Fungal nephritis was found in a grey-headed albatross, Diomedea chrysostoma. The fungus was identified as a member of the Aspergillus flavus-oryzae group.

An area 30 by 50 km was selected for destruction of vampire bats (Desmodus rotundus). The area was located in the path of an advancing epizootic of vampire bat-borne bovine rabies which had been moving southward at the average rate of 40 km per year for 14 years. The bats were exterminated in their roosts in water wells with cyanide gas, and the wells were sealed with wire mesh frames. The epizootic did not pass through the control area, but did pass it by to the west. It is concluded that strategic elimination of vampire bats may be used for control of bovine rabies when vampires are the sole vector.

Ossifying fibromata are described from three striped mullet (Mugil cephalus) from the Gulf of Mexico near Galveston, Texas. The tumors were classified as ossifying fibromata based on their predominately fibrous composition, the presence of bone spicules in the larger tumors, and the absence of mitotic figures.

Serum and blood samples from 86 wolves taken in northern Canada were examined for neutralizing antibodies to canine distemper, infectious canine hepatitis and canine herpesvirus. The tests were performed on eluates prepared from paper discs previously saturated with serum or blood from wolf carcasses. Canine distemper and infectious canine hepatitis antibodies were demonstrated in two and eleven samples respectively. No reactors were detected for canine herpesvirus. These findings indicate the existence of the viruses of both CD and ICH in free-living wolves in northern Canada. However, their significance in these animals is not known.

A member of the ballum serogroup of Leptospira interrogans is reported from a northern vole, Microtus oeconomus (Pallas), from the Alaska Peninsula. This is the first record of a ballum serogroup member and the first isolation of a leptospire from an indigenous mammal in Alaska.

Blood specimens from shot or drug-immobilized impala (Aepyceros melampus), Thomson's gazelle (Gazella thomsonii), Grant's gazelle (Gazella granti), mountain reedbuck (Redunca fulvorupula), blue wildebeest (Connochaetes taurinus), Coke's hartebeest (Alcelaphus buselaphus cokii), topi (Damaliscus korrigum), eland (Taurotragus oryx), buffalo (Syncerus caffer) and giraffe (Giraffa carnelopardalis) have been studied for the following parameters: erythrocyte and leukocyte counts, haematocrit and haemoglobin estimations, and serum calcium, inorganic phosphorus, magnesium and copper values. Both shot and drug-immobilized impala and shot wildebeest and topi had relatively high numbers of erythrocytes. The haematocrit and haemoglobin values were found to be comparatively low in the buffalo. Calcium and inorganic phosphorus values were low in the reedbuck and inorganic phosphorus low in the topi, when compared to normal values for domestic ruminants.

When comparing data from shot and drug-immobilized impala, wildebeest and eland, statistically significantly higher values were found in erythrocyte counts, haematocrit and haemoglobin estimation in shot impala and wildebeest. Inorganic phosphorus was significantly higher in shot eland and wildebeest compared to immobilized animals of these species.

English sparrows (Passer domesticus) were studied to assess the usefulness of this species as a relatively stationary air sampler and biological indicator of atmospheric pollutants significant to man. Histopathology of bird necropsy tissue revealed numerous granule-laden macrophages in the pulmonary stroma of birds taken from polluted atmospheres (inland sample) but not from unpolluted atmospheres (coastal sample). Electron microscopy demonstrated several different types of particles within pulmonary macrophages of inland birds but not in coastal birds. The results of this study suggest that the English sparrow might serve as a useful indicator of amospheric pollutants and as a model system for studying the effects of an adverse environment.

Studies were made of the growth, mortality, and blood changes of cutthroat trout (Salmo clarki) experimentally infected with the blood fluke, Sanguinicola klamathensis Wales 1958. Five hundred non-infected cutthroat trout fingerlings and 500 exposed to a population of 6000 Fluminicola fusca snails with a 6% prevalence of infection with the blood fluke S. klamathensis were maintained for several months. Following 3 months exposure to the blood fluke infection, the experimental group had 80% mortality. Packed cell volumes and oxyhemoglobin levels were reduced significantly in the experimental fish as compared to the controls. Control fish continued to grow logarithmically in total weight, while the experimental fish declined in total weight due to parasitism and mortality. There were significant differences between the two groups for the average weight per fish and the average length per fish during the period of mortality.

