Granulomatous Inflammation of the Muzzle in White-Tailed Deer (Odocoileus virginianus) and Mule Deer (Odocoileus hemionus) Associated With Mannheimia granulomatis.

Since 2002, reports of deer with swollen muzzles from throughout the United States have resulted in significant interest by wildlife biologists and wildlife enthusiasts. The condition was identified in 25 white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) and 2 mule deer (O. hemionus). Microscopic lesions consisted of severe, granulomatous or pyogranulomatous inflammation of the muzzle, nasal planum, and upper lip, as well as similar but less severe inflammation of the hard palate. Lymphadenitis of regional lymph nodes was common and granulomatous pneumonia was present in one individual. Splendore-Hoeppli material was typical in the center of inflammatory foci. Other than the single instance of pneumonia, systemic disease was not evident. Various bacterial species were isolated in culture, most of which were not morphologically consistent with the colonies of small, gram-negative bacteria observed in the center of the granulomas. Amplification and sequencing of the bacterial 16S rRNA gene from tissues of affected deer resulted in the identification of Mannheimia granulomatis. Laser capture microdissection was used to confirm that the colonies in the inflammatory foci were M. granulomatis. The cases described here are reminiscent of a bovine disease in Brazil and Argentina, locally called lechiguana. Although the inflammation of lechiguana is mostly truncal, the microscopic lesions are very similar and are also attributed to M. granulomatis. It is unclear if this is an emerging infectious disease of deer, or if it is a sporadic, uncommon condition that has only recently been recognized.

Disseminated toxoplasmosis Toxoplasma gondii in a wild Florida manatee Trichechus manatus latirostris and seroprevalence in two wild populations.

Marine mammals are important indicators for ecosystem health and serve as sentinel species for infectious agents including zoonoses. Histological examination of tissues from a stranded Florida manatee Trichechus manatus latirostris revealed protozoal cysts in the cerebrum and intrahistiocytic tachyzoites in the liver and caudal mesenteric lymph node. Disseminated Toxoplasma gondii infection was confirmed by immunohistochemistry and sequencing of the nuclear ribosomal internal transcribed spacer region of formalin-fixed tissues. The lack of baseline information on Florida manatees' exposure to this pathogen prompted a study into the seroprevalence of T. gondii in 2 separate geographic habitats in Florida, USA, during the winters from 2011-2014. Serum was collected during routine health assessments of 44 apparently healthy manatees from Crystal River (n = 26) on the west central coast of Florida and Brevard County (n = 18) on the east coast of Florida. Serum was screened for detection of T. gondii immunoglobulin G (IgG) antibodies via the modified agglutination test. Two animals from Crystal River from 2011 and 2012 (7.7%) and one animal from Brevard County from 2011 (5.6%) tested positive for T. gondii antibodies. Overall seroprevalence for T. gondii was low in the 2 sampled populations and may reflect a low seroprevalence or animal susceptibility. However, continued monitoring of this pathogen in aquatic ecosystems is warranted due to both possible anthropogenic sources and zoonotic potential.

Presentation, Clinical Pathology Abnormalities, and Identification of Gastrointestinal Parasites in Camels (Camelus bactrianus and Camelus dromedarius) Presenting to Two North American Veterinary Teaching Hospitals. A Retrospective Study: 1980-2020.

Old World Camelids (OWC) represent two species (Camelus bactrianus and Camelus dromedarius) with increasing numbers in North America. Gastrointestinal (GI) parasitism is a major cause of clinical disease in camelids and leads to significant economic impacts. Literature reporting on clinical parasitism of camels is localized to India, Africa, and the Middle East, with limited information available on OWCs in North America. Objectives of this study were to report on clinical presentation and diagnostic findings in Camelus bactrianus and Camelus dromedarius with GI parasitism and provide a comparative analysis between geographic regions. Medical records of OWCs presenting to two veterinary teaching hospitals (of the University of Tennessee and University of Wisconsin) were evaluated. Thirty-one camels including 11 Bactrians and six dromedaries (14 species not recorded) were included for the clinical component of this study, reporting on signalment, presenting complaint, and clinical pathology. Anorexia, weight loss, and diarrhea were the most common presenting complaint. Clinical pathology findings included eosinophilia, hypoproteinemia, and hyponatremia. For the second component of this study, a total of 77 fecal parasite examination results were evaluated for parasite identification and regional variation. Trichuris, Capillaria, Strongyloides, Nematodirus, Dictyocaulus, Moniezia, and protozoan parasites (Eimeria, Cryptosporidium, Giardia) were recorded. Strongyle-type eggs predominated, followed by Trichuris and Eimeria spp. There was a statistically significant variation in prevalence of coccidia between the two regions, with fecal examinations from Tennessee more likely to contain Eimeria (P = 0.0193). Clinicians treating camels in North America should recognize anorexia, weight loss, and diarrhea combined with clinical pathologic changes of hypoproteinemia, eosinophilia and hyponatremia as possible indications of GI parasitism. Clinicians should also consider the potential for regional variation to exist for GI parasites of camels in different areas of North America.

Multilocus Analysis Resolves the European Finch Epidemic Strain of Trichomonas gallinae and Suggests Introgression from Divergent Trichomonads.

In Europe, Trichomonas gallinae recently emerged as a cause of epidemic disease in songbirds. A clonal strain of the parasite, first found in the United Kingdom, has become the predominant strain there and spread to continental Europe. Discriminating this epidemic strain of T. gallinae from other strains necessitated development of multilocus sequence typing (MLST). Development of the MLST was facilitated by the assembly and annotation of a 54.7 Mb draft genome of a cloned stabilate of the A1 European finch epidemic strain (isolated from Greenfinch, Chloris chloris, XT-1081/07 in 2007) containing 21,924 protein coding genes. This enabled construction of a robust 19 locus MLST based on existing typing loci for Trichomonas vaginalis and T. gallinae. Our MLST has the sensitivity to discriminate strains within existing genotypes confidently, and resolves the American finch A1 genotype from the European finch epidemic A1 genotype. Interestingly, one isolate we obtained from a captive black-naped fruit dove Ptilinopsus melanospilus, was not truly T. gallinae but a hybrid of T. gallinae with a distant trichomonad lineage. Phylogenetic analysis of the individual loci in this fruit dove provides evidence of gene flow between distant trichomonad lineages at 2 of the 19 loci examined and may provide precedence for the emergence of other hybrid trichomonad genomes including T. vaginalis.

Alternaria fungal dermatitis in a free-ranging javelina (Pecari tajacu).

We report a javelina from Pinal County, Arizona, USA, with severe fungal dermatitis and cellulitis. Extreme emaciation and rostral disfiguration, including left-lateral displacement of the nasal planum, justified euthanasia. A pus-filled tract within the rostrum was observed. Histopathology revealed granulomatous inflammation with hyphae morphologically consistent with Alternaria sp. isolated by culture.