Diplostomatidae and Heterophyidae in temperate and tropical freshwater fishes (Gratzek 2010, Poynton & Hoffman 2010). In contrast, most reports of black spot disease in marine tropical fish implicate turbellarians rather than digenean metacercariae (Cannon & Lester 1988, Justine et al. 2009). Furthermore, pigmented skin lesions may also be noninfectious, resulting, for example, from previous skin injury or from neoplasia of chromatophores (Work & Aeby 2014).

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A 5-year-old male, neutered mixed breed dog with a history of a mass with an associated draining tract on the ventral cervical region was diagnosed with an esophageal fistula. The dog exhibited serosanguinous discharge from the draining tract, with enlarged left superficial cervical and mandibular lymph nodes, and was reported to have difficulty with deglutition of solid foods. Computed tomography revealed a communication of the draining tract with the esophagus along with enlargement of the left lateral retropharyngeal, left medial retropharyngeal, and mandibular lymph nodes. This prompted surgical exploration and debridement of the site, with closure of the esophageal fistula. Histopathology of thyroid gland, skeletal muscle, and adipose tissue obtained during surgical exploration showed spherules consistent with Coccidioides spp. infection. Antibody titers performed post-operatively were consistent with an active Coccidioides spp. Infection. By fungal culture and subsequent PCR and DNA sequencing, C. posadasii was identified as the species infecting the dog. Over the course of 85 days of antifungal therapy, discharge from the draining tract, lymphadenomegaly, and cutaneous and subcutaneous nodules resolved. In conclusion, this is the first reported case of disseminated coccidioidomycosis to the cervical region of a dog with involvement of the thyroid gland, skeletal muscle, adipose tissue, connective tissue, and secondary esophageal fistula. Coccidioides spp. infections should be considered a differential diagnosis in unusual cases for dogs that live in or have traveled to endemic areas.

A 4-year-old captive-bred male veiled chameleon (Chamaeleo calyptratus) presented with anorexia, weight loss, and stomatitis. Complete blood count revealed pancytopenia and a marked leukocytosis (197 x103/µL) composed of blast cells (195 x103/µL) that had oval to irregular nuclei with finely stippled chromatin and occasional nucleoli. The diagnosis was acute leukemia of presumptive myeloid origin. Treatment with prednisone (1.5 mg/kg once daily orally) and cytosine arabinoside (300 mg/m2 subcutaneously) was initiated. Post-treatment hematologic analysis revealed decreased blast count (88.5 x103/µL) and improved mentation. Additional doses of cytosine arabinoside were given two and three weeks after the initial diagnosis with marked improvement in circulating blast concentration (15.3 x103/µL). During the course of treatment, which included the chemotherapeutics, fluid therapy, and oral supportive care, the chameleon’s weight increased 32.5% (199 g to 295 g). Unfortunately, the animal died 33 days after presentation. Histopathologic evaluation revealed hypocellular bone marrow with rare blast-like cells within vessels and mycotic granulomatous hepatitis with intralesional hyphae and fructiferous bodies. The blast cells expressed Iba1 but not CD3, CD79a, or lysozyme, suggesting a myeloid origin. Cell morphology further reinforced an acute myeloid leukemia. The authors surmised that the chameleon was responding to treatment, but ultimately succumbed to the mycotic hepatitis. This report describes the first case of acute myeloid leukemia with response to chemotherapeutic intervention in a veiled chameleon.