Animal injury characteristics following the 2020 ammonium nitrate explosion in the Port of Beirut.

PURPOSE: To describe the characteristics and veterinary management of animal casualties after an ammonium nitrate explosion in the Port of Beirut. METHODS: Retrospective evaluation of medical records from multiple veterinary organizations. RESULTS: Veterinary care was administered to 298 cats and 103 dogs, with 101 animals (25%) undergoing surgical procedures under general anesthesia. Glass injuries prevailed, with suturing performed in 98 animals (24.4%). Surgery was used to treat 31 animals (7.7%) with extremity fractures and 52 animals with tendon injuries (13.3%). Bodily burns were encountered in 19 animals (4.7%). Six animals (1.5%) lost their hearing entirely, while another 6 (1.5%) lost an eye. CONCLUSION: The joint coordinated work of veterinary groups and nongovernmental animal organizations reduced the number of injured animal fatalities. Of animals documented as having undergone treatment, 355 (88.5%) survived their initial injury assessment, and 46 (11.5%) died.

Gastric tuberculosis presenting as a large gastric ulcer.

While gastrointestinal (GI) tuberculosis (TB) accounts for 1%-3% of all TB cases worldwide, TB of the stomach is extremely rare and accounts for 1%-2% of all GI TB. Little is known about this entity, and most data are obtained from case reports. We report a case of a woman in her 60s who presented with a 2-week history of generalised weakness, fatigue and shivering, with severe loss of appetite on background history of dyspepsia and significant weight loss for the preceding 2 years. Upper endoscopy revealed a large gastric ulcer. Biopsy and histopathology revealed caseating granulomas with numerous acid-fast bacilli detected with Ziehl-Neelsen stain. She was diagnosed with gastric TB. Subsequently, she was also diagnosed with pulmonary, adrenal and colonic involvement.

Adult multisystem inflammatory syndrome in a patient who recovered from COVID-19 postvaccination.

Multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children has become a recognised syndrome, whereas a parallel syndrome in adults, multisystem inflammatory syndrome in adults (MIS-A), has not been well defined. Most cases occur several weeks following confirmed or suspected SARS-CoV-2 infection, but none have been reported in association with SARS-CoV-2 vaccines. Here we describe the case of a 22-year-old man, who received the inactivated SARS-CoV-2 vaccine 6 weeks following a mild COVID-19 infection. He presented after his second dose of the vaccine with a clinical picture of a multisystem inflammatory syndrome-like illness. Additionally, there was laboratory evidence of acute inflammation. The patient's condition markedly improved after initiation of steroids. Whether the vaccine augmented an already-primed immunity from the infection and contributed to the occurrence of MIS-A is difficult to prove. Understanding the pathogenesis of this condition will shed light on this question and entail major implications on treatment and prevention.