Volume 16, Number 2—February 2010
Letter
Aggression and Rabid Coyotes, Massachusetts, USA
Xingtai Wang
, Catherine M. Brown, Sandra Smole, Barbara G. Werner, Linda Han, Michael Farris, and Alfred DeMaria
, Catherine M. Brown, Sandra Smole, Barbara G. Werner, Linda Han, Michael Farris, and Alfred DeMaria
Table
Reported signs of disease in 111 coyotes submitted for rabies testing, Massachusetts, USA, 1985–2008*
| Clinical sign | Total no. (%) | DFA result |
||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Positive | Negative | Unsatisfactory | ||
| Aggression | ||||
| No | 100 (90.1) | 4 | 92 | 4 |
| Yes |
11 (9.9) |
6 |
5 |
0 |
| Ataxia | ||||
| No | 109 (98.2) | 10 | 95 | 4 |
| Yes |
2 (1.8) |
0 |
2 |
0 |
| Disorientation | ||||
| No | 94 (84.7) | 8 | 83 | 3 |
| Yes |
17 (15.3) |
2 |
14 |
1 |
| Found dead | ||||
| No | 96 (86.5) | 8 | 86 | 2 |
| Yes |
15 (13.5) |
2 |
11 |
2 |
| Lethargy | ||||
| No | 96 (86.5) | 10 | 83 | 3 |
| Yes |
15 (13.5) |
0 |
14 |
1 |
| Paralysis | ||||
| No | 106 (95.5) | 10 | 92 | 4 |
| Yes |
5 (4.5) |
0 |
5 |
0 |
| Salivation | ||||
| No | 108 (97.3) | 9 | 95 | 4 |
| Yes |
3 (2.7) |
1 |
2 |
0 |
| Seizures | ||||
| No | 109 (98.2) | 9 | 96 | 4 |
| Yes |
2 (1.8) |
1 |
1 |
0 |
| Wound of unknown origin | ||||
| No | 98 (88.3) | 10 | 84 | 4 |
| Yes | 13 (11.7) | 0 | 13 | 0 |
*DFA, direct fluorescence antibody; unsatisfactory, not tested because of decomposed brain tissue; no, not observed or unknown.
Page created: December 10, 2010
Page updated: December 10, 2010
Page reviewed: December 10, 2010
The conclusions, findings, and opinions expressed by authors contributing to this journal do not necessarily reflect the official position of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the Public Health Service, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, or the authors' affiliated institutions. Use of trade names is for identification only and does not imply endorsement by any of the groups named above.