External opercular cysts were observed in cutthroat trout, Salmo clarki henshawii affected with whirling disease. Microscopic examination of the cysts revealed numerous spores of Myxosoma cerebralis in their lumen and walls. Rupture of these cysts may provide a method of whirling disease transmission from live infected fish.

The pseudophyllidean tapeworm, Triaenophorus nodulosus, was found in 51% of the adult white bass, Morone chrysops, sampled from western Lake Erie during the summer of 1973. Prevalence of infection with Triaenophorus increased with size and age of fishes. This worm is responsible for the disease triaenophoriasis, which is grossly characterized by large, white cysts, dark-brown “streaks” and hemorrhages in the liver. Microscopically, there is an acute inflammatory response, necrosis of liver parenchyma, squamous metaplasia, fibrosis and displacement of liver tissue as the tapeworm grows. Many plerocercoids were necrotic and surrounded by a dense tissue. The pathophysiology of extensive liver obstruction needs to be investigated as well as its effect upon infected fish populations.

Two barred doves found in the South Kona district of the island of Hawaii were diagnosed as having trichomoniasis on the basis of gross and microscopic lesions. This brings the confirmed list of columbid species susceptible to natural trichomoniasis to four and is the first report of the disease from columbids in the Hawaiian Islands.

Morphology of the larval stages of Elaeophora schneideri from the horse fly and the normal definitive host (Odocoileus hemionus) are described. Development of larvae in the horsefly begins in the fat bodies, but larvae enter the haemocoele early in the first-stage of development and remain in the haemocoele until they are third-stage (infective) and then migrate to the head and mouth parts. Infective larvae in the definitive host begin development in the leptomeningeal arteries and are immature adults in 2 weeks. At 3.5-4 weeks they migrate into the carotid arteries and grow to sexual maturity about 4.5 months later. In abnormal definitive hosts (Cervus canadensis or Ovis aries) larvae remain in the leptomeningeal arteries for 5 weeks or longer initiating the clinical manifestations of elaeophorosis.

Fifty-one diseased California sea lions, Zalophus californianus, that stranded on southern California beaches were examined by necropsy. Pneumonia and mucoid bronchiolar obstruction, secondary to infestation with the lungworm Parafilaroides decorus, were the predominant lesions but other findings are presented. Bacterial isolations and identifications were attempted when indicated and antibiotic sensitivities were noted. Comments are included on the diagnosis and treatment of the more commonly found diseases.

Impala (Aepyceros melampus) and eland (Taurotragus oryx) were immobilized with a xylazine-etorphine-acepromazine combination or with xylazine alone. Clinical observations were made and blood samples were taken at intervals to determine the drug effects on clinical and blood parameters. During the immobilization period heart rate and body temperature decreased, as well as numbers of circulating erythrocytes and leukocytes, and values for haemoglobin and packed cell volumes. The possible causes are discussed.

Thirty-one penned cottontail rabbits (Sylvilagus floridanus) were used in a 2 × 2 factorial experiment to determine the effects of metazoan parasitism on selected physiological parameters of the host. The two treatments used were stomach tube administration of a broad spectrum anthelmintic and application of insecticide collars. Drug treatment caused significantly reduced numbers of nematodes, but had no noticeable effects on cestode or trematode numbers. No ectoparasites were recovered from insecticide collar-treated rabbits and only low numbers were recovered from the remaining experimental rabbits. Total serum proteins, serum globulin fractions, lymphocyte percentages, and monocyte percentages were significantly lower and neutrophil percentages were significantly higher in drug treated groups. Body weights, fat indices, selected organ weights, packed cell volumes, and basophil percentages were not significantly affected by the treatments employed.

During studies on bovine malignant catarrhal fever, 8 recently captured female wildebeest (Connochaetes taurinus) were injected daily for 1 week with the corticosteroid betamethasone. All developed pustular vulvovaginitis 7 to 9 days after the first injection. Infectious bovine rhinotracheitis virus (IBRV) was isolated from vaginal swabs from seven animals. Serum neutralizing antibody to IBRV was present in seven animals before injection of the corticosteroid, and the titres increased during convalescence. It is presumed that the wildebeest were latent carriers of IBRV in genital tissue. One of the IBRV isolates produced mild vulvovaginitis in a domestic heifer inoculated by the vaginal route.

