Angiostrongylus vasorum infection in a coyote (Canis latrans) from Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada

Abstract

Tissue samples and feces were collected from a dead, adult female coyote (Canis latrans) found at the side of the road in late March 2003 in the Avalon Peninsula region of Newfoundland, Canada. The coyote apparently died of vehicular-related trauma. Samples of lung, brain, heart, liver, and kidney were fixed in formalin and submitted for histologic examination. The entire remaining lung and heart also were submitted for examination. The coyote was diagnosed with moderate, multifocal, granulomatous interstitial pneumonia with eosinophilic vasculitis and many intralesional nematode eggs, larvae, and occasional intravascular adult worms. Adult nematodes recovered from the pulmonary arteries were identified as Angiostrongylus vasorum. Small foci of granulomatous inflammation, often containing nematode eggs and larvae, were scattered in the brain and kidney. To our knowledge, this is the first report of A. vasorum infection in a coyote from the only endemic area of infection in North America. © Wildlife Disease Association 2005.