In South Africa, the largest proportion of the African wild dog (Lycaon pictus) population resides in regions where buffaloes have a high prevalence of Mycobacterium bovis, the causative agent of bovine tuberculosis (bTB). Recent reports of deaths of wild dogs associated with bTB have raised concerns regarding the threat this disease might pose for this species. In order to understand the potential impact of the disease in wild dogs, diagnostic tools are required to identify infected individuals. The interferon gamma (IFN-γ) release assay (IGRA) is commonly used for tuberculosis (TB) screening of humans, cattle, and other species, and the aim of this study was to develop an IGRA for wild dogs to detect immune sensitization. Blood was collected from immobilized wild dogs from the Ann van Dyk Cheetah Centre (AvDCC; n=9) and Kruger National Park (KNP; n=31). Heparinized whole blood was incubated overnight in QuantiFERON^®-TB Gold (QFT) blood collection tubes and with selected mitogens, after which the plasma fraction was harvested. Three canine IFN-γ enzymelinked immunosorbent assays (ELISAs) were compared for detection of wild dog IFN-γ in plasma and the R&D Quantikine canine IFN-γ ELISA was selected for measurement of M. bovis-specific IFN-γ release in plasma samples. An IGRA result was calculated as the concentration in plasma derived from the QFT TB Antigen tubes minus that in the QFT Nil tube. An IGRA cut-off value was calculated using the IGRA results of M. bovis-unexposed individuals from AvDCC. Using this cut-off value, 74% (23/31) of M. bovis-exposed KNP wild dogs were IGRA positive, indicating immune sensitization to TB antigens in these animals. Three M. bovis culture-positive wild dogs from KNP had IFN-γ concentrations between 758 and 1,445 pg/mL, supporting this interpretation. This warrants further investigation into the prevalence of M. bovis infection in the KNP population.

Lion (Panthera leo) populations, classified as vulnerable under the International Union for Conservation of Nature red list of threatened species, are facing a variety of threats, including tuberculosis (TB) caused by Mycobacterium bovis. The lack of knowledge on pathogenesis and diagnosis of TB, the prolonged course of the disease, the existence of subclinical infection, and nonspecific clinical signs hamper management of TB in both free-ranging and captive lion populations. Early and accurate antemortem diagnosis of M. bovis infections is important for disease management. In this study, we investigate the suitability of the single intradermal cervical test (SICT), developed with free-ranging Kruger National Park (KNP) lions exposed to M. bovis, for use in other lion populations. Using the recommended interpretation, the specificity of the SICT was low in disease-free captive lions, leading to false-positive diagnoses in 54% of individuals in the present study. Alternative interpretations of the tuberculin skin test are proposed that significantly reduce false-positive diagnosis in the sampled captive lions without significantly affecting diagnoses in the KNP lions; these changes may facilitate screening for M. bovis infection regardless of the exposure status of the lion population being investigated.

Boreal woodland caribou (Rangifer tarandus caribou) are listed as threatened across Canada, and a basic understanding of their health status is lacking. From December 2012 to April 2013, we investigated multiple health indices for adult female boreal caribou (n=163) captured from seven herds in NE British Columbia, Canada. Health indices included physical characteristics, physiologic and trace mineral status, exposure to or infection with selected pathogens, and measures of chronic stress and inflammation, including serum amyloid A, haptoglobin, and hair cortisol concentration. Key findings were exposure to the bacterium Erysipelothrix rhusiopathiae in 14% of individuals, mild to severe hair loss associated with winter tick (Dermacentor albipictus) infestations in 76% of caribou from December to early February and 81% from late February to early April, and evidence of trace mineral deficiencies with 99% and 34% of individuals deficient in copper and selenium, respectively. Seroprevalence for exposure to selected pathogens was: alphaherpesvirus (63%), pestivirus (1%), Besnoitia spp. (60%), and Neospora caninum (2%). All animals were seronegative to Brucella spp. and Toxoplasma gondii. Mycobacterium avium ssp. paratuberculosis was not detected in any fecal samples. Parasite eggs or larvae, including Parelaphostrongylus andersoni (36%), Skrjabinema spp. (1%), Strongyle-type eggs (11%), Moniezia-type eggs (8%), and nematodirines (3%), were detected on fecal examination, but at low intensity. Blood biochemistry values and hair cortisol concentrations were within ranges previously reported in Rangifer tarandus sspp. Some significant differences among herds were noted, including antler morphology, exposure to Besnoitia spp., and concentrations of serum amyloid A, copper, cobalt, manganese, and iron.

