Marine Animal Rehabilitation Center - University of New England

More documents

Recommendations

Info

BEYOND REHABILITATION: The Case of MARC 10–079 Pv By: Brianna Scimone with contributions by Dr. Dave Rotstein The MARC animal care team makes every effort to treat the patients, return them to good health and release them back into the wild. Unfortunately, despite best efforts, not all of the patients survive rehabilitation. When the animals die, the MARC necropsy team comes into play. A necropsy is an animal autopsy. The necropsy team examines the animal for abnormal findings that can be seen by the naked eye. They also look for any sign of human interaction that may have contributed to the animal’s death. During the necropsy, a report is produced using descriptions and photos from the examination. Samples of various tissues are taken throughout the necropsy and shipped to MARC’s primary pathologist, Dr. Dave Rotstein, and various other laboratories for analysis. While the pathologists analyze tissues, they reference the necropsy report and look at notes and information from both when the animal was alive and after it died. The samples and notes help the pathologist determine the cause of the animal’s death. A particularly interesting case was a male harbor seal (Phoca vitulina) pup, #MARC 10-079 Pv, during the summer of 2010. The seal pup was discovered by a fishing vessel and was brought to MARC by the Maine Department of Marine Resources Stranding Staff. Upon arrival, the seal had severe swelling in its rear flippers, a bleeding mouth, and respiratory crackling detected in the lungs during physical exam. Blood analysis also revealed low glucose levels. Due to the low responsiveness of the animal and declining condition, MARC Animal Care Staff and Veterinarians made the decision to humanely euthanize the animal. During initial post-mortem examination and necropsy, the necropsy team found ulcers and open sores causing inflammation in the mouth (ulcerative cheilitis*), nasal discharge associated with mites (catarrhal nasal acariasis*), and fluid draining from the ears (otic drainage*). There were ventral puncture and / or bite wounds from an unknown source located around the umbilical region and swollen front and rear flippers that had many small to moderate wounds and lesions. There were also a moderate amount of round worms found in the stomach (gastric nematodiasis*). The MARC necropsy team took over 30 histological samples that were analyzed by Dr. Rotstein and were instrumental in determining the underlying medical issues resulting in original stranding and subsequent decline of health. Dr. Rotstein attributed the primary cause of illness of #MARC 10-079Pv to septicemia which is a systemic bacterial infection. Bacteria are spread through the blood stream and thrombi (clots) may form in vessels reacting to the organism; thrombi were observed in this pup. Inflammatory cells (neutrophils, macrophages, etc.) may also be increased with bacterial infection. In this pup, there was inflammation in the adrenal gland, known as adrenalitis. The source of infection may have been from the puncture wounds. The pup also had pneumonia (suppurative bronchopneumonia). Hypoglycemia (low glucose levels) detected in the blood work could have been attributed to the septicemia. This was a very interesting case that illustrates the close relationship between the rehabilitation facility that constantly strives towards the goal of the wellbeing of the individual through care and release and the veterinary clinical and pathology community. The determination of the causes of illness can enhance the rehabilitation effort by providing a better understanding of the reasons for illness. Photo: David S. Rotstein, DVM. Example of a thrombus in the pulmonary tissue of the Lung in MARC 10-079 Pv *official diagnoses provided by Dr. Rotstein after pathological examination
2010-2011 Marine Animal Rehabilitation Center (MARC) Donor Report as of May 4, 2011 (Includes gifts made between June 1, 2010 and May 4, 2011) Sea Turtle Club $1,000 and above Maine Veterinary Referral Center Marine Animal Lifeline Pratt & Whitney York Harbor Inn, Inc. Harbor Porpoise Club $500 to $999 Harry W. Konkel Oakhurst Dairy Hooded Seal Club $250 to $499 Tammy Charles Anna Maria Doolittle Craun WC’85 Anita L. Huizing Amy and Phillip Morse Beth and Stephen Sanders Grey Seal Club $100 to $249 Juanita Alicea Bath-Brunswick Veterinary Associates, Inc Andrea Richards and Jeff Brinck Gail Bruns Mary Craig Vivian and Joseph Devendittis P’04 Gail Crockett Dick WJC’66 Ellen Duranceau Amanda and Charles Evans P’13 Pat and Don Foote Gail and Andy Fortin Debra and David Hunter P’14 Barbara and Paul Loescher Jennifer C. McDermott, MFA Mary Jane Quake Grey Seal Club (continued) Julie and Pat Sanders Holly Sault Renate Scholz Lague Carol and Bob Sherman Melanie and Joseph Solmos Monica and James Townsend P’13 Harp Seal Club $50 to $99 Colette Y. Bouchard Brownie Troop 49 Coastal Studies for Girls Francis X. Coyne SFC’64, P’98 Lt. Paul J. Farley, Jr. SFC’73 Roz and Stefan A. Hershfield Susan Hillman Janet and Garry Kasten Hannah Kurkul Jillian Kurkul Kathy McNamara-Brown National Association of Veterinary Technicians of America Kristen Patchett Ellen Ridley Richard Roesler Courtney Wallace Nancy and Bobby K. Wong P’05 Harbor Seal Club $25 to $49 Brian D. Abbott ’14 Nicolette D. Annelli SFC’80 Cheryl Bourbon-Labounty Jacque Carter, PhD Elizabeth and Joshua Chalmers David Conte Heather Salisbury and Kevin Devine Cynthia J. and Robert A. Dow, Jr. Rick Eglseder P’11 Wayne C. Feigenbaum Michael Fitzgerald Kimberlene Gillies Richard Leigh Cynthia Marquis Lois and Stephen Petrone P'13 Cheryl Poulopoulos David Razzaboni Adrienne Richardson Bob Spongberg Harbor Seal Club (cont.) Casey Syvertsen Steve Thompson Nancy Mullin Viles WJC’57 Sharon and Daniel C. Waterman P’09 Kent Winters Elizabeth and Louis D. Woolever Sara M. Young ’11 Friend Under $25 Atticus Flanagan-Burt Stephen Burt Eleanor Trufant Davis WJC’51 Diane and Richard S. Dennison Carolyn L. Fountain Zakia C. and Ross E. Nelson Karen Labonte Stebbins WC’86 Matching Gifts Cephalon IBM Foundation Matching Grants Program Gifts In honor of: Natalia Duranceau Gale Loescher ’12 Keith A. Matassa Risa Sanders Special thanks to our corporate sponsors… Gritty McDuffs Johnson & Jordan Nappi Distributors National ! Distributors Ouellet Associates, Inc. York Harbor Inn and Ship’s Cellar Pub
Page 1 and 2: Marine Animal Rehabilitation Center
Page 3 and 4: Marine Animal Facts o o o Kemp’s
Page 5 and 6: MARCing the Years: Major Milestones
Page 7: Pathogen Identification and Monitor

Marine Animal Rehabilitation Center - University of New England

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?