A 4-mo-old free-ranging Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep (Ovis canadensis canadensis) from the Hells Canyon area (Washington, USA) was diagnosed with encephalitis associated with Toxoplasma gondii infection. The sheep had concurrent pneumonic pastuerellosis and resided in a geographic area with endemic Pastuerella-associated pneumonia and mortality in bighorn sheep. The brain had multifocal necrotizing and nonsuppurative encephalitis with intralesional protozoa. The protozoa were identified as T. gondii by immunohistochemistry. To our knowledge, this is the first report of T. gondii infection in a Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep.
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1 October 2000
Toxoplasmic Encephalitis in a Free-ranging Rocky Mountain Bighorn Sheep from Washington
Timothy V. Baszler,
J. P. Dubey,
Christiane V. Löhr,
William J. Foreyt
Journal of Wildlife Diseases
Vol. 36 • No. 4
October 2000
Vol. 36 • No. 4
October 2000
Bighorn Sheep
case report
encephalitis
Ovis canadensis canadensis
Toxoplasma gondii