abstract
A 14-month-old harbor seal died from a 40 cm triple invagination and hemorrhagic infarct of 132 cm of the intestine (approximately 90%) with acute disseminated moderate monophasic degeneration of the myocardium. Two months prior to death and at necropsy Clostridium perfringens (Typ A, β2-Toxingen-negative) was cultured by swabs from the anus and intestine. Phagocytosis with a Phagotest® test kit produced for human medicine application and a FACS CaliburTM, and hemogram profiles were performed on three different occasions. At 20 days of age and five and eight months prior to death WBC counts were within normal ranges. One day before his death his WBC dropped to 2.3/nl. The first phagocytosis test (eight months prior to death) demonstrated that the proportion of neutrophils participating in phagocytic activity was slightly below normal (79%) and worsened over the coming months. Monocytes however showed a constant increase of phagocytic activity throughout the three performed tests.
Many studies have been published about the phagocytosis assay itself and its application in assessing human and domestic animal immune systems.2,3,5,6,7 Some individuals have proposed the potential utility of such assay in investigating marine mammal health.1,4,8 The present case demonstrates that phagocytosis is a very expedient tool for early diagnostics in marine mammals.
acknowledgements
The authors would like to thank the crew of the seal center for their help in caring for the animals. We would also like to thank Dr. Jörg Driver for his medical advice and support.
References
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