Deer mice (Peromyscus maniculatus) were inoculated with a sublethal dose of a field strain of Modoc virus to determine patterns of viral persistence, shedding, and transmission. Blood, serum, urine, fecal, and oral swab samples were collected at selected intervals until 63 days postinoculation (PI) after which lung, liver, spleen, kidney, and salivary glands were explanted. Viral assays were conducted by intracranial inoculations of suckling mice and antibody titers were determined by the micro-complement-fixation test. Viremias lasted for up to 4 days PI. Antibody titers were present by day 8 PI, peaked at day 13–20 PI, and persisted until day 63 PI. There was no evidence of viral shedding in urine, fecal, or oral swab samples. Virus was detected in explanted lungs only. In a separate experiment, deer mice were inoculated with virus and lungs were removed from five mice per wk for 10 wk. Indirect fluorescent antibody (IFA) techniques were used to determine the location of virus in lung tissue and to examine fixed tissue for lesions. IFA showed virus in lung parenchymal cells beginning 42 days PI and persisting at least 70 days PI. No histopathologic changes were seen. Horizontal transmission of the virus was studied by placing uninoculated mice with inoculated mice for 42 days and determining if the test animals developed antibodies or had virus in their lungs. Fifty-percent of the uninoculated mice developed antibody. One of these animals had virus in its lungs. Therefore, Modoc virus may be transmitted by direct contact.

Woodchuck hepatitis virus (WHV) infection is known to be endemic in areas of the mid-Atlantic states but is apparently absent from populations in New York and much of New England. Blood samples of 40 woodchucks (Marmota monax) from New York and from Delaware were examined by starch gel electrophoresis, and 18 monomorphic and six polymorphic protein-coding genetic systems were identified. Mendelian inheritance of variants of the six polymorphic systems was confirmed in 52 laboratory offspring of the original samples. Average heterozygosity of 0.066 in New York woodchucks and 0.039 in Delaware woodchucks were high values for mammals, although similar to those of other sciurids. Significant heterogeneity between samples from New York and Delaware woodchucks was observed at two loci (peptidase with glycyl leucine-4 and phosphogluconate dehydrogenase), suggesting that these populations were genetically distinct. Whether there are genetically determined differences in response to WHV infection remains to be determined experimentally.

Sera obtained from wild ungulates, carnivores, and rodents in Colorado were tested for neutralizing (N) antibody against vesicular stomatitis, New Jersey serotype (VSNJ), virus to determine their involvement in the 1982 Colorado VSNJ epizootic in domestic animals. Viremic and N antibody responses of two local rodent species to a 1982 Colorado isolate of VSNJ were determined in the laboratory. The rodents produced only weak viremias, but all developed N antibody. N antibody prevalences for VSNJ in sera from wild ungulates was sufficiently high to indicate their involvement during the epizootic. In addition, the demonstration of N antibody in elk (Cervus elaphus) and mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus) prior to the epizootic in cattle and horses suggests that an enzootic cycle may exist in Colorado.

We wished to demonstrate evidence of the presence of California serogroup viruses in Oregon and to test for the presence of certain other arboviruses in large ungulates. Blood samples from black-tailed deer (Odocoileus hemionus columbianus), mule deer (O. hemionus hemionus), and Roosevelt elk (Cervus elaphus roosevelti) from nine counties in Oregon were tested by serumdilution plaque reduction neutralization for antibody to California serogroup viruses, including snowshoe hare, California encephalitis, and Jamestown Canyon, as well as to Cache Valley (Bunyam wera serogroup) and Klamath, an ungrouped rhabdovirus. Of 132 samples tested, 60 (46%) were found to be seropositive at a dilution of ≥1:10 for at least one of the five different arboviruses. Forty (30%) samples contained antibody to more than one arbovirus, and 15 samples (11%) contained antibody to all five. Of these 15, 14 were from 75 black-tailed deer sera collected in Lincoln County, Oregon. Seropositivity rates for black-tailed deer ranged from 23% to 35%, with all five arboviruses represented. Positive reactions for all five arboviruses were represented among mule deer sera at rates from 5% to 29%. Elk sera were found to be positive for four of the viruses (none for Klamath virus). Although Cache Valley and Klamath viruses have been reported from Oregon, these data represent the first evidence of a California serogroup virus in the state.

Anaplasma ovis was experimentally transmitted from sheep to pronghorn antelope (Antilocapra americana) and back to sheep. Anaplasma ovis was recovered in splenectomized sheep, from two of three spleen-intact pronghorns following their inoculation with blood from known A. ovis carrier sheep. These two pronghorns exhibited a 0.5% or higher A. ovis parasitemia within 48 days after exposure, and an anaplasmosis-positive serological response 91 days after exposure. Clinical signs of illness were not observed. Blood from the infected pronghorns produced disease in four splenectomized sheep.

