Naturally-occuring antibodies against Clostridium botulinum toxins were found in Cathartes aura (turkey vultures), Canis latrans (coyotes) and Corvus brachyrhynchos (crows) by the passive hemagglutination (PHA) test and verified by the serum neutralization (SN) test. The prevalence of IHA antibodies was 18 of 20 vultures (90%), 5 of 12 crows (42%) and 25 of 110 coyotes (23%). Vultures and coyotes were seropositive by the PHA test against A, B, C, D and F toxins. The highest antibody titer 1:8192 was in vulture serum against type C. In descending order, the highest antibody levels were against type C, D, F, E, A and B toxins.

Rodents and shrews were screened for serologic evidence of Coxiella burnetii. Attempts were made to isolate the organism from the spleen and liver. Sero-reactors: total positive/total tested (% positive), in rats (Rattus rattus, R. norvegicus), ground shrews (Suncus murinus), bandicoots (Bandicota indica, B. bengalensis) and the house mouse (Mus musculus), respectively, were 13/105 (12.38), 6/42 (14.3), 2/15 (13.3) and 1/7 (14.3). Of the eight rickettsial isolants recovered including four from field and household rats, three from ground shrew and one from bandicoots, only three comprising one each from rat, shrew and bandicoot, could be typed as C. burnetii. This appears to be the first record of rodents and an insectivore as reservoirs of C. burnetii in India.

Water snakes (Natrix natrix), rat snakes (Ptyas korros), cobras (Naja naja), pythons (Python molurus), tortoises (Kachuga sp.), plankton fish (Cirrhina mrigala), frogs (Rana tigrina), toads (Bufo sp.) and monitors (Varanus indicus) were screened for evidence of Q-fever infection by the capillary agglutination test on sera to detect antibodies and/or by attempts to demonstrate Coxiella burnetii in spleen and liver samples. Sero-reactors were observed among water and rat snakes, pythons and tortoises. The organism was isolated from the spleen and liver of the monitor, tortoise and python.

Avian cholera was diagnosed in lesser snow geese (Anser c. caerulescens), Ross' geese (Anser rossii) and individuals of several other waterfowl species in a small area of south-western Saskatchewan over a 1 month period during the 1977 spring migration. Approximately 250 dead birds were found. This is apparently the first time avian cholera has been reported in migrating waterfowl in Canada. The site of the mortality was midway between the wintering and nesting areas of the two principal species, and the significance of the occurrence of the disease this far north is discussed.

Twenty mule deer fawns (Odocoileus hemionus) were removed from their dams 48 h after birth, and hand-reared. Methods for monitoring their immune capability are described. Passive humoral immunity was determined by serum protein electrophoresis. Active humoral immunity following Clostridium toxoid vaccination was determined by immunodiffusion. Cell-mediated immunity was assayed using contact sensitization to l-nitro,2,4-dichlorobenzene (DNCB).

A total of 87 brains from harvested and collected wapiti and red deer (Cervus spp.) were examined grossly and microscopically between 1973 and 1977 in a 2104 ha. preserve. Prevalence of infection significantly increased from 26.6% of the sample in 1973 to 64.3% in 1975 (P<.05). A decline to 47.7% in 1977 (P>.05) was not significant. However, the number of clinical cases was significantly higher in 1976-1977 (P<.02) than previously reported in 1973-1975.

A natural infection of meningeal worm (Parelaphostrongylus tenuis) accounted for the death of 11 of 17 (65%) Angora goats in a study in South Texas during 1975. Clinical signs, gross pathology and histopathology in Angoras were similar to other abnormal hosts.

Captive-raised eastern wild turkey (Meleagris gallopavo silvestris) poults were allowed to forage on either recently burned plots or on plots that had not been burned during the previous 3 years. Following a two hour exposure on the study plots, external parasites were recovered from all poults. The louse (Menacanthus stramineus) and the lone star tick (Amblyomma americanum) were the only parasites recovered. Fifty-nine poults exposed to the burned plots had a significantly (P<0.001) lower prevalence of A. americanum infestation than did 57 poults exposed to the unburned plots. Thirty-five percent of the poults exposed to the unburned plots were infested by A. americanum. A single A. americanum was recovered from one poult exposed to burned plots.

A total of 91 free-ranging black bears (Ursus americanus) from the Peace River region of northwestern Alberta was examined for helminths. Four species, Baylisascaris transfuga, Taenia krabbei, Taenia hydatigena and Dirofilaria ursi, were found. None of the bears was heavily infected. Results are compared with other similar North American surveys.

