Septic fibrinous pericarditis in 4 horses in Saskatchewan following an outbreak of forest tent caterpillars in 2017.

In the summer of 2017, 4 horses were diagnosed with septic fibrinous pericarditis at the Western College of Veterinary Medicine, Saskatoon. This case series occurred after a significant outbreak of forest tent caterpillars (Malacosoma disstria) in the province during that spring. Three horses were immediately euthanized, and treatment was attempted in 1 mare. This is the first case series of pericarditis possibly associated with the ingestion of forest tent caterpillars to be reported in western Canada. Although cause-effect is not proven, it is prudent to prevent the ingestion of caterpillars by horses. Key clinical message: Septic fibrinous pericarditis, a rare condition in horses, has previously been linked to outbreaks of eastern tent caterpillars. A similar link might exist in this case series.

Péricardites fibrineuses septiques chez quatre chevaux saskatchewanais consécutive à une infestation de chenilles de livrée des forêts en 2017. Au cours de l'été 2017, quatre chevaux ont été diagnostiqués avec une péricardite fibrineuse septique au Western College of Veterinary Medicine de Saskatoon. Ces cas ont été présentés après une sévère infestation printanière de chenilles de livrée de forêts (Malacosoma disstria) dans la province de la Saskatchewan, reportée au printemps. Trois chevaux ont été immédiatement euthanasiés et une jument a été hospitalisée pour traitement. Ceci est le premier rapport décrivant la possible association entre des cas de péricardite chez des chevaux et l'ingestion de chenilles de livrée de forêts dans l'Ouest canadien. Même si le lien de cause à effet n'est pas prouvé, il est prudent d'éviter l'ingestion de ces chenilles processionnaires par les chevaux.Message clinique clé :La péricardite fibrineuse septique, une condition rare chez les chevaux, a précédemment été liée à des flambées de livrées des forêts. Un lien similaire pourrait exister dans la présente série de cas.(Traduit par les auteurs).

Poorly differentiated cutaneous carcinoma of non-sebaceous origin in a 3-year-old Mongolian gerbil (Meriones unguiculatus).

A 3-year-old female gerbil developed a non-healing skin wound due to a malignant neoplasm. Histology, immunohistochemistry (cytokeratin 19 positive; vimentin, estrogen, and progesterone receptor negative), and electron microscopy (no desmosomes or melanosomes) revealed an undifferentiated carcinoma with pulmonary metastasis. Unlike in previous reports, it did not arise from the abdominal pad's sebaceous gland.

Carcinome cutané d'origine non sébacée peu différencié chez une gerbille de Mongolie âgée de 3 ans(Meriones unguiculatus). Une gerbille femelle âgée de 3 ans a développé une plaie cutanée qui ne guérissait pas en raison d'un néoplasme malin. Des examens histologiques, par immunohistochimie (positif pour la cytokératine 19; négatif pour les récepteurs de vimentine, d'œstrogène et de progestérone) et par microscopie électronique (pas de desmosomes ni de mélanosomes) ont révélé un carcinome indifférencié avec métastase pulmonaire. Contrairement aux rapports antérieurs, il n'était pas causé par la glande sébacée du coussinet abdominal.(Traduit par Isabelle Vallières).

Primary corneal melanocytoma in a Collie.

A 6-year-old female, spayed Collie was referred to the Western College of Veterinary Medicine for a 12-month history of a progressive right corneal mass. A superficial keratectomy was performed and histopathology revealed a corneal melanocytoma with complete excision. There has been no recurrence of the neoplasm to date (12 months). This is the first known report of an isolated corneal melanocytoma in a canine.

Frequency of Escherichia coli virotypes in calf diarrhea and intestinal morphologic changes associated with these virotypes or other diarrheagenic pathogens.

Calf diarrhea is a common cause of pre-weaning morbidity and mortality in cattle operations. We evaluated the role of Escherichia coli by assessing the frequency of genes encoding virulence factors (virotypes) in E. coli from feces or intestinal contents, and the association of these virotypes or other diarrheagenic pathogens with intestinal morphologic changes in calves with or without diarrhea. E. coli was isolated from 408 feces and 105 intestines of calves with diarrhea and compared to those isolated from 635 feces and 100 intestines of calves without diarrhea, from 2002 to 2016. Virotype EAST1:F17, in combination with minor virotypes, was the most commonly detected type, but without differences in frequency between the 2 groups of calves. No significant intestinal morphologic changes were observed with the different E. coli virotypes in either group of calves, except for bacterial attachment to enterocytes for virotype STa:F5, which was detected only in calves with diarrhea. These observations suggest that E. coli, excluding virotype STa:F5, is not a significant diarrhea-causing agent in calves. However, the intestinal lesions observed in ~82% of calves with diarrhea were attributed to other diarrheagenic pathogens that include bovine coronavirus, Clostridium perfringens, Cryptosporidium spp., Eimeria spp., rotavirus, and Salmonella spp.

Observations of mortality in farmed bison in the Canadian prairies: 2103 - 2016.

The present study is a continuation of a previous mortality study on Saskatchewan bison farms with special emphasis on Malignant Catarrhal Fever. The updated objective of the study was to estimate the most common causes of mortality in farmed bison herds in Western Canada. Results were compared to the previous Saskatchewan study to assess the similarities and differences in the etiology associated with farmed bison deaths across the Prairie Provinces of Canada. The most common cause of death was respiratory disease associated with Mycoplasma bovis, although this was restricted to Alberta and Saskatchewan farm locations. This was in contrast to the previous Saskatchewan based study which did not identify any deaths involving this pathogen. An updated overall assessment of the risks of Malignant Catarrhal Fever in farmed bison at various proximities to sheep operations further confirmed the low risk of occurrence on farms within a 1 km boundary fence distance.