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Viral Diseases
Malignant Caterlal Fever (MCF)
This virus affects most domestic sheep and goats without disease. If has been found to be fatal in cervidae species with the exception of fallow deer.
It is a virus acquired through nasal and ocular secretions and through the feces. Susceptible ruminants are “end hosts” so transmission to other animals in the herd is rare.
If goat or sheep pens are situated uphill or upstream from the reindeer, your deer are in danger. Never have your deer nose to nose with sheep or goats.
Clinical finds are reported to be sudden death in acute cases, but more often death is preceded by high fever, depression, enlarged lymph nodes, serious eye and nose discharges, problems with coordination and diarrhea. Deer will often have blood in the feces from prominent intestinal hemorrhage. Death usually occurs in 3 – 7 days. There is no preventative vaccine.
A zoo owner in the Edmonton area lost most of his reindeer herd to this disease. His reindeer pen was next to the big horn sheep pen. Since he has moved his reindeer, he has had no more deaths due to this disease.
Papillomas or Fibropapillomas (warts)
Warts are benign tumors, most likely of viral origins, which are observed on the skin of reindeer. The tumors can appear as large, preduculated masses up to 10 cm in diameter or as coalescing masses on the head and neck. They usually disappear after several weeks of months without treatment. Pedunculated warts may be surgically removed if they impair vision or otherwise cause irritation. Although they can grow to be very large, they are not harmful but can be quite annoying. They are attached to the reindeer by a thin stalk that can be cut at the base. AN antiseptic or antibiotic powder should be applied afterwards to prevent infection.
Rabies
Rabies is a very serious disease caused by a virus and carried in the saliva of an animal. This disease can effect all animals, including humans, and left untreated will result in death.
The disease virus does its damage by multiplying many times within the animal and migrating along nerve fibers to the brain. The animal will often act strangely, losing partially ability to walk and swallow.
The disease may cause an animal to become vicious and unpredictable, attacking anything that moves. IN other cases, a rabid animal might avoid light and noise, seeking a quiet and dark place to lie down. The most typical and common sign is heavy drooling at the mouth. This is caused by the inability to swallow.
A reindeer with rabies typically exhibits some degree of impairment of locomotion such as staggering, posterior paralysis or the appearance of being blind. They can be aggressive to people as well as other deer. Infected deer should be killed, but not shot in the head. The head should be sent in to the local lab for diagnosis.
There is currently no vaccine for reindeer against rabies.
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