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Deer warts, or cutaneous fibromas, are skin tumors caused by papillomavirus infection that affect white-tailed deer and other deer. These growths are generally benign, but in rare cases may proliferate and impede functions like sight, movement, or feeding. Deer immune systems usually eradicate the infection over time. Found exclusively on the skin, usually around the eyes, neck, face, and forelegs, warts may be diverse in appearance and size, ranging from small fleshy nodules to larger, pendulous masses or clusters. Transmission mechanisms are suspected to involve skin contact or possibly insect vectors but remain unclear. Diagnosis is by visual examination and histopathological analysis of the wart tissue. Wild deer populations usually do not require treatment, but surgical removal is an option for captive herds. Vaccine development remains plausible but has not yet been pursued extensively.

Pox viruses are widespread and infect many hosts, including insects, reptiles, birds, and mammals. Some, like chicken pox, are highly adapted to humans, and others, like monkeypox, can be transmitted from species to species. All are highly contagious and usually cause lesions or rashes. Poxvirus infections occur in domestic hoofstock, including cattle, sheep, goats, camels, horses, and swine, and they have been reported in wild ungulates, including mountain sheep, mountain goats, reindeer, mule deer, musk-ox, caribou, moose, and white-tailed deer. In 1983, Mule deerpox virus, a genetically distinct pox virus, was found in free-ranging mule deer in Wyoming. Since the 1990s, several cases of mule deerpox virus have been reported from black-tailed deer from California and Oregon and a white-tailed deer from Mississippi, suggesting that this virus may be a potential emerging pathogen for white-tailed deer. It is unclear whether the virus is more prevalent or whether detection has increased.

This publication presents information on the basic mechanisms and types of livestock vaccines available, as well as a few best practices for vaccine management. This information can help improve your herd health and success in your next herd vaccination. Written by Juan M. Campos Krauer and João H. J. Bittar, and published by the Veterinary Medicine—Department of Large Animal Clinical Sciences, UF/IFAS Extension, January 2024.

This article provides valuable insights into antler infections and cranial abscess disease in white-tailed deer. It emphasizes the importance of addressing these concerns for the species’ conservation and well-being. Written by Michael A. Lyons, Amira M. Richardson, Merrie P. Urban, and Juan M. Campos Krauer, and published by the Veterinary Medicine—Department of Large Animal Clinical Sciences, UF/IFAS Extension, January 2024.

This publication presents information on the basic mechanisms and types of livestock vaccines available, as well as a few best practices for vaccine management. This information can help improve your herd health and success in your next herd vaccination. Written by Juan M. Campos Krauer and João H. J. Bittar, and published by the Veterinary Medicine—Department of Large Animal Clinical Sciences, UF/IFAS Extension, January 2024.

This article provides valuable insights into antler infections and cranial abscess disease in white-tailed deer. It emphasizes the importance of addressing these concerns for the species’ conservation and well-being. Written by Michael A. Lyons, Amira M. Richardson, Merrie P. Urban, and Juan M. Campos Krauer, and published by the Veterinary Medicine—Department of Large Animal Clinical Sciences, UF/IFAS Extension, January 2024.

A 7-year-old farmed white-tailed deer doe was transported to a Levy County, Florida property and began to decline in health, exhibiting weight loss and pelvic limb weakness. The doe prematurely delivered live twin fawns, both of which later died. The doe was treated with corticosteroids, antibiotics, gastric cytoprotectants, and B vitamins but showed no improvement. The doe was euthanized, and a post mortem examination was performed under the University of Florida’s Cervidae Health Research Initiative. We collected lung tissue after the animal was euthanized and performed histological evaluation, using H&E and Ziehl–Neelsen (ZN) staining, and molecular evaluation, using conventional PCR, followed by Sanger sequencing. The microscopic observations of the H&E-stained lung showed multifocal granuloma, while the ZN-stained tissue revealed low numbers of beaded, magenta-staining rod bacteria inside the granuloma formation. Molecular analysis identified the presence of Mycobacterium kansasii. This isolation of a non-tuberculous Mycobacterium in a white-tailed deer emphasizes the importance of specific pathogen identification in cases of tuberculosis-like disease in farmed and free-ranging cervids. We report the first case of M. kansasii infection in a farmed white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) in Florida. Although M. kansasii cases are sporadic in white-tailed deer, it is important to maintain farm biosecurity and prevent farmed cervids from contacting wildlife to prevent disease transmission.

