Sharon L. Deem

CANINE DISTEMPER IN TERRESTRIAL CARNIVORES: A REVIEW

Abstract Canine distemper virus is a member of the genus Morbillivirus in the family Paramyxoviridae. Canine distemper has been recorded in domestic dogs for centuries. It is now recognized as a worldwide problem of carnivores and has the second highest fatality rate of any infectious disease, after rabies, in domestic dogs. The importance of this disease in nondomestic animals has become evident with vaccine-induced infections in a variety of species and large-scale epidemics in captive and free-ranging felids. To date, canine distemper has been reported in all families of terrestrial carnivores: Canidae, Felidae, Hyaenidae, Mustelidae, Procyonidae, Ursidae, and Viverridae. Veterinarians, including those working with nondomestic carnivores, should be familiar with the clinical signs, diagnosis, and clinical management of this disease.

Roadless Wilderness Area Determines Forest Elephant Movements in the Congo Basin

A dramatic expansion of road building is underway in the Congo Basin fuelled by private enterprise, international aid, and government aspirations. Among the great wilderness areas on earth, the Congo Basin is outstanding for its high biodiversity, particularly mobile megafauna including forest elephants (Loxodonta africana cyclotis). The abundance of many mammal species in the Basin increases with distance from roads due to hunting pressure, but the impacts of road proliferation on the movements of individuals are unknown. We investigated the ranging behaviour of forest elephants in relation to roads and roadless wilderness by fitting GPS telemetry collars onto a sample of 28 forest elephants living in six priority conservation areas. We show that the size of roadless wilderness is a strong determinant of home range size in this species. Though our study sites included the largest wilderness areas in central African forests, none of 4 home range metrics we calculated, including core area, tended toward an asymptote with increasing wilderness size, suggesting that uninhibited ranging in forest elephants no longer exists. Furthermore we show that roads outside protected areas which are not protected from hunting are a formidable barrier to movement while roads inside protected areas are not. Only 1 elephant from our sample crossed an unprotected road. During crossings her mean speed increased 14-fold compared to normal movements. Forest elephants are increasingly confined and constrained by roads across the Congo Basin which is reducing effective habitat availability and isolating populations, significantly threatening long term conservation efforts. If the current road development trajectory continues, forest wildernesses and the forest elephants they contain will collapse.

Comparison of Blood Values in Foraging, Nesting, and Stranded Loggerhead Turtles (Caretta Caretta) Along the Coast of Georgia, Usa

The health status of 83 loggerhead sea turtles (Caretta caretta; 39 foraging, 31 nesting, and 13 stranded turtles) was analyzed using physical examinations, hematology, plasma biochemistry, plasma protein electrophoresis, and toxicologic parameters. Significant differences were noted in a number of health parameters between turtles exhibiting each of these behaviors. On physical examinations, stranded turtles had the highest prevalence of heavy carapace epibiont loads, miscellaneous abnormalities, emaciation, and weakness. Differences in hematologic values included a lower packed cell volume, higher number of lymphocytes, and lower number of monocytes in stranded turtles; lower white blood cell counts in foraging turtles; and significant differences in total solid values among turtles exhibiting all behaviors with the lowest values in stranded turtles and the highest values in nesting turtles. Differences in plasma biochemistry values included the highest uric acid, creatine kinase, and CO2 values in stranded turtles; the highest glucose and potassium values in foraging turtles; and the highest cholesterol and triglyceride values, and lowest alanine aminotransferase, in nesting turtles. Differences in total protein, albumin, and globulin were found using plasma biochemistry values, with lowest values in stranded turtles and highest values in nesting females, whereas differences in blood urea nitrogen between turtles included the lowest values in nesting turtles and the highest in foraging turtles. Plasma organochlorine and polychlorinated biphenyl levels were below their limits of quantification in the 39 foraging, 11 nesting, and three stranded turtles tested. A statistically significant difference was noted in the level of whole blood mercury between the 23 foraging and 12 nesting turtles tested. There was no difference in arsenic or lead levels between turtles exhibiting any of the three behaviors. Although a few limitations exist with the present study and include unknown ambient temperatures, turtle handling times that varied from 15 min to 53 min per turtle, and the use of a different laboratory for processing complete blood counts and plasma biochemistries in stranded versus foraging and nesting turtles, we provide baseline blood values for two cohorts (foraging and nesting) of loggerhead sea turtles on the coast of Georgia. Additionally, we demonstrate significant differences in clinical findings and blood parameters between foraging, nesting, and stranded loggerhead turtles in the region.

