Canine Parvovirus Infections in Taiwanese Pangolins (Manis pentadactyla pentadactyla).

Canine parvovirus type 2 (CPV-2) is among the most important and highly contagious pathogens that cause enteric or systemic infections in domestic and nondomestic carnivores. However, the spillover of CPV-2 to noncarnivores is rarely mentioned. Taiwanese pangolins (Manis pentadactyla pentadactyla) are threatened due to habitat fragmentation and prevalent animal trafficking. Interactions between Taiwanese pangolins, humans, and domestic animals have become more frequent in recent years. However, information about the susceptibility of pangolins to common infectious agents of domestic animals has been lacking. From October 2017 to June 2019, 4 pangolins that were rescued and treated in wildlife rescue centers in central and northern Taiwan presented with gastrointestinal signs. Gross and histopathological examination revealed the main pathologic changes to be necrotic enteritis with involvement of the crypts in all intestinal segments in 2 pangolins. By immunohistochemistry for CPV-2, there was positive labeling of cryptal epithelium throughout the intestine, and immunolabeling was also present in epidermal cells adjacent to a surgical amputation site, and in mononuclear cells in lymphoid tissue. The other 2 pangolins had mild enteritis without crypt involvement, and no immunolabeling was detected. The nucleic acid sequences of polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplicons from these 4 pangolins were identical to a Chinese CPV-2c strain from domestic dogs. Quantitative PCR revealed a higher ratio of CPV-2 nucleic acid to internal control gene in the 2 pangolins with severe intestinal lesions and positive immunoreactivity. Herein, we present evidence of CPV-2 infections in pangolins.

An Automated Mouse Tail Vascular Access System by Vision and Pressure Feedback.

This paper develops an automated vascular access system (A-VAS) with novel vision-based vein and needle detection methods and real-time pressure feedback for murine drug delivery. Mouse tail vein injection is a routine but critical step for preclinical imaging applications. Due to the small vein diameter and external disturbances such as tail hair, pigmentation, and scales, identifying vein location is difficult and manual injections usually result in poor repeatability. To improve the injection accuracy, consistency, safety, and processing time, A-VAS was developed to overcome difficulties in vein detection noise rejection, robustness in needle tracking, and visual servoing integration with the mechatronics system.

Reevaluation of Hemoparasites in the Black Spiny-Tailed Iguana (Ctenosaura similis) with the First Pathological and Molecular Characterizations of Lankesterella desseri n. sp. and Redescription of Hepatozoon gamezi.

Hemoprotozoa are microorganisms that parasitize the blood and possess intricate life cycles. Despite the complexity of their nature, little is known about the biology of hemoprotozoa in reptilian hosts. In this study, we conducted disease surveillance on blood samples collected from six black spiny-tailed iguanas (Ctenosaura similis) exhibiting clinical signs. We found two different types of hemoparasites in the blood films and further confirmed they belong to the genera Lakesterella and Hepatozoon through molecular methods. In the tissue section from a dead iguana infected only with Lakesterella sp., parasites were also found in melanomacrophages of the liver and kidney. Since Lakesterella sp. infection has not been reported in C. similis, we propose this hemococcidian as a new species, Lankesterella desseri n. sp. The Hepatozoon parasites discovered in this study were classified as Hepatozoon gamezi based on their morphological characteristics, particularly the notable deformation of all infected erythrocytes, and this classification was further corroborated through molecular biological and phylogenetic analyses. This is the first hemoprotozoa investigation in C. similis with pathological and molecular characterization of these pathogens. We suggest that more studies are needed to understand the epidemiology, transmission, and impact of these parasites on their hosts and ecosystems.

Gastrointestinal Mast Cell Tumor in an African Dormouse (Graphiurus sp.).

Mast cell tumors (MCTs) are well-known neoplasms derived from either mucosal or connective tissue mast cells. While well studied in several domestic species, MCTs are rarely documented in rodents. A three-year-old, male African dormouse (Graphiurus sp.) presented with a history of vomiting and anorexia for 3 months. Sonography revealed thickened gastric mucosa and hyperperistalsis. The patient died after receiving symptomatic treatment for 2 months. At necropsy, locally extensive, pale, thickened mucosal foci obscuring the first half of the stomach lumen was noted. Histological examination revealed moderately polymorphic, round, oval to spindle cells with amphophilic cytoplasmic granules infiltrating the mucosa to tunica muscularis, with moderate numbers of eosinophils. The mucosa was severely ulcerated with the proliferation of granulation tissue. The granules in most tumor cells exhibited metachromasia with the toluidine blue stain. Neoplastic cells revealed positive membranous immunoreactivity to KIT. Herein, we report the first case report of MCT in dormouse but also the first gastrointestinal MCT in a rodent species.