Ocular plague (Yersinia pestis) in mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus) from Wyoming and Oregon.

Although plague is relatively rare in wild ungulates, this report describes ocular lesions associated with Yersinia pestis infection in three free-ranging mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus) from Wyoming and Oregon, USA. All deer were observed antemortem and seemed to be blind. Post-mortem examination revealed gross lesions of bilateral keratoconjunctivitis and/or panophthalmitis in the first two deer, but only partial retinal detachment in the third deer.

Tularemia in range sheep: an overlooked syndrome?

Abortion and death caused by Francisella tularensis were well recognized in range flocks of domestic sheep in Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming in the first 6 decades of the 20th century. The current report describes 4 episodes of tularemia in 3 range flocks in Wyoming and South Dakota in 1997 and 2007 (1 flock was affected twice). Flock owners reported that ticks were unusually numerous and commonly present on sheep during outbreaks.

Application of fluorescent in situ hybridisation for demonstration of Coxiella burnetii in placentas from ruminant abortions.

A fluorescent in situ hybridisation (FISH) assay targeting 16S ribosomal RNA was developed for detection of the zoonotic bacterium Coxiella burnetii in formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded tissue, and applied on placentas from ruminant abortions. The applicability of the FISH assay was compared to immunohistochemistry (IHC) using human positive control serum in 12 cases of C. burnetii-associated placentitis as well as 7 negative control tissue samples.

Comparison of ear notch immunohistochemistry, ear notch antigen-capture ELISA, and buffy coat virus isolation for detection of calves persistently infected with bovine viral diarrhea virus.

Two techniques performed on skin biopsy samples (ear notches), immunohistochemistry (IHC) and antigen-capture ELISA (AgELISA), were compared for detection of bovine viral diarrhea virus (BVDV) persistent infection (PI) in 559 Angus calves between the ages of 1 and 5 months. The calves also were tested for BVDV infection using virus isolation (VI) and reverse transcription (RT)-PCR on buffy coat samples and for antibodies to BVDV types la and 2 by serum neutralization (SN). Sixty-seven of 559 (12.