2.2. Necropsy and sampling
Full necropsy examination was carried out at the Laboratory of Wildlife
Comparative Pathology, Department of Pathology, School of Veterinary
Medicine and Animal Science of the University of São Paulo, Brazil,
according to Matushima (2007). Representative samples of major
organs/tissues, including esophagus, proventriculus, small and large
intestines, pancreas, spleen, liver, lungs, trachea, heart, aorta, and
kidney were collected and fixed in 10% neutral buffered formalin.
Central nervous system was not sampled to preserve the cranium for
museum collection. Tissue samples were processed routinely and embedded
in paraffin wax. Sections (5 μm) were stained with hematoxylin and
eosin. Additionally, selected samples from celomic cavity, oral cavity,
esophagus, lungs, small intestine, and cloaca were aseptically sampled
using sterilized swabs and deposited in Amies transport medium with
charcoal for posterior microbiological analysis.