Cryptosporidiosis in newborn red deer (Cervus elaphus)

Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, Veterinary Investigation Centre, Polwhele, Truro, Cornwall.

Red deer calves dying at 24 to 72 hours old were infected with cryptosporidia. The clinical signs were extreme depression and weakness, but they did not consistently have diarrhoea. One calf was severely uraemic, and evidence from subsequent cases suggested that cryptosporidium infection in very young red deer calves may result in terminal uraemia. The possibility of intrauterine infection is considered. The factors which could have predisposed to the outbreak of infection were investigated; the calves were deficient in vitamin E despite having received adequate colostrum.