COMPARISON OF CIRCULATING IRON, TOTAL IRON BINDING CAPACITY, AND PERCENT TRANSFERRIN SATURATION IN WILD AND CAPTIVE KORI BUSTARDS ( ARDEOTIS KORI).

The kori bustard ( Ardeotis kori) is one of the largest extant flighted birds and is displayed in zoos primarily in North America and Europe. In captivity, kori bustard diets are primarily based on animal proteins, whereas in the wild these birds eat a wide variety of plants, insects, and small vertebrate prey. The purpose of this study was to compare circulating iron, total iron binding capacity, and percent transferrin saturation levels in apparently healthy wild and captive kori bustards. Adult captive kori bustards had slightly higher percent transferrin saturation levels than juvenile captive birds, although this finding was not statistically significant. This information can be referenced as a guide for the assessment of nutrition and health in captive birds.

Establishing a working definition for veterinary care desert.

OBJECTIVE: To develop a formal definition of veterinary care deserts as guidance for veterinary and animal welfare professionals to easily identify areas with limited access to veterinary care that can be targeted with expansion or implementation of programs and services. SAMPLE: 52 sources relating to veterinary care and 55 sources relating to human resource deserts were reviewed for themes and parameters relating to resource desert definitions and barriers to care. Of these, 37 veterinary and 42 human sources were included to inform the themes and parameters for our definition. METHODS: We performed a scoping literature review with a focus on veterinary care barriers and definitions of human resource deserts. RESULTS: The review identified 3 common themes of accessibility (transportation; distance to resource), affordability (owner income or poverty level; cost of care), and availability (density of professionals) that were incorporated into the definition of a veterinary care desert and parameterized at the level of census tracts. A working definition for veterinary care deserts was established as a geographic area where accessible, affordable, and available veterinary care is limited. CLINICAL RELEVANCE: By consulting publicly available census tract data on accessibility, affordability, and availability, veterinary care providers and organizations can use this definition to identify areas most likely to be experiencing reduced access to veterinary care and target interventions accordingly.

Causes of morbidity and mortality in captive kori bustards (Ardeotis kori) in the United States.

The kori bustard (Ardeotis kori) is a popular avian resident of zoos and wild animal parks throughout North America and Europe. As this species' numbers continue to decline throughout its native African range, the need for its successful captive management becomes increasingly apparent. To this end, an understanding of the factors causing morbidity and mortality in the captive kori bustard population is critical. Here, the demographics, husbandry practices, and causes of morbidity and mortality of 94% of captive kori bustards (198 individuals) housed in zoos throughout the United States between 1988 and 2008 are described, and suggestions for captive management targets in this species are presented. The most common clinical and pathologic findings observed were lameness (48 cases), gastrointestinal parasitism (45 cases), and wing integumentary trauma (32 cases). Trauma was a very common cause of morbidity (135 cases) and was the most common cause of mortality (53 individuals, 40% of deceased animals). Considering the high prevalence of traumatic injury and death observed in this population, captive management of kori bustards should focus on developing strategies that minimize opportunity for injury. Priorities include preventing exposure to potentially hostile exhibit mates, decreasing stress associated with human interactions, and researching the effects of diet on skeletal development of young birds.

Fleas from common rodent species are an unlikely source of plague (Yersinia pestis) in managed forests of northwestern Oregon, USA.

Anthropogenic environmental change can alter the susceptibility of wildlife hosts to pathogens and provide an opportunity for disease emergence. We explored Yersinia pestis prevalence in fleas from three rodent species inhabiting intensively managed forests in Oregon, USA. Y. pestis was not detected in the 145 fleas (3 families and 9 species) collected. Our results suggest a low public health threat from plague in this anthropogenically altered landscape and contribute to regional Y. pestis monitoring efforts.

Chronic clinical signs of upper respiratory tract disease associate with gut and respiratory microbiomes in a cohort of domestic felines.

Feline upper respiratory tract disease (FURTD), often caused by infections etiologies, is a multifactorial syndrome affecting feline populations worldwide. Because of its highly transmissible nature, infectious FURTD is most prevalent anywhere cats are housed in groups such as animal shelters, and is associated with negative consequences such as decreasing adoption rates, intensifying care costs, and increasing euthanasia rates. Understanding the etiology and pathophysiology of FURTD is thus essential to best mitigate the negative consequences of this disease. Clinical signs of FURTD include acute respiratory disease, with a small fraction of cats developing chronic sequelae. It is thought that nasal mucosal microbiome changes play an active role in the development of acute clinical signs, but it remains unknown if the microbiome may play a role in the development and progression of chronic clinical disease. To address the knowledge gap surrounding how microbiomes link to chronic FURTD, we asked if microbial community structure of upper respiratory and gut microbiomes differed between cats with chronic FURTD signs and clinically normal cats. We selected 8 households with at least one cat exhibiting chronic clinical FURTD, and simultaneously collected samples from cohabitating clinically normal cats. Microbial community structure was assessed via 16S rDNA sequencing of both gut and nasal microbiome communities. Using a previously described ecophylogenetic method, we identified 136 and 89 microbial features within gut and nasal microbiomes respectively that significantly associated with presence of active FURTD clinical signs in cats with a history of chronic signs. Overall, we find that nasal and gut microbial community members associate with the presence of chronic clinical course, but more research is needed to confirm our observations.