Uribasterra, M. G., Orange, J. P., Dinh, E. T., Peters, C., Peters, R. M., Goodfriend, O., … & Blackburn, J. K. (2020). Epizootic Hemorrhagic Disease Virus and Bluetongue Virus Seroprevalence in Wild White-tailed Deer (Odocoileus virginianus) in Florida, USA. Journal of Wildlife Diseases.

Study Highlights:

A wild population of white-tailed deer was surveyed for evidence of past or current epizootic hemorrhagic disease virus (EHDV) and current bluetongue virus (BTV) infections.

Blood samples from 121 deer were tested for antibodies against three EHDV serotypes (EHDV-1, EHDV-2, and EHDV-6), and PCR was used to identify the presence of EHDV or BTV viral RNA.

Of the deer tested, 81% were seropositive for at least one serotype of EHDV. In addition, 33% had antibodies for two serotypes, and 19% had antibodies for all three EHDV serotypes.