WHITE-TAILED DEER AS A POTENTIAL RESERVOIR OF EHRLICHIA SPP

We determined the antibody prevalence to Ehrlichia spp., in white-tail ed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) and the geographic distribution of se ropositive animals in 84 counties in Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georg ia, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Mississipp i, Missouri, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virgini a, and West Virginia (USA). Using an indirect fluorescent antibody tes t we detected antibodies (greater than or equal to 1:128) to this bact erium in 544 (43%) of 1269 deer. Presence of antibodies to Ehrlichia s pp, was related to a southerly latitude, low elevation, and resulting milder climatic conditions. It appears that white-tailed deer were nat urally infected with Ehrlichia spp.; the infection was widely distribu ted throughout the southeastern United States. Based on these data, we propose that white-tailed deer play a role in the natural history of Ehrlichia spp. infection in the United States.