CLINICAL FINDINGS OF DENTAL DISEASE AND POTENTIAL CONTRIBUTING FACTORS IN PYGMY SLOW LORISES (NYCTICEBUS PYGMAEUS) UNDER HUMAN CARE.

Dental disease is a common finding in pygmy slow lorises (Nycticebus pygmaeus) under human care, but the etiology is not fully understood. The small oral cavity in this species can make diagnosis of dental disease difficult. This retrospective study evaluated medical records and diet and husbandry protocols from 18 participating institutions with the objective of describing the signalment, clinical signs, physical exam findings, tooth type, tooth location, diagnostics used, and treatments performed to help guide care for dental disease. In addition, the study aimed to identify potential contributing factors to dental disease in this species. Of 59 animals with medical records evaluated, 42 (71.2%) had dental disease: 19 (44.2%) males, 20 (46.5%) females, and 3 (9.3%) without gender documented. Average age at onset of dental disease was 7.6 yr in males and 9 yr in females. Multiple lorises with dental disease (n = 12; 28.6%) had no premonitory clinical signs, and dental disease was found incidentally on examination. On dental examination, 30 lorises (71.4%) had evidence of gingivitis. In 13 cases skull radiographs were taken, but the majority of images (n = 8; 61.5%) were nondiagnostic for pathologic dental changes. A small proportion of cases with dental abnormalities (n = 4; 9.5%) were diagnosed using computed tomography. In total, 175 teeth were extracted from 31 patients; molars were the most frequently extracted tooth (n = 55; 31.4%). No substantial differences in diets were noted among many of the participating institutions, and not all slow lorises evaluated developed dental disease (n = 17; 28.8%). This retrospective study provides clinical findings on slow loris dental disease and guidance for the veterinary care and management of slow lorises under human care.

Chronic osteoarthritis caused by Propionibacterium australiense infection in a captive sand gazelle.

Osteoarthritis is a common cause of morbidity and mortality in geriatric gazelles. Propionibacterium australiense has been reported as a cause of systemic granulomas in cattle, but there are no descriptions of this bacteria infecting other species nor causing osteoarthritis, to our knowledge. An 8-y-old, castrated male, sand gazelle (Gazella leptoceros leptoceros) was managed for chronic, intermittent, progressive osteoarthritis of the right tarsus. Serial biopsies revealed pyogranulomatous dermatitis with intralesional bacteria. Serial diagnostic imaging identified osseous and soft tissue proliferation with draining tracts. Treatments over 1 y included broad-spectrum antibiotics, anti-inflammatories, joint debridement, and infusion with platelet-rich plasma and stem cells. Despite therapy, lameness persisted, azotemia developed, and subsequently, the animal was euthanized. On postmortem examination, the periarticular tissue of the right tarsus was markedly expanded by pyogranulomas and fibrosis. Histologically, the synovium, joint capsule, and overlying soft tissues were markedly expanded by pyogranulomas and numerous gram-positive and acid-fast-negative filamentous bacteria surrounded by Splendore-Hoeppli material. Within the joint, there was regionally extensive cartilage ulceration, osteonecrosis, osteolysis, and pannus formation. PCR assay of affected formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded tissue amplified segments of 16S rRNA and ß subunit of bacterial RNA polymerase (rpoB) genes with 99.7% and 95.6% identity to P. australiense. This bacterium should be considered a differential for chronic pyogranulomatous osteoarthritis in gazelles.