Demography, hunting ecology, and pathogen exposure of domestic dogs in the Isoso of Bolivia

Abstract:  Disease is increasingly recognized as a threat to the conservation of wildlife, and in many cases the source of disease outbreaks in wild carnivores is the domestic dog. For disease to spill over from a domestic to a wild population, three conditions must be satisfied: susceptibility of the wild species, presence of the disease agent in the domestic population, and contact between the two populations of interest. We investigated the potential for disease spillover from the domestic dog population to the wild carnivore population in the Isoso of Bolivia, an area of tropical dry forest contiguous with a national park. Using questionnaires and discussions with residents, we gathered data on the demography of dogs in the Isoso, including adult and neonatal mortality, litter size, and hunting frequency. We analyzed a large data set containing self‐recorded information on hunting in various communities of the Isoso to determine the extent of dog participation in hunting and the duration of hunting trips. Finally, we took blood samples from dogs in the Isoso for a serosurvey of common canine pathogens. More than 95% of dogs had positive titers to canine distemper virus and canine parvovirus. There was also a high seroprevalence in dogs for other pathogens, a high population turnover of dogs (which may allow diseases to be maintained endemically), and frequent opportunities for contact between domestic and wild carnivores. Based on our results and the susceptibility of wild species previously reported in the literature, domestic dogs represent a disease risk for wildlife in the Bolivian Isoso.

Exposure of free-ranging maned wolves (Chrysocyon brachyurus) to infectious and parasitic disease agents in the Noël Kempff Mercado National Park, Bolivia.

Abstract Maned wolves (Chrysocyon brachyurus) are neotropic mammals, listed as a CITES Appendix II species, with a distribution south of the Amazon forest from Bolivia, through northern Argentina and Paraguay and into eastern Brazil and northern Uruguay. Primary threats to the survival of free-ranging maned wolves include habitat loss, road kills, and shooting by farmers. An additional threat to the conservation of maned wolves is the risk of morbidity and mortality due to infectious and parasitic diseases. Captive maned wolves are susceptible to, and die from, common infectious diseases of domestic dogs (Canis familiaris) including canine distemper virus (CDV), canine parvovirus (CPV), rabies virus, and canine adenovirus (CAV). Results from this study show that free-ranging maned wolves in a remote area of Bolivia have been exposed to multiple infectious and parasitic agents of domestic carnivores, including CAV, CDV, CPV, canine coronavirus, rabies virus, Leptospira interrogans spp., Toxoplasma gondii, and Dirofilaria immitis, and may be at increased risk for disease due to these agents.

Endoparasites of Western Lowland Gorillas (Gorilla gorilla gorilla) at Bai Hokou, Central African Republic

A coprologic study of free-ranging western lowland gorillas (Gorilla gorilla gorilla) at Bai Hokou, Dzangha-Ndoki National Park, Central African Republic (2°51′34″N, 16°28′03″E) was conducted from October 1999 to November 2000. All 75 fecal samples examined were positive for endoparasites, and each contained at least two species. Parasites present included two genera of amoebae, entodiniomorph ciliates, including Prototapirella gorillae, Troglodytella spp., and Gorillophilus thoracatus, a Balantidium-like organism, strongyle/trichostrongyle eggs (including a presumptive Mammomonogamus sp. and several other genera), Strongyloides sp., Probstmayria sp., a spirurid, a trichuroid, and several unidentified trematodes. Flagellates and cestodes were not found. Despite the presence of a variety of parasite genera, in general, levels of parasitism were low. These data provide baseline parasitologic data for this population as part of a comprehensive health-monitoring program. With the advent of ecotourism in this study area, continued monitoring is indicated for insuring the health of both gorillas and humans in the Bai Hokou study area.

