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.