INVESTIGATING BLOOD LACTATE CONCENTRATION AS A PROGNOSTIC INDICATOR FOR BIRDS PRESENTING WITH BREVETOXICOSIS: 2020-2021.

Large blooms of the dinoflagellate Karenia brevis cause annual harmful algal bloom events, or "red tides" on Florida's Gulf Coast. Each year, the Clinic for the Rehabilitation of Wildlife (CROW) is presented with hundreds of cases of aquatic birds that exhibit neurologic clinical signs due to brevetoxicosis. Double-crested cormorants (Phalacrocorax auratus) are the most common species seen, and typically present with a combination of ataxia, head tremors, knuckling, and/or lagophthalmos. Blood lactate levels are known to increase in mammals for a variety of reasons, including stress, hypoxia, sepsis, and trauma, but there is limited literature on blood lactate values in avian species. The objective of this study was to determine the prognostic value of blood lactate concentration on successful rehabilitation and release of birds presenting with clinical signs consistent with brevetoxicosis. Blood lactate levels were collected on intake, the morning after presentation and initial therapy, and prior to disposition (release or euthanasia) from 194 birds (including 98 cormorants) representing 17 species during the 2020-2021 red tide season. Overall, mean blood lactate at intake, the morning after intake, and predisposition was 2.9, 2.8, and 3.2 mmol/L, respectively, for released birds across all species (2.9, 2.9, and 3.2 mmol/L for released cormorants); 3.4, 3.4, and 6.5 mmol/L for birds that died (4.0, 3.5, and 7.9 mmol/L for cormorants that died); and 3.1, 3.5, and 4.7 mmol/L for birds that were euthanized (3.5, 4.7, and 4.9 mmol/L for cormorants that were euthanized). On average, birds that died or were euthanized had an elevated lactate at all time points as compared to those that were released, but these results were not statistically significant (P = 0.13). These results indicate that blood lactate levels do not appear to be useful as a prognostic indicator for successful release of birds, including double-crested cormorants, affected by brevetoxicosis.

DETERMINATION OF SPECIFIC ENTEROPATHOGEN PRESENCE IN CAPTIVE CHEETAHS (ACINONYX JUBATUS) FED VARIOUS DIETS USING FLUORESCENCE IN SITU HYBRIDIZATION.

Chronic enteropathies pose an important difficulty in the captive management of cheetahs (Acinonyx jubatus) because of suspected multifactorial pathogenesis and the complex nature of enteric microbiota dynamics. Enterobacteriaceae, Campylobacter spp., Clostridium perfringens, Helicobacter spp., and Salmonella spp. are enteropathogens of interest because of their zoonotic potential and suspected contribution to enteropathies. This study aimed to determine the presence of these enteropathogens of interest in fecal samples from cheetahs (N = 48) fed different diets from three different institutions and to investigate the associations between diet, fecal score, and specific enteropathogen presence. Fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) with rRNA-targeted oligonucleotide probes were used to visualize and quantify putative enteropathogens in each sample concurrent with selective culturing for Salmonella and Clostridium perfringens. From FISH counts, carcass-fed animals had greater numbers of Enterobacteriaceae compared with animals fed low-fat dog food, although this trend was not statistically significant (P = 0.088). Furthermore, no significant associations were found between fecal score and bacterial load. Abundance of Campylobacter spp., Clostridium perfringens, or Helicobacter spp. as measured by FISH were not correlated with diet or fecal score. On the basis of these data, in agreement with published literature, it is concluded that these microbes may be commensals in the cheetah gastrointestinal tract and do not appear to be a primary cause of abnormal fecal scores.

Management of intertarsal septic arthritis in an ostrich (Struthio camelus).

A 7-year-old female ostrich (Struthio camelus) presented with lameness, left intertarsal joint swelling and a healing wound on the caudomedial aspect of the joint. Synovial culture revealed Corynebacterium species and radiographs were consistent with progressive septic arthritis. Multiple treatments were attempted including through-and-through joint lavage, intra-articular antibiotics, caudomedial arthrotomy, and regional limb perfusion in conjunction with systemic antibiotics and analgesia. Euthanasia was ultimately performed due to prolonged recumbency and poor prognosis. This report describes novel therapies and a surgical approach utilized for treatment of intertarsal septic arthritis in an ostrich and exemplifies the poor prognosis described in other species presenting with non-responsive septic arthritis of critical joints.

Systemic phaeohyphomycosis in splitnose rockfish (Sebastes diploproa) caused by Devriesia sp.

A novel pathogen was documented after two wild-caught, juvenile, splitnose rockfish presented with buphthalmia, grey corneal endothelial plaques and evidence of uveitis. Cytologic evaluation of ocular contents revealed fungal hyphae. Histologic evaluation identified multiple fungal granulomas and granulomatous inflammation in the globes, periocular tissue and heart. Fungi were slender, hyphenated and branched at angles, had parallel cell walls and had brown pigmentation in haematoxylin- and eosin-stained sections. Both fish were diagnosed with phaeohyphomycosis. Culture with nuclear ribosomal RNA internal transcribed spacer (ITS) segment identification further classified the fungus as Devriesia sp., which has not been previously documented as a cause of disease in animals.

Detection of bacterial-reactive natural IgM antibodies in desert bighorn sheep populations.

Ecoimmunology is a burgeoning field of ecology which studies immune responses in wildlife by utilizing general immune assays such as the detection of natural antibody. Unlike adaptive antibodies, natural antibodies are important in innate immune responses and often recognized conserved epitopes present in pathogens. Here, we describe a procedure for measuring natural antibodies reactive to bacterial antigens that may be applicable to a variety of organisms. IgM from desert bighorn sheep plasma samples was tested for reactivity to outer membrane proteins from Vibrio coralliilyticus, a marine bacterium to which sheep would have not been exposed. Immunoblotting demonstrated bighorn sheep IgM could bind to a variety of bacterial cell envelope proteins while ELISA analysis allowed for rapid determination of natural antibody levels in hundreds of individual animals. Natural antibody levels were correlated with the ability of plasma to kill laboratory strains of E. coli bacteria. Finally, we demonstrate that natural antibody levels varied in two distinct populations of desert bighorn sheep. These data demonstrate a novel and specific measure of natural antibody function and show that this varies in ecologically relevant ways.