Understanding the distribution of pathogens across landscapes and their prevalence within host populations is a common aim of wildlife managers. Despite the need for unbiased estimates of pathogen occurrence and prevalence for planning effective management interventions, many researchers fail to account for imperfect pathogen detection. Instead raw data are often reported, which may lead to ineffective, or even detrimental, management actions. We illustrate the utility of occupancy models for generating unbiased estimates of disease parameters by 1) providing a written tutorial describing how to fit these models in Program PRESENCE and 2) presenting a case study with the pathogen ranavirus. We analyzed ranavirus detection data from a wildlife refuge (Maryland, US) using occupancy modeling, which yields unbiased estimates of pathogen occurrence and prevalence. We found ranavirus prevalence was underestimated by up to 30% if imperfect pathogen detection was ignored. The unbiased estimate of ranavirus prevalence in larval wood frog (Lithobates sylvaticus; 0.73) populations was higher than in larval spotted salamander (Ambystoma maculatum; 0.56) populations. In addition, the odds of detecting ranavirus in tail samples were 6.7 times higher than detecting ranavirus in liver samples. Therefore, tail samples presented a nonlethal sampling method for ranavirus that may be able to detect early (nonsystemic) infections.

We collected blood and serum from 155 brown bears (Ursus arctos) inhabiting five locations in Alaska, US during 2013–16 and tested samples for evidence of prior exposure to a suite of bacterial, viral, and parasitic agents. Antibody seroprevalence among Alaska brown bears was estimated to be 15% for Brucella spp., 10% for Francisella tularensis, 7% for Leptospira spp., 18% for canine adenovirus type 1 (CAV-1), 5% for canine distemper virus (CDV), 5% for canine parvovirus, 5% for influenza A virus (IAV), and 44% for Toxoplasma gondii. No samples were seropositive for antibodies to Trichinella spp. Point estimates of prior exposure to pathogens among brown bears at previously unsampled locations generally fell within the range of estimates for previously or contemporaneously sampled bears in Alaska. Statistical support was found for variation in antibody seroprevalence among bears by location or age cohort for CAV-1, CDV, IAV, and T. gondii. There was limited concordance in comparisons between our results and previous serosurveys regarding spatial and age-related trends in antibody seroprevalence among Alaska brown bears suggestive of temporal variation. However, we found evidence that the seroprevalence of CAV-1 antibodies is consistently high in bears inhabiting southwest Alaska and the cumulative probability of exposure may increase with age. We found evidence for seroconversion or seroreversion to six different infectious agents in one or more bears. Results of this study increase our collective understanding of disease risk to both Alaska brown bear populations and humans that utilize this resource.

We evaluated cause of injury and quantified levels of three potential mycoplasmal pathogens (Mycoplasma agassizii, Mycoplasma testudineum, and an emydid mycoplasma) in three-toed box turtles (Terrapene carolina triunguis) from the greater St. Louis, Missouri, US area, brought to and housed at the Wildlife Rescue Center (Ballwin, Missouri, US) in 2015 and 2016. We created a probebased quantitative PCR (qPCR) assay for the emydid mycoplasma, with a similar specificity and sensitivity as the existing qPCR assays for M. agassizii and M. testudineum. All three microbes have been implicated in the development of upper respiratory tract disease in turtles and tortoises. We assessed whether signs of respiratory disease, sex, type of trauma, or treatment (administration of antibiotics) affected the presence of pathogens. We found that the most common types of injury experienced by turtles (n=85) were due to motor vehicles and other types of machinery, and that injuries due to motor vehicles were the most severe. We found a 61% prevalence of emydid mycoplasma (n=28) but M. agassizii or M. testudineum were not detected. Prevalence of disease and antibiotic treatment was too low to statistically relate to levels of mycoplasma. Sex and type of trauma were not associated with levels of emydid mycoplasma. The box turtle population we sampled did not experience signs of respiratory disease due to the fairly widespread prevalence of emydid mycoplasma. However, mycoplasmal diseases can be pathogen load-dependent. The qPCR we designed can be used to assess levels of emydid mycoplasma in other emydid species, populations, and individuals, in which there might be a positive association between the microbe and expression of respiratory disease.

