SEROLOGIC DETECTION OF ADENOVIRAL HEMORRHAGIC DISEASE IN BLACK-TAILED DEER IN CALIFORNIA

Authors: LAPOINTE, JEAN-MARTIN - UNIV. OF CALIF., DAVIS; WOODS, LESLIE - CA VET. DIAGN. LAB, DAVIS; LEHMKUHL, HOWARD; KEEL, KEVIN - UNIV. OF CALIF., DAVIS; ROSSITTO, PAUL - UNIV. OF CALIF., DAVIS; SWIFT, PAMELA - DPET. OF GAME/WILDL., CA; MACLACHLAN, JAMES - UNIV. OF CALIF., DAVIS

Submitted to: Journal of Wildlife Diseases
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 3/22/1999
Publication Date: N/A
Citation: N/A

Interpretive Summary: An adenovirus has been shown by transmission electron microscopy and immunohistochemistry to be the cause of a hemorrhagic disease that resulted in high mortality in mule deer herds throughout northern and central California in 1993. The disease was similar to that produced by epizootic hemorrhagic disease and bluetongue viruses in deer in the United States. In this study, we describe an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and serum neutralization (SN) test developed to measure serum antibodies against the adenovirus. Detection of antibody to this virus in clinical cases will be an aid in diagnosis of adenovirus hemorrhagic disease in deer. Because the adenovirus hemorrhagic disease is similar to the clinical disease produced by epizootic hemorrhagic disease and bluetongue viruses in deer in the United States, adenovirus should be considered in the differential diagnosis in deer with hemorrhagic disease.

Technical Abstract: An enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and a serum neutralization (SN) test were developed to measure serum antibodies against the adenovirus causing hemorrhagic disease in free-ranging and captive experimentally- infected black-tailed deer (Odocoileus hemionus columbianus) in California (USA). There was a strong (rho = 0.874) and significant (P < 0.0001) correlation between ELISA and SN titers, although the SN assay was more sensitive than the ELISA.