A selection of naturally occurring pathological phenomena in the brush-tail possum, Trichosurus vulpecula

Abstract

During a study of the brush-tail possum, Trichosurus vulpecula, from three different sites in New Zealand, two of which are endemic for bovine tuberculosis, several pathological entities were encountered. Some of these are differential diagnoses for tuberculosis. The list included: bite abscess, foreign body granulomas, calcification of the caudal aorta, lymphoid nodules in the lung, pulmonary lipid plaques, lipid pneumonia, pneumoconiosis, focal fibrosing alveolitis, adiaspiromy-cosis, collagenous hamartoma, focal dystrophic calcification in the lung, mineralised casts in renal tubules, hyaline nephrosis with proteinuria, focal interstitial nephritis, pyelonephritis, renal and hepatic amyloidosis, lymphoid nodules around sublobular veins in the liver, multi-focal non-suppurative hepatitis, multi-focal bacterial hepatitis, bile ductular hyperplasia and peri-portal fibrosis, hepatocellular fatty change, intranuclear inclusions and cytoplasmic invaginations in hepato-cytes, hepatocellular lipopigmentation and gastrointestinal parasitism.