Disseminated yeast Order infection in a Muscovy duckling .

A Muscovy duckling was presented for necropsy due to ongoing mortalities on a farm. Microscopic examination revealed multisystemic inflammatory lesions with intralesional and intracytoplasmic yeast-like organisms. We identified these agents as yeast belonging to the Order based on sequence data obtained from the ribosomal RNA operon.

A retrospective study of non-suppurative encephalitis in beef cattle from western Canada.

Non-suppurative encephalitis occurs sporadically in beef cattle in western Canada, leading to loss of animals. This retrospective study investigated the presence of viral, bacterial, and protozoal antigens or DNA in 37 western Canadian feedlot cattle with non-suppurative encephalitis for which a cause had not been identified. Cases were selected based on the age of the animal (> 7 months), and clinical history of recumbency and depression.

Babesia odocoilei infection in a Saskatchewan elk (Cervus elaphus canadensis) herd.

An 8-year-old female elk (Cervus elaphus canadensis) cow, presented for chronic severe weight loss and unthriftiness, was diagnosed with Babesia odocoilei infection based on blood smear evaluation, polymerase chain reaction (PCR), and DNA sequence analysis. Subsequently, velvet antler from a male that died acutely on the same farm was also PCR positive for Babesia spp. Both animals originated from a game ranch of Saskatchewan-bred and -raised animals with no known history of tick exposure, but with a history of numerous sudden deaths of unknown etiology.

Description of the larva of Ceratophyllus vagabundus vagabundus (Siphonaptera:Ceratophyllidae) from nests of Ross's and lesser snow geese in Nunavut, Canada.

Adults of the flea, Ceratophyllus vagabundus vagabundus , were present in the hundreds in nests of Ross's (Chen rossii) and lesser snow (Chen caerulescens caerulescens) geese in the Arctic goose colony at Karrak Lake, Nunavut, Canada. Ceratophyllus v. vagabundus had not been previously recorded in association with Ross's or snow geese.

Tularemia, plague, yersiniosis, and Tyzzer's disease in wild rodents and lagomorphs in Canada: a review.

Information related to infection of wild rodents or lagomorphs in Canada by Francisella tularensis, Yersinia pestis, other Yersinia spp., and Clostridium piliforme was searched for this study. Reports on tularemia in humans linked to these species came from diagnostic databases, literature, wildlife health specialists, and public health agencies.

Bovine tuberculosis in Canadian wildlife: an updated history.

Mycobacterium bovis infection in wild animals attracted little attention in Canada until the disease was almost eliminated from domestic livestock. Tuberculosis was endemic in plains bison and occurred in elk, moose, and mule deer in Buffalo National Park (BNP), Alberta during the 1920s and 1930s. Bison were moved from BNP to Wood Buffalo National Park (WBNP), where tuberculosis became, and remains, endemic in bison, posing a risk to efforts to restore bison in northern Canada.

Intracellular yeasts in endothelial cells of a great blue heron (Ardea herodias).

Intracellular organisms in the endothelial cells of several organs of an adult great blue heron (Ardea herodias) were identified as a yeast in the family Saccharomycetales based on ultrastructural morphology and sequence data from the ribosomal RNA operon. Morphologically similar organisms of unknown identity have been described previously in Muscovy (Cairina moschata) and domestic (Anas platyrhynchos domestica) ducks.

Granulomatous inflammation in retropharyngeal lymph nodes of wild cervids in Saskatchewan.

A portion of retropharyngeal lymph nodes from 6,824 wild cervids, comprising 1,458 white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus), 5,345 mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus), 11 unidentified deer (Odocoileus spp.), and 10 elk (Cervus elaphus), were examined histologically for evidence of inflammation. Focal granulomatous lymphadenitis was detected in 0.

An outbreak of West Nile virus infection in captive lesser scaup (Aythya affinis) ducklings.

This report describes West Nile virus (WNV)-associated mortality in captive lesser scaup (Aythya affinis) ducklings that occurred in Saskatchewan, Canada, in July and August 2007. There were no clinical signs or gross necropsy findings suggestive of the cause of death; however, microscopic lesions were consistent with WNV infection, including nonsuppurative encephalitis and myocardial, pancreatic, and splenic necrosis. Necrosis of the thymus and thyroid was also observed in some birds, which has not previously been reported in association with WNV infection.

Dermoid cysts in caribou.

Subcutaneous dermoid cysts were identified in eight wild caribou (Rangifer tarandus) from widely dispersed locations in northern Canada and in one wild caribou from Alaska. The dermoid cysts from Canadian caribou were found among 557 diagnostic specimens that had been detected by hunters and submitted by resource officers and biologists between 1 January 1966 and 15 May 2007. All of the cysts were located in the cervical region, and five of nine cysts were found in the throat area.

