Turkish Journal of Veterinary and Animal Sciences

Abstract: During an enterotoxaemia outbreak, 9 out of 11 (82%) Chinkara deer (Gazella bennettii) died; 5 animals died of peracute disease, whereas acute death was observed in 4 animals. The case fatality rate was 100%. Clinical signs, including high temperature, depression, anorexia, abdominal pain, greenish watery diarrhoea, and respiratory distress, were recorded in the affected deer. Post-mortem examinations of the affected animals revealed muscular and serosal haemorrhages, hydroperitoneum, hydrothorax, and hydropericardium. Severe haemorrhages were also observed in the small intestine, colon, and kidneys. Histopathologically, haemorrhagic enterocolitis, pulmonary oedema, accumulation of proteinaceous fluid in alveoli, perivascular oedema, and interstitial and intertubular haemorrhages were seen in the kidneys. Anaerobic incubation, mouse inoculation, and mouse seroneutralisation with intestinal contents collected from the affected deer confirmed the Chinkara deer were infected with Clostridium perfringens type D.

Key Words: Chinkara deer, enterotoxaemia, Clostridium perfringens type D, clinical picture, pathological lesions