviposition before the actual suppression of gonadotropins. The objective of this study was to investigate whether the prolactin inhibitor cabergoline suppresses ovulation and whether it could be used to bridge the time until the onset of effect by the deslorelin implant. We measured the effect of cabergoline (30 µg/kg PO q24h × 14 days), deslorelin implants (4.7 mg SC), and a combination of both on egg laying and plasma prolactin concentrations in 37 quail (Coturnix japonica) over 6 weeks. Quail were divided into 4 groups: group DesCab (deslorelin implant and cabergoline oral; n = 9); group DesPlac (deslorelin implant and placebo oral; n = 9); group PlacCab (placebo implant and cabergoline oral; n = 9); and group PlacPlac (placebo implant and placebo oral; n = 10). Regular egg laying stopped in 100% (9/9) of birds in group DesCab and 78% (7/ 9) of birds in group DesPlac within 5 days of placing the deslorelin implant. No bird ceased egg production in group PlacCab (0/9), and 10% of birds ceased egg production intermittently in group PlacPlac (1/10). Treatment with the deslorelin implant (P < .001) and with cabergoline (P = .04) had a significant (negative) influence on plasma prolactin concentrations compared with the baseline. The interaction of deslorelin and cabergoline treatment, as well as time after initiation of treatment, did not have a significant effect on plasma prolactin concentrations. These results show that daily oral cabergoline has no significant influence on egg laying and only a minor biologically nonsignificant effect on lowering the relative plasma prolactin concentrations in quail.

Species-specific enamel differences in hardness and abrasion resistance between the permanent incisors of cattle (Bos primigenius taurus) and the ever-growing incisors of nutria (Myocastor coypus).

Hypselodont (ever-growing) teeth of lagomorphs or rodents have higher wear rates (of a magnitude of mm/week), with compensating growth rates, compared to the non-ever-growing teeth of ungulates (with a magnitude of mm/year). Whether this is due to a fundamental difference in enamel hardness has not been investigated so far. We prepared enamel samples (n = 120 per species) from incisors of cattle (Bos primigenius taurus) and nutria (Myocastor coypus, hypselodont incisors) taken at slaughterhouses, and submitted them to indentation hardness testing. Subsequently, samples were split into 4 groups per species (n = 24 per species and group) that were assessed for abrasion susceptibility by a standardized brush test with a control (no added abrasives) and three treatment groups (using fine silt at 4 ±1 µm particle size, volcanic ash at 96 ±9 µm, or fine sand at 166 ±15 µm as abrasives), in which enamel abrasion was quantified as height loss by before-and-after profilometry. The difference in enamel hardness between the species was highly significant, with nutria enamel achieving 78% of the hardness of cattle enamel. In the control and the fine sand group, no enamel height loss was evident, which was attributed to the in vitro system in the latter group, where the sand particles were brushed out of the test slurry by the brushes' bristles. For fine silt and volcanic ash, nutria enamel significantly lost 3.65 and 3.52 times more height than cattle. These results suggest a relationship between enamel hardness and susceptibility to abrasion. However, neither the pattern within the species nor across the species indicated a monotonous relationship between hardness and height loss; rather, the difference was due to qualitative step related to species. Hence, additional factors not measured in this study must be responsible for the differences in the enamel's susceptibility to abrasion. While the in vitro brush system cannot be used to rank abrasive test substances in terms of their abrasiveness, it can differentiate abrasion susceptibility in dental tissue of different animal species. The results caution against considering enamel wear as a similar process across mammals.

Sand accumulation in the digestive tract of rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus) and guinea pigs (Cavia porcellus): The role of the appendix.

We determined location and amount of accumulated sand in the gastrointestinal tract (GIT) of rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus) and guinea pigs (Cavia porcellus) fed diets containing external (silicate) abrasives. Computed tomographic abdominal images of rabbits (n = 44) and guinea pigs (n = 16) that each received varying numbers (4-7) of different diets for 14 days each (total n = 311 computed tomographs), and radiographs of dissected GIT and presence of silica in GIT content (n = 46 animals) were evaluated. In rabbits, the majority of accumulated sand was located in the caecal appendix, an elongated, intestinal structure in the left side of the abdomen. The 'wash-back' colonic separation mechanism in rabbits may be partly responsible for a retrograde transport of sand back to the caecum, where dense, small particles accumulate in the appendix. The appendix likely acted as a reservoir of these particles, leading to significant effects not only of the momentary but also of the previous diet on recorded sand volumes in the rabbits. Guinea pigs have no caecal appendix and a colonic separation mechanism not based on a 'wash-back'. Less sand accumulation was found in their GIT without a specific location pattern, and there were less previous diet effects in this species. None of the rabbits or guinea pigs developed clinical signs of obstruction during the study, and the recorded sand volumes represented 1.0 ± 1.2% of the 14-d sand intake in rabbits and 0.2 ± 0.2% in guinea pigs. Accumulation of sand in volumes up to 10 cm3 in the GIT of rabbits does not seem to cause clinical health impairment. Large inter-individual differences in rabbits indicate inter-individual variation in proneness to sand accumulation. The reason for the presence of a sand-trapping caecal appendix in animals that are, due to their burrowing lifestyle and feeding close to the ground, predestined for accidental sand ingestion, remains to be unveiled.