Mosquito-borne diseases can have disastrous effects on avian populations; therefore, most studies of bird and mosquito interactions have focused on the mortality and morbidity associated with the diseases. However, the effect of mosquitoes feeding on birds, independent of disease, has not been well studied. We studied Barn Owls (Tyto alba) nesting in artificial nest boxes in sugarcane (Saccharum officinarum) fields in Florida, US. To reduce mosquito effects on nestlings, we used an insecticide spray in half of the nest boxes. Mosquito suction traps were fixed to the outside of eight nest boxes (four treated and four untreated) to collect mosquitoes over a 24-h period (one trap night) once weekly, from incubation until all nestlings fledged. Collected mosquitoes were counted, sorted into blood-fed and unfed females, and identified to species when possible. The dominant mosquito species captured were Culex nigripalpus, Mansonia dyari, and Mansonia titillans. The highest total number of mosquitoes and blood-fed mosquitoes captured in a suction trap in one trap night was 3,193 and 379, respectively. Overall, significantly fewer mosquitoes were captured from treated nest boxes compared to untreated boxes. Nestling age influenced the total number of mosquitoes captured, with the highest numbers associated with fledglings 22–42 d old. The highest numbers of blood-fed mosquitoes were captured when nestlings were 22–28 d old. Nestlings in insecticide-treated boxes had higher survival rates compared to those in untreated boxes during months with high mosquito numbers. Mosquitoes can impose energetic costs on nestlings by causing stress from irritation, dehydration, and the constant regeneration of blood cells. These costs, in addition to factors such as food shortage, temperature, and overall health of the nestling, can contribute to higher mortality rates during nesting periods with high mosquito numbers.

Entamoeba is a genus of gastrointestinal protozoon that is transmitted through contaminated food and water. This protozoon is commonly found in human and nonhuman primates. Contact between humans and Formosan rock macaques (Macaca cyclopis) has become more frequent due to food provisioning; accordingly, concerns regarding zoonotic pathogen transmission through the fecal-oral route have increased. For example, surveillance of intestinal parasites in wild Formosan rock macaques indicated that Entamoeba infection was the most prevalent type of intestinal parasite infection. The morphologies of pathogenic and nonpathogenic species are difficult to distinguish. In this study, we collected fecal samples from wild Formosan rock macaques in the Shoushan National Nature Park (Kaohsiung, Taiwan) and adopted both morphologic and molecular methods for Entamoeba species identification. In total, we collected 208 fecal samples with a 57.7% (120/208, 95% confidence interval: 50.9–60.4%) prevalence of Entamoeba infection. Four Entamoeba species were identified: three nonpathogenic species, Entamoeba coli (19%), Entamoeba chattoni (50%), and Entamoeba hartmanni (11%), and one potentially pathogenic species, Entamoeba nuttalli (20%). Our study revealed the risk of zoonotic transmission of these Entamoeba species to humans. To address relevant public health and wildlife conservation concerns, further research is required to fully understand the virulence of E. nuttalli isolated from Formosan rock macaques.

Transmission dynamics of Toxoplasma gondii, a parasite of importance for wildlife and human health, are enigmatic in the Arctic tundra, where free-ranging wild and domestic felid definitive hosts are absent and rarely observed, respectively. Through a multiyear mark-recapture study (2011–17), serosurveillance was conducted to investigate transmission of T. gondii in Arctic foxes (Vulpes lagopus) in the Karrak Lake region, Nunavut, Canada. Sera from adult foxes and fox pups were tested for antibodies to T. gondii by using serologic methods, including the indirect fluorescent antibody test, direct agglutination test, and modified agglutination test. The overall seroprevalence was 39% in adults and 17% in pups. Mature foxes were more likely to be exposed (seroconvert) than young foxes (less than 1 yr old), with the highest level of seroprevalence in midaged foxes (2–4 yr old). Pups in two different litters were seropositive on emergence from the den, around 5 wk old, which could have been due to passive transfer of maternal antibody or vertical transmission of T. gondii from mother to offspring. The seropositive pups were born of seropositive mothers that were also seropositive the year before they gave birth, suggesting that vertical transmission might not be limited to litters from mothers exposed to T. gondii for the first time in pregnancy. All recaptured seropositive foxes remained seropositive on subsequent captures, suggesting that antibodies persist or foxes are constantly reexposed or a combination of both. The results of this study provided insights into how foxes were likely exposed to T. gondii, the dynamics of antibody persistence and immune response, and how the parasite was maintained in a terrestrial Arctic ecosystem in the absence of felid definitive hosts.

