The effects of brucellosis in 60 mature elk (Cervus canadensis) and over 72 of their offspring were determined over a 65-month period. Artificial infections were induced with Brucella abortus type 1 strain 2308. All 27 artificially inoculated and 96% of 24 naturally-exposed mature elk became infected with brucellosis. An additional five cow elk were used to examine the importance of venereal transmission. The average incubation period from artificial exposure until abortion was 89 days among seven cows, and the average incubation period from exposure to development of a serotiter was 39 days among 24 artificially-inoculated cows. The most probable route of infection was oral contact through licking or ingestion of contaminated materials. Fetal fluids, vaginal exudates and aborted fetuses were the most likely sources of contamination. The venereal route of transmission was unimportant. Abortion or birth of nonviable calves was the most important and frequent sign of brucellosis, and 48% of 29 cows lost their first calf following infection. Other signs were secondarily infected hygromata and synovitis in the lower legs. Most calves born alive to infected cows demonstrated a serologic titer at or soon after birth, and the majority lost their titer. Many of the calves demonstrating early postnatal titers as well as those born without indication of infection became infected later in life. Although the maximum duration of brucellosis was not determined, one cow had maintained an infection for 56 months prior to necropsy. Five elk apparently recovered, but Brucella was recovered at necropsy from another three which also appeared to be recovering.

Forty-two seals and sea lions found dead along the Oregon Coast were examined for parasites and associated pathology. Nematode infections of the lung and/or gastrointestinal tract were the primary cause of death in 5 of 42 animals examined. New distribution records were established for Pricetrema zalophi and Zalophotrema hepaticum. New host records include Z. hepaticum and Diphyllobothrium cordatum in the Steller's sea lion (Eumetopias jubatus); Nanophyetus salmincola in the California sea lion (Zalophus californianus); P. zalophi in the harbor seal (Phoca vitulina); and P. zalophi, Trigonocotyle sp. and Otostrongylus circumlitus in the northern elephant seal (Mirounga angustirostris).

A laboratory-held summer flounder (Paralichthys dentatus) became moribund and presented gross ulcerative and hemorrhagic lesions, concomitant with a space-occupying lesion in the abdominal cavity and a prolapsed rectum. Edema, hemorrhage, and necrosis of the intestine and edema of the stomach wall were noted upon post-mortem examination. Microscopic examination revealed large numbers of Cryptobia in the submucosa of the gut and in the liver.

Sera of 11 species of wild herbivores were tested for antibody to Mycoplasma strain F38 which causes contagious caprine pleuropneumonia (CCPP) in Kenya. Antibodies were found in buffalo (Syncerus caffer) (32%), impala (Aepyceros melampus) (10%) and camels (Camelus dromedarius) (49%) but not in bushbuck (Tragelaphus scriptus), eland (Taurotragus oryx), Grant's gazelle (Gazella granti), kongoni (Alcelaphus buselaphus cokei), oryx (Oryx beisa), Thomson's gazelle (Gazella thomsonii), waterbuck (Kobus defassa) and wildebeest (Connochaetus taurinus).

The infection of a single Thomson's gazelle resulted in the development of antibody but no clinical disease. A goat kept in contact did not become infected.

Viral particles, typical of the papovavirus family, were demonstrated by electronmicroscopy in small papillomas found on the feet of an impala (Aepyceros melampus) and on the face of a giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis) in Kenya. Histologically the tissues proved to be typical papillomas. The viral particles measured 38 nm and 40 nm in diameter in all tissue sections from the impala and giraffe respectively.

A total of 395 coyotes (Canis latrans) was examined in the field for lungworms (Filaroides osleri and Capillaria aerophila) with 60 trachea and bronchial trees returned to the laboratory for detailed examination. Coyote carcasses were obtained from eight central states (Oklahoma, Colorado, Wyoming, Iowa, South Dakota, Nebraska, Texas, and three regions of Kansas). Cysts of F. osleri were present in the trachea or first division of bronchi of 68 (17%) of the coyotes examined. C. aerophila infections were identified during field examinations, primarily by the excess mucus in the bronchi, in 151 (38%) coyotes. Nearly 6% of the coyotes examined were infected with both lungworm species. A total of 195 (49%) coyotes had at least one species of lungworm. Filaroides was less frequent in Iowa and Kansas; Capillaria infections were present in at least 30% of the coyotes examined at all stations.

