Between 20 and 22 June 1974, three captive carnivores (two genets, Genetta sp. and one caracal, Felis caracal) died suddenly in the University of Ibadan Zoological Garden without previous signs of illness. Bacillus anthracis was isolated from their blood and tissues. The organism was highly pathogenic to laboratory animals. The disease was believed to have been contracted from meat fed the animals.

During 1972 and 1973, 309 blood smears were taken from 281 birds caught in Yorkshire and in Hampshire. A seasonal variation in the prevalence of blood parasites with a peak in May was observed. The percentage of birds infected in different months ranged from 3.8 to 15.9. A number of new host records for avian haemoprotozoa were found and these, together with previously unpublished results, are presented in a table which brings the check-list of known British hosts up to date. Details are given of hippoboscid flies collected from the birds.

Lead concentrations were measured in eggs, prefledglings and adult laughing gulls collected near Galveston, Texas. No lead was found in eggs. Prefledgling and adult birds had lead ranging from zero to 16 μg/g wet tissue. Liver had the greatest lead concentrations followed by brain, heart and skeletal muscle. There were no significant differences in lead concentrations between fledglings and adults or between males and females.

Six cases of unrelated visual defects in free-ranging white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) from Michigan are described. Two were congenital, two were of infectious etiology, one from central nervous neoplasia, and one from degenerative changes in lenses of both eyes.

Blood smears were obtained from 116 birds of 46 species from four locations in Kenya. The parasites observed included species of Plasmodium, Haemoproteus, Lcucocytozoon and Trypanosoma. T. everetti is recorded for the first time from East Africa.

Six strains of virus were recovered from the blood and/or liver of five Clethrionomys gapperi ochraceus trapped in southeastern Massachusetts during 1969. Biological, antigenic and physiochemical properties of these isolates are reported. USA M-2268a was selected as the reference strain. This strain was identical by complement-fixation and neutralization tests to Whitney's C. gapperie virus (USA 64-7855) from New York State and was related to, but distinct from, an unpublished agent (Johnson's Microtus montanus enterovirus USA M-1146) isolated in June, 1962 from voles trapped in Klamath County, Oregon. USA M-2268a was resistant to lipid solvents and acid pH and was stable at temperatures of 4 C, 22 C, and 37 C. Virus was detected over a 10-day observation period in four species of mosquitoes inoculated with USA M-2268a, although there was no evidence of infection or replication, and transmission attemps by bite failed. Neutralizing antibody was detected in C.g. gapperi and C. g. ochraceus in various habitats throughout the state.

Heartworms (Dirofilaria immitis) were found in eight of 220 (3.6%) coyotes (Canis latrans) collected from fur buyers in Adams, Carroll, Cass, and Warren counties in southwestern Iowa. Infections ranged from one to 23 worms per coyote.

A white, raised mass present on the caudal fin of a smooth dogfish shark (Mustelus canis) was identified as an epidermal papilloma with areas suggestive of carcinoma in situ. When examined by electron microscopy no structures or particles of viral origin were apparent.

Botfly infestation was analyzed in 1319 small mammals from varied habitats and elevations in upland Virginia, 1972-1974. Adult Cuterebra fontinella were reared from bots infesting the woodmouse (Peromyscus leucopus). Of 651 woodmice, 199 (30.6%) were infested at least once. The season of bot infestation extended from May through November of all years, with peak prevalence (mean 42.2%) in August. Infestation in woodmice was general over a 2000 km² study area during peak months. Significantly greater prevalence (P<0.001) was seen in forested and brushy habitat (39.9%) compared with old fields (2.6%). Higher prevalence (P<0.01) was found in males than in females, and in postjuveniles compared to adults. Greatest overall prevalence (39.1%) was in postjuvenile males. Most warble sites (98%) were inguinal, and observations suggested that many infested adults were non-reproductive. Mean burden (1.27) was independent of host age, sex, habitat, and month of capture. Multi-infestations occurred in 23% of the affected mice; maximum burden was six bots. Botflies were absent or negligible in sympatric deermice (P. maniculatus) and twelve other species of rodents and shrews.

Numerous Papillomas ranging in size from 10-25 mm were found on two Colobus monkeys, Colobus polykomus. These cauliflower-shaped growths were located on the palms and soles of all four feet and on the dorsal surfaces of several fingers and toes.

