2022/03/18, 19:04:05] Jannes Vd Westhuizen: Can you guys possibly help with a DD. 10 Month old rhino bull calf. Workers claim calf was fine previous day and found dead next day. Icteric mucous membranes Necrosis on Liver 1.3L pericardial effusion Pulmonary emphysema [2022/03/18, 19:19:20] Ean van den Berg: Any Senecio sp. in the area Jannes? [2022/03/18, 19:25:39] Henry Labuschagne: Looks pale and icteric. Examine blood smear and look for toxic plants on farm . [2022/03/18, 19:28:57] Erik Verrynne: Hi Jannes. First figure out if it is pre, hepatic or post hepatic icterus. I am not convinced it is anaemic. So my guess would be hepatic looking at the liver necrosis. Toxic plants is a definite DD then. [2022/03/18, 19:30:50] Henry Labuschagne: Kyk mooi Erik [2022/03/18, 19:39:03] Erik Verrynne: Kyk ook na die ander weefsel, Henry. Very jaundiced yes. Possibly anaemic. The lung seems pale but a better indicator will be the blood itself. Jannes does not mention it and I would have expected him pointing it out. The blood on the skin in the third last photo may be watery, but not enough to necessarily rule in pre-hepatic icterus in my opinion. [2022/03/18, 20:05:23] Ryan Jeffery: Splenomegaly suggestive of blood parasite...blood smear!! [2022/03/18, 21:45:03] Ben Muller: Looks suggestive for theileriosis, captive or free ranging? [2022/03/18, 21:52:14] Erik Verrynne: Is it white or black? [2022/03/18, 23:20:10] Marie-Pierre Ryser: Yes, esp. with icterus and lung pallor (and watery blood). what about urine? (haemoglobinuria?) [2022/03/19, 05:23:07] Pierre Nel: [2022/03/19, 08:19:37] Jannes vd Westhuizen: Thanks for everyone's contributions. I will explore all routes. It's a white rhino. It's captive, 700ha camp [2022/03/19, 09:07:26] Michelle Otto: I have had similar cases. I tested for everything from babesiosis to leptospirosis, and listeriosis to heavy metal poisoning. The only thing that we could find was idiopathic juvenile nephropathy. [2022/03/19, 09:24:07] Ulf Tubessing: Icterus & nephropathy? What did the histopathology of the liver show in your cases, Michelle? [2022/03/19, 10:34:50] Michelle Otto: Will find the report and send it when back in office. Just busy in veld at the moment [2022/03/19, 10:36:16] Douw Grobler: Albertus, Pierre Bester, Johan Steyl - how does a Theileria case present itself in young rhino?? [2022/03/19, 10:40:51] Albertus Coetzee: Pyrexia if you can measure, anaemia, bilirubinuria, icterus in advanced stages. One can see Theileria on blood smear. Confirm with PCR and response to treatment with Buparvaquone [2022/03/19, 10:41:57] Erik Verryne: Do you see it in both black and white, Albertus? [2022/03/19, 10:44:22] Albertus Coetzee: I have only seen in white rhino. [2022/03/19, 10:50:03] Douw Grobler: [2022/03/19, 10:51:21] Douw Grobler: Erik. Dave Zimmerman I think did work on it as well in black rhino. As far as I remember it was only seen as sub-clinical cases in black rhino populations [2022/03/19, 10:55:00] Erik Verryne: I have seen a number of articles about Theileria bicornis and Babesia bicornis in both black and white. The articles mainly indicated that T. bicornis causes disease and mortality, but the combination may play a role. A number of T. bicornis mortality cases were described in black rhino, even in a zoo in Australia. How common is it here and where are most of the cases? Which vector? [2022/03/19, 13:05:01] Michelle Otto: Would love to know if you manage to come up with more answers. Still bothering me for not really knowing the cause or how to prevent it if it happens again 🙏🏼 [2022/03/19, 13:28:14] Liam Theuns Smit: Hi. Michelle, Jannes. I might have had such a case a few weeks ago. Started being lethargic and stopped eating solids, with pale membranes. And then later on yellow. As it was easier to get chicken doxycycline in their feed, I started with that and have seen the animal improve. The anaemia faded slowly. The question is how much does mild icterus have to do with anorexia? Either way my thought was a blood-borne parasite or worms. The rhino was de-wormed also. But as it is in wildlife - only the wise know all the answers. [2022/03/19, 13:46:49] Michelle Otto: Any signs of haemolytic anaemia? I also had bilateral epistaxis and facial swelling in one case [2022/03/19, 13:51:56] Liam Theuns Smit: Not that I had drawn blood or did a blood smear. It was an orphan. So could do an okay clinical without darting. And it responded to treatment. Did not think too much about it until now. [2022/03/19, 14:57:55] Ulf Tubessing: Mycotoxins? [2022/03/19, 15:16:53] Michelle Otto: None for me - also no toxic plants etc. Not sure about the others
