Molecular genetic methods of typing of the Bartonellae

The primer systems for the PCR detection of four house-keeping genes of bartonellae in clinical material were developed and tested. The tactics of the species RFLP typing was also developed and tested. The scheme of the species RFLP typing of bartonellae was tested using as an example two strains for the first time isolated in Russia from patients with endocarditis and fever of uncertain origin. The results of the typing were supported by sequencing of the amplicons obtained. According to the sequencing the isolates were attributed to the sub species Bartonella vinsonii, subsp. arupensis. The necessity of molecular epidemiological analysis of bartonelloses in Russia was substantiated.     

Wild small mammals are the reservoir hosts of the Bartonella genus bacteria in the south of Moscow region

A total of 103 blood samples collected from wild small mammals captured in the Prioksko-Terrasny Reserve on the south of Moscow region were studied to determine the bartonellae prevalence. The examined species were the yellow-necked mice Apodemus flavicollis (35 samples), the European wood mouse Apodemus uralensis (10 samples), the bank vole Clethrionomys glareolus (51 samples), the house mouse Mus musculus (3 samples), the common vole Microtus arvalis (2 samples), and the shrew Sorex araneus (2 samples). Initially, we obtained 76 bacterial Bartonella-like isolates after plating onto the surface of the solid nutrient media. 66 of them were PCR-positive at least for three of four targets, gltA, ftsZ, ribC and 16S RNA. Thus, the percentage of the infection in the studied community was 64%. Subsequent RFLP assay showed that obtained isolates belonged to the Bartonella grahamii and/or B. taylorii species. In 7 cases we found both bartonellae species in one animal. These data were confirmed by direct sequencing of four ftsZ, four ribC and two gltA amplicons. According to our data, there is no any marked host specificity for these bartonellae species. Now we have laid the bartonellae strain collection consisting of 31 isolates. To our knowledge, this is the first investigation of the bartonellae prevalence in wild small mammals performed in Russia. The comparison of our data with those obtained by European researchers and issues of coinfection by different bartonellae species and host specificity are discussed.     

Isolation of bacteriophages from Bartonella vinsonii subsp. berkhoffii and the characterization of Pap31 gene sequences from bacterial and phage DNA

Bacteriophages enhance bacterial survival, facilitate bacterial adaptation to new environmental conditions, assist in the adaptation to a new host species, and enhance bacterial evasion or inactivation of host defense mechanisms. We describe the detection and purification of a novel tailed bacteriophage from Bartonella vinsonii subsp. berkhoffii, which was previously described as a bacteriophage-negative species. We also compare B. vinsonii subsp. berkhoffi Pap31 bacteriophage gene sequences to B. henselae (Houston I), and B. quintana (Fuller) bacteriophage Pap31 sequences. Negative staining electron microscopy of log phase culturesof B. vinsonii subsp. berkhoffii identified bacteriophages, possessing a 50-nm icosahedric head diameter and a 60- to 80-nm contractile tail. Sequence analysis of the bacteriophage Pap31 gene from B. vinsonii subsp. berkhoffii showed three consensus sequences and a 12-bp insertion when compared with Pap31 gene sequences from B. henselae (Houston I) and B. quintana (Fuller) bacteriophages. Isolation of B. vinsonii subsp. berkhoffii bacteriophages containing a Pap31 gene suggests that this heme-binding protein gene might play an important role in bacterial virulence through the genetic exchange of DNA within this subspecies. Defining phage-associated genes may also contribute to the enhanced understanding of the evolutionary relationships among members of the genus Bartonella.     

Epizootiology of Sin Nombre and El Moro Canyon hantaviruses, southeastern Colorado, 1995-2000

Sin Nombre virus (SNV) is an etiologic agent of hantavirus pulmonary syndrome. To better understand the natural history of this virus we studied population dynamics and temporal pattern of infection of its rodent hosts in southeastern Colorado (USA) from 1995 to 2000. We present evidence for the presence of two hantaviruses, SNV in deer mice (Peromyscus maniculatus) and El Moro Canyon virus in western harvest mice (Reithrodontomys megalotis), at our study sites. Sin Nombre virus appeared only sporadically in deer mouse populations; overall prevalence of antibody to SNV was 2.6%. El Moro Canyon virus was enzootic: seroconversions occurred throughout the year; antibody prevalence (11.9% overall) showed a delayed-density-dependent pattern, peaking as relative abundance of mice was declining. Males of both host species were more frequently infected than were females. An apparently lower mean survivorship (persistence at the trapping site) for SNV antibody-positive deer mice could indicate a detrimental effect of SNV on its host, but might also be explained by the fact that antibody-positive mice were older when first captured.     