HEALTH EVALUATION OF FREE-RANGING AND CAPTIVE BLUE‐FRONTED AMAZON PARROTS (AMAZONA AESTIVA) IN THE GRAN CHACO, BOLIVIA

Abstract Bolivia has a total of 47 species of Psittacidae, seven of which have been identified in our study site, the semiarid Gran Chaco of the Isoso. One species, the blue-fronted parrot (Amazona aestiva), is frequently captured by local Isoseño Guaraní Indians for exploitation on the national and international market. These birds are often temporarily housed in small villages under unhygienic conditions with poultry and other domestic species. On occasion, these parrots escape back to the wild. Additionally, many of these birds are kept as pets or are used to lure wild parrots within slingshot range for subsequent capture. In this study, we evaluated the health status, including the level of exposure to selected infectious agents, in the wild-caught captive birds and free-ranging birds. Physical examinations were performed, and blood was collected, from 54 live birds (20 captive and 34 free-ranging). Feces were collected from 15 birds (seven captive and eight free-ranging). Necropsies were also performed on four recently dead wild-caught birds. On serologic testing, no birds were found to have antibodies to avian influenza virus, Chlamydophila psittaci, infectious bronchitis virus, infectious bursal disease virus, infectious laryngotracheitis virus, Mareks disease virus, paramyxovirus-1, paramyxovirus-2, paramyxovirus-3, polyomavirus, eastern equine encephalitis virus, western equine encephalitis virus, or Venezuelan equine encephalitis virus. Positive antibody titers were found for psittacine herpesvirus (8/44, 18.2%), Aspergillus spp. (3/51, 5.9%), and Salmonella pullorum (33/49, 67.3%). All three of the birds that tested antibody positive for Aspergillus spp. were captive, whereas six of the eight and 15 of the 33 birds that tested positive for psittacine herpesvirus and S. pullorum, respectively, were wild.

Seroprevalence of pathogens in domestic carnivores on the border of Madidi National Park, Bolivia

Abstract The importance of diseases of domestic animals in the conservation of wildlife is increasingly being recognised. Wild carnivores are susceptible to many of the pathogens carried by domestic dogs and cats and some of these pathogens have caused disease outbreaks and severe population declines in threatened species. The risk of disease spillover from domestic to wild carnivores in South America has not been extensively investigated. This study examined the disease exposure of domestic carnivores living near a protected area in Bolivia. Forty dogs and 14 cats living in three towns on the eastern border of Madidi National Park were sampled. High levels of exposure to canine distemper virus, canine parvovirus, Sarcoptes scabiei and Toxoplasma gondii were found among domestic dogs, with similarly high levels of exposure to feline parvovirus, feline calicivirus and T. gondii being found among domestic cats. If contact occurs between domestic and wild carnivores, disease spillover may represent an important risk for the persistence of wild carnivores in the region. Additional research is therefore necessary to determine if wild carnivores living in proximity to these domestic carnivore populations are being exposed to these pathogens.

Fungal diseases of birds of prey

Aspergillosis and candidiasis are ranked among the most common infectious diseases in birds of prey. The prevention of these fungal diseases is often easier than treatment. Thus the clinician should strive to prevent infection by minimizing stress, maintaining a healthy environment, limiting long-term use of antibiotics and corticosteroids, and reducing exposure to fungal organisms. Although less commonly diagnosed among wild, free-ranging birds of prey, a high incidence in a free-ranging population should make the clinician think of an immunocompromising factor (i.e., toxins, human encroachment or low prey base) that may be contributing to infection. The diagnosis of aspergillosis and candidiasis often requires more than just the identification of the agent, as these ubiquitous organisms often are cultured from healthy birds of prey. In those birds of prey in which a fungal infection is highly suspected or proven, antifungal drugs remain the mainstay of treatment, although available drugs and modes of delivery have improved in recent years.

Morbidity and mortality associated with a new mycoplasma species from captive American alligators (Alligator mississippiensis).

Abstract Nine of 74 American alligators (Alligator mississippiensis) from a captive Florida herd of 3–4-m-long, 200–350-kg, adult males greater than 30 yr of age died within a 10-day period during 1995. Nonspecific clinical signs included anorexia, lethargy, muscle weakness, paraparesis, bilateral white ocular discharge, and various degrees of periocular, facial, cervical, and limb edema. Pneumonia, pericarditis, and arthritis were found on postmortem evaluation of the spontaneously dead and euthanatized alligators. Rapidly growing mycoplasmas were identified by culture, and mycoplasma nucleotide sequences were identified by polymerase chain reaction testing of fresh lung and synovial fluid from an affected alligator. Culture of banked frozen lung from necropsy specimens and fresh lung and fresh synovial fluid from newly affected alligators confirmed the presence of a new mycoplasma species in seven of eight individuals. Oxytetracycline was administered, but related deaths continued for 6 mo until only 14 of the initial alligators remained. An enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay to detect antibody was developed, and the organism was transmitted experimentally to naive juvenile alligators, although the source of the organism, Mycoplasma sp. (ATCC 700619), has not been identified. The alligator isolate is a novel species in the mycoplasma family because its nucleotide sequence does not match those of over 75 characterized mycoplasma species. Such factors as population density, animal age, and mycoplasmal virulence likely contributed to the course of disease.