Cowdria ruminantium was isolated from a natural infection of heartwater in a captive sitatunga (Tragelaphus spekei) which died after a short illness in Jos Zoo, Nigeria. The isolate killed laboratory mice in a shorter period of time than did isolates of C. ruminantium recovered from natural cases in cattle. This is the first confirmed case of heartwater in a captive wild ruminant in Nigeria, where the disease is endemic.

Nine white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) were experimentally infected with Cowdria ruminantium, the causal agent of heartwater. All deer developed clinical signs; one was killed, one was treated, and seven died within 2 wk postinoculation. Diagnosis of heartwater was based on clinical signs, postmortem lesions and by microscopic observation of C. ruminantium in endothelial cells of brain capillaries of dead animals. Cowdria ruminantium was passaged by collecting blood from deer at the height of the febrile response and intravenous inoculation of susceptible deer and goats. Tetracycline was effective in the treatment of heartwater in a deer.

Tissue sections from 237 nine-banded armadillos (Dasypus novemcinctus) from 51 central Texas counties were examined microscopically for acid-fast bacilli and/or lesions of leprosy. Neither were found. A review of the literature relative to the incidence of leprosy from armadillos in Texas indicates that residents of counties along the Texas Gulf Coast may be at risk of contracting leprosy by handling infected armadillos or their tissues.

Tissue cysts of the protozoan genus Sarcocystis were detected in the skeletal muscles of 16 (40%) of 40 wild rodents captured in North Sulawesi and West Java, Indonesia. Two types of cysts were found to differ in their morphological characteristics. Macroscopic and microscopic cysts bounded by thick radially-striated cyst walls were detected at both locations in a total of 13 rodents belonging to seven different species (Bunomys chrysocomus, B. fratrorum, Maxomys bartelsii, M. musschenbroekii, Paruromys dominator, Rattus xanthurus and R. exulans). The primary cyst walls contained numerous broad spatula-like protrusions and the cysts were identified as S. singaporensis Zaman and Colley, 1976. In contrast, microscopic cysts bounded by thin smooth cyst walls were detected in seven rodents belonging to three different species captured at Toraut in North Sulawesi (B. chrysocomus, B. fratrorum and P. dominator). Ultrastructural examination revealed numerous slender hair-like protrusions of their primary cyst walls. It is proposed that these cysts be named S. sulawesiensis sp. n. on the basis of their unique morphological characteristics, their intermediate host range and their limited geographic distribution. Mixed infections by both species were found in three rodent species (B. chrysocomus, B. fratrorum and P. dominator).

We have studied helminths from 532 grey-sided voles (Clethrionomys rufocanus) in two localities in northern Finland, representing different biogeographic zones, during 1978–1983. The helminth communities in the two study areas were similar, characterized by a small number of species (eight) compared to eastern Siberia and Japan, and by the dominance of a single anoplocephalid cestode Andrya kalelai. The prevalence of this helminth varied significantly among habitats, possibly because of differences in the distribution and abundance of the intermediate hosts, oribatid mites. Vole density did not explain the habitat differences in A. kalelai, nor did the prevalence of A. kalelai increase between 2 yr of sustained high density in the host population. A between-year increase in the prevalence of the larval cestode Taenia tenuicollis at Kilpisjärvi was probably due to a simultaneous increase in the abundance of its definitive hosts, mustelids. The prevalence of A. kalelai was always higher in males; no sexual differences were detected in the larval T. tenuicollis.

A stocking program with rainbow trout (Salmo gairdneri) at High Rock Lake, Manitoba failed due to infections with large numbers of Contracaecum spp. larvae. Nematode larvae in the intestinal tract, body cavity and musculature made the fish unmarketable. A combination of experimental infections of rainbow trout and pelicans (Pelecanus erythrorhynchos), observations on the behavior of fish-eating birds, and numbers of larval Contracaecum spp. in minnow species led to the following conclusions. The introduction of rainbow trout attracted large numbers of fish-eating birds, particularly pelicans. Concurrent predation by rainbow trout on fathead minnows (Pimephales promelas), five-spined sticklebacks (Culaea inconstans), and nine-spined sticklebacks (Pungitius pungitius), concentrated the parasites. The combined increase in densities of the introduced fish host and fish-eating birds, and the short life cycle of the parasite, increased the numbers of parasites in rainbow trout over a season and in the indigenous minnow species between years. Numbers of larvae in the indigenous minnow species declined when stocking of rainbow trout was stopped and use of the lake by fish-eating birds, particularly pelicans, returned to normal levels.

