Serotyping of foot and mouth disease virus and Pasteurella multocida from Indian gaurs (Bos gaurus), concurrently infected with foot and mouth disease and haemorrhagic septicaemia.

We report the serotyping of foot-and-mouth disease virus (FMDV) and Pasteurella multocida from Indian gaurs which were concurrently infected with foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) and haemorrhagic septicaemia. Bannerghatta biological park (BBP), a national park located in the outskirts of Bengaluru city, Karnataka, India, is bordered by several villages. These villages witnessed massive outbreaks of FMD which spread rapidly to the herbivores at BBP. Post-mortem was conducted on carcasses of two Indian gaurs that died with symptoms of FMD. The salient gross findings included extensive vesicular lesions on the tongue, gums, cheeks, upper palate and hooves. Haemorrhagic tracheitis and ecchymotic haemorrhages on the heart were characteristic. The vesicular lesions of oral cavity were positive for 'O' type of FMD virus by sandwich enzyme-linked immuno sorbent assay (ELISA). The heart blood and spleen samples yielded growth of pure cultures of P. multocida. The isolates were typed as P. multocida type B using KTSP61 and KTT72 primers yielding specific amplicons of 620 bp. The phylogenetic analysis of the isolates was carried by sequencing of 1.4-Kbp nucleotides on the 16S ribosomal RNA (rRNA) gene of the isolates.

Chemical immobilisation of dhole (Cuon alpinus), Indian jackal (Canis aureus indicus) and Indian wolf (Canis lupus pallipes) with ketamine hydrochloride-xylazine hydrochloride.

Maintaining wild animals in captivity often requires chemical immobilisation to achieve various diagnostic, surgical and management interventions. Four dholes, two Indian grey wolves and four Indian jackals were immobilised using ketamine-xylazine combination for either medical or management interventions. Based on the estimated body weight, canids were darted upon with 6-8 mg kg-1 ketamine and 0.7-1.14 mg kg-1 xylazine. Initial signs of drug effect included decreased mentation and progressive ataxia followed by recumbency. The mean ± SD of induction time was 14.25 ± 2.75 (range: 11-17 min), 11 ± 3.16 (range: 8-15 min) and 15.5 ± 3.54 (range: 13-18 min) in dhole, Indian jackal and Indian wolf, respectively. Hyperthermia was initially observed in all the jackals and dholes, whereas rectal temperature in wolves remained well within the normal range for canids. The mean duration of anaesthesia was 31 ± 8.83 (range: 23-43 min), 32.5 ± 5.32 (range: 26-39 min) and 30.5 ± 7.78 (range: 25-36 min) in dhole, Indian jackal and Indian wolf, respectively, with subsequent smooth and uneventful recovery in all the cases. The observations made during immobilisation procedures in this work suggest that chemical immobilisation of captive dhole, Indian wolf and Indian jackal with 6-8 mg kg-1 ketamine and 1 mg kg-1 xylazine is effective and safe for routine management and medical interventions in these species provided body temperature is closely monitored and corrected as appropriate.