A total of 844 birds were observed dead at three sites in Humboldt County and an estimated 6750 birds died at three sites in Del Norte County, California. Coots were the primary species affected. The isolation of Pasteurella multocida from a snowy egret (Egretta thula) is the first reported case of avian cholera in this bird. There was evidence for a distinct sequence in the bird species dying at one site; American coots (Fulica americana) appeared to be the first species to die.

Paragonimus westermanni was found in the lungs of two young tigers (Panthera tigris). Cysts were focally distributed in the lungs, initiating an emphysematous response together with extensive fibrosis in the vicinity of the cysts.

Tyzzer's disease was diagnosed in four muskrats (Ondatra zibethica) found dead over a 2 month period in a single feed-house in a Saskatchewan marsh. No dead animals were found elsewhere in the marsh, although several hundred apparently healthy animals were trapped during this period. Similarities in the pathology and epizootiology of Tyzzer's and Errington's diseases of muskrats support an hypothesis that these diseases are a single entity.

Serum samples collected from 2,365 free-roaming hybrid bison (Bison bison bison x Bison bison athabascae) in Wood Buffalo National Park and adjacent areas in the Northwest Territories were tested for brucellosis during the period 1959 to 1974. A positive reaction was obtained in 739 (31.2%) of the animals tested. The overall effect of brucellosis on this free-roaming bison population is unknown. The authors also dealt with some of the actual and possible consequences of the disease in this population.

Mycobacteriosis was found in mountain whitefish (Prosopium williamsoni) taken from the Yakima River near Richland, Washington in 1975 and 1976. The disease appeared to affect about 8% of the population sampled. Gross lesions were present in most visceral organs, but were most common in the kidney, liver and pyloric caeca. Microscopically, the lesions consisted of large numbers of macrophages containing numerous intracellular bacilli. An organism was isolated and has been tentatively classified as Mycobacterium sp., Runyon group III.

Natural pox infection occurred in a free-living, immature common murre (Uria aalge) in northern California. Cutaneous and diphtheritic lesions were present. Death of the bird was attributed to respiratory insufficiency and starvation resulting from impairment of breathing and feeding, respectively.

Edwardsiella tarda was isolated from the peritoneal exudate of a Steller's sea lion (Eumetopias jubata) with peritonitis resulting from a perforating colonic ulcer; from the liver of a harbor porpoise (Phocena phocena) with metritis and peritonitis sequela to dystocia; and from the liver of a California sea lion (Zolophus californianus) with peritonitis following fracture and necrosis of a lumbar vertebrae. These findings indicate E. tarda is a common opportunistic invader in sick or injured marine mammals.

An analysis of 114 samples of feces from black bears (Ursus americanus) from La Verendrye Park, Quebec revealed that the prevalence of eggs of Diphyllobothrium ursi and Baylisascaris transfuga varied seasonally. D. ursi ova were most prevalent during the summer and fall and at their lowest in spring while the converse was true for B. transfuga. This phenomenon possibly is associated with the cessation of feeding during the winter denning of black bears.

In a serologic and cultural survey of 127 brush-tailed possums (Trichosurus vulpecula) occupying pasture land in New Zealand, leptospires of the Hebdomadis serogroup were obtained from 48 (38%) of the animals sampled. Eight isolates were identified by cross-absorption agglutination studies as being Leptospira interrogans serovar balcanica. There was a marked age difference in prevalence with 41 positive cultures from 64 mature adults (64%) and no recoveries being made from juveniles. Isolation of leptospires was aided by the use of a new technique involving the homogenation of whole kidneys in gamma sterilized plastic bags in a “Coleworth Stomacher”. The use of this apparatus allowed the processing of whole kidneys and the technique was efficient in both the recovery of leptospires and the prevention of contamination.