Heart, esophagus, diaphragm and skeletal muscle tissue obtained from various herbivores on the National Bison Range were examined grossly for Sarcocystis. Sarcocystis was found in 81,50,50, and 13% of the mule deer, (Odocoileus hemionus), white-tailed deer (O. virginianus), elk (Cervus elaphus), and bison (Bison bison), respectively.

The arterial worm, Elaeophora schneideri, was recovered from a white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) in Texas. This is the first report of E. schneideri from white-tailed deer in Texas.

Sarcocystis was found in 105 (44 species, 25 families) of 832 (12.6%) (129 species, 43 families) avian muscle samples. Muscle sarcocysts were most prevalent (16-29%) in certain carnivorous, omnivorous or insectivorous birds. Lower prevalences (6-13%) were recorded in other carnivorous, ground-feeding omnivorous and insectivorous birds. In waterfowl, prevalence of infection was only 3.5%. Generally, sarcocysts in bird muscle were thin-walled (<0.5 μm) with small zoites. However, those in little pied cormorants (Phalacrocorax melanoleucos), hoary-headed grebes (Podiceps poliocephalus) and a pelican (Pelecanus conspicillatus) examined in Victoria had thicker (0.5-1 μm) walls.

Three of 53 (5.7%) muscle samples from reptiles (14 species, four families) had Sarcocystis. Greatest prevalence was found in goannas (Varanus spp.) where two of three specimens were positive.

Ninety samples from nine amphibian species (two families) and seven from five species of fish (five families) were negative for muscle sarcocysts.

Sporocysts and oocysts of Sarcocystis or Frenkelia were found in intestinal scrapings from eight of 18 (44.4%) barn owls (Tyto spp.), two of five (40.0%) spotted owls (Ninox novaeseelandiae), and two of seven (28.6%) brown falcons (Falco berigora). Mucosal scrapings from five of 12 (41.7%) elapid snakes (one Austrelaps superba and four Notechis ater) were positive for sporocysts and oocysts.

A juvenile Deckert's rat snake, Elaphe obsoleta deckerti, was presented with a circumferential enlargement of the body in the region of the heart. The heart was enlarged approximately twice normal size. Focal mineralized lesions were present in the tunica media of the right aorta and the right atrioventricular valve. The normal sinusoid architecture of the liver was disrupted with deeply eosinophilic to lightly basophilic granules of variable size in the cytoplasm and light eosinophilic intranuclear inclusions. Similar appearing intracytoplasmic granules were seen in the glomeruli and kidney tubules.

Six white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus), less than one year of age, were divided into two groups of three each and administered 50, or 500 metacercariae of Fascioloides magna. All six deer became infected. Three additional deer of the same age were uninoculated controls. All deer were monitored for up to 43 weeks after inoculation to investigate changes in weight, selected hematologic values, and blood chemistry values. Although clinical disease was not evident in the infected deer, a significant reduction (p < .01) in hemoglobin and packed cell volume was detected throughout the experiment. A significant elevation (p < .01) in the total serum protein level was detected in both infected groups from 0 to 5 months after inoculation. Increases were present in the beta and gamma globulin fractions. No differences (p > .05) were detected in the serum calcium, magnesium, or phosphorus levels, or in body weights between infected and uninfected control groups.

Sixty-eight marine mammals stranded on the Oregon beaches were examined at necropsy. Gunshot was the primary cause of death in 30% of the pinnipeds examined. Bacterial infections (27%) and parasitism (27%) were also of major importance in the death and debilitation of Oregon marine mammals. Traumatic death or debilitation other than gunshot was observed in 11 animals(16%). Predation, starvation due to neonatal abandonment, viral encephalitis (presumptive diagnosis), dystocia and neoplasia were diagnosed as primary or contributory causes of stranding.

Inquiries were made to all oceanaria that maintain killer whales in North America. Causes of death determined at necropsy included mediastinal abscesses, pyometra, pneumonia, influenza, salmonellosis, nephritis, Chediak-Higashi syndrome, fungus infection, ruptured aorta, cerebral hemorrhage and a perforated postpyloric ulcer. Captive females appear to have a higher rate of mortality than males. Growth rates for whales that died were greater than for those that survived.

Seventeen biochemical constituents were assayed in the blood plasma of clinically-normal Australian sea lions (Neophoca cinerea). The sea lions formed part of a breeding colony which inhabits the southern coast of Kangaroo Island, South Australia.

