2006 - 75 (5)

During the first two weeks of March 2004, 80 carrion crows (Corvus corone) were found dead in a park in Brussels (Belgium). At necropsy, splenomegaly, hemorrhagic enteritis with duodenum lesions and cerebral or meningeal hemorrhages were observed reminiscent of West Nile virus infection. By real-time (RT)-PCR (reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction), no amplification of the West Nile disease virus-specific 3’UTR RNA sequence was observed, while viral isolation from brain homogenate was also negative. Toxicological examination revealed no toxins. Transmission electron microscopy demonstrated intracytoplasmic, reovirus-like particles in ultra-thin sections of the spleen and duodenum. Proliferation of these virions in cultured chicken embryonic hepatocytes was evidenced by their cytopathogenic effect and their presence in infected cells and their supernatant.

A case of Ebstein’s anomaly leading to right-sided heart failure in a one-year-old female Golden Retriever is reported. Clinical examination and investigations such as blood analysis, ECG, X-Ray, echocardiography and conservative therapy are described. Finally, the post mortem examination of the heart clearly showed the distal displacement of the malformed tricuspid valve leaflets, chordae tendinae and papillary muscles in the right ventricle, which is characteristic of Ebstein’s anomaly.

A two-month-old male non-diabetic Holstein Friesian calf with numerous decubital ulcers due to arthrogryposis and a history of inability to stand since birth was diagnosed with emphysematous cystitis. The diagnosis was based on the necropsy and the histopathological findings. No glucosuria was detected and Escherichia coli was isolated from the urine and blood. The contamination of the skin ulcers with E. coli and septicemia was probably the main underlying mechanism involved in the pathogenesis. The urinary bladder mucosa was affected with blebs of emphysema and petechiaes. Histopathologically, hemorrhage, emphysema and a few neutrophil leukocyte infiltrations were observed in the mucosa of the urinary bladder. Although emphysematous cystitis is commonly associated with glucosuria, especially in dogs, this report indicates that it can equally occur as a complication of septicemia in calves.