ABSTRACT
Serum samples from 143 hunter-killed black bears were collected during the 1996 and 1997 black bear hunting seasons in eastern North Carolina. All samples were tested for antibodies to Toxoplasma gondii by the modified agglutination test. Antibodies to T. gondii were present in 120 of 143 (84%) bears. Females had significantly higher titers than males (Wilcoxon rank sums test, P = 0.045), and titers increased with age (Jonckheere test, P = 0.01). Samples collected during 1996 (n = 79) were tested for antibodies to Trichinella spiralis by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. No samples were positive for antibodies to T. spiralis.
Subject(s)
Antibodies, Helminth/blood , Antibodies, Protozoan/blood , Toxoplasma/immunology , Toxoplasmosis, Animal/epidemiology , Trichinella spiralis/immunology , Trichinellosis/veterinary , Ursidae/parasitology , Age Distribution , Animals , Animals, Wild , Disease Reservoirs , Female , Male , Meat/parasitology , North Carolina/epidemiology , Seroepidemiologic Studies , Sex Distribution , Surveys and Questionnaires , Trichinellosis/epidemiologyABSTRACT
Sarcocysts of an unidentified Sarcocystis species were found in sections of skeletal muscles of a black bear (Ursus americanus) from North Carolina. Two sarcocysts in a section measured 45 x 37.5 microm and 67.5 x 50 microm and had a thin (<2 microm) sarcocyst wall. The villar protrusions on the cyst wall were up to 2 microm long and up to 0.7 microm wide. The bradyzoites were approximately 6 X 2.5 microm in size. This is the first report of muscular Sarcocystis in a bear.
Subject(s)
Muscle, Skeletal/parasitology , Sarcocystis/isolation & purification , Sarcocystosis/veterinary , Ursidae/parasitology , Animals , Microscopy, Electron/veterinary , Sarcocystis/ultrastructure , Sarcocystosis/parasitologyABSTRACT
Systemic arterial dirofilariasis is an unusual manifestation of heartworm disease of dogs that results from aberrant migration of Dirofilaria immitis into the peripheral arterial circulation. To expand the clinical characterization of systemic arterial dirofilariasis, 5 dogs evaluated at the North Carolina State University's College of Veterinary Medicine were reviewed. Common clinical presentations included hindlimb lameness, paresthesia of hindlimbs, and interdigital ischemic necrosis resulting from thromboembolic disease. Visualization of heartworms with angiography or ultrasonography confirmed the diagnosis in all cases. All 5 dogs were treated with an adulticide; 3 dogs were treated with thiacetasamide sodium and 2 with melarsomine dihydrochloride. Four of the 5 dogs survived the initial treatment period; 1 dog died of severe thromboembolic complications after thiacatarsamide sodium therapy. The treatment of systemic arterial dirofilariasis creates a therapeutic challenge because of multiple potential complications resulting from thromboembolic disease.
