Vulvar squamous cell carcinoma in a captive female chimpanzee: A case report.

A necropsy was performed on a 43-year-old female zoo chimpanzee, with cancer in the vulvar and perivulvar region. She was diagnosed with squamous cell carcinoma, the presence of this tumor in domestic animals and non-human primates is very rare in the vulvar region and there were no previous reports found on it in chimpanzee, due to which this report contributes to the knowledge on chimpanzee pathologies.

Origin and genetic diversity of canine parvovirus 2c circulating in Mexico.

Canine parvovirus type 2 (CPV-2) emerged in the late 1970 s as a pathogen that is capable of causing high rates of morbidity and mortality in dogs. Currently, three genetic variants circulate worldwide (CPV 2a, 2b, and 2c); however, epidemiological studies have not been conducted in all countries to identify its variants. The objectives of this work were to determine which genotypes of CPV-2 circulate in Mexico and to identify the genetic relationships between CPV-2 sequences from Mexico and those from other parts of the world. Samples from five geographical regions of Mexico were analysed by PCR for identification of CPV-2. Here, 1638 bp of the VP2 gene were amplified and sequenced from 50 CPV-2-positive samples, and a phylogenetic network was assembled using these 50 sequences and 150 others obtained from GenBank, representing different countries around the world. The network showed that the most common genotype circulating in the geographic zones of Mexico was CPV-2c. In the network, the 50 samples were organised into two clusters: cluster I, derived from a group of samples of European origin, which belong to genotype 2c, and cluster II, derived from samples belonging to genotype 2b from the USA. Our data suggest that the CPV-2 strains circulating in Mexico originated from two possible virus introduction events. In addition, high genetic diversity was observed among the CPV-2c-derived sequences, which correspond exclusively to the presence of Mexican CPV-2c haplotypes.

Reliability of clinical diagnosis and laboratory testing techniques currently used for identification of canine parvovirus enteritis in clinical settings.

Canine parvovirus type 2 (CPV-2) is the main etiological agent of viral enteritis in dogs. Actually in literature, CPV-2 has been reported with clinical signs that vary from the classical disease, and immunochromatography test and PCR technique have been introduced to veterinary hospitals to confirm CPV-2 diagnosis and other infections. However, the reliability of these techniques has been poorly analyzed. In this study, we evaluated the sensitivity and specificity of veterinary clinical diagnosis, immunochromatography test and PCR technique. Our data indicate that variations in the clinical signs of CPV-2 complicate the gathering of an appropriate diagnosis; and immunochromatography test and PCR technique do not have adequate sensitivity to diagnose positive cases.

Testing the efficacy of a multi-component DNA-prime/DNA-boost vaccine against Trypanosoma cruzi infection in dogs.

BACKGROUND: Trypanosoma cruzi, the etiologic agent of Chagas Disease, is a major vector borne health problem in Latin America and an emerging infectious disease in the United States. METHODS: We tested the efficacy of a multi-component DNA-prime/DNA-boost vaccine (TcVac1) against experimental T. cruzi infection in a canine model. Dogs were immunized with antigen-encoding plasmids and cytokine adjuvants, and two weeks after the last immunization, challenged with T. cruzi trypomastigotes. We measured antibody responses by ELISA and haemagglutination assay, parasitemia and infectivity to triatomines by xenodiagnosis, and performed electrocardiography and histology to assess myocardial damage and tissue pathology. RESULTS: Vaccination with TcVac1 elicited parasite-and antigen-specific IgM and IgG (IgG2>IgG1) responses. Upon challenge infection, TcVac1-vaccinated dogs, as compared to non-vaccinated controls dogs, responded to T. cruzi with a rapid expansion of antibody response, moderately enhanced CD8(+) T cell proliferation and IFN-γ production, and suppression of phagocytes' activity evidenced by decreased myeloperoxidase and nitrite levels. Subsequently, vaccinated dogs controlled the acute parasitemia by day 37 pi (44 dpi in non-vaccinated dogs), and exhibited a moderate decline in infectivity to triatomines. TcVac1-immunized dogs did not control the myocardial parasite burden and electrocardiographic and histopatholgic cardiac alterations that are the hallmarks of acute Chagas disease. During the chronic stage, TcVac1-vaccinated dogs exhibited a moderate decline in cardiac alterations determined by EKG and anatomo-/histo-pathological analysis while chronically-infected/non-vaccinated dogs continued to exhibit severe EKG alterations. CONCLUSIONS: Overall, these results demonstrated that TcVac1 provided a partial resistance to T. cruzi infection and Chagas disease, and provide an impetus to improve the vaccination strategy against Chagas disease.