Deadly Neurological Disease Found in Colorado Mountain Lion

Colorado Parks and Wildlife are saying that this is the first ever documented case in North America of a Mountain Lion with the deadly neurological disease known as Staggering Disease.

According to a release from Colorado Parks and Wildlife, officials euthanized a sick mountain lion in a residential area of Douglas County, Colorado on May 12, 2023. The big cat was unable to use its hind legs due to the presence of rustrela virus. The virus is the cause of the neurological disease that is known to be deadly and mainly found in domestic casts.

Diagnosis of the Staggering Disease was made with the use of tissue samples from the infected Colorado mountain lion. According to the news release, the disease was challenging to diagnose and was only made possible through collaboration with researchers at the Friedrich-Leoffler-Institut in Germany. The disease has been documented in domestic cats and other species such as rodents, marsupials, and a donkey.

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Currently, veterinarians from Colorado State University and officials at Colorado Parks and Wildlife are looking carefully for new cases of mountain lions in the state of Colorado that could be carrying the rustrela virus that causes the Staggering Disease. Members of the public are being urged to contact their local Colorado Parks and Wildlife office if they observe mountain lions that are having trouble walking, behaving abnormally, or appear to be staggering.

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The study of the emerging infectious disease says that the RusV virus found in the Colorado mountain lion is divergent from the previously described virus found in Europe. See the emerging infectious disease report regarding the mountain lion found in Colorado at cdc.gov.