Tooth wear, growth and height in rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus) fed pelleted or extruded diets with or without added abrasives.

Among the different factors thought to affect dental wear, dietary consistency is possibly the least investigated. To understand tooth wear of herbivorous animals consuming different dietary consistencies with different abrasive potential, we fed 14 rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus) exclusively with a timothy grassmeal-based diet in either pelleted or extruded form, or the same diets with an addition of 5% fine sand abrasives (mean size 130 µm). First, we offered the rabbits the pelleted and extruded diets as well as the pelleted control and pelleted abrasive diet in a two-stage preference experiment. Then, the rabbits received each diet for 2 weeks in a randomised serial feeding experiment, where each animal served as its own control. Tooth measurements for wear, growth and height were achieved using a manual calliper, endoscopic examination and CT scans. The analysis of the diets as fed showed almost identical mean particle size, but the extruded diet had a lower density (volume/mass) and softer consistency compared to the pelleted one and was favoured by most rabbits. The rabbits selected against the diet with sand during the preference experiment, possibly because it caused more tooth wear, especially on the teeth most exposed to wear along the upper tooth row (upper P4 and M1). The maxillary teeth also showed evidence of an increased chewing laterality by the end of the experiment. The extruded diet led to a significantly lower cheek teeth height than the pelleted diet, potentially due to the higher chewing effort needed for a similar dry matter intake. The results suggest that dietary hardness alone is a poor predictor of dental wear. The regrowth of the teeth matched wear consistently.

Macrowear effects of external quartz abrasives of different size and concentration in rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus).

External quartz abrasives are one of the driving forces of macrowear in herbivorous animals. We tested to what extent different sizes and concentrations influence their effect on tooth wear. We fed seven pelleted diets varying only in quartz concentration (0%, 4%, and 8%) and size (fine silt: ∼4 µm, coarse silt: ∼50 µm, fine sand: ∼130 µm) to rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus, n = 16) for 2 weeks each in a randomized serial experiment. Measurements to quantify wear and growth of incisors and the mandibular first cheek tooth, as well as heights of all other cheek teeth, were performed using calipers, endoscopic examination, and computed tomography scans before and after each feeding period. Tooth growth showed a compensatory correlation with wear. Absolute tooth height (ATH) and relative tooth height (RTH); relative to the 0% quartz "control" diet) was generally lower on the higher concentration and the larger size of abrasives. The effect was more pronounced on the maxillary teeth, on specific tooth positions and the right jaw side. When offered the choice between different sizes of abrasives, the rabbits favored the silt diets over the control and the fine sand diet; in a second choice experiment with different diets, they selected a pelleted diet with coarse-grained sand, however. This study confirms the dose- and size-dependent wear effects of external abrasives, and that hypselodont teeth show compensatory growth. The avoidance of wear did not seem a priority for animals with hypselodont teeth, since the rabbits did not avoid diets inducing a certain degree of wear.

Preliminary evidence for a forestomach washing mechanism in llamas (Lama glama).

Dust and grit are ingested by herbivores in their natural habitats along with the plants that represent their selected diet. Among the functions of the rumen, a washing of ingesta from adhering dust and grit has recently been demonstrated. The putative consequence is a less strenuous wear on ruminant teeth by external abrasives during rumination. The same function should theoretically apply to camelids, but has not been investigated so far. We fed six llamas (Lama glama) a diet of grass hay and a lucerne-based pelleted food in which fine sand had been included at about 8% of ingredients, for ad libitum consumption for 6 weeks. Subsequently, animals were slaughtered and content of the different sections of the gastrointestinal tract was sampled for the analysis of dry matter (DM), total ash, and acid detergent insoluble ash (ADIA, a measure for silica). Additionally, two of the animals were subjected to whole-body computer tomography (CT) after death in the natural sternal resting position. No clinical problems or macroscopic changes in the faeces were observed during the experimental period. The results indicate an accumulation of ADIA in the C3 compartment of the stomach complex, in particular in the posterior portion that is the equivalent of the abomasum in ruminants. By contrast, contents of the C1, from which material is recruited for regurgitation and rumination, were depleted of ADIA, indicating that the contents had largely been washed free of sand. The washing effect is an unavoidable side effect of the flotation- and sedimentation-based sorting mechanisms in the ruminant and the camelid forestomachs. In theory, this should allow ruminants and camelids to live in similar habitats as nonruminant herbivores at lower degrees of hypsodonty.