Little variation was found in any of the values obtained from animals of different age and sex. The results were compared with values published for California sea lions (Zalophus californianus), Northern fur seals (Callorhinus ursinus), Harbor seals (Phoca vitulina) and Northern elephant seals (Mirounga angustirostris).

Mean corpuscular volume, hematocrit, hemoglobin concentration and red and white cell counts from five domesticated African elephants were measured. The results obtained are tabulated and compared with those from shot and chemically immobilized African elephants.

Blood samples obtained from 48, eighteen-month-old pen-raised coyotes (Canis latrans) were analyzed for 32 hematologic and serum chemistry parameters. Mean, standard deviation, and range were established for each parameter. No differences attributable to sex were observed for any parameter. The reported hematologic and serum chemistry values establish non-fasting baseline values for pen-raised coyotes.

A heart rate radio-transmitter was surgically implanted in the abdomen of a captive adult male polar bear (Thalarctos maritimus), but within five weeks a purulent discharge was observed at the incision site. The transmitter was surgically removed along with many fragments of the fractured encapsulation material. The skin incision healed, but a large hernia remained. Repeated localized trauma to the hernia sac necessitated surgical repair.

Determinations for heavy metals in duck liver using wet weight in lieu of dry weight produced errors that could not be quantitated. Weight loss through air-drying ranged from 10 to 21% in the first 2 h. for frozen tissue and 7 to 11% for fresh tissue. This difference becomes increasingly variable with time.

Forty wild-type, pen-raised mallard (Anas platyrhynchos) hens were divided into 4 groups of 10. Each bird received 8, 2, 1 or 0 number four lead shot. Blood lead of treated birds exceeded normal concentrations (0.40 ppm) within 8 hours and attained maximum concentrations on the second day. Blood fluorescence spectra of these mallards, scanned on a fluorescence spectrophotometer, were characteristic of protoporphyrin IX (PP). Protoporphyrin IX is apparently synthesized and accumulated in the peripheral blood. Due to rapid leak of PP from erythrocytes and effective biliary clearance, PP concentrations were rarely elevated (>40 μg/dl) in freshly drawn blood from lead-poisoned ducks. However, when the same blood was oxygenated and refrigerated PP concentrations increased due to in vitro synthesis which terminated within two days. No such increase was manifest by controls. Blood PP exceeded normal concentrations (40 μg/dl) in blood which was drawn two days after shot ingestion and refrigerated for two days prior to testing. Maximum concentrations were attained by the eighth day. The PP concentrations had returned to normal in 90% of the lead-treated birds by the 36th day after shot administration. Sequential radiographs revealed shot clearance from the gizzards of 90% of the ducks by the 35th day. As the result of these observations a finding of a blood PP concentration above 40 μg/dl would suggest the ducks being examined ingested the equivalent of at least one lead shot approximately two days to one month prior to testing. Sixteen additional mallards (8 male, 8 female), administered various doses of lead shot, were examined daily for clinical signs of lead poisoning. Motor functions were impaired at blood PP concentrations exceeding 500 μg/dl. A commercially available fluorometer used to screen humans for lead intoxication by measurement of erythrocytic zinc protoporphyrin was modified to test ducks. This instrument is capable of measuring the PP concentration in a single drop of unprocessed blood.

Blood films and serum samples from free-ranging waterfowl wintering in and migrating through Oklahoma were examined for hematozoa and tested for antibody responses to Newcastle disease virus (NDV) and type-A influenza. One-hundred-eleven of 728 birds (15.24%) were positive for 1 or more hematozoa. Serologic testing revealed 11 of 280 (3.93%) positive for antibody to NDV and 5 of 171 (2.95%) positive for antibody to type-A influenza.

A herpesvirus was isolated from the liver of a captive-bred American kestrel (Falco sparverius) which had died of inclusion body disease. Initial isolation was achieved in chicken embryo fibroblasts after three blind passages. Cell-adapted virus produced a distinct rounding of CEF cells within 24 to 48 h. Biologic and serologic tests suggested that the kestrel virus is similar to falcon herpesvirus and pigeon herpesvirus and is at least partially related to owl herpesvirus. However, serologic tests indicated that the kestrel herpesvirus is neither related to infectious laryngotracheitis virus nor to a herpesvirus from a psittacine bird; (Eupsittula canicularis) with Pacheco's parrot disease. This is the first report on the recovery of a herpesvirus similar to falcon herpesvirus from an American kestrel with naturally-occurring inclusion body disease, and on the serologic comparison between falcon herpesvirus and a psittacine herpesvirus.