Fifty robins, Turdus migratorius, from South Bass Island, Ottawa County, Ohio were examined for helminth parasites. Twelve species of helminth parasites were found, two species of trematodes, three of cestodes, six of nematodes, and a single species of acanthocephalan. Two of these helminths, the nematodes Capillaria contorta and C. ovopunctatum, represent new host records.

Fifty red-winged blackbirds, Agelaius phoeniceus, from South Bass Island, Ottawa County, Ohio, were examined for helminth parasites. Thirteen species of helminths were found, four species of trematodes, two of cestodes, five of nematodes, and one species of acanthocephalan. A check list of the helminth parasites reported from this host is included.

One hundred and twenty-one white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) from 24 counties in 11 southeastern states were examined for muscleworm, Parelaphostrongylus andersoni, and meningeal worm, P. tenuis. Muscleworm was found in deer of 12 counties in Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, North Carolina, and South Carolina. Meningeal worm was recovered from deer in 10 counties of Arkansas, Georgia, Maryland, North Carolina, Virginia, and West Virginia. Concomitant infections with P. andersoni and P. tenuis occurred in deer of two counties in North Carolina. Future studies on the distribution of protostrongylid lungworms of white-tailed deer must be based on the location and identification of adult nematodes since first-stage larvae of Parelaphostrongylus are indistinguishable morphologically.

Hemograms were serially performed on dolphin blood stored with EDTA at 4 C and 23 C for 5 days. With the exception of differential counts, the blood remained diagnostically suitable at both temperatures for at least 5 days. Fifteen chemical analyses were serially performed on plasma stored at 25 C and on the plasma of whole blood stored at 4 C and 25 C for 8 days. BUN, uric acid, bilirubin, cholesterol and total protein remained stable under all conditions throughout the 8 day period. Other constituents, including enzymes, were quite stable in stored plasma, and less so in stored whole blood. Many of the changes in stored whole blood were temperature dependent.

Acholeplasma laidlawii and Pasteurella multocida were recovered from the pneumonic lungs taken from a lynx (Lynx canadensis) which had been shot.

An epizootic of canine distemper (CD) virus infection is described among raccoons and gray foxes in urban Sarasota County, Florida. The epizootic persisted for 2 years with a total of 114 raccoons and 8 gray foxes being handled by Sarasota County Animal Control. Virus was isolated from clinically ill raccoons on two separate occasions, 7 months apart. CD antibodies were detected in 54.5% of a sample comprising both clinically ill and apparently normal raccoons. The incidence of CD in dogs in the county did not increase during the 2 year period.

Forty-two of 46 sera (91%) from turtles (Pseudemys scripta-elegans) in Georgia had microscopic agglutination titers of 200 or greater to Leptospira serotype tarassovi. Leptospires were isolated from eight of ten hamsters (80%) inoculated with surface water collected from the settling ponds of the untreated sewage disposal system in which the turtles lived. Leptospires were also isolated from 12 of 20 hamsters (60%) inoculated with turtle kidney suspensions and six of 20 hamsters (30%) inoculated with turtle cloacal suspension. Hamster brain appeared to be the best tissue for recovering leptospires since 24 of the 41 isolates (59%) from the 26 culture-positive hamsters were from the brain and 17 (41%) were from the kidney. Six of the 41 isolates from hamsters that had been injected with surface water and turtle kidney and cloacal tissue were identified as being identical to serotype tarassovi.

Ten feral pig (Sus scrofa domesticus) X European wild boar (Sus scrofa cristatus) hybrids collected from Aransas National Wildlife Refuge harbored the following internal parasites; Gongylonema pulchrum, Ascaris suum, Globocephalus urosubulatus, Stephanurus dentatus, Sarcocystis sp. and three species of Metastrongylus. External parasites consisted of the following three Ixodid tick species; Amblyomma cajennense, Amblyomma maculatum, and Ixodes scapularis. Extensive inflammation, fibrosis and accumulations of necrotic debris characterized the lesions in the liver and perirenal tissues containing somatic larvae and adult Stephanurus dentatus. Two young piglets recently captured at the Aransas Refuge harbored Strongyloides ransomi.

