Journal of Wildlife Diseases最新文献

Opportunistic examination of reptiles in the context of various research projects in Florida, USA identified infection with the pentastome Raillietiella orientalis in novel hosts, including free-ranging and captive animals. Free-ranging hosts included two species of invasive snakes (Boa constrictor and Python sebae), three native snakes (Thamnophis saurita, Lampropeltis elapsoides, and Micrurus fulvius), two invasive lizards (Anolis equestris and Basiliscus vittatus), and one native lizard (Aspidoscelis sexlineatus). The latter represents the first documented case of adult R. orientalis spillover into Florida's native lizards. Novel definitive non-indigenous hosts in captive settings were one lizard species (Pogona vitticeps) and one tortoise (Aldabrachelys gigantea). The documented Raillietiella infection in a tortoise not only represents a substantial host jump to include an additional order, the testudines, but it also demonstrates the pathogenic potential of the parasite in tortoises. Developing effective biosecurity strategies is essential for safeguarding both captive and wild herpetofauna from continued R. orientalis spillover, especially in regions with proximity to and trade with Florida.

Great Horned Owls (Bubo virginianus; GHOW) are a true owl species (family Strigidae) widely distributed across the Americas. In GHOWs, herpesviral disease is best known from fatal infections with columbid alphaherpesvirus 1, which is endemic in rock pigeons (Columba livia). Recently, two novel alphaherpesviruses, strigid alphaherpesvirus 1 (StrAHV1) and strigid alphaherpesvirus 2 (StrAHV2), have been identified in GHOWs displaying ocular lesions and upper respiratory signs, respectively. To date, these are the only potentially endemic herpesviruses described in this species. This study aimed to develop and validate quantitative PCR (qPCR) assays for rapid detection of StrAHV1 and StrAHV2. Two singleplex probe-hybridization qPCR assays were developed for each virus, StrAHV1 and StrAHV2. Each primer-probe combination was cross-validated against the other. Whole blood and individual conjunctival, choanal, and cloacal swabs were obtained from 39 GHOWs hospitalized at three institutions in California, Colorado, and Florida in the USA and were run in duplicate for each assay. The highest number of copies of StrAHV1 detected and the greatest percentage of positive samples were from the choana (assay 1A: 15 of 35 [43%] positive, mean 194,030 copies, median 0 copies, range 0-3,411,469 copies; assay 1B: 16 of 35 [46%] positive, mean 197,622 copies, median 0 copies, range 0-3,554,915 copies). Conjunctiva had the next highest number of copies detected and positivity rate, followed by cloaca, with the number of copies detected and positivity rate both lowest in blood samples. A Kruskal-Wallis test using the choana results from the StrAHV1 assay 1A comparing the results from the three states found no significant differences (P=0.3443). No animals were positive for StrAHV2, suggesting that it may not be an endemic pathogen in GHOW. The qPCR assays developed can be used to further evaluate the epidemiology of StrAHV1 and StrAHV2 along with their clinical significance in GHOW.

Knowledge of the occurrence and etiology of cetacean diseases remains limited in northern areas, including in the Arctic and sub-Arctic. In November 2023, three killer whales (Orcinus orca) were observed in northern Norway exhibiting abnormal behavior, including inability to swim upright, loss of directional control, short and shallow dives, and lethargy. These unusual cases occurred within a 2-wk period and in the same area, suggesting a common underlying condition. However, due to the lack of diagnostic biologic samples, the cause of disease remains speculative. Herein, we discuss possible differential diagnoses based on the available data, including infectious disease, exposure to biotoxins, and blast trauma. Disease in live free-swimming killer whales in Norway has not been documented previously. These cases illustrate the significant challenges of investigating disease in wild, live cetaceans and emphasize the urgent need for improved surveillance, field diagnostic tools, and response protocols. Suggested developments include the implementation of ready-to-use kits for blow, fecal, and environmental DNA sampling; drones equipped with sampling devices and thermal sensors; and mobile laboratories to support on-site diagnostics. Collectively, these tools could significantly improve early detection, investigation, and management of similar unusual events in wild cetacean populations.

The western population segment of the Steller sea lion (Eumetopias jubatus) has experienced significant population declines. The Alaska Department of Fish and Game is studying the ecology and health of the population. We describe the use of butorphanol-midazolam-medetomidine (BMM) in the capture of free-ranging Steller sea lions. This combination is advantageous as the animals retain their breathing reflex and float at the surface if entering water after darting, and it is fully reversible. Sea lions were darted when resting on haulouts. The majority (45/55) of the adult female sea lions received 75 mg butorphanol, 75 mg midazolam, and 20 mg medetomidine, whereas 10/55 were immobilized with lower doses: 30-62.5 mg butorphanol, 45-62.5 mg midazolam, and 9-18 mg medetomidine. Time from dart to approach was a mean of 19.7 min (range 9-45 min). The mean mass of the 29/55 sea lions obtained was 292.3 (range 205.5-380.5), and the mean drug dose administered in the dart was 0.23 mg/kg (range 0.13-0.36 mg/kg) butorphanol, 0.25 mg/kg (range 0.18-0.36 mg/kg) midazolam, and 0.07 mg/kg (range 0.04-0.10 mg/kg) medetomidine. No mortalities were noted. Twenty of the 55 sea lions were administered an additional 30-100 mg butorphanol, 37-75 mg midazolam, and 3-13 mg medetomidine after approach to achieve adequate sedation for handling. Forty-two of 55 sea lions were intubated and maintained on isoflurane and oxygen, whereas 13 were maintained on injected drugs alone. Of these 13 animals, five received supplementary oxygen. Early in the immobilization, heart rates, and blood oxygenation (SpO2) were significantly lower in the sea lions that received supplementary drugs (P<0.05), and sea lions not receiving supplementary oxygen were hypoxemic. The immobilization was reversed with atipamezole, naltrexone, and flumazenil intramuscularly. The mean time from reversal to ambulatory was 11 min (range 2-42 min). In conclusion, BMM was efficacious for immobilization of free ranging Steller sea lions.

