CASE REPORT Reye’s or Reye’s-like syndrome in western lowland gorilla (Gorilla gorilla gorilla) Larry J. Minter 1,2 , John M. Cullen 3 & Michael R. Loomis 2 1 Department of Clinical Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, North Carolina State University Raleigh, NC, USA 2 Hanes Veterinary Medical Center, North Carolina Zoological Park Asheboro, NC, USA 3 Department of Population Health and Pathobiology, College of Veterinary Medicine, North Carolina State University Raleigh, NC, USA Keywords encephalopathy – Gorilla gorilla gorilla – hepatopathy – Reye’s syndrome – western lowland gorilla Correspondence Larry J. Minter, MS, DVM, Department of Clinical Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, North Carolina State University, 4700 Hillsborough Street, Raleigh, NC 27606, USA. Tel.: +1 336 879 7630; fax: +1 336 879 7637; e-mail: ljminter@ncsu.edu Accepted June 18, 2012. Abstract Background A 15-year-old western lowland gorilla (Gorilla gorilla gorilla) died shortly after transfer to the North Carolina Zoo. Methods Complete blood count, serum biochemical analysis, and necropsy were performed. Results Combination of compatible clinical signs, biochemical and histo- pathological findings fulfilled all of the CDC definition criteria of Reye’s or a Reye’s like syndrome. Conclusions This report describes a case of Reye’s syndrome or Reye’s-like syndrome in a non-human primate. Introduction Reye’s syndrome is a rare but severe and acute pediatric illness characterized by encephalopathy, pronounced cerebral edema, and fatty degeneration and infiltration of the liver [12]. This syndrome was clinically characterized in 1963 by Reye et al. but patients with these clinical signs have been sporadically described since 1929 [2,12]. Vari- ous factors including infectious, toxic, drug related, and metabolic etiologies have been considered in the patho- genesis of Reye’s syndrome but only aspirin intake during the acute phase of a viral process has proven to be associ- ated with its onset [5, 15, 18]. This report describes a case of Reye’s syndrome or Reye’s-like syndrome in a 15- year-old western lowland gorilla (Gorilla gorilla gorilla). Case report A 15-year-old, 95 kg, female western lowland gorilla (G. g. gorilla) was transferred to the North Carolina Zoo and placed in quarantine as per standard primate protocol. During the animal’s stay in quarantine, it began showing signs of lethargy, anorexia, and weight loss. On day 8, the gorilla was found on the floor of the enclosure severely depressed, bradycardic, hypopneic, and hypothermic. There was a moderate amount of dark red-brown vomitus located around the enclosure, and the animal was observed vomiting several times after being found that morning. Within a few hours of being found in this condition, the animal died and all attempts at revival were unsuccessful. A complete blood count and serum biochemical analy- sis were performed shortly before death. Hematology revealed a leukocytosis (17.6 9 10 3 /ll) characterized by a mature neutrophilia (12.3 9 10 3 /ll). Serum biochemical values were within normal International Species Informa- tion System ranges, except for elevated aspartate trans- aminase (287.0 IU/l), elevated alanine aminotransferase (144.0 IU/l), elevated lactate dehydrogenase (1024.0 IU/ l), elevated urea nitrogen (35.0 mg/dl), hyperphosphat- emia (12.0 mg/dl), hypochloremia (88 mEq/l), hyperpro- teinemia (10.8 g/dl), and hypoglycemia (4.0 mg/dl). Serum samples from both the day of death and prior to shipment were negative for antibodies to influenza A, influenza B, influenza A Leningrad, influenza A Taiwan, influenza B Ann Arbor, and varicella zoster. J Med Primatol 41 (2012) 329–331 © 2012 John Wiley & Sons A/S 329 J Med Primatol doi:10.1111/j.1600-0684.2012.00554.x