Paralyzed mountain lion found in Colorado is first case of “staggering disease” in North America

A paralyzed lion found in a Douglas County neighborhood in 2023 had to be euthanized, as testing continues to gauge threat to other mammals

“This is the first case of rustrela virus-associated staggering disease that has been identified outside of Europe, so it is the first case identified in North America,” said Fox, who collaborated in pinpointing the unusual cause with experts at the Friedrich-Loeffler-Institut in Germany. “There have been reports of similar disease syndromes in domestic cats previously in North America but we are not sure whether or not those may have been associated with rustrela virus.”