Carlos Daniel Gornatti Churria

Dispharynx nasuta (Nematoda:Acuariidae) infection causing proventricular lesions and death in three captive rosellas (Psittaciformes:Psittacidae).

Abstract Two adult male Crimson rosellas (Platycercus elegans) and an adult female eastern rosella (Platycercus eximius) were found dead in their cages in a private aviary in March 2009, April 2010, and February 2010, respectively, without premonitory signs. Their postmortem examination showed pectoral muscle atrophy and a distended proventriculus. The proventricular mucosal surface was covered with a gelatinous, whitish material, where a large number of nematode parasites identified as Dispharynx nasuta were present. A histologic examination revealed a hyperplastic mucosa, spirurid nematodes in the mucosal layer and inflammatory mononuclear cells in the lamina propria. This is the first report of a D. nasuta infection associated with proliferative proventriculitis and subsequent death in psittacine birds.

Unusual Gross Presentation of Sarcocystis-Like Pectoral Muscle Lymphoma Attributed to Marek’s Disease in a Backyard Chicken

Abstract Mareks disease–induced lymphomas of skeletal muscle are rarely reported in chickens. Three mixed‐breed, adult backyard chickens, which belonged to a flock with a previous history of anorexia, depression, ruffled feathers, whitish diarrhea, weight loss and death, were submitted for postmortem examination and diagnostic testing. Grossly, 2 birds had moderate pectoral atrophy, whereas the remaining chicken had numerous white, rice‐grain sized foci distributed throughout the pectoral musculature. Severe proventricular wall thickening was observed in all 3 chickens and moderate intestinal Ascaridia spp. parasitism was diagnosed in 2 of the birds. Microscopically, the peripheral nerves, cerebrum, proventriculus, and pectoral musculature were severely infiltrated by mononuclear pleomorphic cells. Formalin‐fixed, paraffin‐embedded tissues from all 3 chickens were polymerase chain reaction positive for Mareks disease virus. A diagnosis of Mareks disease was based on the combined necropsy, histopathology, and polymerase chain reaction findings. This article describes the unusual gross presentation of rice‐grain sized and shaped lymphomas in the pectoral musculature of chickens caused by Mareks disease.

Diagnosis of an outbreak of Salmonella Typhimurium in chinchillas (Chinchilla lanigera) by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis

Adult chinchillas (Chinchilla lanigera) that had suddenly died in a commercial farm located in La Plata City, Buenos Aires Province, Argentina, in July 2012 were macroscopically, histopathologically, and microbiologically examined. Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium (S. Typhimurium) was isolated from the liver, spleen, heart, lungs, kidneys and intestines from each of the five animals evaluated. The five strains were susceptible to ampicillin, cephalotin, cefotaxime, nalidixic acid, gentamicin, streptomycin, chloramphenicol, fosfomycin, nitrofurantoin and trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole, and resistant to tetracycline. Each of the five S. Typhimurium isolates was analyzed by XbaI- pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE), showing an identical electrophoretic profile with 15 defined bands, which was found to be identical to pattern ARJPXX01.0220 of the PulseNet Argentine National database of Salmonella PFGE patterns. This is the first work describing the postmortem diagnosis of an outbreak of salmonellosis in chinchillas by using molecular methods such as PFGE.

Vaccines against Ornithobacterium rhinotracheale: A Review

Vaccines against Ornithobacterium rhinotracheale: A Review Ornithobacterium rhinotrachealeis a Gram-negative, non-motile, highly pleomorphic, rod-shaped, non-sporulating bacterium of the rRNA superfamily V within the phylum Cytophaga-Flavobacterium-Bacteroides, which has become an emerging pathogen that causes high economic losses in the poultry industry worldwide. Ornithobacterium rhinotrachealeinfection, which is reported mostly in broiler chickens and turkeys, causes respiratory distress, decreased growth, and mortality. The best strategy for their control or prevention is probably vaccination, because most worldwide O. rhinotrachealeisolates have acquired resistance against the antibiotics regularly used in the poultry industry. The purpose of this work is to review the current status of bacterins, live vaccines and subunit recombinant vaccines reported and used for the control of O.rhinotrachealeinfection in commercial poultry under experimental and field conditions.