Intraoperative bleeding in dogs from Grenada seroreactive to Anaplasma platys and Ehrlichia canis.

BACKGROUND: Frequent exposure of Grenadian dogs to Rhipicephalus sanguineus results in Anaplasma platys, and Ehrlichia canis seroreactivity. During elective surgeries, substantial intraoperative hemorrhage occurs in some seroreactive dogs. OBJECTIVES: To assess hemostatic parameters and bleeding tendencies as well as prevalence of PCR positivity in apparently healthy A. platys and E. canis seroreactive and seronegative free-roaming dogs from Grenada. ANIMALS: Forty-seven elective surgery dogs allocated to 4 groups: Seronegative control (n = 12), A. platys (n = 10), E. canis (n = 14) and A. platys, and E. canis (n = 11) seroreactive. METHODS: Preoperatively, hemostasis was assessed by platelet count, prothrombin time, activated partial thromboplastin time, and buccal mucosal bleeding time. Intra- and postoperative bleeding scores were subjectively assigned. Blood, spleen, bone marrow, and lymph node aspirates were tested by PCR. RESULTS: Bleeding scores in dogs coseroreactive for A. platys and E. canis were higher (P = .015) than those of seronegative dogs. A. platys DNA was amplified from 7/21 (33%) A. platys seroreactive dogs and from 1 E. canis seroreactive dog; E. canis DNA was amplified from 21/25 (84%) E. canis seroreactive dogs. E. canis DNA was amplified most often from blood, whereas A. platys DNA was amplified most often from bone marrow. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL IMPORTANCE: Apparently healthy, free-roaming dogs coseropositive for A. platys and E. canis may have increased intraoperative bleeding tendencies despite normal hemostatic parameters. Future investigations should explore the potential for vascular injury as a cause for bleeding in these dogs. Improved tick control is needed for dogs in Grenada.

Prevalence, serovars and antimicrobial susceptibility of Salmonella spp. from wild and domestic green iguanas (Iguana iguana) in Grenada, West Indies.

Cloacal swabs from 62 green iguanas (Iguana iguana), including 47 wild and 15 domestic ones from five parishes of Grenada, were sampled during a 4-month period of January to April 2013 and examined by enrichment and selective culture for the presence of Salmonella spp. Fifty-five per cent of the animals were positive, and eight serovars of Salmonella were isolated. The most common serovar was Rubislaw (58.8%), a serovar found recently in many cane toads in Grenada, followed by Oranienburg (14.7%), a serovar that has been causing serious human disease outbreaks in Japan. Serovar IV:48:g,z51 :- (formerly, S. Marina) highly invasive and known for serious infections in children in the United States, constituted 11.8% of the isolates, all of them being from domestic green iguanas. Salmonella Newport, a serovar recently found in a blue land crab in Grenada, comprised 11.8% of the isolates from the green iguanas. The remaining four less frequent serovars included S. Javiana and S. Glostrup. Antimicrobial susceptibility tests conducted by a disc diffusion method against amoxicillin-clavulanic acid, ampicillin, cefotaxime, ceftazidime, ciprofloxacin, enrofloxacin, gentamicin, nalidixic acid, streptomycin, tetracycline and trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole showed that drug resistance is minimal, with intermediate susceptibility, mainly to streptomycin, tetracycline and cefotaxime. This is the first report of isolation and antimicrobial susceptibilities of various Salmonella serovars from wild and domestic green iguanas in Grenada, West Indies.

Congenital feline portosystemic shunts.

Five young cats with portosystemic communications, 2 with single intrahepatic and 3 with single extrahepatic portosystemic communications, were managed surgically. One cat with a ductus venosus was treated successfully by surgery. Ptyalism and behavioral changes were similar in all 5 cats. Biochemical abnormalities included low BUN values, increased blood ammonia values, and increased sulfobromophthalein retention. None of the cats had portal hypertension at the time of surgery. Seemingly, single portosystemic shunts should be considered a surgical disease in the cat.

Electromyographic and urethral pressure profilometry: assessment of urethral function before and after perineal urethrostomy in cats.

Urethral pressure and electromyographic profiles were recorded in 10 healthy adult male cats before and after perineal urethrostomy. There was a significant decrease (P = 0 at 1 week after surgery, P = 0.002 at 3 weeks after surgery) in the mean maximum urethral pressure profile with associated loss of periurethral striated muscle activity.