In view of the fact that serovar balcanica has been recorded previously only in East Europe in man, cattle and pigs, the high prevalence of infection in a wild animal population in New Zealand is an interesting development in the world distribution of this serovar.

An outbreak of a pneumoenteric disease occurred in neonates in a zoo nursery. Four of seven affected animals died. Rotaviruses were observed in the feces of an affected 4-day old impala (Aepyceros melampus), a Thomson's gazelle (Gazella thomsonii) and an addax (Addax nasomaculatus). Encapsulated Escherichia coli also were isolated from the feces. The recovered rotaviruses were antigenically related to bovine rotavirus. A bovine rotavirus vaccine was given orally and no adverse effects were noted.

Crop impactions (solid, hard masses of seeds) caused by seeds of clammy weed (Cuphea carthagenensis) were found in bobwhite quail (Colinus virginianus) killed during the 1965-71 hunting seasons in Louisiana. Emaciation and weakened condition were associated with the presence of crop impactions in two quail, suggesting that physical obstruction of the crop by impactions may be of significant pathologic consequence.

A total of 1,110 small mammals has been examined for Capillaria hepatica in Shoa Province, Ethiopia. Nineteen of 308 (6.2%) Rattus rattus and 1 of 212 (0.5%) Praomys albipes were infected. The data indicate that C. hepatica was essentially limited to commensal rats (R. rattus).

Lungs from three species of ground squirrels collected in south central Saskatchewan were examined by histopathology and a digestion technique for adiaspores of Emmonsia crescens. Two of 81 (2.5%) Citellus richardsoni, 3 of 17 (17.6%) C. tridecemlineatus and 35 of 44 (79.5%) C. franklini were infected. Infection was more common in adults than in young-of-the-year. Tissue digestion was the more sensitive method for detecting adiaspores. Possible reasons for the difference in prevalence among the species are discussed.

Sixty-one red foxes from New Brunswick and Nova Scotia were examined for helminths. Alaria americana, A. arisaemoides, A. mustelae, Cryptocotyle lingua, Echinostoma revolution and Metorchis conjunctus, Capillaria aerophila, Crenosoma vulpis, Toxocara canis, Uncinaria stenocephala and Taenia crassiceps were found. Approximately 67% of the foxes examined were clinically affected with Sarcoptes scabiei mange.

Gross and histopathologic changes due to infection with Progamotaenia festiva and P. effigia in the bile ducts of the marsupials, Macropus rufus, M. giganteus, M. fuliginosus, Lagorchestes conspicillatus, Vombatus ursinus and Lasiorhinus latifrons are described. The integrity of the bile duct mucosa was not impaired but varying degrees of hyperplasia and hypertrophy of mucosa and mucosal glands, inflammatory infiltration and fibrosis were found. Portal fibrosis was the prominent reaction in Lasiorhinus latifrons. Reduced prevalence of cestode infection was recorded in two populations of M. giganteus in which Fasciola hepatica also was recovered.

As part of a study to assess the prevalence of common viral agents in African wildlife, nearly 3,300 sera from 44 different wild species, from eight African countries, have been examined for neutralising antibodies to parainfluenza 3 (PI₃) virus. Antibody was demonstrated in 20 of the 44 species examined, including seven species not previously reported as sero-positive. Sera were collected between 1963 and 1977 and results indicated that infection has been widespread for a considerable time. The high prevalence of antibody, and the range of titres, to PI₃ virus found in free-living populations of buffalo suggest that this species is particularly important as a reservoir of infection in the wild.

Two cases of cryptococcosis in columbiformes exhibited at the San Diego Zoo are described. The organism isolated from the first case had morphological, chemical and temperature growth characteristics of C. neoformans. The culture from case 2 died before it could be examined biochemically or by mouse inoculation.

Osteoarthrosis is described in a wild, 14-year-old coyote (Canis latrans) × dog (C. familiaris) hybrid shot in southeastern Nebraska. There was ankylosis of five vertebrae, the head of the left femur was absent, and periarticular osteophytes occurred throughout the skeleton. The age is significant because wild coyotes seldom live beyond 6 years and coyote x dog hybrids are considered to be less fit for survival in the wild than coyotes.