Bluetongue virus serotype 3 (BTV-3) has been found in the US since 1999 and was recently identified in white-tailed deer (WTD; Odocoileus virginianus) found dead in Virginia, US and West Virginia, US in 2016. Bluetongue viruses are known to cause pathologic changes in WTD; however, the relative virulence and pathogenicity of BTV-3 in WTD is unknown. In our study, eight WTD fawns, 6–12 wk old, were needle inoculated subcutaneously with a field isolate of BTV-3, with one fawn shaminoculated as a control during July 2017; all were monitored to determine the pathogenicity of BTV-3 in WTD. All inoculated fawns developed viremias that were first detected on postinoculation day (PID), 3 with peak titers on PID 5 by both quantitative reverse-transcription PCR (qRT-PCR) and virus isolation. The sham-inoculated control fawn also became viremic on PID 12, presumably through contact with infected fawns. Mild clinical signs, including periorbital edema and hyperemia, were first seen on PID 5. None of the fawns developed a significant febrile response, clinical pathology changes, or BTV-3 neutralizing antibodies. The cytokines TNF-α, IL-1β, and IFN-α were not detected by commercial enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays developed for bovids. The absence of severe clinical disease, fibrinogenemia, thrombocytopenia, and leukopenia, along with the lack of seroconversion and a detectable cytokine response during the study period, is atypical when compared to previous experimental BTV serotype infections in WTD but may be related to the young age of these deer, possible attenuation of the BTV-3 strain used, innate resistance or, in some cases to maternally derived antibody to other BTV serotypes.

The distribution of orthopoxviruses (OPXVs) across the North American continent is suggested to be widespread in a wide range of mammalian hosts on the basis of serosurveillance studies. To address the question of whether carnivores in northwestern Mexico are exposed to naturally circulating OPXVs, wild carnivores were collected by live trapping within four different habitat types during fall of 2013 and spring of 2014 within the Janos Biosphere Reserve in northwestern Chihuahua, Mexico. A total of 51 blood samples was collected for testing. Anti-OPXV immunoglobulin G enzymelinked immunosorbent assay, western blot, and rapid fluorescent focus inhibition test (RFFIT) assays were conducted. About 47% (24/51) of the carnivores tested were seropositive for anti-OPXV binding antibodies and had presence of immunodominant bands indicative of OPXV infection. All samples tested were negative for rabies virus neutralizing antibodies by RFFIT, suggesting that the OPXV antibodies were due to circulating OPXV, and not from exposure to oral rabies vaccine (vacciniavectored rabies glycoprotein vaccine) bait distributed along the US–Mexico border. Our results indicated that there may be one or more endemic OPXV circulating within six species of carnivores in northwestern Mexico.

Oral rabies vaccination (ORV) campaigns have been conducted annually in the US over the past two decades to prevent raccoon (Procyon lotor) rabies, which is enzootic along the eastern region of the country from southeastern Canada to Alabama. Because raccoon rabies has been eliminated from neighboring Canadian provinces, continued detection of the variant in the US is of concern due to the potential for infected raccoons to cross the border via the St. Lawrence River. Ontario Rabies Vaccine Baits (ONRAB) containing a live, recombinant human adenovirus expressing the rabies virus glycoprotein have been under experimental use in the US since 2011. We distributed ONRAB in St. Lawrence County, New York, from 2013 to 2015 as part of field trials to evaluate serologic responses in raccoons. Prior to ONRAB distribution, rabies virus neutralizing antibody (RVNA) seroprevalence in raccoons was 45.2% (183 of 405) and increased to 57.7% (165 of 286) after 3 yr of ONRAB baiting. Postbait RVNA seroprevalence increased each year, with a lower response observed in juvenile compared with adult raccoons. The pre-ONRAB seroprevalence detected in 2013 was relatively high and was likely impacted both by elevated rabies activity in the county and the use of ORV with a different vaccine bait for 14 consecutive years prior to our study. Tetracycline biomarker prevalence increased from 1.4% prior to ONRAB baiting to 51.3% from 2013 to 2015, demonstrating bait palatability to raccoons. These data complemented related field trials conducted in West Virginia and the northeastern US.

