ABSTRACT. An adult male hare (Lepus brachyurus angustidens) was discovered in a moribund condition in the bush in the mountains of Aomori prefecture in Japan. Upon gross inspection, many ticks were found on the neck and the external ear regions, and more than half the ticks contained blood in the intestine. The skin around the tick bite wounds was alopecic and mildly thickened. At necropsy, enlargement of the cervical lymph nodes and spleen were observed. Histologically, acute necrotizing splenitis, lymphadenitis, hepatitis, pneumonia, myelitis, adrenalitis, and encephalitis with bacterial organisms were observed. The cutaneous lesions were chronic and cysts had formed in the areas marked by tick bites. Immunohistochemically, the organisms in the skin, liver, spleen, lymph nodes, lungs, adrenal glands, brain, bone marrow, and ticks were positive for F. tularensis antigen. Microbiological and polymerase chain reaction results were consistent with F. tularensis subsp. holarctica. Because the cutaneous lesions were more chronic than those in the visceral organs and F. tularensis was detected in the ticks, we inferred that F. tularensis was transmitted to the hare via tick bites.KEY WORDS: histopathology, Japanese hare (Lepus brachyurus angustidens), tularemia (yato-byo).
The aim of this study was to evaluate the prognostic value of concurrent measurement of
serum phosphorylated neurofilament heavy subunit (pNF-H) concentration and intramedullary
T2W hyperintensity in paraplegic to paraplegic dogs. Our hypothesis was that concurrent
measurement of these would provide a more accurate prediction of functional outcome in
dogs with thoracolumbar intervertebral disc herniation (IVDH). A prospective case-control
clinical study was designed using 94 dogs with acute onset of thoracolumbar IVDH. The
association of serum pNF-H concentration, T2W hyperintensity on sagittal MRI (T2H/L2),
deep pain perception and surgical outcome were evaluated with logistic regression analysis
after three months for all 94 surgically treated dogs. Sensitivity to predict
non-ambulatory outcome was compared among pNF-H and T2H/L2 and combination of both.
Logistic regression analysis indicated that serum pNF-H concentration and T2H/L2 were
significantly correlated with surgical outcome (P<0.05); however, deep
pain perception was not (P=0.41). The results of logistic regression
analysis indicated that the odds ratios of unsuccessful long-term outcome were 2.6 for
serum pNF-H concentration, 1.9 for T2H/L2 and 2.3 for deep pain sensation. The sensitivity
and specificity to predict non-ambulatory outcome for using serum parameter pNF-H>2.6
ng/ml, using T2H/L2 value of>0.84 and using both
serum pNF-H and T2H/L2, were 95% and 75.7%, 65% and 86.5%, and 90.0% and 97.5%,
respectively. Therefore, combined measurements of serum pNF-H and T2H/L2 might be useful
for predicting long-term outcome in dogs with thoracolumbar IVDH.
A 9-year-old spayed female cat was examined for cheek skin drainage. The skin
lesion did not respond to medical therapy; thereafter, facial deformity developed. A
computed tomography revealed an intranasal mass and maxillary osteolysis. The mass was
histopathologically diagnosed as suppurative granulomatous inflammation caused by
filamentous bacteria. The lesion responded well to radiation therapy. Although
actinomycosis was suspected histopathologically, no actinomycetes were detected in the
nasal lesion by a bacterial culture conducted at a commercial laboratory. The
submandibular lymph node and subcutaneous tissue exhibited swelling. Microbiological
examination and genetic analysis based on 16S rDNA gene sequence revealed that
Nocardia spp. were isolated from both lesions.
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