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The Virginia opossum (Didelphis virginiana) is the only marsupial in North America with a natural range north of Mexico. Its range is widespread throughout the United States, including Illinois. Virginia opossums are opportunistic omnivores that will eat a variety of fruits, grains, insects, and even carrion. They are a ground-foraging species, with frequent soil contact allowing for potential exposure to heavy metal contaminants in terrestrial environments. They are also opportunists that thrive in human-altered ecosystems, including peri-urban environments. Lead is a naturally occurring element and highly toxic metal that is abundant in the soil, primarily due to anthropogenic factors such as fossil fuel use, paint, industrial production waste, and battery recycling. Furthermore, carrion and offal piles containing lead bullet fragments remaining from hunting result in environmental contamination of this heavy metal. Few studies exist on lead exposure in the Virginia opossum. This pilot study evaluates the blood lead burden of 16 free-ranging Virginia opossums presented to a wildlife rehabilitation facility, compared with 16 wild-caught Virginia opossums trapped in grassland, maintained forest, or mixed ecotones. In other species, lead toxicosis has been associated with cognitive dysfunction that may increase the likelihood of trauma or injury in a free-ranging setting. In addition, a high incidence of Virginia opossums presenting for wildlife rehabilitation do so as result of human–animal conflict. Therefore, it was anticipated that individuals presenting for wildlife rehabilitation would have significantly higher blood lead concentrations than their free-roaming counterparts. In this study, every Virginia opossum had measurable blood lead concentrations and the average blood lead concentration of the rehabilitated group was 2.7 times higher than that measured in wild-caught Virginia opossums. These results suggest that Virginia opossums are exposed and susceptible to lead toxicosis due to their diet and foraging behaviors, making them more prone to subsequent injury and presentation to wildlife rehabilitation centers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Campylobacter hyointestinalis was initially isolated from an asymptomatic black howler monkey (Alouatta caraya) in a routine fecal culture examination. Fecal cultures from other individuals in this group and an adjacently housed black-headed spider monkey (Ateles fusciceps robustus) group recovered C. hyointestinalis from all but one of the individuals sampled (1.1 spider monkeys and 2.1 howler monkeys). Concurrently, one spider monkey presented with acute onset severe rectal prolapse and diarrhea. Whole-genome sequencing results of C. hyointestinalis isolates from all individuals were homologous and closely related to Campylobacter hyointestinalis subsp. hyointestinalis TTU_618, a strain typically associated with environmental samples. In addition, two cytolethal distending toxin (CDT) expressing gene clusters, cdt-I and cdt-II, were identified in all isolates. These results suggest C. hyointestinalis is transmissible to both howler monkeys and spider monkeys, though the origin of infection and whether it is transmissible between these species is undetermined. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the presence of dermatophytes on the haircoat of wild eastern cottontail rabbits (ECR) (Sylvilagus floridanus) with and without skin lesions. ANIMALS: 2-week-old or older ECR admitted to a Wildlife Medical Clinic (WMC) in central Illinois, Midwest United States, from September 2021 to August 2022. METHODS: ECR were surveyed over a 1-year period to assess the prevalence and seasonality of dermatophytosis. A Wood's lamp exam was performed over the haircoat. Hairs were sampled with a sterile toothbrush and plated on Sabouraud dextrose agar. The plates were photographed twice weekly for 3 weeks, and colonies were identified as contaminants or dermatophytes. RESULTS: 523 ECR were admitted to WMC, 141 ECR met the age inclusion criteria, and 121 samples were plated. ECR presented as a litter were sampled together. None of the sampled ECR presented skin lesions other than acute traumatic wounds. No fluorescence was observed on any ECR during the Wood's lamp examination. Based on culture colony morphology, 115/121 of the samples were identified as contaminants and no growth was observed in 6/121 of plates. Dermatophytes' colonies were not identified on any of the culture plates. CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Dermatophytes are zoonotic fungi and can potentially be carried by wild animals. The fungal infection poses a health concern to humans and domestic pets through direct interaction. Our current results suggest that dermatophytosis may not be prevalent in asymptomatic wild rabbits in the studied areas of the Midwestern United States. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Campylobacter hyointestinalis was initially isolated from an asymptomatic black howler monkey ( Alouatta caraya ) in a routine fecal culture examination. Fecal cultures from other individuals in this group and an adjacently housed black-headed spider monkey ( Ateles fusciceps robustus ) group recovered C. hyointestinalis from all but one of the individuals sampled (1.1 spider monkeys and 2.1 howler monkeys). Concurrently, one spider monkey presented with acute onset severe rectal prolapse and diarrhea. Whole-genome sequencing results of C. hyointestinalis isolates from all individuals were homologous and closely related to Campylobacter hyointestinalis subsp. hyointestinalis TTU_618, a strain typically associated with environmental samples. In addition, two cytolethal distending toxin (CDT) expressing gene clusters, cdt -I and cdt- II, were identified in all isolates. These results suggest C. hyointestinalis is transmissible to both howler monkeys and spider monkeys, though the origin of infection and whether it is transmissible between these species is undetermined.