A heavy infection with schistosomes of the genera Trichobilharzia and Dendritobilharzia was considered the cause of 90% mortality in a group of 40 wild-caught Atlantic brant geese (Branta bernicla hrota) that were maintained in captivity on a fresh-water pond in Aurora, Ontario. Numerous adult worms and eggs were disseminated in many organs throughout the body of all birds examined. The main pathological findings, attributed to both eggs and adults, included emaciation, thrombosis of the caudal mesenteric vein and its branches, fibrinohemorrhagic colitis, and in some birds, heptomegaly. Translocation of brant geese from their natural marine environment to a fresh-water pond may have caused them to be exposed to parasites which they would not normally encounter.

Two nematode species, one acanthocephalan species, and unidentified cestodes were recovered from a total of 481 northern bobwhites (Colinus virginianus) collected from January 1982 to December 1983 in southern Texas. The nematodes Aulonocephalus lindquisti and Trich-ostrongylus tenuis varied in prevalence with month and locality. Mediorhynchus papillosis was recovered from only two birds. Monthly and yearly rainfall patterns were not correlated with endoparasite intensity and prevalence, which indicates that fluctuations of populations of northern bobwhites in Texas may be caused by factors other than changes in prevalence and intensity of endoparasites.

Nine species of ectoparasites (4 Acari, 2 Mallophaga, 1 Anoplura, 1 Diptera, and 1 Siphonaptera) were recovered from 126 white-tailed deer collected in northern, central, and southern Mississippi. Intensity and prevalence of adults of Ixodes scapularis and larvae, nymphs, and adults of Amblyomma americanum varied significantly over collection periods, but not between host sexes. Lipoptena mazamae occurred on deer from only one study area. Although individual deer were heavily parasitized by Tricholipeurus parallelus and T. lipeuroides, their prevalence was limited. Hoplopsyllus sp., Solenopotes sp., Amblyomma maculatum, and Dermacentor albipictus had prevalences of <10% and were not tested for area, host sex, and seasonal effects. The potential pathogenicity of these ectoparasite species are related to white-tailed deer in Mississippi.

From December 1983 to December 1984 a study on parasites, diseases and health status was conducted on sympatric populations of sambar deer (Cervus unicolor) and white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) from St. Vincent Island, Franklin County, Florida. Ten sambar and six white-tailed deer were examined. White-tailed deer had antibodies to epizootic hemorrhagic disease virus and bluetongue virus. Serologic tests for antibodies to the etiologic agents of bovine virus diarrhea, infectious bovine rhinotracheitis, vesicular stomatitis, parainfluenza 3, brucellosis, and leptospirosis were negative in both species of deer. White-tailed deer harbored 19 species of parasites; all were typical of the parasite fauna of this species in coastal regions of the southeastern United States. Sambar deer harbored 13 species of parasites, which apparently were derived largely from white-tailed deer. The only exception was Dermacentor variabilis which occurs frequently on wild swine on the island. The general health status of sambar deer appeared to be better than that of white-tailed deer. This was hypothesized to result from the sambar deer's utilization of food resources unavailable or unacceptable to white-tailed deer and to the absence and/or lower frequency of certain pathogens in sambar deer.

Thirteen adult urban rock doves (Columba livia), 12 captured alive and one found dead, were studied from the Baltimore zoo. The mean concentration of lead in the blood for the 12 live birds was 184.5 ± 531.2 (range 10.5−1,870 μg/dl). Three of the 13 birds with high measured blood and tissue lead concentrations were found at necropsy with lead shot pellets in their gizzards. Correlations were not found between concentrations of lead in the blood and body weight or hematocrit. Conversely, high correlations were noted between concentrations of lead in the blood and measured liver and kidney concentrations (r = 0.946, P < 0.01; r = 0.993, P < 0.01, respectively). Numbers of intranuclear acid-fast inclusions per 10 consecutive fields (100× oil immersion lens) correlated well with measured kidney lead concentrations (r = 0.990, P < 0.001).

