A 9-year-old intact, female, cross breed dog was presented to a practitioner for subcutaneous masses all over the body. A fine needle aspirate of one mass was submitted to the Texas A&M Veterinary Medical Diagnostic Laboratory (TVMDL). It was highly cellular and mostly consisted of atypical round/hemic cells distributed individually within a large amount of…
Fixed tissue samples from nostril masses of three horses were received at the Texas A&M Veterinary Medical Diagnostic Laboratory (TVMDL) for histopathologic examination. The animals were a 23-year-old Quarter Horse gelding, an 18-year-old Appaloosa mare, and an adult American Quarter Horse gelding of unspecified age. The histories provided with the specimens were brief, but described…
Rickets was diagnosed in a live, 3-month-old, backyard type, female chicken. The bird was submitted to the Texas A&M Veterinary Medical Diagnostic Laboratory (TVMDL) in Center, Texas, for testing. The bird was depressed and showing respiratory distress. The findings at the necropsy examination included moderate emaciation, fragile bones with increased width of the bone growing…
Grain is certainly an important feedstuff for livestock, but it can also be deadly if not fed correctly. Grains are rich in carbohydrates and provide energy for the animals consuming them. Commonly fed grains include corn, milo, grain sorghum, oats, wheat, and barley. The carbohydrates in grain are metabolized to produce energy, which is especially…
The Texas A&M Veterinary Medical Diagnostic Laboratory’s (TVMDL) Center laboratory discovered salmonellosis in a flock of 75 racing pigeons. At the time of specimen submission, 25 birds had already died. Sick birds were showing regurgitation, greenish feces, and sudden death following onset of clinical signs. At necropsy examination, two birds had enlarged and mottled livers…
Salt toxicity was diagnosed in a 17-day-old, meat type chicken flock. Twelve birds were submitted to the Texas A&M Veterinary Medical Diagnostic Laboratory (TVMDL) in Center. Clinical history noted increased mortality starting at 2-weeks-old. At necropsy examination, all the birds had an edematous brain with poorly defined cerebellar folia and cerebrum lobes, thin blood, and…
The Texas A&M Veterinary Medical Diagnostic Laboratory’s (TVMDL) Analytical Chemistry Section offers a screen for the detection of beta-adrenergic agonist drugs, including albuterol, bambuterol, clenbuterol, ractopamine, and zilpaterol, in hair. Certain drugs bind to melanin in hair and can be detected months, and in some cases years, following drug administration. This provides horse racing regulators…
In addition to managing two of the state’s poultry health programs, TVMDL helps keep Texas’ birds healthy through dedicated high-volume testing at the Center and Gonzales locations. In the five-year period between March 2019 and February 2024, TVMDL’s poultry laboratories performed over 1 million serologic tests for avian influenza, Mycoplasma, and Salmonella. While most of those tests…
Approximately 40 head of Hereford cows were grazing on 12 sections of land with oil production activity present. In one particular section, four to five cows were found dead within 12-24 hours. Another cow was observed by the owner to be shaking and trembling, had fallen and gotten up, fell a second time and became…
Leishmania donovani/infantum Titer IFA testing was requested to assist in the clinical staging of a 6-year-old, neutered male, Spanish Galgo. The dog was rescued in Spain and imported to the United States by a rescue group. Prior to importation, screening for Leishmania was negative. Several months after being adopted, the dog presented with a peripheral…