Hepatozoon prevalence (occurrence) and parasitemia (intensity) levels were documented in 67 individuals of the threatened gopher tortoise (Gopherus polyphemus) for the first time in four South Florida, US, locations: Jonathan Dickinson State Park (JDSP), Pine Jog Preserve (PJP), Florida Atlantic University Preserve (FAUP), and Blazing Star Preserve (BSP). Sex ratios (males:females) per site were 0.44 at JDSP, 0.72 at PJP, 1.42 at FAUP, and 0.40 at BSP, but no significant differences in the carapace length were found between the two sexes (independent t-test; P=0.101). Hepatozoon sp. was found in 13% (9/67) of tortoises. Percentages of infected tortoises were 22% (5/23) males and 6% (2/33) females. Prevalence and parasitemia were low or nonexistent within sampled tortoises at each of the study sites, although the highest prevalence and parasitemia values were found in gopher tortoises at JDSP (23%, 4/17) which also harbored the highest infection levels, reaching 349/10,000 erythrocytes. No infection was detected within sampled gopher tortoises at PJP.

Snake fungal disease (SFD), caused by the fungus Ophidiomyces ophiodiicola, is an emerging threat to wild snake populations in the US. Data regarding its distribution, prevalence, and population-level impacts are sparse, and more information is needed to better manage SFD in the wild. In this study, we captured 38 wild snakes of five species in Connecticut in the summers of 2015 and 2017. Skin lesions were biopsied and evaluated histologically for fungal dermatitis. At least one individual from each species was positive for SFD, and 48% of snakes sampled in 2015 and 39% of snakes sampled in 2017 were positive for SFD. A Dekay's brownsnake (Storeria dekayi dekayi) with SFD lesions, captured in the summer of 2017, extended the host range of the disease. Thus, SFD was present in wild Connecticut snakes in 2015 and 2017, which demonstrated a wide-spread distribution throughout the state.

Neotropical wild rodents from Costa Rica were analyzed for the presence of herpesviruses (order Herpesvirales, family Herpesviridae). Using a broadly generic PCR, herpesvirus sequences were detected in 5% (8/160) of liver and heart samples: seven putative gammaherpesviruses in samples from Talamancan oryzomys (Nephelomys devius), sprightly colilargo (Oligoryzomys vegetus), Mexican deer mouse (Peromyscus nudipes), and Chiriqui harvest mouse (Reithrodontomys creper) and one putative betaherpesvirus in long-tailed singing mouse (Scotinomys xerampelinus). Results from this study could guide ecological investigations targeting the prevalence and host associations of herpesviruses in wild rodents from Costa Rica.

Ranaviruses and the fungus Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis are globally important agents of emerging infectious amphibian diseases. Amphibians on Oahu, the Hawaiian Island with the greatest potential for disease introduction through the movement of goods and people, have never been surveyed for ranaviruses or B. dendrobatidis. We surveyed all five species of frogs on Oahu, Hawaii, US for these pathogens. Of 325 individuals sampled from six sites, none were positive for ranavirus. However, we found B. dendrobatidis in a total of four individuals of three species, the cane toad (Bufo marinus), the American bullfrog (Rana catesbeiana), and the greenhouse frog (Eleutherodactylus planirostris), but not in the green and black poison dart frog (Dendrobates auratus) or the Japanese wrinkled frog (Rana rugosa). The apparent lack of ranavirus and low prevalence of B. dendrobatidis are noteworthy given how widespread these pathogens are in terms of both global distribution and host range. Surveillance should continue to document any changes in B. dendrobatidis prevalence or the arrival of ranaviruses in Hawaii.

White-nose syndrome (WNS) affects bats primarily in winter, with Pseudogymnoascus destructans, the fungus that causes WNS, growing on bats in colder climates as they are hibernating. As a result, nearly all disease investigations have been conducted on bats in the winter or as they are emerging in spring. Although P. destructans has been detected on bats during the summer season, the seasonal dynamics of infection during this period remain poorly understood. To test for the presence of P. destructans during the summer season, we sampled bats that were free flying from June 2017 to September 2017 and also sampled bats from a maternity roost in August and outside a known hibernaculum in September. We collected skin swabs from the muzzle and forearm of bats, and using real-time PCR methods, we detected P. destructans DNA on 16% (12/76) of bats sampled in Wisconsin, US, including juvenile little brown bats (Myotis lucifugus) from bat house maternity roosts, and free-flying adult bats of two species captured in June, the little brown bat and the migratory eastern red bat (Lasiurus borealis). These data illustrated the potential for P. destructans to be transferred and dispersed among bats during the summer and highlighted the complex seasonal dynamics associated with this pathogen.

