Atypical hypoplastic left ventricular syndrome in a calf.

An 8-day-old male Angus calf was presented to the University of Illinois, Veterinary Teaching Hospital, Urbana, IL, for lethargy, weakness, and poor suckle reflex. Clinical evaluation revealed a strong left-sided heart murmur and a split S2 sound. The calf died within 48 hours. Necropsy revealed a combination of the following cardiac defects: left ventricular hypoplasia, high ventricular septal defect, left auricular atresia with mitral valve aplasia, patent foramen ovale, patent ductus arteriosus, and pulmonary trunk atresia. Mild suppurative pneumonia with pulmonary edema and congestion were also present. This combination of defects appears to be similar to the hypoplastic left heart syndrome in humans and is reported here for the first time in cattle.

West Nile virus infection in free-ranging squirrels in Illinois.

West Nile virus (WNV) infection was diagnosed in 13 gray squirrels (Sciurus carolinensis) and 3 fox squirrels (Sciurus niger) that were observed with neurologic signs before death or found dead. All 16 had gliosis throughout all sections of the brain. Most had lymphoplasmacytic encephalitis or meningoencephalitis, many with admixed neutrophils. Neuronal necrosis and neuronophagia were also prominent features. West Nile virus antigen was demonstrated in the brain, spleen, heart or kidney in 10 of 13 gray squirrels and 3 of 3 fox squirrels by immunohistochemistry. Nucleic acid amplification tests (NAATs) confirmed the presence of WNV in the brain or spinal cord of 10/10 gray squirrels and 1/3 fox squirrels tested. Viral levels were quantified in various tissues of selected gray squirrels, and titers were highest in spleen and brain, with no virus detected in serum. This is the first description of lesions associated with WNV infection in gray and fox squirrels.