By the late 2000s, Canada had successfully eliminated the incursion of racoon rabies from the south and remained free of this rabies variant from approximately 2009 to 2014. However, new incursions of raccoon rabies variant have recently been detected in three Canadian provinces: Ontario, Quebec and New Brunswick. Actions to address previous and current incursions of this rabies variant include enhanced surveillance programs, a point infection control strategy to respond to cases, a trap-vaccine-release program and oral rabies vaccination campaigns in targeted areas to prevent further cases and spread. It is hard to predict when and where new incursions will appear because of the ecological adaptability of raccoons and the significant risk associated with inadvertent translocation events by vehicles, trains and ships and raccoon movements across bridges. To date, no cases of raccoon rabies variant have been detected in domestic animals in Canada. However, until racoon rabies can be pushed back from the Canadian border, it is important to remain prepared for the reappearance of this disease.Affiliations

A free-ranging canid killed near Caraquet, new Brunswick, Canada, in 2012 exhibited a mitochondrial DnA sequence of Gray Wolf (Canis lupus) origin and a Y-chromosome haplotype of eastern Wolf (C. lycaon) origin. the animal, which is the first wolf recorded in new Brunswick since 1862, was identified as a Gray-eastern Wolf hybrid (C. lupus × C. lycaon) based on analysis of its autosomal microsatellite genotype. Stable carbon isotope values (δ 13 C) suggest that the Caraquet wolf was of wild origin. Likewise, δ 13 C analysis suggests that a wolf-coyote hybrid killed in Quebec south of the St. Lawrence River in 2002 was also of wild origin. however, δ 13 C values for a wolf from the same region in 2006 suggest that this animal spent most of its life feeding predominantly on non-wild-source food items. Recent occurrences of wild-origin animals south of the St. Lawrence River demonstrate that wolves are capable of dispersal to formerly occupied areas in southeastern Canada and the united States. however, limited natural dispersal alone will likely not be sufficient to re-establish wolves in northeastern north America.

Abstract. Central nervous system tumors are rarely reported in cervids. The current report describes gross and histopathologic oligodendrogliomas in 3 white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus), and selected immunohistochemical properties of 2 deer. All deer were euthanized due to central nervous system signs. Grossly, masses were variably circumscribed, locally invasive in the brain, light grey, and soft, and ranged from 2 to 5 cm in diameter. Histologically, tumors were characteristic for oligodendroglioma. The tumors were composed primarily of oval to round cells with round normochromatic to hyperchromatic nuclei, a pale granular cytoplasm, and well-delineated cytoplasmic membrane, and variable amounts of mucinous material, hemorrhage, and dystrophic mineralization. Immunohistochemistry, performed on masses from 2 deer, had positive cytoplasmic staining for S100 and variable staining on glial fibrillary acidic protein (1 deer negative and the other with rare positivity in astrocytes within the mass). This manuscript includes a discussion on the significance of these findings relative to central nervous system tumors of cervids and oligodendrogliomas from other species.

Ovarian and paraovarian cysts were found in 14 of 49 moose (Alees alces) ≥ 1 year old examined in New Brunswick. The pathogenesis of cystic structures in moose in New Brunswick is not known. Breeding success (conception) does not appear to be influenced by ovarian or paraovarian cysts.

Targeted surveillance for raccoon rabies virus was conducted between February and May 2017, near Waweig, New Brunswick, Canada, in response to detection of a rabid striped skunk (Mephitis mephitis) on 8 February 2017. A total of six skunks, 11 raccoons (Procyon lotor), and two porcupines (Erethizon dorsatum) were live-trapped, euthanized, and tested for rabies virus antigens using the direct rapid immunohistochemical test. Of these, only two skunks tested positive for rabies. All three rabid skunks came from the same location, an abandoned barn used as a denning site. Four of five skunks removed from this barn were males. Feeding, aggression, extreme response to noise and light stimuli, and exposure to porcupine quills were observed in two rabid skunks. No additional cases of rabies in wildlife were detected in the area since 8 March 2017. A targeted surveillance approach that removed potentially infected wildlife followed by localized oral rabies vaccine distribution was implemented in this locality.