Eimeria and Isospora of the Mink (Mustela vison)

In December, 1946, the carcasses of two mink which had died suddenly were submitted by an Illinois mink ranch to the Veterinary Pathology Laboratory, University of Illinois, for diagnosis. Autopsies were performed by Dr. Paul D. Beamer, who found hemorrhagic gastro-enteritis in both animals. Bacteriologic cultures were negative. Post-mortem decomposition was so far advanced that sections made of the intestinal tract were unsatisfactory for histopathological study. O6cysts of four species of coccidia were found in the intestinal tract of one mink, but none was found in the other. It is improbable that the coccidia were the cause of death of these animals.