Enclosed are copies of letters received and/or written by President Ridgway for distribution to the membership for your action and information. Please be prompt in informing me of your ideas. I think that we should try to have a top notch meeting at Las Vegas so that our young association will be given the proper recognition.

I mailed out 19 letters to the charter membership for votes to get an official name and I am sorry to say that only 13 felt it necessary to reply. If this is the response of the charter membership I shudder at what will happen when the membership is increased, so please exercise the privilege of being a charter member.

I mailed out copies of membership application forms and the constitution to each of you. I guess they went out 3rd class and perhaps some of you have not received the material. Please let me know and more will be sent.

Dr. D.W. Kenney, Sea World has submitted the following "What is Your Diagnosis"

History

A six foot male Tursiops truncatus arrived at Sea World from Florida on April 1, 1968. This animal was extremely thin and was in a semi-comatose state on arrival Two hours after arrival and anti-shock and prophylactic medication, the animal started to respond and shortly thereafter was able to swim relatively normally. Eating resumed the following day. Almost three months was required to attain normal weight. There was a moderate leukocytosis (14,000) with a normal differential during this period probably due to the heating of external abrasions and lacerations.

On 6-14-68 he had a full square foot of area on the side of his cranio-cervical area just lateral to the blowhole which was swollen, depigmented, hot to the touch and very finely demarcated borders. The animal had a leukocytosis of 26,000 with segmented neutrophils comprising 89%. Total protein dropped to 5.5 with an A/G ratio of 0.5 and a sed rate of 50/hour. Other chemistries were normal. This was treated successfully with tetracycline and Furadantin leaving only a slightly hyperpigmented area in the skin.

Between 7-15-68 and 2-25-69, the animal was used in one of our shows for the public called the Lagoon Show. It is a natural lagoon fenced off from the bay with rubber coated wire. There is a normal flora of fish present as well as rocks and plants around the periphery. The animal preformed in 2-12 shows daily without problem until 2-25-69 when the appetite failed and became highly irregular from a full diet to several days of complete inappetence and every degree in between. This continued through the first of April 1969 when a positive diagnosis was reached.

This newsletter is an informal publication of the IAAAM distributed exclusively for the information of its members and is not to be reproduced, cited, reference or in anyway referred to as part of the scientific literature.

During the period, three blood samples were drawn and the results are as follows:

Other chemistries normal and not remarkable.

The animal was treated prophylactically with antibiotics and received a vitamin supplement during this period of time. Manual exploration of the first and second compartments of the stomach revealed only an excessive amount of gastric fluids and no foreign body.

Radiography Revealed

• Normal lungs and heart size
• Barium injections into the stomach allowed some into the duodenum within five minutes with the majority held in the first and second compartments.
• Twenty-four hours post Barium indicated that 90% was passed with a small amount held in the colon area.
• No evidence of gastric ulcer on the Barium study.
• Bromsulphthalein test indicated a normal liver function.

Smears of nasal exudate revealed numerous protozoa presumably of the Holotrichus group. No fluke eggs were noted.

What is your diagnosis?
or
What other tests would you have run, treatment, etc.?

Put answers in next newsletter and I'll follow with the actual diagnosis after that.

W. Medway