Twenty-three ospreys (Pandion haliaetus) found dead or moribund in the eastern United States during 1975–1982 were necropsied and selected tissues were analyzed for organo-chlorines and metals. Major causes or factors contributing to death were trauma, impact injuries, and emaciation. DDE was detected in 96% of the osprey carcasses, DDD in 65%, DDT and heptachlor epoxide in 13%, dieldrin, oxychlordane, and cis-nonachlor in 35%, cis-chlordane in 52%, trans-nonachlor in 45%, and PCB's in 83%. Carcasses of immature ospreys from the Chesapeake Bay had significantly lower concentrations of DDE, DDD DDT, cis-chlordane, and PCB's than carcasses of adults from the same area. Concentrations of some organochlorines in ospreys from the Chesapeake Bay declined significantly from 1971–1973 to 1975–1982. Significant differences in concentrations of certain metals in the ospreys' livers were noted between time periods, and sex and age groups for birds from the Chesapeake Bay. During 1975–1982, adults had significantly lower concentrations of chromium, copper, and arsenic than immatures and nestlings, and adult males had higher mercury concentrations than adult females. Adult females had lower zinc concentrations in 1975–1982 than in 1971–1973. Immatures and nestlings had higher concentrations of chromium and lead in 1975–1982 than in 1971–1973. A slightly elevated concentration of chromium (1.7 ppm) or arsenic (3.2 ppm) was found in the livers of individual ospreys. Several ospreys had elevated concentrations of mercury in their livers; two ospreys had more than 20 ppm which may have contributed to their deaths.

Since 1982 when secondary poisoning of a red-tailed hawk (Buteo jamaicensis) was documented following the recommended use of famphur applied topically to cattle, the Patuxent Wildlife Research Center has tested dead birds of prey for poisoning by famphur and other pouron organophosphorus (OP) insecticides. Brain cholinesterase (ChE) activity was first determined, then if ChE was depressed ≥50%, stomach and/or crop contents were evaluated for anti-ChE compounds. This report presents the circumstances surrounding the OP-caused deaths of eight bald eagles (Haliaeetus leucocephalus), two red-tailed hawks, and one great horned owl (Bubo virginianus) between March 1984 and March 1985. OP poisoning of raptors by pour-on insecticides in the United States is widespread, but its magnitude is unknown.

Six bengal tigers (Panthera tigris tigris) were immobilized five times at 2-wk intervals with ketamine hydrochloride (ketamine) and xylazine hydrochloride (xylazine) mixtures at different dose levels. Hematology and serum chemistry analyses on blood samples collected at each immobilization remained normal during the study. There were acute changes in hematocrit, chloride, potassium, glucose, and bilirubin as a function of xylazine dose level. The effect of yohimbine hydrochloride (yohimbine) on the depth and duration of immobilization was evaluated in a crossover design with every animal serving as its own control at each dose. Administration of yohimbine resulted in recovery of the animals within 4–8 min in contrast to >60 min with no yohimbine treatment. There were no adverse effects noted with the yohimbine treatment and the tigers did not exhibit a relapse over the next 24 hr. Yohimbine at a dose of 5–15 mg per adult tiger provided effective reversal of 50–150 mg of xylazine per tiger.

The mean time to arousal (MTA), the mean time to sternal recumbency (MTSR) and the mean time to walking (MTW) were measured in 10 adult guineafowl (Numida meleagris) immobilized with a combination of xylazine hydrochloride (1 mg/kg) and ketamine hydrochloride (25 mg/kg). Yohimbine hydrochloride, given intravenously (1 mg/kg) at 40 min after the injection of the xylazine-ketamine, significantly shortened the MTA, the MTSR and the MTW compared to saline controls. Increasing the dosage of yohimbine to 2.5 mg/kg did not shorten recovery when compared to the lower dosage. No adverse effects were noted at either dosage of yohimbine. Yohimbine appeared to be a safe and effective antagonist of xylazine-ketamine immobilization in guineafowl and may prove useful in other avian species to produce more rapid recovery from xylazine-ketamine immobilization, xylazine sedation or xylazine overdosage.

An introduced population of Merriam's wild turkeys (Meleagris gallopavo) was examined for poxvirus when birds were trapped from January through April in 1981 and 1982. Poxvirus lesions were found in three of 113 (2.6%) turkeys. All infected birds were immature males.

Samples from 77 nine-banded armadillos (Dasypus novemcinctus) inhabiting a 16.7 km portion of the East Atchafalaya River Levee, Point Coupee Parish, Louisiana, were serologically tested and/or histopathologically examined for evidence of naturally acquired leprosy. Five of 67 (7.5%) armadillos tested seropositive with ELISA test for IGM class antibodies to the phenolic-glycolipid-1 antigen of Mycobacterium leprae. One of 74 (1.3%) was histopathologically positive as determined by presence of acid-fast bacteria in nerves.