A DeKay's brown snake (Storeria dekayi) from Georgia, USA, was found with subcutaneous nodules. Postmortem examination identified generalized microsporidiosis with concurrent ophidiomycosis. Molecular and phylogenetic characterization of the 18S gene identified the parasite as a member of the genus Vavraia, most closely related to isolates of invertebrate hosts in Japan.

Book reviews express the opinions of the individual authors regarding the value of the book's content for Journal of Wildlife Diseases readers. The reviews are subjective assessments and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the editors, nor do they establish any official policy of the Wildlife Disease Association.

Book reviews express the opinions of the individual authors regarding the value of the book's content for Journal of Wildlife Diseases readers. The reviews are subjective assessments and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the editors, nor do they establish any official policy of the Wildlife Disease Association.

Over the past 75 years, the Wildlife Disease Association has served as a primary professional resource for the dissemination of scientific information and the generation of seminal contributions on diverse wildlife health issues. Historical examination of the organization's records from 1951 onwards reveals a dynamic evolution in communicative formats, from newsletters, to microfiches and bulletins, to culmination in the current periodical, the Journal of Wildlife Diseases. Using rabies as one major example, to date nearly 300 documents have appeared as Letters to the Editor, short communications, full research articles, engaging perspectives, or expansive reviews. Given the high case fatality, global distribution, broad host susceptibility, and significance to agriculture, human and veterinary medicine, and conservation biology, rabies serves as an ideal One Health exemplar shepherded by the Journal over time. Expansive topics have encompassed individual species case reports and series; sensitive and specific diagnostic methods for enhanced laboratory-based surveillance; disease ecology and control and prevention issues; epidemiological insights; disease emergence; public health engagement; pathogenesis; bio-economics; modeling considerations; host-agent biological traits, serological surveys, and novel vaccinology applied to free-ranging animals; and modern virological techniques. As such, using rabies as a subjective surrogate, the Journal has served as a critical resource, not only to chart the course of progress in the wildlife health field historically, from its rather humble North American origins during the mid-20th century, but also as its continued scientific relevance today in promotion of the transdisciplinary mission of a global professional organization.

Oral rabies vaccination (ORV) has successfully prevented appreciable spread of the raccoon rabies virus variant (RRVV) west of the Appalachian Mountains in the US. However, local and regional elimination of RRVV has been challenging, particularly in areas of the eastern US with routine spillover transmission to striped skunk (Mephitis mephitis) populations. We used rabies antibody seroprevalence monitoring data from two ORV baiting strategies, a 75 baits/km2 applied from 2012 to 2013 and a 300 baits/km2 applied from 2014 to 2016, in West Virginia, US, and home range estimates on the basis of data from striped skunks collared with a global positioning system in 2014 and 2015, to identify factors influencing skunk home range size and movements with respect to land cover classes and to compare the efficiency of hypothetical aerial ORV baiting scenarios that may improve bait uptake by skunks and increase post-ORV rabies antibody seroprevalence. When baits were deployed in late August, the mean core and overall skunk home ranges were 0.135 km2 (±0.086 km2 SD) and 0.648 km2 (±0.400 km2 SD), respectively. Skunks preferred, and maintained smaller home ranges in, pasture and had larger home ranges in deciduous-mixed forest. The ORV baiting scenarios that we explored varied in bait density, flight-line spacing between baiting transects, and flight patterns followed to deliver baits. Bait density was the most important factor that we identified; higher bait density increased predicted seroprevalence and possible bait uptake. The crisscross flight pattern compared with the parallel pattern had higher costs without a substantial increase in hypothetical bait uptake. This research provides insight into skunk ecology in a rural area of the eastern US and how various aerial baiting strategies might influence the efficiency and effectiveness of ORV related to skunks.

Baylisascaris procyonis larva migrans is a debilitating and potentially lethal zoonotic, parasitic condition that can infect a large variety of paratenic hosts, including birds and mammals and even humans. The typical pathway to develop baylisascariasis is to ingest B. procyonis eggs from contaminated feces or through contaminated soil where contaminated fecal matter has decayed. I hypothesized that earthworms (Lumbricus terrestris) living in soils contaminated with B. procyonis eggs from decayed feces of its definitive host, raccoons (Procyon lotor), would incidentally ingest B. procyonis eggs, and in turn, if earthworms were consumed by songbirds, songbirds would become infected with B. procyonis larvae, resulting in baylisascariasis. I placed 100 earthworms in B. procyonis-infused soil and determined that 92% of earthworms had a mean and SE of 7.3±0.4 B. procyonis eggs in their alimentary canals. When B. procyonis-infected earthworms were fed to European Starlings (Sturnus vulgaris), 94% (17/18) of starlings displayed signs of ataxia, torticollis, and paralysis, and 11/18 (61%) died within 22 d of first ingestion of B. procyonis-infected earthworms. White blood cell counts of starlings that ingested B. procyonis-infected earthworms increased nearly threefold, percentage of eosinophils increased 25-fold, and percentage of lymphocytes increased and percentage of heterophils decreased from day 0 to day 12 postingestion. Starlings within the control group remained healthy and displayed normal behaviors. This study highlights an overlooked pathway of baylisascariasis in paratenic hosts, which has potential as a mortality factor for many species within terrestrial ecosystems.