Avian Pox in a Red-tailed Hawk (Buteo jamaicensis)

Abstract

in the southeastern states during the 1960's. The geometric mean titer (GMT) of virus in salivary glands tested in these earlier studies was 10 #{176} in raccoons and 10 #{176} in red foxes. Among the raccoons from Virginia, 81% (85/105) shed measurable amounts of vi-rus and the GMT of virus in the salivary glands was 10321. It seems clear from these data that the salivary glands of many rabid raccoons contain substantial amounts of infectious rabies virus. Bites by such animals should be regarded as potentially capable of transmitting rabies.