The distribution of the jaguar has decreased by approximately 50% with its conservation highly dependent upon its persistence and mobility in anthropogenic landscapes. Consequently, understanding the effects of land use on jaguar populations and their connectivity is a necessary precursor for effective conservation of the species. We simultaneously estimated jaguar density and landscape connectivity in the ranching landscape of the Dry Chaco of western Paraguay, a deforestation hotspot, as a function of proportional forest area using spatial capture-recapture modeling. Using camera trap sampling at four sites along a deforestation gradient of 17%–51% area deforested, we estimated densities of 0.44–1.6 individuals/100 km2, whereby densities and connectivity from the more deforested sites were significantly lower than those from the less deforested sites. Our results warrant concern for the long-term viability of jaguar in the Paraguayan Dry Chaco, highlighting the need for the effective implementation of existing national laws and management plans for the conservation of the jaguar and its habitat. Furthermore, we showed the importance of accounting for landscape heterogeneity typical of anthropogenic landscapes in the conservation of the jaguar, suggesting results from protected areas may be generating unrepresentative inferences for jaguars in general, while indicating the need to place a greater research emphasis on anthropogenic landscapes to meet range-wide conservation goals for the jaguar.

Esta publicación revisa brevemente los grupos más comunes de peces ornamentales tropicales de agua dulce cultivados en Florida y sirve como introducción a una serie de publicaciones que cubren estos grupos con más detalle. Para simplificar, los peces se agrupan según la familia o familias relacionadas.

Esta publicación revisa brevemente los grupos más comunes de peces ornamentales tropicales de agua dulce cultivados en Florida y sirve como introducción a una serie de publicaciones que cubren estos grupos con más detalle. Para simplificar, los peces se agrupan según la familia o familias relacionadas.

This publication provides information on rabbit hemorrhagic disease virus serotype 2 (RHDV2) and discusses infection, clinical signs, treatment, prevention, and reporting. Written by Catherine E. Dixon and Juan M. Campos Krauer, and published by the UF College of Veterinary Medicine, April 2022.

This publication provides information on rabbit hemorrhagic disease virus serotype 2 (RHDV2) and discusses infection, clinical signs, treatment, prevention, and reporting. Written by Catherine E. Dixon and Juan M. Campos Krauer, and published by the UF College of Veterinary Medicine, April 2022.

Abstract Background Epizootic hemorrhagic disease virus (EHDV) is an Orbivirus of veterinary importance which is transmitted by biting midges of the genus Culicoides (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae) to ruminants. Culicoides sonorensis Wirth & Jones, the only confirmed vector of EHDV in the USA, is rare in the southeastern states where transmission persists, suggesting that other Culicoides species transmit EHDV in this region. The present study aimed to determine which Culicoides species transmitted EHDV in Florida and Alabama, two states in the southeastern USA. Viral RNA was detected in field-collected midges using molecular methods. These data are presented alongside data on Culicoides blood meal analysis, white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) aspiration, and seasonality to demonstrate an interaction between potential vector species and EHDV hosts. Results Out of 661 pools tested, 20 pools were positive for EHDV viral RNA, including six pools from Culicoides stellifer (Coquillett) and 14 pools from Culicoides venustus Hoffman. The overall infection rate was 0.06% for C. stellifer and 2.18% for C. venustus. No positive pools were identified for a further 17 species. Serotypes identified in Culicoides included EHDV-2, EHDV-6, and coinfections of EHDV-2 and EHDV-6 and were identified in similar proportions to serotypes in deer at 3 of 4 deer farms. Viral detections conducted in Alabama also identified one positive pool of C. venustus. Blood meal analysis revealed that both Culicoides species fed on white-tailed deer (verified through aspiration), fallow deer, and elk, species for which EHDV viremia has been documented. Seasonality data indicated that both species were present throughout the period in which viral transmission occurred to EHDV hosts in 2016 in addition to the 2017 epizootic. Conclusions Our finding of EHDV positive pools of field-collected C. stellifer and C. venustus and an interaction between these species and EHDV hosts satisfy two of the four criteria for vector incrimination as set by the World Health Organization. Determining the vectors of EHDV is an important step towards developing sound strategies for the control of vector Culicoides and management of EHDV in the southeastern USA.

