Spongiform Degeneration of the Brain Associated with Uremia in an Aged Coyote (Canis latrans)

Abstract

addition. there is anecdotal evidence that another African hedgehog from the same source also suffered from multiple neoplasms, one of which was a subcutaneous fibrosarcoma and the other a squamous cell carcinoma. Ultrastructural examination of deparaffinized formalin-fixed sections of the squamous cell carcinoma did not reveal any viral particles. Unfortunately, specimens from hedgehogs Nos. 1 and 2 were not preserved for virus isolation or propagation or for optimal ultrastructural evaluation because these procedures are not part of our routine diagnostic workup. Attempts to more definitively identify the virus from formalin-fixed tissues are currently under way. Similar multicentric skeletal neoplasia has not been reported in hedgehogs. However. zoo veterinarians and others have commonly noted that hedgehogs have an unusually high rate of neoplasia. especially of the cutaneous and lymphohematopoietic systems.' We have presented morphological evidence of a probable retrovirus associated with multieentric sarcomas in two animals. Whether this virus plays a causal role in the induction of neoplasia is unknown. It is unclear how prevalent this virus is among African hedgehog populations and whether or not it may be associated with other neoplasms.