Distribution of Mycobacterium avium subspecies paratuberculosis in the lower Florida Keys

Johne's disease, a fatal and contagious gastrointestinal infection caused by Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis (Map), was first diagnosed in an endangered Florida Key deer (Odocoileus virginianus clavium) in 1996 and later in six additional Key deer deaths from 1998 to 2004. We investigated the geographic distribution of Map in the Lower Florida Keys from February 2005 through May 2006 via collection of blood and fecal pellets from 51 live-captured deer, collection of 550 fecal samples from the ground, and by necropsies of 90 carcasses. Tissue and fecal samples also were submitted from 30 raccoons (Procyon lotor), three feral cats (Felis catus), an opossum (Didelphis virginiana), and a Lower Keys marsh rabbit (Sylvilagus palustris hefneri). Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis was identified in 23 Key deer fecal samples collected from the ground, tissue samples from two clinically ill Key deer, and from the mesenteric lymph node of a raccoon. The results of this study indicate that Map persists in the Key deer population and environment at a low prevalence, but its distribution currently is limited to a relatively small geographic area within the range of Key deer.     

Exposure of small rodents to plague during epizootics in black-tailed prairie dogs

Plague, caused by the bacterium Yersinia pestis, causes die-offs of colonies of prairie dogs (Cynomys ludovicianus). It has been argued that other small rodents are reservoirs for plague, spreading disease during epizootics and maintaining the pathogen in the absence of prairie dogs; yet there is little empirical support for distinct enzootic and epizootic cycles. Between 2004 and 2006, we collected blood from small rodents captured in colonies in northern Colorado before, during, and for up to 2 yr after prairie dog epizootics. We screened 1,603 blood samples for antibodies to Y. pestis, using passive hemagglutination and inhibition tests, and for a subset of samples we cultured blood for the bacterium itself. Of the four species of rodents that were common in colonies, the northern grasshopper mouse (Onychomys leucogaster) was the only species with consistent evidence of plague infection during epizootics, with 11.1-23.1% of mice seropositive for antibody to Y. pestis during these events. Seropositive grasshopper mice, thirteen-lined ground squirrels (Spermophilus tridecemlineatus), and deer mice (Peromyscus maniculatus) were captured the year following epizootics. The appearance of antibodies to Y. pestis in grasshopper mice coincided with periods of high prairie dog mortality; subsequently, antibody prevalence rates declined, with no seropositive individuals captured 2 yr after epizootics. We did not detect plague in any rodents off of colonies, or on colonies prior to epizootics, and found no evidence of persistent Y. pestis infection in blood cultures. Our results suggest that grasshopper mice could be involved in epizootic spread of Y. pestis, and possibly, serve as a short-term reservoir for plague, but provide no evidence that the grasshopper mouse or any small rodent acts as a long-term, enzootic host for Y. pestis in prairie dog colonies.     

Paratuberculosis in key deer (Odocoileus virginianus clavium)

Paratuberculosis was diagnosed in an endangered Key deer (Odocoileus virginianus clavium) in November 1996. Between 10 April 1997 and 28 September 2000, the Key deer population was monitored for infection with Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis by necropsy of available carcasses (n = 170), fecal cultures, and serology. One additional clinically affected Key deer was discovered in July 1998, and M. avium subsp. paratuberculosis was cultured from the feces of one live, asymptomatic deer. The results of this study provided sufficient evidence to consider the Key deer herd infected with M. avium subsp. paratuberculosis at very low prevalence.     

Tularemia in deer mice (peromyscus maniculatus) during a population irruption in Saskatchewan, Canada

Type B tularemia caused by Francisella tularensis subsp. holarctica was diagnosed in deer mice (Peromyscus maniculatus) found dead at four sites in west-central Saskatchewan during April and May 2005. The occurrence of tularemia coincided with a decline in the number of deer mice in part of a large area (>22000 km(2) ) in which deer mice had been extremely abundant during the autumn of 2004 and spring of 2005, and in which mice caused damage to crops in the autumn of 2004. This is apparently the first report of tularemia as a cause of death of wild deer mice. The bacterium isolated from deer mice was atypical in that cysteine was not required in the media used for isolation. Three isolates tested were genotypes not previously identified in Canada. There were no reports of human disease in the area.     

