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Simple Summary: Aspergillosis is an important fungal disease occurring in avian fauna, especially in birds kept in captivity. In Psittaciformes, severe disease occurs in the lungs and air sacs, with the development of white-to-yellow caseous nodules and plaques in the organs, in addition to greenish-grey fungal growth in the air sacs. Herein, we report the presence of disseminated infection with Aspergillus fumigatus in a 3-year-old male scarlet macaw parrot (Ara macao) that was presented to the Exotic Animal Clinic at the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Iași University of Life Sciences (Iași, Romania) for its postmortem examination. The confirmation of the fungal infection was achieved using histopathological, microbiological, and molecular methods. Since birds suffering from Aspergillus spp. do not always show respiratory issues, or their clinical signs are non-specific, this may create diagnostic difficulty for clinicians unfamiliar with the parrots' pathology. Therefore, for a definitive diagnosis, the demonstration of fungal presence by cytology or histopathology and its identification using culturing and molecular techniques is required. A 3-year-old male scarlet macaw parrot (Ara macao) was presented to the Exotic Animal Clinic at the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Iași University of Life Sciences (Iași, Romania) for its postmortem examination. According to the owner, the parrot had been raised only in captivity and after 5 days of inappetence, lethargy, and mild respiratory clinical signs, the parrot died. The post mortem examination revealed various-sized granulomas and caseous plaques in the lungs, air sacs, spleen, intestinal serosa, and liver. Microscopically, the granulomas were characterized by a necrotic center and the infiltration of numerous multinucleated giant cells and epithelioid-like cells and by the presence of hyphae typical of Aspergillus spp. Moreover, in the liver tissue, a diffuse inflammation, with numerous fungal hyphae, was noted. The fungal culture and the PCR assay allowed for the isolation and identification of Aspergillus fumigatus from the lung and liver samples. The macroscopical lesions and the histopathological findings, with the fungal isolation and molecular confirmation of Aspergillus fumigatus by nested PCR, provided the basis for the diagnosis of disseminated aspergillosis. To the authors' best knowledge, this is the first report of disseminated infection caused by Aspergillus fumigatus in a scarlet macaw parrot (Ara macao). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During the last decades, the infection with papillomavirus in domestic cats gained interest from the veterinary community due to its significant impact on the companion's animal's health. Therefore, in this review, we aim to present a concise classification of feline papillomaviruses and their clinical relevance in domestic felines. Initially, the different types of papillomaviruses affecting domestic cats are described. Here, we emphasize the molecular diversity and transmission ways to better understand each virus type and its clinical implications. Furthermore, we explore the clinical importance of papillomavirus infections, analyzing their various manifestations such as skin or oral lesions. We outline the signs and symptoms of these infections, shedding light on the oncogenic mechanisms used by the virus. The knowledge gained from this analysis holds the potential to refine veterinary medical practices, enabling the effective management of this condition and ultimately enhancing the overall quality of life for our feline companions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Leishmaniasis is a zoonotic parasitosis caused by a diphasic protozoan of the genus Leishmania. The dogs are considered the main domestic reservoir of L. infantum and its transmission occurs mainly through sand flies. We report the case of a 10 yr old Italian Segugio dog in Mar 2016 from Iasi County-Moldova Region, northeastern Romania, referred to a private clinic with progressive weight loss, dermal lesions over the muzzle, foot pads and over the right and left tarsal joints. The dog was born in Torino, Italy and transferred to Romania, with a history of regular travelling between these two countries. The physical examination revealed multiple cutaneous lesions with alopecia together with polyarthritis, lymphadenopathies, fatigue and weight loss. Neither fever or nor diarrhea were observed. The serological test (enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay) showed a positive result for Leishmaniasis. Light microscopy of the stained smears prepared from popliteal lymph node puncture failed to identify the amastigotes. The infection was treated using pentavalent antimonial therapy for eight weeks and Allopurinol for eight months. After nine months follow-up the dog presented with an improved body condition and no signs of recurrence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rabbit viral hemorrhagic disease, known as viral necrotic hepatitis or hemorrhagic pneumonia, is a contagious disease with peracute or acute outcome and characterized by hyperthermia, prostration, hemorrhagic foamy discharge and mortality in 50-90% of cases. The main lesions are consisting in hemorrhagic diathesis, especially in lungs, liver and spleen. There are no evolution particularities regarding the age, breed, gender or species (domesticated or wild). The aim of this paper was consisting in describing the symptomatology and the pathology of hemorrhagic disease outbreak in rabbits. To the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine of Iasi were submitted for a physical examination 5 rabbits, 4 female and one male, crossbreed between Lionhead and Californian breed, 4 to 9 months old, kept in a private household, and. During the physical examination, the main symptomatology seen was consisting in sign of seizures, agitations, respiratory illness and nasal bloody and foamy discharge. Due to their bad conditions, the rabbits died shortly after the physical exam. The gross pathology was characterized by hemorrhagic diathesis, catarrhal-hemorrhagic rhinitis, laryngitis and tracheitis with the presence in lumen of a frothy and hemorrhagic liquid. The lesions seen in lungs were consisting in hemorrhagic pneumonia and edema, in liver a necrotic hepatitis, while in kidneys lesions with hemorrhagic pattern. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Bovine papillomaviruses -1/-2 (BPVs) are small non-enveloped double-stranded DNA viruses able to infect the skin of bovids and equids, causing development of neoplastic lesions such as bovine cutaneous fibropapillomas and equine sarcoid. Matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) are a group of zinc-dependent endopeptidases that degrade basal membrane and extracellular matrix, whose function is essential in physiological processes such as tissue remodeling and wound healing. MMPs activity is finely regulated by a balancing with expression of tissue inhibitors of MMPs (TIMPs), a process that is impaired during tumour development. BPV infection is associated with upregulation of MMPs and /or their unbalancing with TIMPs, contributing to local invasion and impairment of extracellular matrix remodeling in equine sarcoid; however, studies regarding this topic in bovine fibropapillomas are lacking., Methods: The aim of this study was to perform an immunohistochemical and biochemical analysis on a panel of MMPs and TIMPs in BPV-2 positive bovine cutaneous fibropapillomas vs. normal skin samples., Results: Immunohistochemistry revealed a cytoplasmic expression of MMP-2 (15/19), a cytoplasmic and perinuclear immunoreactivity of MMP-7 (19/19) and MMP-9 (19/19), along with a cytoplasmic and nuclear pattern of MMP-14 (16/19), accompanied by a cytoplasmic expression of TIMP-1 (14/19) and TIMP-2 (18/19) in tumour samples; western blotting revealed an overexpression of MMP-2 (8/9), MMP-7 (9/9) and MMP-9 (9/9), and a decreased level of MMP-14 (9/9), TIMP-1 (9/9) and TIMP-2 (9/9) in tumour versus normal skin samples. Moreover, gelatine zymography confirmed the expression of pro-active MMP-2 (9/9) and MMP-9 (9/9) and, most importantly, indicated the presence and increased activity of their active forms (82 and 62 kDa, respectively) in tumour samples., Discussion: This is the first study describing MMPs and TIMPs in bovine cutaneous fibropapillomas and our results suggest that their unbalanced expression in presence of BPV-2 may play a significant role in tumour development. A further analysis of supplementary MMPs and TIMPs could bring new important insights into the papillomavirus induced tumours., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2022 Daraban Bocaneti, Altamura, Corteggio, Tanase, Dascalu, Pasca, Hritcu, Mares and Borzacchiello.)