In December 2008, a southern white rhinoceros (ãsimum simum) aborted a 7-mo gestation male fetus. On hematoxylin and eosin-stained sections of fetal tissues, foci of necrosis were noted in the hepatic parenchyma and were associated with low numbers of lymphocytes, plasma cells, and neutrophils. Protozoal zoites were identified within the hepatic lesions and within the cerebellum. Evaluations utilizing immunohistochemistry, polymerase chain reaction, and DNA sequencing identified the protozoan as Neospora caninum. A microsatellite analysis using MS10 marker showed a unique trinucletoide repeat pattern (ACT), (AGA)19 (TGA)8 distinct from all studied N. caninum to date. This is the first report of N. caninum-related abortion of a rhinoceros fetus of any species and the first report of polymerase chain reaction-confirmed N. caninum infection in any rhinoceros.
Abstract.A 12-year-old chinchilla (Chinchilla lanigera) developed a slow-growing, soft, fluctuating, nonpainful mass on the ventral neck with focally extensive alopecia over a period of approximately 8 months. On postmortem examination, an extensive, multilobulated, cystic, neoplastic mass extended subcutaneously over the ventral and lateral neck with metastatic spread to submandibular lymph nodes, spleen, liver, and lungs. Neoplastic cells were strongly positive for vimentin and pan-cytokeratin but were negative for alphasmooth muscle actin, S100, and myosin; no intracytoplasmic myofibrils were detected on phosphotungstic acid hematoxylin staining. Histologic and immunohistochemical examination of the mass led to a diagnosis of undifferentiated carcinoma of the salivary gland and contributes to the paucity of knowledge concerning neoplasia in chinchillas.
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