Experimental adenovirus hemorrhagic disease in white-tailed deer fawns

Infection with a newly described endotheliotropic adenovirus was the cause of a 1993 epizootic reminiscent of hemorrhagic disease in California mule d eer (Odocoileus hemionus columbianus and O, hemionus hemionus). Pulmonary e dema and intestinal luminal hemorrhage, or necrotizing stomatitis associate d with systemic or localized vasculitis, respectively, were common lesions seen in animals that died during the epizootic. In order to determine if wh ite-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) also are susceptible to infection and fatal disease with the deer adenovirus, eight white-tailed deer fawns ( 4- to 6-mo-old) were inoculated with purified deer adenovirus. Four were in oculated intravenously and four were inoculated through the mucous membrane s. Seven days post-inoculation, one of the fawns inoculated intravenously d ied. Pulmonary edema and hemorrhagic enteropathy were associated with pulmo nary and intestinal vasculitis with systemic multiorgan distribution of end otheliotropic adenovirus as demonstrated by transmission electron microscop y and immunohistochemistry. Adenovirus was reisolated from lung homogenates of the fawn that died of adenovirus hemorrhagic disease.