Escherichia coli as a cause of mortality in piglets in the royal Kingdom of Bhutan.
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Animals↗
Biomedical subjects
S C Cork
Publications and source records attributed to S C Cork.
Aspergillosis and other causes of mortality in the stitchbird in New Zealand.
Necropsy findings from natural deaths in free living and captive stitchbirds (Notiomystis cincta) were examined over a 3 yr period (November 1991-94) to establish whether disease was an important factor in translocation failures and captive breeding programs undertaken by the New Zealand Department of Conservation. Fresh and fixed material from seven free-living birds and 11 captive birds were examined and were compared with those of a retrospective study of archival material from captive and wild birds collected over a 13 yr period (1979-91). The causes of death in both the present and retrospective study showed a similar pattern with aspergillosis and aspiration pneumonia being the most significant cause of mortality in captive birds. Aspergillosis was diagnosed as the cause of death in 11 of 31 stitchbirds from Mt Bruce; eight of these deaths occurred in the winter months (June-August). The other causes of death in captive birds included trauma, coccidiosis, and sporadic bacterial infections. Hemosiderosis and airsacculitis were common histological findings in most of the wild and captive stitchbirds examined.
Animals↗
The role of wild birds and the environment in the epidemiology of Yersiniae in New Zealand.
A survey was carried out to determine the prevalence of Yersiniae in wild passerines in the lower half of the North island of New Zealand over a period of 12 months. Samples of soil, water and foliage were also collected. Out of a total of 1370 avian samples, only two strains of Y. pseudotuberculosis were isolated and a total of 98 strains of environmental yersiniae were identified, including Y. enterocolitica biotype 1a, Y. frederiksenii, Y. kristensenii and Y. intermedia. No strains of Y. pseudotuberculosis were isolated from 1032 non-avian samples collected, which included 100 samples taken from wild mammals. From the non-avian samples, 51 strains of environmental Yersiniae were identified, of which the relative prevalence of Yersinia enterocolitica, biotype 1a, Y. frederiksenii, Y. kristensenii and Y. intermedia was similar to that in the rural passerines. The prevalence of Yersiniae in soil samples was greater in rural areas than in urban areas of the survey region. In both rural and urban passerine populations, the prevalence of Yersiniae was greater in the winter and early summer than at other times of the year.
Journal Article↗
Mycotic disease in the common New Zealand gecko (Hoplodactylus maculatus).
Two adult female geckoes (Hoplodactylus maculatus) from the National Wildlife Centre, Mt Bruce, Masterton, died within the period of a month and were presented to the Department of Veterinary Pathology and Public Health at Massey University for necropsy. The first gecko had numerous 1-2 mm diameter punctate ulcers of the skin over the ventral and dorsal regions of the body. The second animal had slight discolouration of some of the scales. Skin swabs were taken from each case for culture. There were no other gross lesions apparent at necropsy. Histologically, the only lesions in the first gecko were areas of epidermal and dermal ulceration involving fungi and bacteria. In the second gecko, there was limited inflammation in the skin, but in the lungs there was necrosis of the pulmonary septae and constituent muscle bundles caused by fungi whose septate mycelia extended into adjacent large blood vessels and caused mycotic thrombi; hyphae were also found in the spleen and liver. Paecilomyces sp. septate fungus was recovered from both geckoes and Pseudomonas spp. and a mixed Gram-negative flora were recovered from the cutaneous lesions on culture. The death of the first gecko was considered to be due to widespread ulcerative dermatitis, while that of the second gecko was thought to be due to mycotic pneumonitis and mycotic septicaemia. It is believed that environmental factors, such as cold temperature and high humidity, contributed to a reduction in the immune response in the affected geckoes, with the consequent development of overwhelming fungal infections.
Journal Article↗