A novel polyomavirus (goose hemorrhagic polyomavirus) is the agent of hemorrhagic nephritis enteritis of geese

We have identified the etiological agent of hemorrhagic nephritis enteritis of geese (HNEG), a fatal disease of European geese. HNEG has been recognized in almost all goose breeding areas, with an epizootic pattern, and up to now, the infectious agent has remained unknown. In order to identify the causative agent, infected tissues from HNEG-affected geese were inoculated to 1-day-old goslings, which then developed clinical signs typical of HNEG. Tissue homogenates from these birds were subjected to Freon extraction followed by sucrose density gradient ultracentrifugation. The resulting main band was examined by electron microscopy and consisted of spherical, naked, papovavirus-like particles approximately 45 nm in diameter. The virus was isolated and propagated in goose kidney cell primary culture. Tissue- or culture-purified virus allowed the experimental reproduction of the disease in goslings. Random PCR amplification of viral nucleic acid produced a 1,175-bp fragment which was shown to be associated with field samples collected from geese affected by HNEG on commercial farms in France. Sequence analysis of the PCR product revealed a unique open reading frame, showing 63 to 72% amino acid similarity with the major capsid protein (VP1) of several polyomaviruses. Finally, based on phylogenetic analysis, we conclude that the causative agent of HNEG is closely related to but clearly distinct from other polyomaviruses; we thus have named this newly identified virus Goose hemorrhagic polyomavirus.     

Capillariasis in penned wild turkeys.

Capillariasis caused by Capillaria annulata was associated with dilated crops, emaciation and mortality of 23 juvenile wild turkeys (Meleagris gallopavo silvestris) in a captive flock. Gross lesions in the crops ranged from slithtly-thickened lining folds to a thick necrotic diphtheritic membrane covering the entire inside surface. The parasites were in the squamous epithelium. Hygromycin controlled the outbreak.     

Mycoplasma gallopavonis in eastern wild turkeys.

Serum samples and tracheal cultures were collected from eastern wild turkeys (Meleagris gallopavo sylvestris) trapped for relocation in South Carolina (USA) during 1985 to 1990. Sera were tested for Mycoplasma gallisepticum and M. synoviae by the rapid plate agglutination and hemagglutination inhibition tests and were found to be negative. Tracheal cultures were negative for all pathogenic Mycoplasma spp., including M. gallisepticum, M. synoviae, M. meleagridis, and M. iowae. However, M. gallopavonis was isolated from every group of wild turkeys tested in 1986 to 1990. These data suggest that M. gallopavonis, which is generally considered nonpathogenic, may be a common microorganism in eastern wild turkeys.     

Catecholamines in turkeys with alcohol-induced cardiomyopathy.

Although alcoholic cardiomyopathy has been difficult to reproduce in animals, turkeys fed 5% ethanol develop a dilated congestive cardiomyopathy. We therefore used this model to examine the adrenergic response to left ventricular dysfunction induced by alcohol. In normal turkeys, norepinephrine in kidneys decreased markedly with age from 1 day to 2 mo, with a similar but less dramatic decrease in cardiac norepinephrine. By 2 mo, chronic alcohol ingestion depleted cardiac norepinephrine compared with controls (217 +/- 22 vs. 316 +/- 41 ng/g, P < 0.05), even though cardiac norepinephrine is relatively low in turkeys compared with many other animals and humans. Norepinephrine in aorta was also decreased with alcohol administration, but kidney norepinephrine was unaffected. Dopamine was unaltered in any of the organs studied. Plasma norepinephrine is normally high in turkeys with arterial levels greater than venous (2,898 +/- 746 vs. 1,987 +/- 531 pg/ml at 2 mo). Venous plasma norepinephrine did not differ from control (2,595 +/- 547 pg/ml) after 2 mo of alcohol. Thus, as in humans, cardiomyopathy in alcohol-fed turkeys is associated with reduced cardiac norepinephrine, but unlike humans with cardiomyopathy, circulating norepinephrine remains normal.     

Histopathology of feline panleukopenia in domestic cats.

Histopathological observations were carried out on 17 domestic cats naturally affected with feline panleukopenia. Principal lesions were found in the intestine, bone marrow, and lymphoid organs. Intestinal lesions were characterized by degenerative changes accompanied by the appearance of intranuclear inclusion bodies in the epithelial cells of the crypts. In contrast to the crypts, the villi were seldom involved. Hypoplasia, parenchymal degeneration, and activation of the reticuloendothelial system were observed in the bone marrow and lymphoid organs. Intranuclear inclusion bodies were found occasionally also in the reticular and parenchymal cells of the bone marrow, lymphoid organs, liver, adrenals, and pancreas. Most of the inclusion bodies were amphophilic when stained with hematoxylin and eosin and occupied the whole area of the nucleus without producing any zone of clear halo. While cells bearing inclusion bodies underwent degenerative changes constantly in the intestinal crypts, the formation of inclusion body was not accompanied by the degeneration of corresponding cells in any other organ. Pathological changes as mentioned above were considered to be closely related to the systemic infection of feline panleukopenia virus.     

Cardiomyopathy in turkeys

Round heart disease (RHD) is a spontaneous occurring cardiomyopathy in fowl affecting primarily inbred, small broad-breasted white strains of turkeys. Etiology of RHD is unknown but factors implicated include genetic, management, enzyme deficiencies, viral, immunologic, and metabolic. Investigations of proposed etiologic factors are reviewed. Furazolidone (FZ)-induced cardiomyopathy is indistinguishable from spontaneous RHD, but it remains to be shown that both are mediated by the same mechanism(s). Studies to date suggest that FZ-induced cardiomyopathy is an exaggeration of the spontaneous condition.     

Benign peritoneal mesothelioma. Histopathology in a case

A case of peritoneal mesothelioma was histopathologically diagnosed in a 40-year-old woman. Localized solitary firm nodules found in omentum appeared microscopically as trabecular proliferations with a plexiform pattern in a myxoid stroma. The tumors were penetrated by clefts and cystic cavities lined by a cuboidal or endotheliform epithelium. Rare psammoma bodies were present. The stroma was rich in hyaluronic acid and slightly positive for neutral mucopolysaccharides.