Journal of Wildlife Diseases最新文献

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.

We necropsied a red fox (Vulpes vulpes) with gross and histologic lesions suggestive of leptospirosis, with intralesional argyrophilic bacteria. Real-time PCR detected Leptospira spp. in multiple organs. We identified Leptospira interrogans related to the Australis serogroup by typing the 16S rRNA and Lfb1 genes and by multilocus sequence typing.

The Mexican long-nosed nine-banded armadillo (Dasypus mexicanus) has continued to expand its range since it was first documented in Texas, US, in the mid-1800s. It dispersed north and east and was found in Missouri, USA, starting in the 1980s. This species is known to contract leprosy, also known as Hansen's disease, caused by Mycobacterium leprae. Infected armadillos are considered to be a zoonotic source of leprosy in the US. A recent case (2021) of leprosy in a native Missourian who had a history of contacts with armadillos appears to have been locally acquired. However, no data were available on the presence or prevalence of leprosy in wild armadillos from Missouri. We sampled various tissues from 64 armadillos, 39 road killed and 25 hunter killed/culled, from southwestern and central Missouri in summer 2022 to determine the local prevalence of M. leprae. Two animals were PCR positive for M. leprae, providing evidence that this pathogen is moving northward along with the range expansion of Mexican long-nosed armadillos.