Skip directly to site content Skip directly to page options Skip directly to A-Z link Skip directly to A-Z link Skip directly to A-Z link
Volume 18, Number 8—August 2012
Letter

Zoonotic Pathogens among White-Tailed Deer, Northern Mexico, 2004–2009

Cite This Article

To the Editor: Intense wildlife management for hunting affects risks associated with zoonotic pathogens (1). White-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) are increasingly managed by fencing, feeding, watering, and translocation to increase incomes from hunting in northern Mexico (2). These deer also play a major role in dissemination and reintroduction of pathogens and vectors from Mexico into the United States (3,4). White-tailed deer are suitable reservoir hosts for Mycobacterium bovis (1), and an M. bovis-positive white-tailed deer was recently found in Tamaulipas in northeastern Mexico (2). Brucellosis is widespread in many animal hosts in Latin America (5) and thus of interest in white-tailed deer. Another major zoonosis, sometimes linked to raw deer meat consumption, is hepatitis E, which is caused by genotypes of hepatitis E virus (HEV) (6). HEV is increasingly prevalent in red deer (Cervus elaphus) (7), but its prevalence in white-tailed deer is unknown.

The objective of this study was to determine the prevalence of zoonotic pathogens in white-tailed deer in northern Mexico. This study was conducted under a scientific collecting permit issued by the Mexican Division of Animal and Wildlife Health and on 8 ranches in 3 states in northern Mexico (≈26–28°N, 99–100°W).

Serum samples (n = 347) were collected during 2004–2009 in a cross-sectional survey for antibodies against HEV, Brucella spp., and mycobacteria. Deer were opportunistically sampled during live-capture operations as described by Cantú et al. (8). Bleeding was performed by using jugular venipuncture and vacuum tubes without anticoagulant. Samples were allowed to clot and centrifuged to collect serum that was stored at −20°C.

Serum samples were tested for IgG against HEV by ELISA as described (7). Serum samples were also tested for antibodies against Brucella spp. by using a commercial ELISA (Ingezim Brucella Compac 2.0 Ingenasa, Madrid, Spain), according to the manufacturer’s instructions. Detection of antibodies cross-reacting with 2 widely used mycobacterial antigens, bovine purified protein derivative (PPD) and paratuberculosis protoplasmatic antigen 3 (PPA3), was conducted as described (9). The sensitivity and specificity of this assay have not been established for white-tailed deer, but it has been used in seroprevalence studies of wild boar and fallow deer (9,10).

Insufficient volumes of serum samples prevented testing for antibodies against all pathogens (Table). Limited serum volume and lack of other (organ) samples also precluded additional analyses to verify presence of pathogens.

Prevalence was 62.7% (95% CI 54%–70%) for antibodies against HEV, 0.4% (95% CI 0%–2%) for antibodies against Brucella spp., 8.9% (95% CI 6%–13%) for antibodies against bovine PPD, and 2.6% (95% CI 1%–5%) for antibodies against PPA3 (Table). Antibody responses to bovine PPD were detected in deer from at 6 of 8 sampling sites; in deer from 3 of these sites, antibodies were also detected against PPA3 antigen. Seroprevalence against bovine PPD was higher than that against PPA3 (χ2 10.9, df 1, p<0.01).

This cross-sectional survey of white-tailed deer in northern Mexico detected antibodies to several pathogens relevant to public and animal health. High prevalence of antibodies against HEV and frequent detection of antibodies against mycobacterial antigens are public health concerns. Prevalence of antibodies against HEV were 3× higher than that reported for red deer in Europe (7). This result suggests wide circulation of HEV in the study region and warrants further research, including detection and sequencing of virus RNA. Low Brucella spp. antibody prevalence confirms results of a study in this region (8).

Antibody responses to bovine PPD were detected in serum samples from deer from most sampling sites, occasionally in the absence of antibodies against PPA3. These results, and a recent report of an M. bovis–positive white-tailed deer from this region (2), suggest that these deer may be contracting M. bovis in northern Mexico. If one considers that white-tailed deer are M. bovis reservoirs in other parts of North America and that risk factors such as supplemental feeding are present in northern Mexico, there is a high risk for pathogen transmission to animals and humans (1). White-tailed deer are probably exposed to several human pathogens that are relevant to human and animal health in northern Mexico.

Although this cross-sectional survey provided only an indication of pathogen prevalence in the study populations, high antibody prevalence to HEV and mycobacterial antigens requires antigen-targeted surveillance. Risks associated with pathogen translocation by white-tailed deer are also relevant to neighboring states in Mexico and the United States.

Top

Acknowledgments

We thank M. Villar and B. Peralta for providing ELISA antigen and A. Cantú and co-workers for providing deer serum samples.

This study was supported by the Caesar Kleberg Wildlife Research Institute, Texas A&M University–Kingsville, and European Union Framework Program grant 212414 TB-STEP.

