Veterinary Medical Diagnostic Laboratory, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO, USA.
Department of Medicine and Surgery, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO, USA.
J Vet Diagn Invest. 2024 Nov;36(6):809-815. doi: 10.1177/10406387241271416. Epub 2024 Aug 26.
Farmed cervids are of growing economic importance in the midwestern United States. Although diseases of wild and captive cervids have been examined in more northerly climates, little information exists on the health challenges of deer in the Midwest. We characterized and summarized the causes of mortality in farmed white-tailed deer () submitted to the University of Missouri Veterinary Medical Diagnostic Laboratory (Columbia, MO, USA) over a 19-y period (2004-2023). Of 388 cases examined, 253 (65%) were carcasses submitted for autopsy, and 135 (35%) cases were tissue samples harvested by field veterinarians. Infectious disease was the most common cause of mortality ( = 335; 86.3%). Of infectious causes, primary pneumonia was most common ( = 140; 41.7%), followed by septicemia ( = 68; 20.1%), and primary enteritis ( = 64; 19.1%). Viruses were detected in 18% of pneumonia cases. The most common non-infectious diagnoses were emaciation and trauma (both 4 each; 1%). Thirteen animals (3.4%) died of unknown causes. Forty-nine percent of cases were juvenile deer <1-y-old. Most cases were received in the summer (212; 54.6%). Infectious diseases, particularly bacteria and viruses, pose a significant health challenge to farmed deer in the midwestern United States.
人工饲养的鹿在美国中西部地区的经济重要性日益增加。尽管在更北的气候条件下已经研究了野生和圈养鹿的疾病，但关于中西部鹿的健康挑战的信息却很少。我们对 19 年来（2004-2023 年）提交给密苏里大学兽医学院兽医诊断实验室（美国密苏里州哥伦比亚）的人工饲养白尾鹿（）的死亡原因进行了描述和总结。在检查的 388 例病例中，有 253 例（65%）是进行尸检的尸体，135 例（35%）是由现场兽医采集的组织样本。传染病是导致死亡率最高的原因（ = 335；86.3%）。在传染病中，原发性肺炎最为常见（ = 140；41.7%），其次是败血症（ = 68；20.1%）和原发性肠炎（ = 64；19.1%）。18%的肺炎病例中检测到病毒。最常见的非传染性诊断是消瘦和创伤（各 4 例；1%）。有 13 只动物（3.4%）死于不明原因。49%的病例是年龄小于 1 岁的幼鹿。大多数病例发生在夏季（212 例；54.6%）。传染病，特别是细菌和病毒，对美国中西部地区人工饲养的鹿构成了重大健康挑战。
