A newly discovered disease of the brushtail possum: Wobbly possum syndrome

Authors: Thompson EG, O'Keefe JS, Gill JM, McLeod BJ, Mackintosh CG, Crawford JL
Publication: New Zealand Veterinary Journal, Volume 43, Issue 3, pp 126, Jun 1995
Publisher: Taylor and Francis

Animal type: Possum, Wildlife
Subject Terms: Locomotor, Disease/defect, Biosecurity, Nervous system/neurology, New hosts/new diseases
Article class: Correspondence

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Abstract: We wish to report a new fatal disease of the possum, Trichosurus vulpecula, for which we have coined the name “;wobbly possum syndrome”. Clinically it is characterised by progressive ataxia, apparent blindness, raised head carriage and head “bobbing”. Initially the signs are subtle, with vague signs of dullness and slightly raised head carriage, but over a period of 1-6 weeks they progress to an exaggerated rolling gait, dullness, slowed reactions, poor balance, inability to judge distances, difficulty in climbing, apparent blindness and feeding during the daytime. Terminally they become weak, sleep on the ground, are disinterested in their surroundings and become semi-comatose. The disease manifested itself in a possum in one of the three colony pens at the AgResearch Invermay possum colony in early 1995. Up until then nearly 300 possums had been held in the pens for use in reproduction studies over the previous 2 years with few animal health problems…

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