Toxoplasmosis: a serological survey in Ontario wildlife.

Sera from seven species of wild animals in Ontario were examined for antibody to Toxoplasma gondii using the Sabin-Feldman dye test. Of 158 sera tested, 53% of the red foxes (Vulpes vulpes), 56% of the striped skunks (Mephitis mephitis), 78% of the coyotes (Canis latrans), 33% of the black bears (Ursus americanus), 18% of the short tailed shrews (Blarina brevicauda) and none of the field voles (Microtus pennsylvanicus) had antibody. Antibody to T. gondii was present in sera from wild animals captured throughout southern Ontario. A positive linear correlation between prevalence of toxoplasmosis and age of fox pups was calculated (p < 0.005).

The prevalence of antibodies against Toxoplasma gondii in some Ontario mammals.

A survey of serum samples from mammals trapped in Central Ontario showed that many contained antibodies to Toxoplasma gondii. The prevalence of infection as reflected by positive reactions in the Sabin-Feldman Dye Test appeared to be related to the type of diet of each species examined, and specifically, to the proportion of rodents in the diet. Of the fox blood samples tested, 84% were positive. The percentage of positive samples diminished through, coyote, mink, bear, fisher skunk, raccoon, marten and rabbit. Blood samples from squirrel, deer, hare and groundhog were negative.

Clinical observations on the use of ketamine hydrochloride in wild carnivores.

Ketamine hydrochloride was administered intramuscularly to 171 individual animals of five carnivore species. The drug was used in doses which resulted in a range of effects from simple immobilization to a surgical plane of anesthesia during which minor operations were conducted. The drug was found to have a wide margin of safety, was easily administered by syringe, and took effect rapidly. Undesirable side effects of excessive salivation and maintenance of muscle tone were readily controlled by combining ketamine hydrochloride with other drugs.

Paragonimus kellicotti infection in wild carnivores in southwestern Ontario: II. Histopathologic features.

Pulmonary lesions associated with naturally acquired Paragonimus kellicotti infection were studied in mink (Mustela vison), striped skunks (Mephitis mephitis), red foxes (Vulpes vulpes) and a coyote (Canis latrans). In ,ink a fibrous capsule was formed around mature flukes in dilated bronchioles or bronchi, and there was mild focal interstitial pneumonitis adjacent to fluke eggs in alveoli and migrating parasites. A thick wall, infiltrated heavily with mononuclear cells and eosinophils, surrounded mature P. kellicotti in skunks and an extensive inflammatory reaction was found around fluke eggs. In red foxes the wall was thin, hemorrhagic and contained little collagen; necrosis was associated with migrating parasites. Thick capsules formed by marked fibroplastic changes in the lamina propria of affected bronchi were found in the coyote. In raccoons with pleural adhesions massive fibroplasia with eosinophil infiltration beneath the pulmonary pleura suggested a reaction to a migrating parasite entering the lung from the thoracic cavity. It was thought that immature P. kellicotti may have caused the lesion.

Studies on the oral infectivity of rabies virus in carnivora.

Mature and immature red foxes (Vulpes vulpes) and striped skunks (Mephitis mephitis) were fed varying numbers of white mice infected with street isolates and a fixed strain of rabies virus. Rabies deaths and the development of serum neutralizing antibody to rabies virus occurred in both species. The epizootiological implications of these findings are discussed.

Paragonimus kellicotti infection in wild carnivores in southwestern Ontario: I. Prevalence and gross pathologic features.

Paragonimus kellicotti Ward, 1908 was recovered from 16 of 105 mink (Mustela vison), 14 of 244 striped skunks (Mephitis mephitis), 10 of 446 red foxes (Vulpes vulpes), 1 of 31 coyotes (Canis latrans), 0 of 326 raccoons (Procyon lotor) and 0 of 8 weasels (Mustela spp.) collected from southwestern Ontario. The majority of carnivores harboring P. kellicotti was collected from two counties (Huron and Bruce) bordering the east shore of Lake Huron where 6.0% of the animals (excluding raccoons) were infected . There were extensive adhesions between the lungs and parietal pleura and dorsal mediastinal pleura in 25 of 301 raccoons collected from these two counties. This lesion was thought to be associated with a reaction to migrating P. kellicotti. This is the first time P.kellicotti has been reported in the striped skunk and red fox from Ontario and apparently the first record of this parasite in the coyote.