Casuïstiek(en)

Two Yellow Anacondas (Eunectes notaeus) were diagnosed with lymphoid leucosis after a history of anorexia. One snake presented a large tumoral mass in the intestinal wall; the other had several smaller neoplasms in different organs. Reptilian tumors are being diagnosed more frequently in recent decades.

A severe outbreak of lameness with joint and bone lesions and evidence of bacterial infection due to Enterococcus cecorum was diagnosed on a Dutch broiler farm. Morbidity and mortality were as high as 10%, while the remaining chickens performed well. Bacterial chondronecrosis and osteomyelitis with loosening of the femoral heads (femoral head necrosis) in the end stage was the most frequently observed lesion. The same pathological process was seen, though rarely, in the T3/T4 spine articulation. Septicemia resulting in pericarditis, local myositis and, most prominently, bone and joint lesions, was the major diagnosis. E. cecorum could be isolated from nearly all lesions when appropriate isolation methods (blood agar incubated in a carbon dioxide-enriched atmosphere) were used.

A large intra-abdominal mass with several cavities was detected by ultrasound in a nine-year-old apathetic female German Shepherd with a very tense belly. At surgery, a fluctuating mass was found in the middle of the left uterine horn. Neoplasia was suspected and the mass was surgically removed. Histologically, a diagnosis of organizing hematoma was made.

In this case report an anatomical, histologic, hormonal and cytogenetic study of an intersexual sheep was carried out. At the age of 15 months, no udder could be detected in the animal, which had been classified as a female of a heterosexual twin at birth. At the age of 22 months the sheep was diagnosed as an intersex due to the presence of both male and female characteristics, viz. two testicles and a vulva. The hCG stimulation test proved that active Leydig cells were present in the male gonads. Histologic analysis after necropsy showed inflammation and atrophy of the testicular parenchyma. However, at the cytogenetic level, sexual chromosome mosaicism 54, XX / 54, XY was found after lymphocyte culture. These analyses made it clear that the intersex described here was a male pseudohermaphrodite. This condition occurs in less than 0.03% of the total sheep population. The hCG stimulation test can be used to distinguish “pseudo-male” from “pseudo-female” freemartins at a young age and without the need for necropsy.

Three cats are described with plasmacytic pododermatitis of multiple footpads, and with a swelling of the nose resulting in a 'Shar pei nose' appearance. A diagnosis of 'ectopic plasmacytic pododermatitis' was confirmed in two cats by histopathologic examination. The histologic diagnosis of the nasal swelling in the third cat, which was FIV positive, was demodicosis. These cases are interesting because of their clinical presentation, the unexpected differential diagnosis, and because of their excellent response to treatment.

This case report describes a clinical outbreak of dermatophilosis among dairy cattle in Belgium. Seven out of the ten animals were affected, exhibiting papules especially on the back and lumbar area. The two most severely affected animals were treated with the cephalosporin antibiotic ceftiofur, the other five remained untreated. In all animals, a full recovery was noted after one month.

This paper reports on a choroid plexus hyperplasia in an adult cow suspected of having BSE. The cow was a seven-year-old Belgian Blue with a history of progressive ataxia in the front and hind limbs. No improvement was observed after treatment. On macroscopic examination of the brain, several grayish red masses were found dorsally between the cerebrum and the cerebellum. Histopathology revealed a benign proliferative process of the choroid plexus. This abnormality of the choroid plexus can be added as support for the possible differential diagnosis of bovine spongiform encephalopathy.

Although the genetic defect schistosomus reflexus is not exceptionally rare, literature on this defect is scant. This case report describes a female twin calf, that was born from a seven-year-old fifth calf cow of the Belgian White and Blue breed. The first calf (a bull) was extracted per vias naturales, the schistosomus reflexus was delivered by caesarean section.

A case of a non-fatal propylene glycol intoxication in a pony is described and a brief literature review is given on propylene glycol intoxication in large domestic animals, emphasising the importance of adequate labelling of the product.

This article describes a male Labrador with diabetes mellitus that had been treated with corticosteroids for several years because of atopy. The six-year-old dog was presented at the department of Small Animal Medicine and Clinical Biology with extreme muscular weakness. Electrofysiological examination revealed a peripheral polyneuropathy. It seemed very likely that the neuropathy was a consequence of the diabetes. A successful treatment of this diabetes neuropathy, a rare complication of diabetes mellitus in the dog, is described.