Chlamydia caviae in Swiss and Dutch Guinea Pigs-Occurrence and Genetic Diversity.

Chlamydia (C.) caviae is a known pathogen in guinea pigs, causing conjunctivitis, respiratory infections and abortions. Recently, a C. caviae-induced zoonotic link was identified as the etiology of severe community-acquired pneumonia in humans. Here, 784 conjunctival and rectal swabs originating from 260 guinea pigs and 110 rabbits from 64 husbandries in Switzerland, as well as 200 composite conjunctival swabs originating from 878 guinea pigs from 37 husbandries in The Netherlands were examined by real-time PCR followed by conventional PCR and sequencing. Chlamydiaceae were detected in 2.3% (18/784) and 12.5% (25/200) of all Swiss and Dutch samples, respectively. An overall C. caviae occurrence was detected in 2.7% (7/260) and 8.9% (78/878) of all Swiss and Dutch guinea pigs, respectively. OmpA genotyping of 64 C. caviae-positive samples resulted in 33 sequences sharing 100% nucleotide identity with the strains isolated from the zoonotic transmission cases in The Netherlands. However, all ompA sequences of this study were distinct from the C. caviae GPIC reference strain. C. caviae was not detected in rabbits but C. psittaci genotype A was identified in guinea pigs and rabbits, raising concerns about the importance of these animal species as novel zoonotic sources for C. psittaci.

The historical development of juvenile mortality and adult longevity in zoo-kept carnivores.

Zoos need to evaluate their aim of high husbandry standards. One way of approaching this is to use the demographic data that has been collected by participating zoos for decades, assessing historical change over time to identify the presence or absence of progress. Using the example of carnivores, with data covering seven decades (1950-2019), 13 carnivore families, and 95 species, we show that juvenile mortality has decreased, and adult longevity increased, over this interval. While no reason for complacency, the results indicate that the commitment of zoos to continuously improve is having measurable consequences.

Dental wear proxy correlation in a long-term feeding experiment on sheep (Ovis aries).

Dietary reconstruction in vertebrates often relies on dental wear-based proxies. Although these proxies are widely applied, the contributions of physical and mechanical processes leading to meso- and microwear are still unclear. We tested their correlation using sheep (Ovis aries, n = 39) fed diets of varying abrasiveness for 17 months as a model. Volumetric crown tissue loss, mesowear change and dental microwear texture analysis (DMTA) were all applied to the same teeth. We hereby correlate: (i) 46 DMTA parameters with each other, for the maxillary molars (M1, M2, M3), and the second mandibular molar (m2); (ii) 10 mesowear variables to each other and to DMTA for M1, M2, M3 and m2; and (iii) volumetric crown tissue loss to mesowear and DMTA for M2. As expected, many DMTA parameters correlated strongly with each other, supporting the application of reduced parameter sets in future studies. Correlation results showed only few DMTA parameters correlated with volumetric tissue change and even less so with mesowear variables, with no correlation between mesowear and volumetric tissue change. These findings caution against interpreting DMTA and mesowear patterns in terms of actual tissue removal until these dental wear processes can be better understood at microscopic and macroscopic levels.

Metagenomic analysis of fecal and tissue samples from 18 endemic bat species in Switzerland revealed a diverse virus composition including potentially zoonotic viruses.

Many recent disease outbreaks in humans had a zoonotic virus etiology. Bats in particular have been recognized as reservoirs to a large variety of viruses with the potential to cross-species transmission. In order to assess the risk of bats in Switzerland for such transmissions, we determined the virome of tissue and fecal samples of 14 native and 4 migrating bat species. In total, sequences belonging to 39 different virus families, 16 of which are known to infect vertebrates, were detected. Contigs of coronaviruses, adenoviruses, hepeviruses, rotaviruses A and H, and parvoviruses with potential zoonotic risk were characterized in more detail. Most interestingly, in a ground stool sample of a Vespertilio murinus colony an almost complete genome of a Middle East respiratory syndrome-related coronavirus (MERS-CoV) was detected by Next generation sequencing and confirmed by PCR. In conclusion, bats in Switzerland naturally harbour many different viruses. Metagenomic analyses of non-invasive samples like ground stool may support effective surveillance and early detection of viral zoonoses.

