The number of species that merit conservation interventions is increasing daily with ongoing habitat destruction, increased fragmentation and loss of population connectivity. Desertification and climate change reduce suitable conservation areas. Physiological stress is an inevitable part of the capture and translocation process of wild animals. Globally, capture myopathy—a malignant outcome of stress during capture operations—accounts for the highest number of deaths associated with wildlife translocation. These deaths may not only have considerable impacts on conservation efforts but also have direct and indirect financial implications. Such deaths usually are indicative of how well animal welfare was considered and addressed during a translocation exercise. Importantly, devastating consequences on the continued existence of threatened and endangered species succumbing to this known risk during capture and movement may result. Since first recorded in 1964 in Kenya, many cases of capture myopathy have been described, but the exact causes, pathophysiological mechanisms and treatment for this condition remain to be adequately studied and fully elucidated. Capture myopathy is a condition with marked morbidity and mortality that occur predominantly in wild animals around the globe. It arises from inflicted stress and physical exertion that would typically occur with prolonged or short intense pursuit, capture, restraint or transportation of wild animals. The condition carries a grave prognosis, and despite intensive extended and largely non-specific supportive treatment, the success rate is poor. Although not as common as in wildlife, domestic animals and humans are also affected by conditions with similar pathophysiology. This review aims to highlight the current state of knowledge related to the clinical and pathophysiological presentation, potential treatments, preventative measures and, importantly, the hypothetical causes and proposed pathomechanisms by comparing conditions found in domestic animals and humans. Future comparative strategies and research directions are proposed to help better understand the pathophysiology of capture myopathy.

Background: Despite treatment, many dogs still die of complications related to canine parvoviral (CPV) enteritis. Effective prognostication would be beneficial in managing this disease. Hypothesis: We hypothesize that the occurrence of leukocytopenias at admission and at 24 and 48 hours after admission, and changes in absolute leukocyte counts over time, could be used to predict outcome. Animals: Sixty-two puppies with confirmed CPV. Methods: A prospective study was performed. CBC was performed daily until discharge or death (in which case a postmortem examination was performed). Results: Of the nonsurvivors (10/62; 16%), 9 died because of complications of the disease and 1 was euthanized because of a poor prognosis. There was a statistical significant difference in the occurrence of leukocytopenias between groups at 24 and 48 hours postadmission. The survivors showed a significant increase over time in certain leukocyte types (specifically lymphocytes) compared with values at admission. The positive predictive value for survivors was high. Nonsurvivors had marked thymic and lymphoid atrophy and marked bone marrow hypocellularity. Conclusion: An accurate prognosis could be obtained at 24 hours after admission by evaluating the change in total leukocyte, band neutrophil, lymphocyte, monocyte, and eosinophil counts.

Canine rabies can be effectively controlled by vaccination with readily available, high-quality vaccines. These vaccines should provide protection from challenge in healthy dogs, for the claimed period, for duration of immunity, which is often two or three years. It has been suggested that, in free-roaming dog populations where rabies is endemic, vaccine-induced protection may be compromised by immuno-suppression through malnutrition, infection and other stressors. This may reduce the proportion of dogs that seroconvert to the vaccine during vaccination campaigns and the duration of immunity of those dogs that seroconvert. Vaccination coverage may also be limited through insufficient vaccine delivery during vaccination campaigns and the loss of vaccinated individuals from populations through demographic processes. This is the first longitudinal study to evaluate temporal variations in rabies vaccine-induced serological responses, and factors associated with these variations, at the individual level in previously unvaccinated free-roaming dog populations. Individual-level serological and health-based data were collected from three cohorts of dogs in regions where rabies is endemic, one in South Africa and two in Indonesia. We found that the vast majority of dogs seroconverted to the vaccine; however, there was considerable variation in titres, partly attributable to illness and lactation at the time of vaccination. Furthermore, >70% of the dogs were vaccinated through community engagement and door-to-door vaccine delivery, even in Indonesia where the majority of the dogs needed to be caught by net on successive occasions for repeat blood sampling and vaccination. This demonstrates the feasibility of achieving population-level immunity in free-roaming dog populations in rabies-endemic regions. However, attrition of immune individuals through demographic processes and waning immunity necessitates repeat vaccination of populations within at least two years to ensure communities are protected from rabies. These findings support annual mass vaccination campaigns as the most effective means to control canine rabies. Canine-mediated rabies is a horrific disease that claims tens of thousands of human lives every year, particularly in Asia and Africa. The disease can be effectively controlled through mass vaccination of dogs with high-quality vaccines; however, questions remain over the effectiveness of vaccination where the health status of free-roaming dogs may be compromised and the life expectancy and access to these dogs may be limited. This study evaluated rabies-vaccine induced immune responses and vaccine delivery in previously unvaccinated, free-roaming dog populations in two rabies endemic regions in Asia and Africa, to better understand the effectiveness of vaccination campaigns. We found that the majority of dogs seroconverted to the vaccine regardless of health status. Excellent vaccination coverage was achieved through community engagement and door-to-door vaccine delivery, even where the majority of the dogs needed to be caught by net for vaccination. However, attrition of immune individuals through demographic processes and waning immunity reinforces the importance of frequent and regular vaccination campaigns to ensure effective vaccination coverage is maintained.

