engleski

Introduction of a new species, the ferret (Mustela putorius furo), in pathomorphological diagnostics - 7 years of the Croatian experience

Since ferrets (Mustela putorius furo) were first introduced into Croatia around 15 years ago, their popularity and number has risen continuously. This increase has been met by a concomitant need for additional veterinary diagnostic attention. We conducted a retrospective study on 14 cytological, 31 histological and 23 patoanatomical diagnoses made from samples obtained from 68 individuals of the Croatian ferret population over a 7 year period. Submitted samples originated from 60, 7% male and 39, 3% female animals, with an age median of 5, 1 years and an age range from 1 year to 9 years old. All cases diagnosed at the Department of Veterinary Pathology Zagreb were classified as either neoplasms (n=37), inflammatory lesions (n=15), degenerative disorders (n=10) or miscellaneous lesions (n=6). The most sensitive ferret organ systems to injurious stimuli were the haemolymphatic system, skin and endocrine system. Neoplasia presented as the major type of injury to organs with multicentric lymphoma being the leading diagnosis (diagnosed in 12 cases). Although ferrets are still a relatively rare kind of companion in Croatia, lesions described in our survey correspond to lesions in ferret populations in other countries. As Croatian ferrets are vaccinated and also kept solitary in most cases, infectious diseases were not found in our survey.

ferret (Mustela putorius furo) pathology, neoplasia, inflammation, degenerative lesion, retrospective study

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