Serosurvey for selected disease agents in white-tailed deer from Mexico

Serum samples from 350 white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus texanus) c ollected in March 1994 from northeastern Mexico were tested for the prevale nce of antibody activity against five infectious diseases of ruminants. The prevalence rate was 81% for bluetongue virus (BTV) of all serotypes, 72% f or epizootic hemorrhagic disease virus (EHDV), 3% for Borrelia burgdorferi, 69% for Anaplasma marginale, and 0% for Brucella abortus, B. melitensis, a nd B. ovis. These are diseases that affect domestic ruminants, and deer may act as a reservoir of infection. In addition, if deer are translocated, th ey may introduce pathogens to formerly disease-free areas. The high seropre valence of BTV and EHDV cannot be related to the presence of hemorrhagic di sease in the deer in this region. This is the first report to indicate the presence of B. burgdorferi infection of deer in Mexico. Despite the high pr evalence of A. marginale titers, it is uncertain that deer play a the epizo otiology of cattle anaplasmosis in the region. Apparently, white-tailed dee r are unimportant in the epizootiology of brucellosis of both cattle and go ats in northeastern Mexico.