A total of 1852 anatids of 14 species from various locales in Massachusetts were examined for hematozoa; 1064 (58%) of 10 species were found to harbour one or more blood parasites. Haemoproteus (P.) nettionis was the commonest parasite, occurring in 90% of the infected birds; Leucocytozoon simondi occurred in 27% while Plasmodium circumflexum occurred in 14.5% of the infected birds. Prevalence of parasitism was somewhat higher in adult than in immature birds and the rate of infection varied widely from area to area within the state but was fairly stable within any one region during each of the four years of the survey. Seasonal prevalence of the parasites indicated that transmission occurred twice each season suggesting at least two major vectors for each hematozoon.

Four isolates of Yersina enterocolitica and six of Y. pseudotuberculosis were made from carcasses collected in Ontario in 1973. Y. enterocolitica was isolated from the following species: Canada goose, Branta canadensis (serotype 4,33), Pekin robin, Leiothrix lutea (serotype 6,30), beaver, Castor canadensis (serotype as yet unknown), and raccoon, Procyon lotor (serotype 5,27). Yersiniosis was apparently the cause of death of the beaver and the cause of liver abscesses in the raccoon; the significance of the isolates from the birds was not determined. Y. pseudotuberculosis isolations were from a crow, Corvus brachyrhynchos (serotype 1A), two purple martins, Progne subis (serotype 1B), and three beavers (serotype 1B). Yersiniosis was apparently the cause of abscesses in one of the beavers and the cause of death of the other cases.

During the period from 1962 to 1972, Y. pseudotuberculosis had been isolated in this laboratory from four beavers and one snowshoe hare, Lepus americanus. There was no record of previous isolation of Y. enterocolitica. In most cases, septic abscesses were found in various tissues; however, significant pathological findings were absent in the Canada goose and the Pekin robin. All but the Pekin robin were free-living native animals.

The hematozoa occurring in 217 of 922 Ugandan birds of 107 species is reported. Species of Haemoproteus were the most prevalent blood parasite, occurring in 82^% of the infected birds. The other groups of avian hematozoa encountered, namely Leucocytozoon (6%), Plasmodium (5%), Trypanosoma (7%) and microfilaria (6%), were virtually identical in their rate of occurrence in the bird population. Multiple infections (6.9%) were uncommon. The highest prevalence of blood parasites were recorded in the Zosteropidae (80%) and Ploceidae (56%). Birds showed blood parasitaemias throughout the year, but the peak prevalence was in October, suggesting that vectors were most active at this time.

Pasteurella anatipestifer was isolated from five of seven juvenile whistling swans found sick or dead on two lakes in Saskatchewan, during the 1973 autumn migration. More than 100 sick or dead birds had been reported on one of these lakes. Pathologic lesions were similar to those reported in Pasteurella anatipestifer infection in other species of waterfowl. The possible epizootiology of the disease is discussed.

Toxoplasmosis, characterized by antibody titers up to 16 million, isolation of T. gondii from blood, and demonstration of cyst forms of T. gondii in the tissues of neonatal kittens, occurred in pallas cats (Felis manul) in a zoo in California. Infections were clinically inapparent, except in the kittens, which developed fatal encephalitis, pneumonitis, hepatitis, myocarditis and nephritis. A possible source of infection was feral pigeons, which once formed a major part of the cats' diet.

The virus of malignant catarrhal fever (MCFV) was isolated from the nasal secretions of 6 of 66 recently captured blue wildebeest (Connochaetes taurinus). Ten MCFV isolates were made from 131 nasal swab specimens but only one isolate was obtained from 168 blood samples. All MCFV isolates from nasal secretions were from wildebeest in captivity, under the stresses of confinement, changes in nutrition, or after injections of a corticosteroid drug, betamethasone. One isolate of MCFV was made from the tonsils of a pregnant wildebeest. It is postulated that nasal shedding of MCFV may be a mechanism for transmission of virus among wildebeest and from wildebeest to cattle.