Acta Vet. Brno 2008, 77: 127-131
Purulent Trunk Dermatitis in a Male Ceylon Elephant (Elephas maximus maximus)
The study describes the therapy of purulent trunk dermatitis in an aggressive male Ceylon elephant (Elephas maximus maximus). The elephant was immobilized 4 times with 1.7 ml Large Animal (LA) Immobilon i.m. within 50 days. The anaesthetic action was antagonised with 1.7 ml LA Revivon + 8.0 ml Naloxone i.v. and 0.5 ml LA Revivon + 6.0 ml Naloxone i.m. From skin lesions the following pathogens were isolated: Staphylococcus spp., Streptococcus spp. and Candida tropicalis. Local therapy consisted of the debridement of the affected skin, application of antibiotics and skin antiseptics. Depot penicillin, vitamins, probiotics and autogenous yeast vaccine were administered generally. In haematological indicators the biggest changes were found in the numbers of white blood cells and segmented neutrophils. Markedly low zinc concentrations were found repeatedly. Despite the non-standard steps we took (repeated anaesthesia during a short time, non-compliance with the recommendations for the administration of some drugs, etc.) and difficult handling (aggressive, uncontrollable elephant, no restraint chute), it proved possible to treat such a case in this manner.
Keywords
Proboscidea, purulent dermatitis, Anaesthesia, Haematology, biochemistry.