Babesia rossi infection causes a severe inflammatory response in the dog, which is the result of the balance between pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokine secretion. The aim of this study was to determine whether changes in cytokine concentrations were present in dogs with babesiosis and whether it was associated with disease outcome. Ninety-seven dogs naturally infected with B. rossi were studied and fifteen healthy dogs were included as controls. Diagnosis of babesiosis was confirmed by polymerase chain reaction and reverse line blot. Blood samples were collected from the jugular vein at admission, prior to any treatment. Cytokine concentrations were assessed using a canine-specific multiplex assay on an automated analyser. Serum concentrations of interleukin (IL)-2, IL-6, IL-8, IL-10, IL-18, granulocyte-macrophage colony stimulating factor (GM-CSF) and monocyte chemotactic protein-1 (MCP-1) were measured. Twelve of the Babesia-infected dogs died (12%) and 85 survived (88%). Babesia-infected dogs were also divided into those that presented within 48 hours from displaying clinical signs, and those that presented more than 48 hours after displaying clinical signs. Cytokine concentrations were compared between the different groups using the Mann-Whitney U test. IL-10 and MCP-1 concentrations were significantly elevated for the Babesia-infected dogs compared to the healthy controls. In contrast, the IL-8 concentration was significantly decreased in the Babesia-infected dogs compared to the controls. Concentrations of IL-6 and MCP-1 were significantly increased in the non-survivors compared to the survivors. Concentrations for IL-2, IL-6, IL-18 and GM-CSF were significantly higher in those cases that presented during the more acute stage of the disease. These findings suggest that a mixed cytokine response is present in dogs with babesiosis caused by B. rossi, and that an excessive pro-inflammatory response may result in a poor outcome.

Objective—To evaluate the role of adrenal and thyroid hormones in the prediction of death in a population of critically ill puppies with parvoviral diarrhea by measuring serial daily serum concentrations of cortisol and thyroxine. Design—Prospective case-control study Animals—57 critically ill puppies with parvoviral diarrhea admitted to the hospital and 17 clinically normal control puppies. Procedures—Basal serum cortisol and thyroxine concentrations were measured for each dog with parvoviral diarrhea at admission (prior to treatment) and daily until death, euthanasia, or discharge. Results—Median time between admission and death was 48 hours (ie, on day 3). Median serum cortisol concentration on day 1 (admission) in all dogs with parvoviral diarrhea (248 nmol/L) was significantly higher than in control dogs (77 nmol/L). No significant difference was found in the day 1 median serum cortisol concentration of 11 dogs that died (302 nmol/L) and 46 dogs that survived (238 nmol/L). A significantly higher median serum cortisol concentration was, however, found in nonsurvivor group dogs, compared with survivor group dogs, on days 2 and 3. Median serum thyroxine concentration on day 1 in dogs with parvoviral diarrhea was significantly lower than in control dogs (8.12 nmol/L vs 35 nmol/L, respectively). Median serum thyroxine concentration of nonsurvivor group dogs (4.4 nmol/L) was significantly lower than that of survivor group dogs (9.2 nmol/L) at admission and became even lower on days 2 and 3. Conclusions and Clinical Relevance—High serum cortisol and low serum thyroxine concentrations at 24 and 48 hours after admission were associated with death in dogs with parvoviral diarrhea.