title: Ruptured mycotic aortic aneurysm in a sooty mangabey (Cercocebus atys).
abstract: Mycotic aortic aneurysm is a local, irreversible dilatation of the aorta associated with destruction of the vessel wall by infection and is a grave clinical condition associated with high morbidity and mortality in humans. Rupture of aortic aneurysms can be spontaneous, idiopathic,  or due to severe trauma, and the condition has been associated with bacterial and, rarely, fungal infections in humans and animals. Here, we describe a case of ruptured spontaneous aortic aneurysm associated with zygomycetic infection in a 21-y-old female sooty mangabey. The animal did not  present with any significant clinical signs before being found dead. At necropsy, she was in good body condition, and the thoracic cavity had a large amount of clotted blood filling the left pleural space and surrounding the lung lobes. Near the aortic arch, the descending thoracic aorta was  focally perforated (diameter, approximately 0.15 cm), and clotted blood adhered to the tunica adventitia. The aortic intima had multiple, firm, pale-yellow nodules (diameter, 0.25 to 0.5 cm). Histopathologically, these nodules consisted of severe multifocal pyogranulomatous inflammation intermixed  with necrosis, fibrin, and broad, infrequently septate, thin-walled fungal hyphae. Immunohistochemistry revealed fungal hyphae characteristic of Mucormycetes (formerly Zygomycetes), and PCR analysis identified the organism as Basidiobolus spp. Dissemination of the fungus beyond the  aorta was not noted. Spontaneous aortic aneurysms have been described in nonhuman primates, but this is the first reported case of a ruptured spontaneous aortic aneurysm associated with entomophthoromycetic infection in a sooty mangabey.
authors.affiliation: Division of Pathology, Yerkes National Primate Research Center, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia, USA. psharm9@emory.edu
authors.forename: Prachi
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Sharma
authors.forename: Joyce K
authors.initials: JK
authors.lastname: Cohen
authors.forename: Shawn R
authors.initials: SR
authors.lastname: Lockhart
authors.forename: Steven F
authors.initials: SF
authors.lastname: Hurst
authors.forename: Clifton P
authors.initials: CP
authors.lastname: Drew
mesh_terms: D000785:Aneurysm, Infected / Q000382:microbiology / Q000473:pathology / Q000662:veterinary*; D000818:Animals; D000830:Animals, Laboratory; D001019:Aortic Rupture / Q000382:microbiology / Q000473:pathology / Q000662:veterinary*; D016665:Cercocebus atys; D020091:Entomophthorales / Q000235:genetics; D017809:Fatal Outcome; D005260:Female; D007150:Immunohistochemistry / Q000662:veterinary; D008992:Monkey Diseases / Q000382:microbiology* / Q000473:pathology*; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction / Q000662:veterinary; D020096:Zygomycosis / Q000473:pathology / Q000662:veterinary*