[Malignant catarrhal fever in zoo ruminants]

An outbreak of malignant catarrhal fever (MCF) in Indian gauer (Bos gaurus gaurus) and Javan banteng (Bos javanicus javanicus) occurred in the year 1964 and killed almost all animals of the groups of these species kept at the Munich zoo at that time. In the consecutive years at highly irregular intervals cases of the head-and-eye-form of MCF occurred sporadically at the zoo in European and American bison (Bison bonasus, B. bison' bison, B. bison athabascae), elk (Alces alces), red deer (Cervus elaphus), Père David's deer (Elaphurus davidianus) and again in gaur and banteng. The clinical and pathomorphological observations, including those of prophylactic and tentative treatment are reported. The subspecies of caprinae and alcelaphinae potentionally latently infected with viral agents of MCF kept at the zoo over the reported period are listed. Some details concerning housing, taking care of the animals etc. of the latently infected carriers of the family caprinae and the susceptible species of bovidae and cervidae are also given as far as they are of epidemiological interest. The results of the retrospective analysis and the results of testing paraffin-embedded tissue samples for the presence of ovine herpesvirus-2 (OHV-2)-specific DNA and alcelaphine herpesvirus-1 (AHV-1)-specific DNA from 1964 up to 1997 are discussed. The negative results for OHV-2-specific DNA suggest that MCF at Munich zoo until 1979 could have been "wildebeest-associated", also because until 1974 blue wildebeest (Connochaetes taurinus taurinus) and until 1983 white-tailed gnu (Connochaetes gnou) were kept. However, positive results for OHV-2-specific DNA in the tissues collected from 1985 onwards, strongly suggest the "sheep-associated" MCF.