The University of Florida’s Cervidae Health Research Initiative (CHeRI) conducted a post-mortem examination of a two-year-old white-tailed doe deceased at a northern Florida white-tailed deer farm. The carcass of the deer had notable emaciation and bloating. Upon opening of the carcass, there was pneumonia and the rumen was tympanic and enlarged. Additionally, the abomasum was distended and contained approximately 5 kg of sand. It is not uncommon for white-tailed deer to engage in geophagia (eating soil or sand), which typically does not result in diseases or fatalities. However, in this animal, we suspect a chronic process that created a physical barrier, hindering nutrient absorption and resulting in physical irritation of the abomasal mucosa with subsequent inflammation. This may have caused a disturbance in immune system function, allowing opportunistic bacteria to colonize and invade other organs, such as the lungs, contributing to the animal’s death.

White-tailed deer are susceptible to infection by numerous gastrointestinal parasites. Not all parasite infections cause clinical disease, but even subclinical gastrointestinal parasitism may reduce the health and productivity of infected deer. An understanding of parasite epidemiology is critical to improving captive deer health through effective parasite control strategies. This publication will serve as a guide to common parasites of farmed white-tailed deer in Florida and will provide producers with recommendations for management of gastrointestinal parasites in farmed deer.

White-tailed deer are susceptible to infection by numerous gastrointestinal parasites. Not all parasite infections cause clinical disease, but even subclinical gastrointestinal parasitism may reduce the health and productivity of infected deer. An understanding of parasite epidemiology is critical to improving captive deer health through effective parasite control strategies. This publication will serve as a guide to common parasites of farmed white-tailed deer in Florida and will provide producers with recommendations for management of gastrointestinal parasites in farmed deer.

Hemorrhagic disease (HD) caused by bluetongue virus (BTV) and epizootic hemorrhagic disease virus (EHDV) is the most important viral disease of farmed and wild white-tailed deer (WTD; Odocoileus virginianus) and can cause substantial mortality in susceptible hosts. Captive cervid farming is an emerging industry in Florida, an HD-enzootic region. Morbidity and mortality due to HD are major concerns among deer farmers, but the impact of HD on Florida’s cervid farming industry is unknown. Our primary objective was to determine the prevalence of epizootic hemorrhagic disease virus (EHDV) and bluetongue virus (BTV) among WTD submitted to the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences Cervidae Health Research Initiative (CHeRI) for post-mortem diagnostics. Our secondary objectives were to identify the predominant circulating EHDV serotypes during each sampling year and to determine the age class with the greatest proportion of EHDV- and BTV-positive post-mortem specimens. From 2016 to 2020, spleen samples from 539 farmed WTD with unexplained mortality were tested for the presence of EHDV and BTV by RT-qPCR. Overall, the prevalence of EHDV, BTV, or EHDV/BTV coinfection was 26%, 16%, and 10%, respectively, and 44% of deer (237/539) were diagnosed with HD by RT-qPCR. The predominant circulating EHDV serotype varied by year. Overall, EHDV-2 was the most commonly identified serotype (55% of PCR-positive cases), and EHDV-1 was the least frequently identified serotype (16% of PCR-positive cases). The greatest proportion of EHDV/BTV positives among mortality cases was observed in young WTD aged 3–6 months (50%–82% positive). There was a significant difference in the prevalence of EHDV/BTV by age when comparing specimens from WTD over 1 year old (p = 0.029, n = 527). Among these samples, the number of reported mortalities and the prevalence of EHDV/BTV were highest in yearling animals (56%). These data provide the first estimate of EHDV and BTV prevalence and virus serotypes among farmed WTD in Florida, identify the WTD age groups with the greatest proportions of EHDV- and BTV-positive specimens, and suggest that HD caused by these two viruses may be a major source of mortality challenging the captive cervid farming industry in Florida.