Thais Oliveira Morgado

Seasonal variation in serum testosterone, testicular volume and semen characteristics in coatis (Nasua nasua)

The objective was to characterize seasonal changes in serum testosterone concentration, testicular volume and sperm quantity and quality in captive coatis (Nasua nasua) from Pantanal, MT, Brazil. Sampling was done once monthly for 1 y. Mean (± SEM) serum testosterone concentrations (767.37 ± 216.2 ng/ml) and total and progressive sperm motility (79.6 ± 3.9%; 3.8 ± 0.3, on a scale of 0 to 5) peaked in July. The highest combined testis volume (10.3 ± 0.4 cm(3)) and sperm concentration (403 million ± 102 sperm/ml) occurred in August, at the peak of the winter breeding season. No seasonal effects on percentages of morphologically normal sperm, acrosome integrity, or live sperm were detected; however, the percentage of secondary sperm defects was higher in the winter. In conclusion, intricate relationships between testosterone concentration, testis volume, semen concentration and total and progressive sperm motility with high levels of breeding activity were observed during the dry season in the winter (June, July, August), followed by a subsequent decline in these activities during the wet season (i.e., summer: December, January, February). There was no seasonal pattern for production of functionally intact and morphologically normal sperm.

Ultrassonografia abdominal de tamanduás-bandeira (Myrmecophaga tridactyla Linnaeus, 1758) mantidos em cativeiro

Ultrasonography is a method of non-invasive imaging and an important tool for diagnosing a variety of animal diseases. In this paper the technique of transabdominal ultrasonography in five anteaters (Myrmecophaga tridactyla), two males and three females, belonging to the Federal University of Mato Grosso Zoo and a necropsy of an animal dead for natural cause were performed. The Zoo animals were anesthetized with tiletamine and zolazepan (Zoletil®) and maintained with isoflurane. Linear multifrequency transducer (LA 332) of the 3.0 to 11 MHz scans of the liver, gallbladder, stomach, spleen, kidneys, bladder and testes. There are similarities between the splenic architecture, the liver texture and echogenicity and the gallbladder ultrassonografic position and appearance when compared to the canines. Differences exist as renal and testes location, stomach wall thickness and presence of free anechoic fluid among the stomach, spleen and left kidney in all animals studied.

Detecção molecular de Neospora caninum em macaco-da-noite (Aotus azarae) de vida livre no estado do Mato Grosso: relato de caso

Estudos indicam, por meio de infeccao experimental, que primatas nao humanos sao susceptiveis a infeccao por Neospora caninum. Relata-se um caso de um macaco da noite (Aotus azarae) que apresentou sinais inespecificos e nao respondeu a terapeutica clinica de suporte evoluindo a obito, encaminhado em seguida para exame anatomopatologico. Amostras de tecidos foram coletadas e processadas rotineiramente para confeccao de lâminas histologicas. Microscopicamente, a principal lesao foi observada no coracao e consistia em miocardite necrotica multifocal por protozoario, com a presenca de estruturas compativeis com o estagio de taquizoitos de protozoarios dos generos Neospora sp. ou Toxoplasma sp. No sistema nervoso central, predominantemente no tronco encefalico haviam estruturas semelhantes as descritas no coracao. Os resultados da reacao em cadeia pela polimerase (PCR) foram positivos para N. caninum e negativos para Toxoplasma gondii, usando DNA extraido do sangue e tecidos. Este relato de caso fornece evidencias histologicas e moleculares que o primata em questao foi susceptivel a uma infeccao natural, porem estudos devem ser realizados para investigar o real papel dos primatas no ciclo de vida de N. caninum.

Pneumonia bacteriana em jabuti-piranga (Chelonoidis carbonaria): aspectos clínicos, microbiológicos, radiológicos e terapêutica

Pneumonia is a common respiratory disease in clinical of reptiles. Infectious agents are capable of causing primary pneumonia in reptiles maintained in captivity, but in most cases are secondary to problems of management, hygiene and nutrition. The aim of this study was to report the occurrence of bacterial pneumonia in red-footed tortoise (Chelonoidis carbonaria), and describe the clinical, microbiologic, radiographic and therapeutic management. The animal showed signs of respiratory disorders and has been described in the clinical history before diagnosis of pneumonia. The radiographic findings were suggestive of pneumonia/pulmonary edema. Based on the displayed radiographic examination and clinical signs began treatment with administration of chloramphenicol (40mg/kg/SID/IM) for ten days. Were isolated Klebsiella spp. and Citrobacter spp. bacterial culture done collecting endotracheal lavage. Both with multiple antibiotic resistance profile tested. Treatment protocol was instituted using gentamicin (5mg/kg/IM) applications into seven intervals of 72h. There was improvement in clinical signs of the animal, but the presence of nasal secretion was still observed. New radiographic examination, demonstrating slight decrease in the opacity of the right lung field and no significant change in the left lung field in craniocaudal projection was performed. Because of the persistence of clinical signs presented new collection endotracheal material was performed, and there was isolation of Citrobacter spp. and Enterobacter spp. From the results obtained in the antibiogram, was instituted new protocol with the use of amikacin (2.5mg/kg/IM) applications into seven intervals of 72h. After antibiotic therapy, other radiological examination was performed, and showed satisfactory reduction in pulmonary function and clinical signs.