Ja. Comer et al., INCOMPETENCE OF WHITE-TAILED DEER AS AMPLIFYING HOSTS OF VESICULAR STOMATITIS-VIRUS FOR LUTZOMYIA-SHANNONI (DIPTERA, PSYCHODIDAE), Journal of medical entomology, 32(5), 1995, pp. 738-740
Sand flies, Lutzomiya shannoni Dyar, were allowed to feed on 3 white-t
ailed deer, Odocoileus virginiana Zimmermann, that previously had been
infected with the New Jersey serotype of vesicular stomatitis (VSNJ)
virus. Flies fed in the lower abdominal area of each deer on days 1-5
postinfection. A blood sample, nasal swat, and throat swab were taken
during each feeding trial and examined for virus. Blood-fed flies were
held for 4-5 d following the bloodmeal and tested for VSNJ virus infe
ction. VSNJ virus was never detected in blood or from swabs taken from
infected deer nor from any of the sand flies that fed on deer. The fi
ndings suggest that white-tailed deer do not fulfill the traditional c
oncept of amplifying hosts of VSNJ virus.