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WEST NILE VIRUS SEROSURVEILLANCE IN IOWA WHITE-TAILED DEER (1999–2003)

Sera from white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) were collected in Iowa during the winter months (1999–2003), 2 years before and after West Nile virus (WNV) was first reported in Iowa (2001), and were analyzed for antibodies to WNV. Samples from 1999 to 2001 were antibody negative by blocking enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (bELISA) and plaque reduction neutralization test (PRNT₉₀). Prevalence derived from bELISA (2002, 12.7%; 2003, 11.2%) and WNV PRNT₉₀ (2002, 7.9%; 2003, 8.5%) assays were similar. All samples were negative for antibodies against St. Louis encephalitis virus as determined by PRNT₉₀. Antibodies to flaviviruses were detected by indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (iELISA) prior to the first WNV cases reported in Iowa (1999–2001) with prevalence ranging from 2.2% to 3.2%, suggesting the circulation of an additional undescribed flavivirus prior to the introduction of WNV into the area. Flavivirus prevalence as determined by iELISA increased in 2002 and 2003 (23.3% and 31.9%, respectively). The increase in prevalence exceeded estimates of WNV prevalence, suggesting that conditions favored general flavivirus transmission (including WNV) during the 2002–2003 epizootic. These data indicate that serologic analysis of deer sera collected from hunter harvests may prove useful for surveillance and evidence of local transmission of WNV and other pathogens and identify white-tailed deer as a species for further studies for host competency.

Received April 7, 2005. Accepted for publication July 11, 2005.

Acknowledgments: The authors thank the Iowa Department of Natural Resources for collecting and providing sera specimens for serological analysis. The authors thank Dr. Mitchell Palmer at the National Animal Disease Center, Ames, Iowa, Dr. Felicia Knightly at the Denver Zoo, and Dr. Amy Glazer at the New York State Diagnostic Laboratory for providing control samples. The authors thank Kevin Bentler for kindly providing assistance in the laboratory. The authors thank Dr. Hector Jaime Aricapa at Caldas University for helpful comments and critical review of the study proposal. This study complies with the Principles of Animal Care, publication no. 86-23, revised 1985, of the National Institutes of Health and with current laws of the United States of America. This study was conducted under quality assurance protocol QA-1086 as part of the research project "Wildlife Diseases: Surveillance, Monitoring, Research, and Response" at the National Wildlife Research Center.

Financial support: Funding for this study was provided by the National Wildlife Research Center, Fort Collins, Colorado.

^* Address correspondence to Jeffrey S. Hall, United States Department of Agriculture, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, Wildlife Services, National Wildlife Research Center, Fort Collins, CO 80521-2154. E-mail: Jeffery.S.Hall{at}aphis.usda.gov

Authors’ addresses: Julian Santaella, Robert McLean, Jeffrey S. Hall, and Larry Clark, United States Department of Agriculture, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, Wildlife Services, National Wildlife Research Center, Fort Collins, CO 80521-2154, Telephone: (970) 266-6137, Fax: (970) 266-6138. James S. Gill, University Hygienic Laboratory, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA. Richard A. Bowen, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80521. Harlo H. Hadow, Biology Department, Coe College, Cedar Rapids, IA 52402.

Reprint requests: Larry Clark, United States Department of Agriculture, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, Wildlife Services, National Wildlife Research Center, Fort Collins, CO 80521-2154, Telephone: (970) 266-6137, Fax: (970) 266-6138, E-mail: Larry.Clark{at}aphis.usda.gov.

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