First molecular and serological detection of Epizootic Hemorrhagic Disease virus in white tailed deer ( Odocoileus virginianus ) from Tamaulipas, Mexico

ABSTRACT Epizootic hemorrhagic disease viruses (EHDV) are dsRNA arboviruses transmitted by biting midges of the genus Culicoides that cause disease in domestic and wild ruminants. Epizootic hemorrhagic disease (EHD) is considered the most important infectious disease of white tailed deer (WTD) in North America, some studies in Northeast Mexico reported EHDV-seropositive WTD and EHDV-infected Culicoides vectors. The increasing population of WTD that share habitat with livestock in Northeast México highlights the importance of EHD for the livestock industry in the transboundary region with the U.S. One hundred and twenty two samples from WTD in Tamaulipas state, Mexico were tested by ELISA and RT-PCR for EHDV antibodies and nucleic acid, respectively. Twelve animals were seropositive to ELISA and eleven animals were positive by RT-PCR. This is the first report of EHDV nucleic acid detection in WTD from Mexico. It is hypothesized that applying the transboundary disease approach to interdisciplinary research will help fill knowledge gaps, which could help develop countermeasures to mitigate the threat of EHDV infection in wildlife and livestock along the U.S.-Mexico border.

摘要：流行性出血病病毒（Epizootic hemorrhagic disease virus, EHDV）属于双链RNA虫媒病毒，经由库蠓属（Culicoides）吸血蠓传播，可导致家养及野生反刍动物发病。流行性出血病（Epizootic hemorrhagic disease, EHD）被视为北美地区白尾鹿（white tailed deer, WTD）最主要的传染性疾病。墨西哥东北部的多项研究已报道过EHDV血清学阳性的白尾鹿，以及携带有EHDV的库蠓媒介物种。墨西哥东北部与家畜共享栖息地的白尾鹿种群数量不断增加，凸显了流行性出血病在美墨跨界区域对当地畜牧业的重要性。本研究采用酶联免疫吸附试验（Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay, ELISA）与逆转录聚合酶链式反应（Reverse Transcription Polymerase Chain Reaction, RT-PCR），分别检测了墨西哥塔毛利帕斯州122份白尾鹿样本的EHDV抗体与核酸。结果显示，12份样本的ELISA检测呈血清学阳性，11份样本的RT-PCR检测呈核酸阳性。本研究为墨西哥境内首次在白尾鹿中检出EHDV核酸的研究报道。本研究提出假说：将跨界疾病研究方法应用于跨学科研究，有助于填补现有知识空白，进而助力制定防控策略，以减轻美墨边境地区野生动物与家畜所面临的EHDV感染威胁。