A virologic and serologic survey of arbovirus infections among seabirds and seabird ticks, Ixodes uriae, on Great Island, Witless Bay, Newfoundland, Canada, was conducted during 1971 and 1972. Kemerovo (Great Island, Bauline) and Sakhalin (Avalon) group viruses previously reported from birds and/or ticks on Great Island were prevalent among avian populations, while conclusive evidence of known nonindigenous serotypes was lacking. Circumstantial evidence—hemagglutination inhibiting antibody—of an unidentified member of the group B tick-borne encephalitis complex transmitted among marine birds of North America by I. uriae is reported. No evidence of human infections with any of these viruses was detected in a small number of biologists doing research on Great Island.

Hematologic parameters were studied in giant Canada geese (Branta canadensis maxima), mallard ducks (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos) and various species of diving ducks at seasonal intervals throughout the year. Highest values for packed cell volume, hemoglobin content and erythrocyte counts were found in the winter and pre-nesting periods. Mean corpuscular volume and mean corpuscular hemoglobin varied inversely with these values.

Milk was collected from 21 Alaskan moose (Alces alces gigas) at the Kenai Moose Research Center (MRC), Soldotna, Alaska and analyzed by atomic absorption spectroscopy for Al, As, Ca, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, Hg, K, Mg, Mn, Mo, Na, Ni, Pb, Se and Zn. Hair samples were collected from 100 moose at the MRC to correspond with the lactation period and serve as a metabolic indicator of mineral elements stored in tissue. Published analyses of bovine milk were compared to moose milk; Al, Fe, Se and Zn were higher in moose milk by factors of 1.6 to 290. Elements potentially influenced by nutrition and those determined genetically were also considered. Elements in moose milk and hair values were compared, since mineral element levels in hair potentially reflect the availability and intake of these elements. Calcium and Mg were the only values in hair lower than the values in milk (factors of 4.2 and 1.5 respectively). Moose, as well as domestic cattle, apparently are subjected to lactation stress by the genetically determined levels of Ca and Mg in milk.

A trematode survey of pirate perch, Aphredoderus sayanus, in Louisiana demonstrated a seasonal periodicity of Crepidostomum isostomum with regard to prevalence, worm burden, and maturation. The prevalence of Phyllodistomum pearsei showed no discernable periodicity and only the worm development followed a seasonal pattern.

Chlamydia psittaci (strain M56, the agent of epizootic chlamydiosis of muskrats and hares) was highly lethal for the snowshoe hare (Lepus americanus) following intravenous inoculation, whereas the agent was much less virulent for cottontail (Sylvilagus floridanus) and albino domestic rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus). Tissue titres of strain M56 were generally higher after 96 hr in the snowshoe hare than in the tissues of the other lagomorphs. Spleen, liver and bone marrow were apparently the chief sites of primary multiplication of strain M56 in the hare. Virulence appeared to be very host specific in that only strain M56 among the six chlamydiae tested was highly lethal for the snowshoe hare.

Ketamine hydrochloride was administered intramuscularly to 171 individual animals of five carnivore species. The drug was used in doses which resulted in a range of effects from simple immobilization to a surgical plane of anesthesia during which minor operations were conducted. The drug was found to have a wide margin of safety, was easily administered by syringe, and took effect rapidly. Undesirable side effects of excessive salivation and maintenance of muscle tone were readily controlled by combining ketamine hydrochloride with other drugs.

Using the Sabin-Feldman dye test, sera from wild and domestic animals in New Mexico, Arizona and Colorado were tested for the prevalence of antibodies to Toxoplasma gondii. The prevalence of positive titers (≥1:8) in animals from these areas was: New Mexico (178 of 569, 31%), Arizona (11 of 56, 20%), and Colorado (2 of 7, 29%). The overall prevalence of antibodies to Toxoplasma was 30% (191 of 632).

Nine of 17 fecal samples from wild zoo felines contained Toxoplasma-like oocysts which were inoculated per os and intraperitoneally into mice. Mice from six of these nine inoculations later showed positive dye test titers and tissues from five of these six groups had tissue cysts when examined histologically.

Blood samples were collected from captive and free-ranging elk (Cervus canadensis), mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus), white-tailed deer, (Odocoileus virginianus), black-tailed deer (Odocoileus hemionus columbianus), pronghorn (Antilocapra americana), moose (Alces alecs), and bighorn sheep (Ovis canadensis) for cultural evidence of Trypanosoma sp. infection. Eleven of 88 (12%) hunter-killed elk, 22 of 37 (59%) free-ranging elk, and 79 of 119 (66%) captive elk were culture positive in 1973-74. Parasitemia in adult captive elk showed seasonal variation. Other captive or live-trapped animals found positive included 16 mule deer, two white-tailed deer, and one black-tailed deer. No pronghorn, moose, or bighorn sheep were positive. A 0.25 ml inoculum of elk blood was sufficient to give positive culture results. Small sample size may have contributed to negative results from elk trapped in March, 1973.

