Survey of Bordetella bronchiseptica in Eastern Gray Squirrels (Sciurus carolinensis)

Wild Eastern Gray Squirrels (Sciurus carolinensis) rehabilitated at a Midwestern facility, the Ohio Wildlife Center, were experiencing an increased mortality rate due to unknown respiratory illness in 2022-2023. A qPCR test was developed for B. bronchiseptica to test symptomatic animals. Though 65 individuals were tested, all tests were found to be negative for B. bronchiseptica. This negative result strongly indicates that the mortalities were caused by aspiration pneumonia or some other unknown pathogen.