Abstract
A large number of Brazilian zoos keep many endangered species of deer, however, very few disease surveillance studies have been conducted among captive cervids. Blood samples from 32 Brazilian deer (Blastocerus dichotomus, Mazama nana and Mazama americana) kept in captivity at Bela Vista Biological Sanctuary (Foz do Iguaçu, Brazil) were investigated for 10 ruminant pathogens, with the aims of monitoring deer health status and evaluating any potential zoonotic risk. Deer serum samples were tested for Brucella abortus, Leptospira (23 serovars), Toxoplasma gondii, Neospora caninum, bovine viral diarrhea virus, infectious bovine rhinotracheitis virus, foot-and-mouth disease virus, western equine encephalitis virus, eastern equine encephalitis virus and Venezuelan equine encephalitis virus. Antibodies against T. gondii (15.6%), N. caninum (6.2%) and L. interrogans serogroup Serjoe (3.1%) were detected. The serological results for all other infectious agents were negative. The deer were considered to be clinically healthy and asymptomatic regarding any disease. Compared with studies on free-ranging deer, the prevalences of the same agents tested among the captive deer kept at the Sanctuary were lower, thus indicating good sanitary conditions and high-quality management practices at the zoo.
Highlights
A large number of Brazilian zoos keep many endangered species of deer, very few disease surveillance studies have been conducted among captive cervids
Serological and molecular studies among free-ranging Brazilian deer have suggested that deer are exposed to a wide spectrum of parasitic, bacterial and viral pathogens, such as Toxoplasma gondii (FERREIRA et al, 1997), Neospora caninum (TIEMANN et al, 2005a), Babesia spp. and Theileria spp. (SILVEIRA et al, 2011), Ehrlichia chaffeensis and Anaplasma spp. (MACHADO et al, 2006; SACCHI et al, 2012), Mycoplasma ovis (GRAZZIOTIN et al, 2011a), Leptospira spp. (VIEIRA et al, 2011) and foot-and-mouth disease virus (ARAUJO et al, 2010)
We investigated the serological profile of a ruminant pathogen panel in a population of deer (Blastocerus dichotomus, Mazama nana and Mazama americana) kept in captivity at Bela Vista Biological Sanctuary (BVBS), with the aims of monitoring deer health status and evaluating any potential zoonotic risk
Summary
A large number of Brazilian zoos keep many endangered species of deer, very few disease surveillance studies have been conducted among captive cervids. Considering that BVBS maintains one of the largest captive herd of Mazama spp. in Brazil and that little is known about their health status, this population study may provide relevant information on deer management, diseases surveillance and zoonotic risk for other conservation units.
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