Fatal pulmonary edema in white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) associated with adenovirus infection

Sporadic sudden deaths in adult white-tailed deer occurred from November 19 97 through August 1998 on an Iowa game farm. Three of the 4 deer necropsied had severe pulmonary edema, widespread mild lymphocytic vasculitis, and am phophilic intranuclear inclusion bodies in scattered endothelial cells in b lood vessels in the lung and abdominal viscera. Immunohistochemistry with b ovine adenovirus 5 antisera and transmission electron microscopy demonstrat ed adenoviral antigen and nucleocapsids, respectively, within endothelial c ells. Adenovirus was isolated in cell culture from 1 of the affected deer. The isolate was neutralized by California black-tailed deer adenovirus anti serum. These findings indicate that adenovirus should be considered in the differential diagnosis of both black-tailed and white-tailed deer with pulm onary edema and/or hemorrhagic enteropathy.