Systemic Yersinia pseudotuberculosis as a Cause of Osteomyelitis in a Captive Ring-tailed Lemur (Lemur catta).

Yersinia pseudotuberculosis and Yersinia enterocolitica are ubiquitous pathogens with wildlife and domestic animal reservoirs. Outbreaks of 'non-plague' yersiniosis in man and non-human primates are reported frequently (including zoological specimens and research breeding colonies) and are usually characterized by enteritis, mesenteric lymphadenitis and occasionally organ abscessation. In people, non-septic reactive arthritis is a common sequela to yersiniosis. However, there have been rare reports in people of septic arthritis and osteomyelitis because of active systemic infection with Y. pseudotuberculosis. Osteomyelitis has also been reported rarely in historical yersiniosis outbreaks in farmed turkeys in England and the USA. This paper reports the first case of osteomyelitis caused by systemic infection with Y. pseudotuberculosis O:1 in a non-human primate, a captive ring-tailed lemur (Lemur catta). The lemur had a short clinical history of hyporexia and weight loss with reduction in mobility, especially of the left hindlimb. On post-mortem examination there was evidence of multi-organ abscessation. In addition, severe necrosis, inflammation and large bacterial colonies were present in the musculature, periosteum and bone marrow in the hip, ribs and a vertebra at the cervicothoracic junction. Osteomyelitis should be considered as a rare clinical presentation in non-human primates with systemic Y. pseudotuberculosis infection.

Primitive neuroectodermal tumour in a striped dolphin (Stenella coeruleoalba) with features of ependymoma and neural tube differentiation (Medulloepithelioma).

Primary brain tumours in cetaceans are rare with only four reported cases of intracranial tumours in the scientific literature. A juvenile female, striped dolphin live-stranded at Whitepark Bay, Co Antrim, Northern Ireland, UK, and died after an unsuccessful attempt at refloatation. Necropsy examination revealed a large, soft, non-encapsulated friable mass, which expanded and replaced the frontal lobes, corpus callosum and caudate nucleus of the brain and extended into the lateral ventricles, displacing the thalamus caudally. Microscopically, this comprised moderately pleomorphic neoplastic cells arranged variably in dense monotonous sheets, irregular streams, ependymal rosettes, 'ependymoblastomatous rosettes' and multilayered to pseudostratified tubules. Liquefactive necrosis, palisading glial cells, haemorrhage and mineralization were also observed. Immunohistochemically, the neoplastic cells expressed vimentin but not S100, glial fibrillary acidic protein, cytokeratin, neuron-specific enolase or synaptophysin. Based on these findings a diagnosis of primitive neuroectodermal tumour was made. Monitoring and recording such cases is crucial as neoplasia may be related to viral, carcinogenic or immunosuppressive chemical exposure and can ultimately contribute to assessing the ocean health.

Breed, age and gender distribution of dogs with chronic hepatitis in the United Kingdom.

Standardised histological criteria are now available for the diagnosis of canine chronic hepatitis (CH). CH is common in dogs, but no studies have reported breed, age and gender distributions in the United Kingdom (UK). The objective of this study was to determine which breeds had an increased risk for developing CH in the UK and to report the age and gender distribution for those breeds. The databases of six veterinary histopathology laboratories were searched for cases with a histological diagnosis of CH according to standardised criteria. The breed, age and gender of dogs was recorded and compared to a control population to calculate the odds ratio and 95% confidence intervals for developing CH. A total of 551 cases of CH were identified, consisting of 61 breeds. Nineteen breeds were represented by five or more cases. Breeds with an increased risk for developing CH included the American cocker spaniel, Cairn terrier, Dalmatian, Dobermann pinscher, English cocker spaniel, English springer spaniel, Great Dane, Labrador retriever and Samoyed. The median age at diagnosis for all breeds with CH was 8 years (range 7 months to 16 years). Dalmatians, Dobermann pinschers and English springer spaniels with CH were significantly younger than Cairn terriers, English cocker spaniels and Labrador retrievers with CH. Females were over-represented when all cases were examined together. In conclusion, several breeds in the UK have an increased risk of CH, some of which have not been previously reported.

Arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy as a cause of unexpected cardiac death in two horses.

Postmortem and histological examination of the hearts from two horses, a five-year-old Clydesdale gelding and a 15-year-old cob gelding, revealed changes characteristic of arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy. In both cases, on gross examination, the right ventricular endocardium and interventricular septum were almost entirely replaced with a gelatinous yellow fibroareolar tissue. This tissue was histologically a combination of fibrous and adipose tissue that had replaced the normal myofibres and disrupted the Purkinje fibres.

Lymphoproliferative disease with features of lymphoma in the central nervous system of a horse.

Lymphoma (malignant lymphoma, lymphosarcoma) is uncommon in horses in the United Kingdom. This report describes an unusual form of lymphoproliferative disease with features of lymphoma restricted to the central nervous system (CNS) and with no evidence of a primary lesion elsewhere. Immunohistochemical examination defined an overwhelming predominance of T lymphocytes with admixed B lymphocytes and activated macrophages. This case exemplifies the challenges associated with definitive diagnosis of lymphoproliferative disease of the equine CNS.