Aleutian disease of mink

✍ Scribed by Bernard M. Wagner

• Book ID: 101643632
• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 1963
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 181 KB
• Volume: 6
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0004-3591
• DOI: 10.1002/art.1780060411

✦ Synopsis

MUTATION in the mink population of an Oregon ranch in 1941 led to the development of a new series of colors in mink furs. This mutation, which expresses itself when present as homozygous recessive, has been termed Aleutian (symbol m ) . The Aleutian mink together with several substrains which have been developed from them are designated as blue mink.

The m mink have a high incidence of a syndrome first described as "hepatonephritis" and which has come to be known as Aleutian disease (AD). Early observers noted intense plasma cell infiltration of the kidneys, liver and other organs associated with a diffuse necrotizing vasculitis. Also, striking abnormalities of the serum proteins including hypergammaglobulinemia were recorded.