This is the first report of Yersinia frederiksenii from soil in Europe and of Yersinia enterocolitica sensu stricto from soil in the Federal Republic of Germany. These organisms were isolated from deciduous forest soil, but were not found in grassland soils.

Septicemic listeriosis is described in a 2-day-old reindeer calf (Rangifer tarandus tarandus) from a local zoo. The gross and microscopic lesions were typical of disease caused by bacterial septicemia. Major lesions included necrosis of the liver, lung, adrenal gland, spleen, and lymph node. The diagnosis was suspected by special histopathological stains and confirmed by isolation of Listeria monocytogenes from multiple organs. This is the first report of listeriosis in a reindeer.

A 10-week-old, black buck antelope calf, from the Mesker Park Zoo in Evansville, Indiana was found dead without observed signs of illness. Necropsy disclosed disseminated ecchymoses on the pericardium, diaphragm, intestines, and renal capsules and more extensive hemorrhage in the muscles of the hindquarters. There were numerous, 1 mm, pale foci on the capsular and cut surfaces of the liver and spleen which, on microscopic examination, were necrotic foci containing variable numbers of neutrophils and mononuclear leukocytes with numerous, short, Gram-positive, cocco-bacilli at the periphery. Listeria monocytogenes was isolated from the liver. Septicemia is the most common form of listeriosis in non-domestic ruminants. Listeriosis should be suspected when unexpected deaths are accompanied by multifocal necrotizing hepatitis and splenitis, myocarditis, and disseminated hemorrhage.

Blastomycosis was fatal to a wild wolf in Minnesota, and serologic evidence of blastomycosis was found in a Wisconsin wolf. No unusual movements were detected in the Minnesota animal from October 1983 through October 1985. However, by early December 1985, this wolf was weak and debilitated, and it perished on 14 December after approaching a human residence.

Toxoplasma gondii was found in tissues of a captive 1-week-old bobcat (Lynx rufus) that died of myocarditis, hepatitis and encephalitis. Although infection is common in wild Felidae, clinical toxoplasmosis is rarely seen. In this case, the infection was apparently congenially acquired.

Ninety-five percent of the larvae of Contracaecum spp. were found in the atrium of the heart of fathead minnows (Pimephales promelas) and five- and nine-spined sticklebacks (Culaea inconstans and Pungitius pungitius). Atria containing nematodes were two to three times larger than an atria from uninfected fish, were thin walled and the muscular trabecule were damaged. Atria with larvae were congested with blood that appeared to be organizing and extending as a thrombus into the ventricle, but there was no other evidence of a host response. Alternatively, there was an intense cellular response surrounding larvae in the body cavity of these and other host species. Apparently, this parasite which lacks host specificity has evolved an additional strategy to evade the host immune response in sticklebacks and fathead minnows.

During the summers of 1982 and 1983, black-tailed prairie dogs (Cynomys ludovicianus) were examined for parasites. Those collected and their respective prevalence included Linognathoides cynomyis (46.3%), Opisocrostis hirsutus (53.7%), Opisocrostis tuberculatus cynomuris (2.4%), Androlaelaps fahrenholzi (12.2%), Ixodes sculptus (2.4%) and Dermacentor andersoni (4.9%). The collection data indicated that L. cynomyis, O. hirsutus and A. fahrenholzi were at low population densities during this period.

An unusual pleomorphic sarcoma from a hybrid mallard (Anas platyrhynchos) is described. Rhabdomyosarcoma was considered in the original differential diagnoses but rejected due to lack of specific characteristics generally seen in these tumors. The histologic characteristics described are consistent with mammalian sarcomas recorded in the literature as malignant fibrous histiocytoma.

Alaskan polar bear (Ursus maritimus) muscle and liver samples collected in 1972 were analyzed for total mercury. Bears north of Alaska had more mercury than bears west of Alaska. The only difference between young and adult animals was in the northern area where adults had more mercury in liver tissue than young animals. Levels were probably not high enough to be a serious threat to bears.

Strychnine poisoning was diagnosed in free-flying mallards (Anas platyrhynchos) and a ring-billed gull (Larus delawarensis) found dead on a pond in a zoo. The probable source of toxin was improperly applied strychnine-treated grain used for control of rodents on adjacent farm land. Ingesta of the birds contained 19.7–85.1 mg/kg of strychnine.

Hematocrit values for K₃EDTA-preserved whole blood from black bears (Ursus americanus) were found to increase during refrigerated storage causing error in delayed laboratory analysis. This error was quantified using a regression type model based on repeated hematocrit testing of 66 blood samples over time. The model proved to fit quite well and provided corrected-to-day-zero hematocrit values for 42 samples from which day-zero values were not available.