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2 July 2020 DIVERSE BARTONELLA SPP. DETECTED IN WHITE-TAILED DEER (ODOCOILEUS VIRGINIANUS) AND ASSOCIATED KEDS (LIPOPTENA MAZAMAE) IN THE SOUTHEASTERN USA
Katie Izenour, Shelby Zikeli, Anwar Kalalah, Stephen S. Ditchkoff, Lindsay A. Starkey, Chengming Wang, Sarah Zohdy
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Abstract

There are many known species of Bartonella, Gram-negative bacteria that can cause febrile illness and fatality in humans and animals. These pathogens are often transmitted through hematophagous arthropod vectors such as fleas and lice. Despite increasing awareness about Bartonella spp. and their zoonotic potential, as well as existing literature on Bartonella spp. in cervids, little is known about the diversity of Bartonella spp. in white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) and their associated keds in the southeastern US. We examined the prevalence and diversity of Bartonella spp. in an enclosed herd of white-tailed deer and their ectoparasites, deer keds (Lipoptena mazamae), in Alabama. The overall prevalence of Bartonella infection in this population of deer was 16% (10/63) and 24% (23/96) in keds associated with deer that we sampled. Three species of Bartonella were identified in both deer and their keds: Bartonella bovis, Bartonella schoenbuchensis, and Bartonella sp. 1. Additionally, Bartonella melophagi was detected in white-tailed deer but not in the sampled keds. The detection of four Bartonella species in one population of white-tailed deer, three of which have known zoonotic potential, highlights the importance of Bartonella diversity within host species.

© Wildlife Disease Association 2020
Katie Izenour, Shelby Zikeli, Anwar Kalalah, Stephen S. Ditchkoff, Lindsay A. Starkey, Chengming Wang, and Sarah Zohdy "DIVERSE BARTONELLA SPP. DETECTED IN WHITE-TAILED DEER (ODOCOILEUS VIRGINIANUS) AND ASSOCIATED KEDS (LIPOPTENA MAZAMAE) IN THE SOUTHEASTERN USA," Journal of Wildlife Diseases 56(3), 505-511, (2 July 2020). https://doi.org/10.7589/2019-08-196
Received: 2 August 2019; Accepted: 18 October 2019; Published: 2 July 2020
KEYWORDS
ectoparasite
Lipoptena
Odocoileus
pathogen
vector ecology
zoonotic
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