Relationships of deer mouse movement, vegetative structure, and prevalence of infection with Sin Nombre virus

The effects of vegetative structure on movement of deer mice (Peromyscus maniculatus) were examined in two distinct vegetation associations, one near Hesperus and the other near Molina in western Colorado (USA) from June-October 1994 to October 1998. We monitored movement by live-trapping small mammals within Gambel's oak/mixed-grass (Hesperus) and sage brush/juniper (Molina) vegetation types. Vegetative structure differed between the sites with Molina having more cover provided by shrubs and Hesperus having more cover provided by forbs. Adult male deer mice moved greater distances at Hesperus than at Molina. Sub-adult males tended to move greater distances than did adult females. Relative abundances of deer mice tended to differ by season, but the average relative abundance of deer mice was greater at Molina. Long-term prevalence of infection with SNV was greater at Hesperus and was greatest in adult males at Hesperus (36.1%). Adult males at Molina exhibited a prevalence of infection with SNV of 25.0%. Infection with SNV was highly associated with scars or wounds for adult male, adult female, and juvenile male deer mice at Hesperus, but only for adult female deer mice at Molina. The presence of scars or wounds tended to be associated with greater age, but male deer mice at Hesperus were more likely to have wounds than female deer mice of the same age class. A similar pattern, excluding juveniles, was observed at Molina. Intraspecific interactions and environmentally elicited long-distance movements of deer mice may play a role in prevalence of infection with SNV in these animals.     

Sin Nombre virus infection of deer mice in Montana: characteristics of newly infected mice, incidence, and temporal pattern of infection

Sin Nombre virus (SNV), hosted by the deer mouse (Peromyscus maniculatus), is the principal cause of hantavirus pulmonary syndrome (HPS) in North America. To improve our understanding of factors that contribute to the occurrence of HPS, we conducted an extensive field study of the characteristics of newly infected (as determined by recent acquisition of antibody) deer mice and the temporal pattern of antibody acquisition (seroconversion) from 1994 through 2004 in Montana, USA. We sampled 6,584 individual deer mice, of which 2,747 were captured over multiple trapping periods. Among these 2,747 deer mice, we detected 171 instances of seroconversion. There was no relationship between seroconversion and the acquisition of scars. However, recently infected Montana deer mice were more likely to be older, more likely to be males, and more likely to be in breeding condition. In addition, recently infected male deer mice gained less weight over the 1-mo period following seroconversion than did those that did not acquire antibody, suggesting that SNV infection may have negatively impacted the health of infected rodents. Incidence was highly variable among years, and timing of infections was primarily associated with the breeding season (generally early spring through late fall).     

Seroconversion rates to Jamestown Canyon virus among six populations of white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) in Indiana

The annual seroconversion of fawns, yearlings, and adult white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) to Jamestown Canyon virus (California group) was followed at six Indiana sites from 1981 through 1984. In all, sera from 1,642 deer (515 fawns, 618 yearlings, and 509 adults) were tested for neutralizing antibody to three California serogroup viruses: Jamestown Canyon, La Crosse, and trivittatus. Virtually all deer with specific neutralizing antibody showed evidence of a prior infection with Jamestown Canyon virus; only three deer showed evidence of a prior infection with only La Crosse virus and none showed evidence of an infection with only trivittatus virus. While there were no significant differences in antibody prevalence to Jamestown Canyon virus between yearling and adult deer at any site, fawns had significantly lower antibody prevalences than either of the two older age groups. Significant differences in antibody prevalence were found between northern versus southern populations of white-tailed deer in Indiana, however, no significant differences were found among the four northern populations or between the two southern populations. The mean antibody prevalences in the two southern fawn, yearling, and adult populations were 15%, 38%, and 41% respectively, while the prevalences in the four northern fawn, yearling, and adult populations were 5%, 67%, and 67% respectively. These different prevalences (northern vs. southern) correlate with the higher Jamestown Canyon virus antibody prevalence in human residents of northern Indiana (2-15%) compared to residents of southern Indiana (less than 2%) found in other studies. The significantly lower prevalence of antibody to Jamestown Canyon virus in fawns is attributed to maternal antibody protecting them from a primary infection their first summer. Yearling deer showed high rates of seroconversion following their second summer of life. These results suggest that infection of white-tailed deer in Indiana with Jamestown Canyon virus is a common phenomenon.     