Blood samples collected from American black bears (Ursus americanus) in eastern and western North Carolina, US, were analyzed for piroplasms. Piroplasmids were detected in 17% (23/132) of the animals surveyed. We detected a Babesia spp. previously identified in North American raccoons (Procyon lotor) and a maned wolf (Chrysocyon brachyurus); prevalence was 22% (14/64) and 13% (9/68) in the mountain and coastal black bear populations, respectively. The presence of the same Babesia species in black bears, raccoons, and a maned wolf suggests piroplasms may not be host specific.

Mexican wolves (Canis lupus baileyi), classified as probably extinct in the wild in Mexico and endangered in the US, were reintroduced into Arizona in 1998. We combined annual serologic testing results from samples collected between 2003 and 2016 from 108 wolves and known survival data from 118 wolves born in the recovery area from 2003 to 2014 to evaluate whether exposure to canine distemper virus (CDV) or canine parvovirus (CPV) was associated with a greater risk of mortality before 2 yr of age. We used mixed-effects logistic regression to estimate the effect of CDV and CPV on the probability of mortality. Annual seroprevalence rates for CDV and CPV ranged from 0% to 62% and from 33% to 100%, respectively (median, 14.2% and 90.3%, respectively). The covariate, age at testing, had a negative effect on mortality, indicating that younger animals had lower survival, whereas sex had little effect on mortality. The best-supported model excluded any effect of CPV or CDV on death before 2 yr old at both the pack and individual level. Although our analysis did not detect an effect of these viruses on mortality before 2 yr old, CDV was later identified as the cause of mortality in two individuals in 2017. Additional information is needed to assess the impact of these diseases on Mexican wolves.

Reticuloendotheliosis virus (REV) is an immunosuppressive and sometimes oncogenic avian retrovirus that establishes lifelong infection in a wide range of avian species. REV-infected wild birds roaming near at-risk captive flocks, such as is the case for the highly endangered Attwater's Prairie Chicken (APC; Tympanuchus cupido attwateri), could act as a reservoir for viral transmission. In wild birds, prevalence rates of REV are low and appearance of associated disease is uncommon. During 2016–17, nearly half of all captive adult APC mortality at Fossil Rim Wildlife Center captive breeding facility in Glen Rose, Texas, US was attributed to REV infection. The unusually high REV prevalence rate prompted us to survey for this virus in wild galliforms throughout the region. From 2016–17, 393 blood samples collected from two subspecies of Wild Turkeys (Meleagris gallopavo) were tested for REV proviral DNA through amplification of the viral 3′ long terminal repeat and segments of the viral pol gene. In REV-affected counties, 5% (5/98) of native Rio Grande Wild Turkeys (Meleagris gallopavo intermedia) were identified as REV-positive. In addition, we detected REV in one of 62 Eastern Wild Turkeys (Meleagris gallopavo silvestris) that had been imported during conservation efforts. To better determine protective measures, continued surveillance, including collection and genetic analysis of REV-infected samples, is necessary to identify sources of REV outbreaks in captive APC flocks.

Cystic echinococcosis (CE) is a zoonotic parasitic disease associated with Echinococcus granulosus. The parasite is maintained by domestic and wild canids as definitive hosts with several ungulate species as intermediate hosts in domestic and peridomestic transmission cycles. In Chile, CE is endemic, and the role of livestock and dogs (Canis lupus familiaris) in the cycle and the accidental infection of humans are widely documented at rural sites. However, the role of wild herbivores in wild cycles or the potential transmission of CE from livestock is still unknown in Chile and the rest of South America. We used molecular techniques to describe CE infecting a Patagonian huemul (Hippocamelus bisulcus) in Cerro Castillo National Reserve (Aysén region, Chile). We make inferences about the risk of disease spillover from sympatric domestic and wild species. The DNA-based molecular analysis revealed that the huemul was infected with E. granulosus G1 genotype, sharing haplotypes with other G1 samples collected from sheep (Ovis aries) and cattle (Bos taurus) worldwide. Geographic overlap between sheep and huemul populations in the reserve likely facilitates parasite spillover into wild deer populations, with shepherd or stray dogs and wild foxes (Lycalopex culpaeus) potentially acting as bridging hosts between livestock and the endangered huemul. Further studies are warranted to understand the implications of E. granulosus for huemul conservation throughout the Chilean Patagonia.