Effects of isoflurane and sevoflurane alone and in combination with butorphanol or medetomidine on the bispectral index in chickens.

BACKGROUND: The bispectral index (BIS) is an anaesthesia monitoring technique able to assess the level of central nervous system depression in humans and various animal species. In birds, it has been validated in chickens undergoing isoflurane anaesthesia. The aim of this study was to evaluate in an avian species the influence of isoflurane and sevoflurane on BIS, each at different minimum anaesthetic concentrations (MAC) multiples, alone or combined with butorphanol or medetomidine. Ten chickens (5 males and 5 females) underwent general anaesthesia with isoflurane or sevoflurane alone, and combined with either intramuscular administration of butorphanol (1 mg/kg) or medetomidine (0.1 mg/kg), in a prospective and cross-over study (i.e., 6 treatments per animal). BIS measurements were compared to heart rate (HR), non-invasive blood pressure (NIBP) and to a visual analogue scale (VAS) of anaesthesia depth. RESULTS: HR was significantly increased, and both NIBP and VAS were significantly reduced, with higher gas concentrations. NIBP (but not HR or VAS) was additionally affected by the type of gas, being lower at higher concentrations of sevoflurane. Butorphanol had no additional effect, but medetomidine led to differences in HR, NIBP, and in particular a reduction in VAS. With respect to deeper level of hypnosis at higher concentrations and the absence of difference between gases, BIS measurements correlated with all other measures (except with HR, where no significant relationship was found) The difference in BIS before (BISpre) and after stimulation (BISpost) did not remain constant, but increased with increasing MAC multiples, indicating that the BISpost is not suppressed proportionately to the suppression of the BISpre values due to gas concentration. Furthermore, neither butorphanol nor medetomidine affected the BIS. CONCLUSIONS: The difference of degree of central nervous system depression monitored by BIS compared with neuromuscular reflexes monitored by VAS, indicate that BIS records a level of anaesthetic depth different from the one deducted from VAS monitoring alone. BIS provided complementary information such as that medetomidine suppressed spinal reflexes without deepening the hypnotic state. As a consequence, it is concluded that BIS improves the assessment of the level of hypnosis in chickens, improving anaesthesia monitoring and anaesthesia quality in this species.

Reproductive seasonality in primates: patterns, concepts and unsolved questions.

Primates, like other mammals, exhibit an annual reproductive pattern that ranges from strictly seasonal breeding to giving birth in all months of the year, but factors mediating this variation are not fully understood. We applied both a categorical description and quantitative measures of the birth peak breadth based on daily observations in zoos to characterise reproductive seasonality in 141 primate species with an average of 941 birth events per species. Absolute day length at the beginning of the mating season in seasonally reproducing species was not correlated between populations from natural habitats and zoos. The mid-point of latitudinal range was a major factor associated with reproductive seasonality, indicating a correlation with photoperiod. Gestation length, annual mean temperature, natural diet and Malagasy origin were other important factors associated with reproductive seasonality. Birth seasons were shorter with increasing latitude of geographical origin, corresponding to the decreasing length of the favourable season. Species with longer gestation periods were less seasonal than species with shorter ones, possibly because shorter gestation periods more easily facilitate the synchronisation of reproductive activity with annual cycles. Habitat conditions with higher mean annual temperature were also linked to less-seasonal reproduction, independently of the latitude effect. Species with a high percentage of leaves in their natural diet were generally non-seasonal, potentially because the availability of mature leaves is comparatively independent of seasons. Malagasy primates were more seasonal in their births than species from other regions. This might be due to the low resting metabolism of Malagasy primates, the comparatively high degree of temporal predictability of Malagasy ecosystems, or historical constraints peculiar to Malagasy primates. Latitudinal range showed a weaker but also significant association with reproductive seasonality. Amongst species with seasonal reproduction in their natural habitats, smaller primate species were more likely than larger species to shift to non-seasonal breeding in captivity. The percentage of species that changed their breeding pattern in zoos was higher in primates (30%) than in previous studies on Carnivora and Ruminantia (13 and 10%, respectively), reflecting a higher concentration of primate species in the tropics. When comparing only species that showed seasonal reproduction in natural habitats at absolute latitudes ≤11.75°, primates did not differ significantly from these two other taxa in the proportion of species that changed to a less-seasonal pattern in zoos. However, in this latitude range, natural populations of primates and Carnivora had a significantly higher proportion of seasonally reproducing species than Ruminantia, suggesting that in spite of their generally more flexible diets, both primates and Carnivora are more exposed to resource fluctuation than ruminants.