Demographic factors associated with prevalence of antibody to Sin Nombre virus in deer mice in the western United States

We used long-term data collected for up to 10 yr (1994-2004) at 23 trapping arrays (i.e., webs and grids) in Arizona, Colorado, Montana, and New Mexico to examine demographic factors known or suspected to be associated with risk of infection with Sin Nombre virus (SNV) in its natural host, the deer mouse (Peromyscus maniculatus). Gender, age (mass), wounds or scars, season, and local relative population densities were statistically associated with the period prevalence of antibody (used as a marker of infection) to SNV in host populations. Nevertheless, antibody prevalence and some of the risk factors associated with antibody prevalence, such as relative population density, gender bias, and prevalence of wounding, varied significantly among sites and even between nearby trapping arrays at a single site. This suggests that local microsite-specific differences play an important role in determining relative risk of infection by SNV in rodents and, consequently, in humans. Deer mouse relative population density varied among sites and was positively and statistically associated with infection prevalence, an association that researchers conducting shorter-term studies failed to demonstrate. Both wounding and antibody prevalence increased with mass class in both males and females; this increase was much more pronounced in males than in females and wounding was more frequent in adult males than in adult females. Prevalence of wounding was greatest among seropositive deer mice, regardless of mass class, but many deer mice without detectable wounds or scars eventually became infected. Many of these patterns, which will be useful in the development of predictive models of disease risk to humans, were only detected through the application of data collected over a long (10-yr) period and with abundant replication.     

Prevalence of meningeal worm (Parelaphostrongylus tenuis) in white-tailed deer from New Hampshire

Parelaphostrongylus tenuis was found in 79 (62.2%) of 127 white-tailed deer heads (Odocoileus virginianus) collected in New Hampshire. Prevalence of infection was higher in fawns and male deer, but older female deer (5.0 + years) had a higher intensity of infection (3.1) than any other age or sex class. Male deer in forest cover type 2 (northern hardwoods-hemlock-white pine) had a significantly greater prevalence of infection than the females in the same habitat (P less than .05). Adult females had a higher prevalence of infection (67.0%) than female fawns (20%) in forest cover type 1 (spruce-fir-northern hardwoods). In the craniums examined, P. tenuis was found most frequently in the tentorium cerebelli (23.6%) while the falx cerebri, the most prevalent site of infection in fawns, was a significantly less frequent site of infection in older deer (P less than .02). Male deer of age class 3.5 years had a significantly higher rate of infection in the dura mater-olfactory lobe than any other age or sex group (P less than .02). The cavernous sinus was the most frequent site of parasitism in male fawns (25.0%) and was the second most common location in all deer (13.4%).     

Life-history studies on two molecular strains of mesocestoides (Cestoda: Mesocestoididae): identification of sylvatic hosts and infectivity of immature life stages

Life-cycle studies were conducted on 2 molecular strains of Mesocestoides tapeworms that represent different evolutionary lineages (clades A and B). Wild carnivores, reptiles, and rodents were examined for tapeworm infections at 2 enzootic sites: (1) San Miguel Island (SMI), a small island off the coast of southern California and (2) Hopland Research and Extension Center (HREC), a field station in northern California. Results indicate that deer mice (Peromyscus maniculatus) and coyotes (Canis latrans) may play an important role in the life cycles of Mesocestoides (clades A and B) in California. Over half the coyotes at HREC and at least a third of the population of island fox (Urocyon littoralis) at SMI were found to harbor clade A adult Mesocestoides spp. One of every 4 Mesocestoides-infected coyotes had tapeworms representing both clades A and B. Experimental inoculations revealed that proglottids (clades A and B) were not directly infectious to rodents, reptiles, or dogs. On the other hand, mice, lizards, and hamsters fed tetrathyridia of Mesocestoides spp. (clades A or B) developed peritoneal tetrathyridial infections. A dog that was fed tetrathyridia (clade B) developed an adult tapeworm infection. Acephalic metacestodes given orally to western fence lizards, laboratory mice, or domestic dogs did not result in metacestode or adult tapeworm infections. Whereas most clade A acephalic metacestodes from dogs were asexually proliferative, clade A tetrathyridia isolated from wild deer mice did not show evidence of asexual replication. Our study supports the hypothesis that a second, as of yet unidentified, intermediate host is necessary to complete the life cycles of Mesocestoides spp., and that acephalic metacestodes represent an aberrant form, incapable of further development.     

