Case report: Renal adenoma in a captive ocelot (Leopardus pardalis) in Costa Rica.

Reports of renal neoplasia are rare in neotropical wildcats. Ocelots (Leopardus pardalis) are medium-sized wildcats living in America's tropical forests. A 12-year-old captive ocelot was diagnosed with a renal mass occupying approximately 25% of the total right kidney volume. The tissue was stained with routine hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) and periodic acid-Schiff (PAS). Immunohistochemistry with the following markers was performed: cytokeratin (CK) AE1/AE3, CK19, CK 7, CD10, vimentin, Melan A, HMB45, Pax-8, and Wilms' tumor 1 (WT1). Histopathology revealed a well-differentiated epithelial tubular neoplasia with less than one mitotic figure per 2.37mm2 field. Vimentin and Pax-8 were the only positive markers. Immunohistochemically, neoplasia was diagnosed as a renal adenoma. Renal adenomas are seldom reported in neotropical wildcats. Reports on wild species are valuable for properly establishing a clinical prognosis for captive species. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report that provides detailed microscopic and immunohistochemical descriptions of renal adenoma in a captive ocelot.

Molecular, morphological and histopathological evidence of Spirometra mansoni in wild and domestic animals from Costa Rica.

Spirometra mansoni is a diphyllobothroid cestode and one of the causing agents of sparganosis, a zoonotic foodborne and waterborne infection in humans. This parasite has an indirect life cycle with domestic and wild canids or felids as definitive hosts. The last report of S. mansoni in Costa Rica was done in 2004 by morphological assessment of worms, whereas molecular evidence of this species was obtained recently in the Americas. Herein, we present seven cases of spirometrosis in four dogs, three cats and a coyote from different regions of Costa Rica occurring in a time span of a year. Dog cases presented vomiting, hyporexia, lethargy and diarrhea, whereas cats were mostly asymptomatic. Moreover, the coyote was found with Spirometra sp. proglottids incidentally. Cytochrome oxidase subunit 1 (cox1) sequences of eggs or proglottids derived from all cases were analyzed with a Bayesian Inference phylogenetic tree and a haplotype network. These analyses showed the clustering of S. mansoni from Costa Rica with other sequences derived from Asia and America. Moreover, cox1 sequences clustered in two separate haplotypes, suggesting the high genetic diversity of the species. The present cases represent the first molecular evidence of the parasite in Central America; thus, extending its known range in the American continent.

A Retrospective Analysis of Admission Trends and Outcomes in a Wildlife Rescue and Rehabilitation Center in Costa Rica.

The evaluation of data regarding rehabilitation practices provides reference values for comparison purposes among different rehabilitation centers to critically review protocols and efficiently improve each center. The aim of the present work was to present the main causes of admission to Rescate Wildlife Rescue Center for each taxonomic group, to determine the admission factors that influenced the release and mortality, and to determine the predictive factors of release and mortality of wildlife. To this end, a retrospective study was carried out based on 5785 admissions registered in the database of Rescate Wildlife Rescue Center in Costa Rica in 2020 and 2021. Statistical analysis consisted of sample characterization via the analysis of several categorical variables: species, order, class, age group, cause of admission, outcome, clinical classification and days in the hospital, and respective association with the mortality or release rate. Most of the rescue animals were birds (59.3%), then mammals (20.7%), reptiles (17.4%), and finally 'others' (2.6%). The main causes of admission were 'captivity' (34.9%), 'found' (23.3%), and 'trauma' (19.3%). Animals rescued due to 'captivity' and the classes 'birds' and 'reptiles' had the highest release rates. The causes of admission 'trauma' and 'orphanhood' and the class 'birds' had the highest mortality rates. In general, a greater number of days spent in the hospital and membership in the classes 'reptiles', 'juveniles', in need of 'basic care', or 'clinically healthy' were predictors of survival. In contrast, the age groups 'infant' and 'nestling' were predictors of mortality. These results demonstrate the value of maintaining, improving, and studying databases from wildlife rehabilitation centers, as they can provide useful information that can be used to enhance the allocation of economic resources, treatment methods, disease surveillance, public education, and regulatory decision-making, leading to a better understanding of threats to wildlife and subsequent implementation of conservation actions.