Prospective virologic surveillance has defined two influenza epidemics representing the fifth and sixth outbreaks attributed to H3N2 viruses since the prototype, A/Hong Kong/68 ((H3N2), emerged in 1968. The 1975 epidemic was caused by influenza A/Port Chalmers and yielded an estimated attack rate of 9 per cent; the second, attributed to influenza A/Victoria, produced an explosive outbreak, with an estimated attack rate of 18 per cent in 1976. The highest morbidity occurred in preschool children, with an estimated attack rate of over 30 per cent. During the early stages of both epidemics there was a predominance of cases among school-aged children, and school absenteeism peaked earlier than other nonvirologic indexes. These observations support the concept of rapid dissemination of influenza among schoolchildren and suggest that control of epidemic influenza might be facilitated by prophylaxis for that age group and other accessible, healthy populations.

During the BP Deepwater Horizon (DWH) oil spill in 2010, 319 live oiled sea turtles were rescued and admitted to rehabilitation centers for decontamination and veterinary care. Most turtles were small, surface-pelagic juveniles that were collected from oiled habitat distant from shore. Serial hematology, plasma biochemistry, and blood gas analyses were reviewed to characterize abnormalities relative to observed degree of oiling. Clinicopathological abnormalities upon admission indicated acute, nonspecific metabolic and osmoregulatory derangements that were attributable to a combination of events including stress, exertion, physical exhaustion, and dehydration related to oiling, capture, and transport. Specific toxicological effects reported in other taxa were not observed. Initial point-of-care blood data from one rescue center were evaluated using clinical assessment of physiological status for all turtles of all species with available data for pH, pCO 2 , sodium, and potassium. In addition, a prognostic model that was specifically developed for cold-stunned Kemp's ridley sea turtles Lepidochelys kempii was applied to oiled Kemp's ridley turtles from one center. Thirty-six percent of oiled turtles were identified as physiologically de ranged based on a clinical assessment of their physiological status, and 25% of oiled Kemp's ridley sea turtles exceeded the mortality risk threshold of the prognostic model. These results indicate that the physiological derangements in these animals were relatively severe and clinically relevant. Based on observations during the DWH spill, adverse physiological effects in sea turtles may be an important consequence of stress, exertion, physical exhaustion, and dehydration secondary to oiling, capture, and transport.

The objective of these experiments was to evaluate factors affecting in vitro fertilization of bovine oocytes matured in vitro, and their subsequent development to blastocysts. In Expts 1 and 2, sperm concentration, spermatozoa and oocyte incubation time, motility enhancers and semen source were manipulated. Fluorescent microscopy of microtubules and chromatin was used to observe sperm penetration rate, sperm aster formation and chromatin decondensation. Oocyte penetration rates were affected by sperm concentration but not by spermatozoa and oocyte incubation time. The effect of sperm concentration was due primarily to changes in polyspermy and not monospermy. Motility enhancers had no effect on any parameter measured. In Expt 3, oocytes were matured for 17, 22, 28 and 34 h before fertilization and evaluated for fertilization rates, morphology of cortical granules and exocytosis and blastocyst development. A domain free of cortical granules that was associated with the metaphase chromatin was not observed in mature bovine oocytes. As oocytes matured from 17 to 34 h, the distribution of cortical granules progressed from clustered to diffuse. Although monospermic fertilization rates were similar and cortical granule exocytosis occurred in all groups, polyspermy increased with maturation time. Development to blastocysts increased from 17 to 22 h of maturation but decreased thereafter with increasing maturation time. These results suggest that polyspermy can be reduced by adjusting sperm concentration and spermatozoa and oocyte incubation time with little effect on monospermic fertilization. Increased polyspermy with increased maturation time was not due to a lack of cortical granule exocytosis.

Surgical tubal ligation was used to sterilize urban free-ranging white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) as a methodology of a larger study investigating the influences of intact, sterile females on population dynamics and behavior. Deer were either trapped in clover traps (n = 55) and induced with an i.m. injection of xylazine and tiletamine/zolazepam or induced by a similar protocol by dart (n = 12), then intubated and maintained on isoflurane in oxygen. Over 3 yr, individual female deer (n = 103) were captured in Highland Park, Illinois, with a subset of females sterilized using tubal ligation by ventral laparotomy (n = 63). Other sterilization procedures included tubal transection by ventral (n = 1) or right lateral (n = 2) laparoscopy and ovariohysterectomy by ventral laparotomy (n = 1). One mortality (1/ 67, 1.5%) of a doe with an advanced pregnancy was attributed to a lengthy right lateral laparoscopic surgery that was converted to a right lateral laparotomy. The initial surgical modality of laparoscopy was altered in favor of a ventral laparotomy for simplification of the project and improved surgical access in late-term gravid does. Laparotomy techniques included oviductal ligation and transection (n = 14), application of an oviductal mechanical clip (n = 9), ligation and partial salpingectomy (n = 40), and ovariohysterectomy (n = 1). As of 2 yr poststerilization, no surgical does were observed with fawns, indicating that these procedures provide sterilization with low mortality in urban white-tailed deer.