Seroepidemiology of chlamydial infections of wild ruminants in Spain

Chlamydial infections were determined serologically among wild ruminants in the Nature Park of the Sierras de Cazorla, Segura y Las Villas (CNP; Spain). Sampling was done during the period from 1990-95. There were 1,244 blood samples collected, consisting of 490 from fallow deer (Dama dama), 343 from mouflon (Ovis mussimon), 283 from red deer (Cervus elaphus) and 128 from Spanish ibex (Capra pyrenaica). Specific complement-fixing antibodies of Chlamydia spp. were detected by means of microtechnique, using lipopolysaccharide antigen. The relationship of biological (species, sex, age), temporal (year) and territorial (central and peripheral areas) factors to seropositive prevalence was examined, and preliminary data were collected on whether or not sheep and goat herds grazing in the peripheral areas of the park also were infected with Chlamydia spp. Chlamydiosis was common in the four species of wild ruminants in the CNP in all the years studied. The prevalence of Chlamydia sp. in mouflon (37%) was significantly greater than in fallow deer (30%), and both had a significantly higher prevalence rate than Spanish ibex and red deer (both 24%). The four species of wild ruminants were similar in that they act as reservoirs of Chlamydia spp., although their receptivity may be different, and the infection can certainly be maintained among these animals by intra-group transmission. The differences in prevalences and geometric mean titers (GMT), both between the sexes (male versus female) and between different ages (adult versus juvenile), were insignificant in all four species. For all species of wild ruminants both prevalence rates and GMTs were greater in populations occupying the peripheral areas of the park than in those inhabiting the central area. Herds of sheep and goats had a high prevalence of chlamydiosis. Intertransmission of Chlamydia sp. between wild and domestic ruminants occurred through grazing on the same pastures. The highest mean prevalence (44%) of patent infections (CFT titers of > or =1:80) was detected in red deer, although this frequency was not significantly different from those observed in mouflon (39%), Spanish ibex (38%), and fallow deer (37%). The proportion of patent infection was higher in females than in males, and none of the juveniles (<2-yr-old) showed patent infections. The prevalence of predicted patent chlamydial infections was always higher in the peripheral areas of the park, although only among mouflon and fallow deer were the differences statistically significant.     

Global Distribution of Bartonella Infections in Domestic Bovine and Characterization of Bartonella bovis Strains Using Multi-Locus Sequence Typing

Bartonella bovis is commonly detected in cattle. One B. bovis strain was recently isolated from a cow with endocarditis in the USA, suggesting its role as an animal pathogen. In the present study, we investigated bartonella infections in 893 cattle from five countries (Kenya, Thailand, Japan, Georgia, and Guatemala) and 103 water buffaloes from Thailand to compare the prevalence of the infection among different regions and different bovid hosts. We developed a multi-locus sequence typing (MLST) scheme based on nine loci (16S rRNA, gltA, ftsZ, groEL, nuoG, ribC, rpoB, ssrA, and ITS) to compare genetic divergence of B. bovis strains, including 26 representatives from the present study and two previously described reference strains (one from French cows and another from a cow with endocarditis in the USA). Bartonella bacteria were cultured in 6.8% (7/103) of water buffaloes from Thailand; all were B. bovis. The prevalence of bartonella infections in cattle varied tremendously across the investigated regions. In Japan, Kenya, and the Mestia district of Georgia, cattle were free from the infection; in Thailand, Guatemala, and the Dusheti and Marneuli districts of Georgia, cattle were infected with prevalences of 10–90%. The Bartonella isolates from cattle belonged to three species: B. bovis (n=165), B. chomelii (n=9), and B. schoenbuchensis (n=1), with the latter two species found in Georgia only. MLST analysis suggested genetic variations among the 28 analyzed B. bovis strains, which fall into 3 lineages (I, II, and III). Lineages I and II were found in cattle while lineage III was restricted to water buffaloes. The majority of strains (17/28), together with the strain causing endocarditis in a cow in the USA, belonged to lineage I. Further investigations are needed to determine whether B. bovis causes disease in bovids.     