Top

Citlaly Medrano, Mariana Boadella, Hugo Barrios, Antonio Cantú, Zeferino García, José de la Fuente, and Christian GortazarComments to Author 
Author affiliations: Instituto de Investigación en Recursos Cinegéticos, Ciudad Real, Spain (C. Medrano, M. Boadella, J. de la Fuente, C. Gortazar); Universidad Autónoma de Tamaulipas, Ciudad Victoria, Mexico (C. Medrano, H. Barrios); Instituto Nacional de Investigaciones Forestales, Agrícolas, y Pecuarias, Tamaulipas, Mexico (A. Cantú); Instituto Nacional de Investigaciones Forestales, Agrícolas, y Pecuarias, Morelos, Mexico (Z. García); and Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, Oklahoma, USA (J. de la Fuente)

Top

References

  1. Miller  R, Kaneene  JB, Fitzgerald  SD, Schmitt  SM. Evaluation of the influence of supplemental feeding of white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) on the prevalence of bovine tuberculosis in the Michigan wild deer population. J Wildl Dis. 2003;39:8495.PubMedGoogle Scholar
  2. Barrios-García  HB, Guizarnotegui-Blanco  JA, Zapata-Campos  CC, Almazán-García  C, González-Alanís  P, Villareal-Peña  R, Identification of Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex by histopathology and PCR in white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) in Tamaulipas, Mexico. Journal of Animal and Veterinary Advances. 2012;11:103640.
  3. Pérez de León  AA, Strickman  DA, Knowles  DP, Fish  D, Thacker  E, De La Fuente  J, One Health approach to identify research needs in bovine and human babesioses: workshop report. Parasit Vectors. 2010;3:36.PubMedGoogle Scholar
  4. Pound  JM, George  JE, Kammlah  DM, Lohmeyer  KH, Davey  RB. Evidence for role of white-tailed deer (Artiodactyla: Cervidae) in epizootiology of cattle ticks and southern cattle ticks (Acari: Ixodidae) in reinfestations along the Texas/Mexico border in south Texas: a review and update. J Econ Entomol. 2010;103:2118. DOIPubMedGoogle Scholar
  5. Lucero  NE, Ayala  SM, Escobar  GJ, Jacob  NR. Brucella isolated in humans and animals in Latin America from 1968 to 2006. Epidemiol Infect. 2008;136:496503. DOIPubMedGoogle Scholar
  6. Cooper  K, Huang  FF, Batista  L, Rayo  CD, Bezanilla  JC, Toth  TE, Identification of genotype 3 hepatitis E virus (HEV) in serum and fecal samples from pigs in Thailand and Mexico, where genotype 1 and 2 HEV strains are prevalent in the respective human populations. J Clin Microbiol. 2005;43:16848. DOIPubMedGoogle Scholar
  7. Boadella  M, Casas  M, Martín  M, Vicente  J, Segalés  J, de la Fuente  J, Increasing contact with hepatitis E virus in red deer, Spain. Emerg Infect Dis. 2010;16:19946.PubMedGoogle Scholar
  8. Cantú  A, Ortega-S  JA, Mosqueda  J, Garcia-Vazquez  Z, Henke  SE, George  JE. Prevalence of infectious agents in free-ranging white-tailed deer in northeastern Mexico. J Wildl Dis. 2008;44:10027.PubMedGoogle Scholar
  9. Boadella  M, Lyashchenko  K, Greenwald  R, Esfandiari  J, Jaroso  R, Carta  T, Serologic tests for detecting antibodies against Mycobacterium bovis and Mycobacterium avium subspecies paratuberculosis in Eurasian wild boar (Sus scrofa scrofa). J Vet Diagn Invest. 2011;23:7783. DOIPubMedGoogle Scholar
  10. Boadella  M, Barasona  JA, Diaz-Sanchez  S, Lyashchenko  KP, Greenwald  R, Esfandiari  J, Performance of immunochromatographic and ELISA tests for detecting fallow deer infected with Mycobacterium bovis. Prev Vet Med. 2012;104:1604. DOIPubMedGoogle Scholar

Top

Table

Top

Cite This Article

DOI: 10.3201/eid1808.111902

Related Links

Top

Table of Contents – Volume 18, Number 8—August 2012

EID Search Options
presentation_01 Advanced Article Search – Search articles by author and/or keyword.
presentation_01 Articles by Country Search – Search articles by the topic country.
presentation_01 Article Type Search – Search articles by article type and issue.

Top

Comments

Please use the form below to submit correspondence to the authors or contact them at the following address:

Christian Gortazar, Instituto de Investigación en Recursos Cinegéticos, Ronda de Toledo s/n, 13005 Ciudad Real, Spain

Send To

10000 character(s) remaining.

Top

Page created: July 18, 2012
Page updated: July 18, 2012
Page reviewed: July 18, 2012
The conclusions, findings, and opinions expressed by authors contributing to this journal do not necessarily reflect the official position of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the Public Health Service, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, or the authors' affiliated institutions. Use of trade names is for identification only and does not imply endorsement by any of the groups named above.
file_external