Victor F. Nettles

The orbiviruses, epizootic hemorrhagic disease (EHD) virus or bluetongue (BT) virus, cause a disease syndrome termed hemorrhagic disease (HD) in white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) and several other wild ruminants. An annual mail survey of state wildlife agencies was conducted from 1980-1989 to estimate the occurrence of HD in the continental United States. Thirty-one states reported confirmed or suspected HD activity, and 1,608 occurrences were reported in 880 counties or parishes. Cases of HD were reported throughout most of the Southeast and much of the Midwest and northern Great...

Basic physical parameters and health characteristics are presented on raccoons (Procyon lotor) representative of animals offered for sale to raccoon hunting clubs in the southeastern United States. Comparisons were made with similar data on samples of wild raccoons live-trapped by noncommercial wildlife agencies. Raccoons from animal dealers had more fresh bite wounds and fracture calluses, significantly greater numbers of infected soft tissue lesions (P <.05), and generally were in poorer physical condition than animals live-trapped by game biologists. Bite wounds, and infected soft...

The frequency of chronic debilitation of white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) due to traumatic injuries was estimated from necropsy records on 1,002 animals collected for scientific purposes throughout the southeastern United States. Evidence of previous injury was present in 76 deer (7.6 percent). Percentages of injured deer did not vary significantly according to sex, physical condition, or six-month periods associated with high or low hunting pressure. Incidence of injury increased with age for both sexes but was statistically significant only for does. The cause of most injuries...

Nasal bots (Cephenemyw sp.) were found in 107 (4.4 percent) of 2,423 white-tailed deer (Odocoueus virginianus) examined from the following states: Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia. Infected deer were not found in Alabama, Kentucky, and Tennessee. The parasite was most prevalent in the winter and summer. There were no significant differences in infestations between sexes or age groupings. The average infestation was 9 larvae per infested deer and only 5 deer harbored more...