Destructive polyarthropathy in aborted bovine fetuses: a possible association with Ureaplasma diversum infection?

Severe destructive polyarthropathy with fibrillation and erosion of articular cartilage, deformation of articular surfaces, and proliferation of periarticular soft tissue was diagnosed in 5 bovine fetuses aborted in the last trimester. There was involvement of a single coxofemoral joint in 2 fetuses, both elbows, and a stifle in 1, both stifles and tarsal joints in another, and, in the most severely affected fetus, both hips, stifles, and shoulders as well as 1 carpus. In affected joints, the articular cartilage was irregularly reduced in thickness and contained fibrovascular tissue and, in some cases, inflammatory cells and fibrin.

Bilateral perirenal hemorrhage in two Stone's sheep (Ovis dalli stonei): a possible manifestation of malignant catarrhal fever.

Malignant catarrhal fever (MCF)-like disease was diagnosed at postmortem in 2 Stone's sheep (Ovis dalli stonei). On gross examination, the predominant abnormality in both sheep was severe perirenal hemorrhage and multiple renal infarcts. Microscopically, there was severe, multisystemic lymphocytic arteritis.

Excretion of pathogenic Newcastle disease virus by double-crested cormorants (Phalacrocorax auritus) in absence of mortality or clinical signs of disease.

Pathogenic Newcastle disease virus (NDV) caused several epidemics of Newcastle disease in double-crested cormorants (Phalacrocorax auritus) in recent years. Eleven 16-week-old cormorants were infected with, or exposed to, pathogenic NDV from one of these epidemics and monitored for 70 days. No birds died, four birds had transient ataxia between 12 and 27 days post-infection (d.

Demodicosis in a mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus hemionus) from Saskatchewan, Canada.

Infestation of deer with Demodex spp. mites has been described in white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) and in Columbian black-tailed deer (Odocoileus hemionus columbianus) in North America, as well as in four species of deer in Europe. We describe Demodex sp.

Feasibility of using coyotes (Canis latrans) as sentinels for bovine mycobacteriosis (Mycobacterium bovis) infection in wild cervids in and around Riding Mountain National Park, Manitoba, Canada.

Elk (Cervus elaphus manitobensis) and white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) in the Riding Mountain National Park (RMNP) region of southwestern Manitoba have been identified as a likely wildlife reservoir of Mycobacterium bovis, the causative agent of bovine mycobacteriosis in livestock. The feasibility of using coyotes (Canis latrans) collected from trappers as a sentinel species was investigated. Retropharyngeal, mesenteric, and colonic lymph nodes and tonsils collected at necropsy from 82 coyotes were examined by bacterial culture, polymerase chain reaction (PCR), and acid-fast histopathology.

Tularemia in deer mice (peromyscus maniculatus) during a population irruption in Saskatchewan, Canada.

Type B tularemia caused by Francisella tularensis subsp. holarctica was diagnosed in deer mice (Peromyscus maniculatus) found dead at four sites in west-central Saskatchewan during April and May 2005. The occurrence of tularemia coincided with a decline in the number of deer mice in part of a large area (>22000 km(2) ) in which deer mice had been extremely abundant during the autumn of 2004 and spring of 2005, and in which mice caused damage to crops in the autumn of 2004.

Effect of experimental ectoparasite control on bartonella infections in wild Richardson's ground squirrels.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the role of ectoparasites in transmitting Bartonella infections in wild Richardson's ground squirrels (Spermophilus richardsonii). Richardson's ground squirrels were trapped, examined for fleas, and tested for Bartonella bacteremia once monthly, at six sites, from April to September 2004. After the initial trapping session in April, burrows at three sites were treated with deltamethrin insecticide.

Demographic features of Bartonella infections in Richardson's ground squirrels (Spermophilus richardsonii).

The epidemiology of Bartonella infections in Richardson's ground squirrels (Spermophilus richardsonii) was studied at multiple sites in Saskatchewan, Canada, from 2002 to 2004. The overall prevalence of Bartonella infection was 48%. Juvenile squirrels were significantly more likely to be infected with Bartonella than were adults (58% and 37%, respectively), and juvenile animals also were significantly more likely to have high levels of bacteremia compared to adult animals.

Diversity of Bartonella genotypes in Richardson's ground squirrel populations.

The diversity and dynamics of Bartonella genotypes found in wild Richardson's ground squirrels (RGS), Spermophilus richardsonii were monitored at multiple sites in Saskatchewan, Canada from 2002 to 2004. Based on sequence analysis of a portion of the Bartonella citrate synthase (gltA) gene, four different genotypes were detected in 233 isolates from 176 animals. The majority (87%) of sequences were identified as genotype H, with genotypes I, J, and K accounting for 8%, 4%, and 1% of sequences, respectively.