Distribution of inclusion bodies in tissues from 100 dogs infected with canine distemper virus

Siewert-Kartagener's syndrome in a dog

Siewert-Kartagener's syndrome, a type of primary ciliary dyskinesia, is a complex disease comprising situs inversus, rhinosinusitis, and bronchiectasis. Situs inversus totalis is a condition in which all organs in the thoracic and abdominal cavities are reversed. Furthermore, primary ciliary dyskinesia, an autosomal genetic disease, may coexist with situs inversus totalis. Reports on Siewert-Kartagener's syndrome in veterinary medicine are limited. We report a rare case of primary ciliary dyskinesia with Siewert-Kartagener's syndrome in a dog, concurrently infected with canine distemper virus and type-2 adenovirus. This case highlights that situs inversus totalis can cause primary ciliary dyskinesia, and concurrent infections are possible.

Ferret Dermatology

Skin diseases commonly affect pet ferrets, with neoplastic, endocrine, and parasitic diseases being the most common. This review includes clinical presentation, diagnostic workup, and treatment of diseases with a dermatologic presentation in ferrets.

Pathologic characteristics of infectious diseases in macaque monkeys used in biomedical and toxicologic studies

Nonhuman primates (NHPs), which have many advantages in scientific research and are often the only relevant animals to use in assessing the safety profiles and biological or pharmacological effects of drug candidates, including biologics. In scientific or developmental experiments, the immune systems of animals can be spontaneously compromised possibly due to background infection, experimental procedure-associated stress, poor physical condition, or intended or unintended mechanisms of action of test articles. Under these circumstances, background, incidental, or opportunistic infections can seriously can significantly complicate the interpretation of research results and findings and consequently affect experimental conclusions. Pathologists and toxicologists must understand the clinical manifestations and pathologic features of infectious diseases and the effects of these diseases on animal physiology and experimental results in addition to the spectrum of infectious diseases in healthy NHP colonies. This review provides an overview of the clinical and pathologic characteristics of common viral, bacterial, fungal, and parasitic infectious diseases in NHPs, especially macaque monkeys, as well as methods for definitive diagnosis of these diseases. Opportunistic infections that can occur in the laboratory setting have also been addressed in this review with examples of cases of infection disease manifestation that was observed or influenced during safety assessment studies or under experimental conditions.

Canine distemper virus strains circulating among North American dogs

Canine distemper virus (CDV) is a highly contagious virus that causes multisystemic disease in dogs. We received seven samples from dogs with CD from the United States during 2007. CDV isolates from these samples formed large, multinucleated syncytia in a Vero cell line expressing canine signaling lymphocyte activation molecule (SLAM). Based on the hemagglutinin gene sequences, the CDV isolates from three states (California, Missouri, and Oklahoma) formed two CDV genetic groups: group I (major; six of seven isolates) consisted of CDV isolates closely related to the European wildlife lineage of CDV, and group II (minor; one of seven isolates) was genetically related to the Arctic-like lineage of CDV. However, both CDV groups were genetically different from the current vaccine strains that belong to the American-1 lineage of the old (1930 to 1950) CDV isolates.