Seroprevalence of Borrelia burgdorferi antibodies in white-tailed deer from Texas

Shakirat A Adetunji; Rosina C Krecek; Gabrielle Castellanos; John C Morrill; Alice Blue-McLendon; Walt E Cook; Maria D Esteve-Gassent

doi:10.1016/j.ijppaw.2016.06.002

Seroprevalence of Borrelia burgdorferi antibodies in white-tailed deer from Texas

Int J Parasitol Parasites Wildl. 2016 Jun 13;5(2):168-74. doi: 10.1016/j.ijppaw.2016.06.002. eCollection 2016 Aug.

Authors

Shakirat A Adetunji¹, Rosina C Krecek², Gabrielle Castellanos¹, John C Morrill³, Alice Blue-McLendon⁴, Walt E Cook¹, Maria D Esteve-Gassent¹

Affiliations

¹ Department of Veterinary Pathobiology, College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843, USA.
² Department of Veterinary Pathobiology, College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843, USA; Texas A&M One Health Initiative, Office of the Dean, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843, USA; Department of Zoology, University of Johannesburg, Auckland Park, Johannesburg 2006, South Africa.
³ Department of Microbiology and Immunology and Department of Veterinary Physiology and Pharmacology, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, TX 77555, USA.
⁴ Winnie Carter Wildlife Center, College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843, USA.

Abstract

Lyme Disease is caused by the bacterial pathogen Borrelia burgdorferi, and is transmitted by the tick-vector Ixodes scapularis. It is the most prevalent arthropod-borne disease in the United States. To determine the seroprevalence of B. burgdorferi antibodies in white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) from Texas, we analyzed serum samples (n = 1493) collected during the 2001-2015 hunting seasons, using indirect ELISA. Samples with higher sero-reactivity (0.803 and above) than the negative control group (0.662) were further tested using a more specific standardized western immunoblot assay to rule out false positives. Using ELISA, 4.7% of the samples were sero-reactive against B. burgdorferi, and these originated in two eco-regions in Texas (Edwards Plateau and South Texas Plains). However, only 0.5% of the total samples were sero-reactive by standardized western immunoblot assay. Additionally, both ELISA and standardized western immunoblot assay results correlated with an increased incidence in human Lyme Disease cases reported in Texas. This is the first longitudinal study to demonstrate fluctuation in sero-reactivity of white-tailed deer to B. burgdorferi sensu stricto antigens in southern United States. Future ecological and geographical studies are needed to assess the environmental factors governing the prevalence of Lyme Disease in non-endemic areas of the southern United States.

Keywords: Borrelia burgdorferi; Ixodes scapularis; Lyme disease; Sero-reactivity; Texas; White-tailed deer.