A fecal examination of captive apes kept in two zoological gardens, including Pongo pygmaeus, Pan troglodytes, and Hylobates lar, was performed. The eggs of Trichuris sp., Enterobius sp., and/or Strongyloides sp. and the oocysts of Eimeria sp. were detected. This is the first record of the genus Eimeria in H. lar. An assay of the stress hormone cortisol in the feces was performed in two individuals of P. pygmaeus infected with Trichuris sp. and in an individual with no nematodes. No statistically significant differences among the individuals were detected. The assay was performed before and after the administration of an anthelmintic drug. No statistically significant difference between the individuals infected with nematodes was detected.
Four Japanese macaques(Macaca fuscata) showed respiratory symptom, and died. Gross examination showed severe diffuse pneumonia. Histological examination showed fibrinopurulent bronchial pneumonia with Gram negative short bacilli in all cases. Immunohistochemically, the short bacilli observed in 3 of 4 cases were strongly positive for Bordetella bronchiseptica(Bb). Bb was isolated from the lung lesion. The present cases were diagnosed as an outbreak of fatal Bb pneumonia. The present case is the first report of fatal Bb pneumonia in Japanese macaques.
We report the case of cryptococcosis caused by Cryptococcus gattii in a Queensland koala(Phascolarctos cinereus adustus) that died despite receiving an oral treatment of itraconazole and an inhalation of amphotericin B. Although the lesion caused by C. gattii was localized in the maxilla, a lateral nasal swelling and a pustular mass in the muzzle were also observed. Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Klebsiella pneumoniae infections were diagnosed in the liver, lungs, urogenital sinus, vertebral canal, and psoas. Immunosuppression by the koala retrovirus(KoRV) was suggested to be associated with the mixed infection because the koala tested positive for KoRV.
A Pacific white-sided dolphin diagnosed with suspected paracoccidioidomycosis ceti has suffered clinical manifestations since September 2008. Skin biopsy samples were examined microbiologically, pathologically, and with molecular biology. However, we detected no clear evidence of infection other than multiple budding-yeast cells in a skin stamp smear. The lesion improved after the oral administration of itraconazole and topical treatment with an ointment containing amphotericin B powder. These results imply that some fungal agents might be involved in the pathogenesis of the present case.