Investigation of a syndrome of sudden death, splenomegaly, and small intestinal hemorrhage in farmed deer.

A newly recognized syndrome, characterized by sudden death of farmed deer that are in good to excellent nutritional condition, with lesions of small intestinal mucosal hemorrhage and splenomegaly, is described. Other frequently observed lesions were small intestinal mucosal necrosis, abomasal hemorrhage, random hepatic necrosis, and multifocal hepatic congestion. Clostridium perfringens type A was isolated in high numbers from the intestines of many of the deer affected by the syndrome; however, the numbers were not significantly different from those of control deer. The syndrome did not appear to be related to dietary or any other specific management factors and a definitive cause of the syndrome was not identified.