Both adult and suckling Richardson's ground squirrels (Spermophilus richardsonii) were susceptible to subcutaneous exposure with western equine encephalomyelitis (WEE) virus, but the virus was more virulent for sucklings than adults. In sucklings, the incubation period was from 4 to 5 days, followed by apparent signs of central nervous system (CNS) involvement. Death occurred 10 to 13 days postexposure. In adults, infections were inapparent or acute with typical signs of CNS involvement similar to those observed in sucklings. In both age groups, brain and lymph nodes were the most frequently involved tissues. The highest titres of virus were recovered from brain, sections of which also showed the most marked histological changes. Lesions in the brain included multifocal vasculitis, perivascular edema, perivascular cuffing, focal or diffuse gliosis, parenchymal hemorrhage, meningitis with infiltration of mononuclear cells, neuronal degeneration, and occasional demyelination. For both age groups, viremias were detected for 3 to 5 days with a maximum virus titre of 4 to 6 logs, a sufficient time and magnitude to infect numerous mosquitoes, further supporting the hypothesis that S. richardsonii may serve as an amplifying host of WEE virus in the prairie provinces.

Apparently sterile lesions developed in the skin and musculature of channel catfish (Ictalurus punctatus) six days after fish were severely stressed by an oxygen depletion associated with a phytoplankton die-off in an 8.9 ha pond. Lesions were characterized by hemorrhage and necrosis. Aeromonas hydrophila was isolated from either the lesions or internal organs of all moribund fish necropsied the day after lesions were first found. As the water quality improved the health of the fish improved. Water quality data collected before and after the oxygen depletion, and associated fish mortality, are presented.

Erysipelas was diagnosed in chukar partridges (Alectoris graeca) kept as hunting stock. Mortality was 265 of 500 (53%) over a period of one week.

In 1971, 81 finback (Balaenoptera physalus), 119 sei (B. borealis), two piked (B. acutorostrata), 15 humpback (Megaptera novaeangliae) and one sperm whale (Physeter catodon) taken in the North Atlantic off the Newfoundland and Nova Scotia coasts were examined for the presence of Trichinella spiralis. All 218 whales were negative for trichinosis.

duck plague (Duck virus enteritis) was diagnosed in a resident population of Muscovy ducks (Cairina moschata) on a small game farm in Alberta. This disease has not been reported previously in Canada. Clinical signs consisted of cyanosis, depression and acute death. Necropsy of two Muscovy ducks revealed lesions typical of the disease. There were ulcerations with pseudomembranes in the small intestine, ulcerations with caseous plaques in the esophagus and eosinophilic intranuclear inclusion bodies in the spleen.

Clinical disease with mortality was reproduced in young ducklings injected with tissue homogenates from field cases. All surviving inoculated ducklings seroconverted to highly significant titres of neutralizing antibodies to duck virus enteritis (DVE) virus. All attempts to isolate the agent in embryonating duck eggs or primary tissue cultures of duck and chicken kidney were negative. Identification of the DVE virus was accomplished by serum neutralization with ducklings as the host system.

The long term effects of three sublethal concentrations of zinc (0.214, 0.52 and 1.12 ppm) on growth and plasma glucose concentration in yearling rainbow trout Salmo gairdneri (Richardson) were investigated. Analysis of covariance of percent weight increase revealed that a significant inhibition of growth (P<0.05) in the 1.12 ppm zinc-exposed fish had occurred. Plasma glucose showed a significant hyperglycemia (P<0.05) in all three zinc-exposed groups of fish after 7 days exposure and in the 1.12 ppm zinc-exposed group after 63 days. The hyperglycemia observed has been explained as possibly resulting from activation of the pituitary-interrenal axis by the stress of zinc causing mobilization of tissue glycogen.

A captive Atlantic bottlenosed dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) was examined after being found beached in the shallows of its lagoon enclosure. An abscess was found in the right cerebral hemisphere, and Staphylococcus aureus was isolated from the lesion. Histopathologic examination of the brain revealed a pyogenic meningoencephalitis.