Documentation of the Rabies Virus in Free-Ranging Fisher (Martes pennanti) in Pennsylvania

Mammalian carnivores are the primary hosts for the rabies virus in terrestrial disease cycles. While rabies prevalence in Vulpes spp. and Urocyon spp. (foxes), Mephitis mephitis (Striped Skunk), and Procyon lotor (Raccoon) is well documented in Pennsylvania, the reintroduction of Martes pennanti (Fisher) provides another potential vector of this disease. We used a direct, rapid immunohistochemical test to examine brain material from 46 free-ranging Fishers collected throughout Pennsylvania from 2002–2008. Five Fishers had brain material unsuitable for rabies testing, forty Fishers tested negative for the disease, and one individual tested positive. The individual that tested positive was an adult male that was found to be positive for the Eastern Raccoon strain of rabies. This individual was trapped and radio-collared in July 2006 as part of a research project examining Fisher resource selection. Researchers monitored this individual weekly starting July 2006 until October 2006, when it was found...