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1 July 2002 Fatal Cytauxzoonosis in a Free-ranging Bobcat (Lynx rufus)
Jerome C. Nietfeld, Christal Pollock
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Abstract

In September 2000, a free-ranging bobcat (Lynx rufus) cub was presented to the Kansas State University Veterinary Teaching Hospital (Manhattan, Kansas, USA) in a moribund state with signs of severe anemia and respiratory difficulty. The cub was euthanized. Gross necropsy findings included multifocal atelectasis, splenomegaly, and pericardial effusion. Microscopic examination revealed subacute pulmonary thrombosis, mild vasculitis in the brain, and large schizont-filled macrophages within blood vessels of all tissues examined. The organisms were typical of the developmental stages of Cytauxzoon felis. Cytauxzoonosis is considered to be a persistent, subclinical infection in the bobcat; however, this cub had lesions consistent with those seen in fatal infections in domestic cats. This case of fatal C. felis infection indicates that some free-ranging bobcats may die of cytauxzoonosis.

Nietfeld and Pollock: Fatal Cytauxzoonosis in a Free-ranging Bobcat (Lynx rufus)
Jerome C. Nietfeld and Christal Pollock "Fatal Cytauxzoonosis in a Free-ranging Bobcat (Lynx rufus)," Journal of Wildlife Diseases 38(3), 607-610, (1 July 2002). https://doi.org/10.7589/0090-3558-38.3.607
Received: 15 June 2001; Published: 1 July 2002
KEYWORDS
Anemia
bobcat
Cytauxzoon felis
cytauxzoonosis
Lynx rufus
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