ABSTRACT:Rapid, safe, and effective methods of anesthetic induction and recovery are needed for sea turtles, especially in cases eligible for immediate release. This study demonstrates that intravenous propofol provides a rapid induction of anesthesia in loggerhead (Caretta caretta) sea turtles and results in rapid recovery, allowing safe return to water shortly after the procedure. Forty-nine loggerhead sea turtles were recovered as local fishery by-catch in pound nets and transported to a surgical suite for laparoscopic sex determination. Treatment animals (n532) received 5 mg/kg propofol intravenously (i.v.) as a rapid bolus, whereas control animals (n517) received no propofol. For analgesia, all animals received a 4 ml infusion of 1% lidocaine, locally, as well as 2 mg/kg ketoprofen intramuscularly (i.m.). Physiologic data included heart and respiratory rate, temperature, and a single blood gas sample collected upon termination of the laparoscopy. Subjective data included jaw tone and ocular reflex: 3 (vigorous) to 0 (none detected). Anesthetic depth was scored from 1, no anesthesia, to 3, surgical anesthesia. Turtles receiving propofol became apneic for a minimum of 5 min with a mean time of 13.7 6 8.3 min to the first respiration. Limb movement returned at a mean time of 21.1 6 16.8 min. The treatment animals were judged to be sedated for ,30 min (mean anesthetic depth score $ 1.5) when compared to controls. Median respiratory rates for treatment animals were slower compared to controls for the first 15 min, then after 35 min, they became significantly faster than the controls. Median heart rates of control animals became significantly slower than treatment animals between 40 and 45 min. Physiologic differences between groups persisted a minimum of 55 min. Possible explanations for heart rate and respiratory rate differences later in the monitoring period include a compensatory recovery of treatment animals from anesthesia-induced hypoxia and hypercapnia or, alternatively, an induced response of the nonsedated control animals. The animals induced with propofol were easier to secure to the restraint device and moved less during laparoscopy. In conclusion, propofol is a safe and effective injectable anesthetic for use in free-ranging loggerhead sea turtles that provides rapid induction and recovery.

A 13-yr-old male African black-footed penguin (Spheniscus demersus) presented thrice over 7 mo with gastrointestinal obstruction secondary to cloacolithiasis. Clinical signs consistently resolved with cloacolith removal and supportive care. However, 10 mo after initial presentation, it presented with similar signs, plus significant weight loss. No cloacolith was found, and it subsequently died. Significant gross findings included bilateral cecal masses, colonic perforation, and marked secondary coelomitis, multifocal tan to pale hepatic nodules, and pale kidneys with miliary white foci. Histopathologic diagnoses were intestinal lymphosarcoma with hepatic and renal metastases, secondary intestinal rupture, and subacute severe bacterial coelomitis. To the authors' knowledge, this is the first full report of either cloacolithiasis or lymphosarcoma in a penguin.

No abstract

A wild-caught captive sandbar shark Carcharhinus plumbeus developed a contiguous network of darkly pigmented linear tracks that progressed from the snout to the ventral cervical region. Microscopic examination of a skin scraping revealed nematode eggs of the genus Huffmanela, a group of histozoic nematodes that is known to parasitize requiem sharks and marine and freshwater teleosts. The fresh eggs were darkly pigmented with bipolar plugs, contained a larva, and measured 73.3 to 86.4 by 39.0 to 47.4 µm (n = 10). Formalin-fixed and paraffin-embedded eggs were significantly smaller (Wilcoxon rank sums test, p < 0.005), measuring 70.5 to 78.9 by 33.6 to 41.3 µm (n = 13). These measurements do not correlate with previously reported species of Huffmanela. Serial treatment with levamisole (10 mg kg Resale or republication not permitted without written consent of the publisherDis Aquat Org 73: [83][84][85][86][87][88] 2006 skin. These tracks wended their way from the right ventral snout to the left side of the mouth, reducing to a single track past the dorsal aspect of the left commissure, then once again formed a wide band that progressed caudomedially to terminate in the ventral cervical region, losing definition in the last 2 cm (Fig. 1).Blood was collected into sodium heparin from the caudal hemal arch using a 22 gauge 38 mm needle and a 6 ml syringe, then placed into a vial as part of the initial health evaluation. A differential blood count was performed manually, and plasma chemistry analyses were performed by automated bichromatic spectrophotometry (albumin, calcium, phosphorus, bicarbonate and glucose concentrations, and aspartate aminotransferase and lactate dehydrogenase activities) and ion-selective electrode (sodium, potassium and chloride concentrations) on a Roche/Hitachi 912 Clinical Chemistry System (Roche Molecular Systems) (Table 1) (Stoskopf 1993a(Stoskopf , 2000. When compared with previously reported values obtained from elasmobranchs (excluding compromised individuals), potassium concentrations in this specimen appeared to be lower and lactate dehydrogenase activity appeared to be higher; however, the clinical significance of these values is uncertain (Stoskopf 2000, Harms et al. 2002. A skin scrape of the pattern was collected approximately 2 cm caudal to the snout using a Number 10 scalpel blade and placed with a drop of exhibit water onto a glass slide with a coverslip sealed at the edges with ophthalmic ointment (to prevent desiccation) for examination. The shark was then moved into an offexhibit 26 000 l holding tank.Examination of the slide under a microscope revealed numerous darkly pigmented, trichuroid ova with bipolar plugs and thick, dark brown, apparently rugose shells that were embryonated with a motionless coiled larva (Fig. 2). The shell was covered with a thin transparent vitelline envelope and had a thickened chitinous layer at both ends that surrounded the slightly protruding polar plugs, forming a collar. Ten fresh eggs were measured in µm using a calibrated micro...