Selenium status and antibodies to selected pathogens in white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) in Southern Minnesota

To determine exposure to a variety of infectious diseases potentially important for native ungulates, livestock, and humans, serum samples from 114 (94 adults, 20 fawns) female white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) were collected during January 2000-03 from multiple locations in southeast (SE) and southwest (SW) Minnesota. Antibody prevalence was determined for the following pathogens: Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis, Leptospira interrogans (six serovars), Anaplasma marginale, Borrelia burgdorferi, Brucella abortus, epizootic hemorrhagic disease virus, and bovine viral diarrhea virus (BVDV) types 1 and 2. Samples collected in 2001 were screened for antibodies against Anaplasma phagocytophilum, and whole blood was submitted for polymerase chain reaction (PCR) testing for A. phagocytophilum and B. burgdorferi. In addition, serum selenium concentrations were evaluated for samples collected during 2001-03. Antibody prevalence and selenium concentration were compared by age-class and geographic region. Antibodies to all of the infectious agents except A. marginale and B. abortus were detected; when detected, antibody prevalence was highest in adults. Deer collected from SE Minnesota had a higher antibody prevalence to B. burgdorferi than SW deer. Blood culture and PCR results for A. phagocytophilum and B. burgdorferi were negative. Antibodies against BVDV (combined types 1 and 2) were more prevalent (chi(2) = 3.617, P< or = 0.029) in deer collected in SW (41%) than in SE (25%) Minnesota. No statistically significant differences in serum selenium concentrations were detected when data were analyzed by age-class or by geographic location.     

Infection of roe-deer in France by the lung nematode, Dictyocaulus eckerti Skrjabin, 1931 (Trichostrongyloidea): influence of environmental factors and host density

The prevalence of the lungworm, Dictyocaulus eckerti, was studied in a sample of 603 roe-deer (Capreolus capreolus) in the Rhone district of France. The mean prevalence of infection (17%) in deer in a given area fluctuated according to the percentage of the area covered with forest, or lake and river. The density of roe-deer or domestic ruminants, the type of forest and the maximum elevation of the site were not related to the prevalence of infection.     

Impaired clearance of primary but not secondary Brugia infections in IL-5 deficient mice

Eosinophilia in blood and tissues has been strongly associated with helminth infections for over a century. In vivo depletion of IL-5, a cytokine crucially involved in eosinophilopoiesis with an antibody or through genetic manipulation, reproducibly abrogates helminth-induced eosinophilia, but renders mice permissive only in some models of parasite infection. In the current study, we compared the ability of IL-5(-/-) and B6(+/+) mice to clear intraperitoneal infections with Brugia pahangi L3. IL-5(-/-) mice had statistically significantly higher worm burdens than B6(+/+). This was true for primary infections, in young as well as old mice, suggesting that IL-5 deficient mice are more permissive to Brugian infections. This increase in permissiveness seemed to correlate well with the drastically reduced eosinophil numbers in the peritoneal cavity, the site of infection. In secondary infections, primed IL-5(-/-) mice cleared infections in an accelerated manner, comparable with B6(+/+) mice. These observations suggest that IL-5 induced eosinophilia is more important in the control of a primary infection in na?ve mice than a secondary infection in primed mice.     

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

Serum samples from 350 white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus texanus) collected in March 1994 from northeastern Mexico were tested for the prevalence of antibody activity against five infectious diseases of ruminants. The prevalence rate was 81% for bluetongue virus (BTV) of all serotypes, 72% for epizootic hemorrhagic disease virus (EHDV), 3% for Borrelia burgdorferi, 69% for Anaplasma marginale, and 0% for Brucella abortus, B. melitensis, and B. ovis. These are diseases that affect domestic ruminants, and deer may act as a reservoir of infection. In addition, if deer are translocated, they may introduce pathogens to formerly disease-free areas. The high seroprevalence of BTV and EHDV cannot be related to the presence of hemorrhagic disease 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 prevalence of A. marginale titers, it is uncertain that deer play a role in the epizootiology of cattle anaplasmosis in the region. Apparently, white-tailed deer are unimportant in the epizootiology of brucellosis of both cattle and goats in northeastern Mexico.