Ehrlichia ewingii Infection in White-Tailed Deer (Odocoileus virginianus)

Details

• Alternative Title:
  Emerg Infect Dis
• Personal Author:
  Yabsley, Michael J. ; Varela, Andrea S. ; Tate, Cynthia M. ; Dugan, Vivien G. ; Stallknecht, David E. ; Little, Susan E. ; Davidson, William R.
• Description:
  Two closely related zoonotic ehrlichiae, Ehrlichia chaffeensis and E. ewingii, are transmitted by Amblyomma americanum, the lone star tick. Because white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) are critical hosts for all mobile stages of A. americanum and are important vertebrate reservoirs of E. chaffeensis, we investigated whether deer may be infected with E. ewingii, a cause of granulocytotropic ehrlichiosis in humans and dogs. To test for E. ewingii infection, we used polymerase chain reaction and inoculation of fawns with whole blood from wild deer. Of 110 deer tested from 20 locations in 8 U.S. states, 6 (5.5%) were positive for E. ewingii. In addition, natural E. ewingii infection was confirmed through infection of captive fawns. These findings expand the geographic distribution of E. ewingii, along with risk for human infection, to include areas of Kentucky, Georgia, and South Carolina. These data suggest that white-tailed deer may be an important reservoir for E. ewingii.
• Subjects:
  Animals Deer Disease Reservoirs Ehrlichia Ehrlichiosis Humans Polymerase Chain Reaction Research Serologic Tests
• Source:
  Emerg Infect Dis. 8(7):668-671.
• Document Type:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  Southeastern United States
• Location:
  North America
• Volume:
  8
• Issue:
  7
• Collection(s):
  Emerging Infectious Diseases
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha256:672eaab7225761b5dd0fea657c904601352adac59cce90008bddeb261d02fbef
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/13916/cdc_13916_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 269.42 KB ]