SUMMER AND WINTER VITAMIN D3 LEVELS IN SEVEN PLATYRRHINE SPECIES HOUSED AT A BRITISH ZOO, WITH REFERENCE TO NATURAL UVB LEVELS.

Serum samples were collected from 24 platyrrhines of seven diurnal species housed with outdoor access at Bristol Zoo Gardens (United Kingdom) to test 25-hydroxyvitamin D3 (25OHD3) levels as part of the veterinary department's preventative health care program. Samples were collected in August 2008 (summer) and January 2009 (winter) to examine the effect of season on 25OHD3 levels. Dietary levels of vitamin D3 remained the same throughout the study period and fell within the range of 2000-4000 IU/kg dry matter, in accordance with current primate guidelines. Statistical analysis showed that there was no significant difference between the platyrrhines' summer 25OHD3 values (range, <4.0->150.0 µg/L) and winter 25OHD3 values (range, <4.0-80.1 µg/L). However, ultraviolet B (UVB) measurements taken at the zoo during the study period confirmed that UVB levels were significantly higher in summer (mean reading for 1200-1300 hours GMT time period, 153.8 µW/cm2) compared with winter (mean reading for 1200-1300 hours GMT time period, 19.4 µW/cm2). The 25OHD3 levels measured were generally found to be low compared with previously published values from healthy captive and wild platyrrhines.

SUMMER AND WINTER VITAMIN D3 LEVELS IN FOUR LEMUR SPECIES HOUSED AT A BRITISH ZOO, WITH REFERENCE TO UVB LEVELS.

Serum samples were collected from 18 lemurs of four diurnal/cathemeral species housed with outdoor access at Bristol Zoo Gardens (United Kingdom) to test 25-hydroxy-vitamin D3 (25OHD3) levels as part of the veterinary department's preventative health care program. Samples were collected from each lemur in August 2008 (summer) and January 2009 (winter) to examine the effect of season on 25OHD3 levels. The lemurs were fed commercial primate food and a range of fruit and vegetables, and dietary levels of vitamin D3 remained the same throughout the study period. Statistical analysis showed that the lemurs' summer 25OHD3 values (range 26.7 to >150.0 µg/L) were significantly higher than their winter 25OHD3 values (range 11.4-87.1 µg/L). UVB measurements taken during the study period confirmed that UVB levels were significantly higher in summer (mean reading for 1200-1300 GMT time period 153.8 µW/cm2) compared to winter (mean reading for 1200-1300 GMT time period 19.4 µW/cm2). The 25OHD3 levels measured were generally found to be high compared to previously published values from wild (free-ranging) lemurs in Madagascar. The most likely explanation for this was the higher vitamin D3 content of the captive lemurs' diet, as UVB levels at the zoo (latitude 51° north) are substantially lower than those that occur in Madagascar (latitude 12°-26° south). No evidence of vitamin D toxicity or deficiency was found in any of the captive lemurs. The results indicate that vitamin D3 levels in lemurs housed with outdoor access in the United Kingdom and by extension, other regions of similar latitude, vary with seasonal environmental UVB levels, in a similar way to the seasonal variations in vitamin D3 observed in humans living in these regions, but that vitamin D levels in this captive lemur population were adequate compared to wild lemur levels, even in winter.

Pneumonia from Angiostrongylus vasorum infection in a red panda (Ailurus fulgens fulgens).

A 9-year-old, male, captive red panda (Ailurus fulgens fulgens) in an urban zoo in the United Kingdom presented with respiratory distress and weight loss. The animal was euthanatized, and a postmortem examination was performed. The lungs were diffusely consolidated with extensive mineralization. Microscopically, there was extensive obliteration of normal pulmonary architecture by sheets and coalescing nodules of partially mineralized fibrous tissue and granulomatous inflammation centered on large numbers of nematode larvae and eggs. First stage nematode larvae were isolated from lung tissue and were characterized as Angiostrongylus vasorum on the basis of their morphology and sequencing of the 18S ribosomal RNA gene and the entire second internal transcribed spacer. Although A. vasorum has previously been reported in red pandas in a zoological collection in Denmark, this study is the first reported case in the United Kingdom and occurs against a background of geographical spread and increased incidence of disease in domestic and wild canids. Angiostrongylus vasorum should be considered a differential diagnosis for respiratory disease in the red panda and taken into account when planning parasite and pest control programs for zoological collections.

Intrarenal pelvic nephroblastoma in a meerkat (Suricata suricatta).

Nephroblastoma is the most common primary renal tumor in children and has also been reported in domestic and nondomestic animal species. Intrapelvic renal nephroblastoma is a rare variant of this tumor type in human patients. Postmortem examination of a captive meerkat (Suricata suricatta), which was found dead, revealed enlargement of the pelvis of the left kidney by a tumor mass. Gross, histological, and immunohistochemical findings were consistent with a diagnosis of triphasic intrapelvic renal nephroblastoma. This is the first reported spontaneous case of intrapelvic renal nephroblastoma in a nonhuman species.