Thirty-two American beavers (Castor canadensis) were immobilized with a mixture of nalbuphine, medetomidine, and azaperone (NalMedA) for tail transmitter placement and health assessments prior to translocation. Inductions and reversals were very smooth, but regardless of the dose administered, which ranged from 0.02 to 0.06 mL/kg, many beavers reacted to mild stimuli such as being lifted out of the cage, drawing blood from the tail, expressing anal glands for sex determination, and turning on isoflurane to deepen anesthesia before placement of tail transmitters. On a scale from 1 to 5, a sedation score of 4 was achieved in 8/32 beavers and a sedation score of 5 in 1/32 of beavers given a mean (SD) dosage of 0.04 (0.01) mL/kg NalMedA, which equated to a mean of 1.09 (0.21) mg/kg nalbuphine, 0.43 (0.09) mg/kg medetomidine, and 0.36 (0.07) mg/kg azaperone. All other animals achieved lower sedation scores. Supplementary isoflurane was needed to deepen anesthesia before tail transmitter placement. Although Nal-MedA appeared to be safe for use in American beavers, the level of sedation achieved was quite variable. Supplementary oxygen is recommended to reduce hypoxemia.

Real-time PCR detected Pseudogymnoascus destructans associated with ectoparasites collected from three mist-netted free-flying bats (two gray bats, Myotis grisescens; one Indiana bat, Myotis sodalis) in late August to early September 2016 from Kentucky, US, a state impacted by white-nose syndrome. Presence of viable conidia could implicate ectoparasites as possible vectors of white-nose syndrome.

We report the occurrence of Oslerus (Anafilaroides) sp. parasitizing the lung of the jaguarundi (Puma yagouaroundi) in Brazil.

Postmortem body temperature is used to estimate time of death in humans, but the available models are not validated for most nonhuman species. Here, we report that cooling in an adult female moose (Alces alces) equipped with a rumen temperature monitor was extremely slow, with a rumen temperature of 27–28 C as late as 40 h postmortem.

We investigated exposure to Brucella canis and Leptospira spp. in sera from 56 canids sampled between 2008 and 2012 in Tierra del Fuego, Chile. No seropositives to B. canis were found. We detected antibodies against Leptospira spp. in Fuegian culpeo fox (Pseudalopex culpaeus lycoides; 20%), chilla foxes (Pseudalopex griseus; 8%), and dogs (Canis lupus familiaris; 3%).

A free-ranging Iberian lynx (Lynx pardinus) was found dead after 16 mo of being reintroduced. On gross necropsy, necrotic areas in the left biceps femoris and intercostal muscles were identified. Streptococcus canis was isolated from both groups of muscles and was confirmed by PCR, corroborating a necrotizing myositis diagnostic.

Antibodies against smooth Brucella were investigated in serum samples of 526 freeranging mammals (21 species) in Brazil. All animals were seronegative, which indicated lowlevel exposure to these bacteria.

A severely debilitated, free-living adult female European hedgehog (Erinaceus europaeus) was presented for rehabilitation. It died overnight, and postmortem examination revealed a closed pyometra. Histopathology confirmed metritis with endometrial hyperplasia, and Staphylococcus lentus was isolated from the purulent uterine material. Staphylococcus lentus has not been previously reported to cause infections in European hedgehogs.

An adult female North American river otter (Lontra canadensis) presented with multiple intrathoracic masses identified histologically as squamous cell carcinoma. Immunohistochemical staining patterns for high- molecular-weight keratin, p40, p63, calretinin, and TTF-1, along with the gross and histologic findings, indicated a primary pleural squamous cell carcinoma as the most likely diagnosis.

Mycoplasma ovipneumoniae has been reported in association with respiratory disease in the wild only in members of the subfamily Caprinae of the family Bovidae. We identified M. ovipneumoniae in a cervid: a free-ranging barren ground caribou (Rangifer tarandus granti) yearling with polymicrobial bronchopneumonia.

We report the detection of canine adenovirus type 1 DNA by real-time PCR technique in an oral sample of an Italian wolf (Canis lupus italicus). Genetic characterization of the virus revealed a strict relationship with viruses detected in dogs (Canis lupus familiaris), wolves, and red foxes (Vulpes vulpes), suggesting that transmission between wild animals and dogs had occurred.