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The white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) is a popular game species in North America and often lives in close proximity to humans and domestic animals. Deer with neurologic signs are of high interest to the general public and wildlife managers because of disease and safety concerns. Our aim was to describe diagnostic findings from free-ranging white-tailed deer diagnosed with rabies from across the eastern US from 2000 to 2021, with emphasis on gross lesions in the skin and soft tissue overlying the skull. We reviewed diagnostic reports of white-tailed deer cases submitted to the Southeastern Cooperative Wildlife Disease Study for those diagnosed with rabies from 2000 to 2021. Rabies virus infection was confirmed by immunohistochemistry or fluorescent antibody test of brain, or both. Nine adult deer from five states were diagnosed with rabies, including seven (78%) females and two (22%) males. Three (33%) deer were found dead, and six (67%) were humanely dispatched for abnormal behavior. Six deer heads were examined grossly and had lesions, including forehead or periorbital alopecia, cutaneous erythema, abrasions and ulcers, and subcutaneous edema. Histologic examination was performed for eight of nine cases, all of which had intraneuronal eosinophilic inclusion (Negri) bodies in cerebrum, cerebellum, or both. Most (6/8; 75%) had perivascular lymphoplasmacytic encephalitis. Rabies should be considered a differential diagnosis in deer with this pattern of head lesions, suggestive of head rubbing or head pressing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Congenital ocular abnormalities in cervids have been previously reported as individual cases from various regions of the United States and include microphthalmia, anophthalmia, congenital cataracts, dermoids, and colobomata. A common underlying cause for these abnormalities, such as nutritional deficiencies, environmental toxin exposures, or genetic mutations, has not been established. This retrospective study summarized and compared cases of suspected congenital ocular abnormalities in freeranging white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) submitted to the Southeastern Cooperative Wildlife Disease Study (SCWDS) in Athens, Georgia, to the preexisting literature. Of 3645 accessions of white-tailed deer submitted to SCWDS, 15 qualifying case records were found. An additional 15 cases were reported previously in the literature. Conditions described in SCWDS cases included microphthalmia (8/15), congenital cataracts (3/15), anophthalmia (2/15), colobomata (1/15), anterior segment dysgenesis (1/15), ectopic lacrimal gland tissue (1/15), and congenital blindness with corneal opacity (1/15). Most (11/15; 73%) of the SCWDS cases were male fawns with an average age of 4 months at presentation, consistent with previously described cases. Most animals had bilateral abnormalities with few extraocular congenital abnormalities, also consistent with existing reports. Cases were variably tested for various infectious agents at the time of submission; 2 cases were seropositive for bluetongue virus. Spatiotemporal clustering of cases was not evident. This study provided a concise and systematic summary of known existing cases of congenital ocular defects in fawns but did not identify a cause. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents a study on chemical immobilization which evaluated medetomidine for synergistic effects and relaxation mixed with ketamine for relatively shorter recovery and tiletamine-zolazepam for rapid induction in female white-tailed deer in Atlanta, Georgia. Rectal temperature, respiration and heart rate, hemoglobin saturation, and arterial blood gases postimmobilization were measured. Required dosages are presented for effective and safe chemical immobilization of white-tailed deer.

The article presents a study which examined oxygen saturation in wild white-tailed deer at the University of Georgia Whitehall Deer Research Facility in Athens, Georgia on May 14-15 and May 21, 2009. With the use of pulse oximetry (SpO2), hemoglobin saturation was estimated then compared with hemoglobin saturation value from arterial blood gases (SaO2). The authors suggest evaluating capillary refill time, respiration rate, and heart rate as supplemental information.

The article shows the progression of oligodendrogliomas in white-tailed deer, which were caused by central nervous system tumors. The study was conducted on 3 deer, which were all euthanized to study tumors for their traits connected to development of oligodendroglioma using immunohistochemistry. Results of the study revealed that tumors that caused oligodendroglioma were consisted of elements including oval to round cells with circular nuclei, pale granular cytoplasm, and hemorrhage.