Skip to main content
PMC home page
Journal of Clinical Microbiology logoLink to Journal of Clinical Microbiology
. 1997 Jul;35(7):1681–1686. doi: 10.1128/jcm.35.7.1681-1686.1997

Isolation of Ehrlichia chaffeensis from wild white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) confirms their role as natural reservoir hosts.

J M Lockhart 1, W R Davidson 1, D E Stallknecht 1, J E Dawson 1, E W Howerth 1
PMCID: PMC229821  PMID: 9196173

Abstract

Field and experimental studies have implicated white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) as probable reservoir hosts for Ehrlichia chaffeensis, the causative agent of human monocytic ehrlichiosis, but natural infection in deer has not been confirmed through isolation of E. chaffeensis. Thirty-five white-tailed deer collected from three Amblyomma americanum-infested populations in Georgia were examined for evidence of E. chaffeensis infection by serologic, molecular, cell culture, and xenodiagnostic methods. Twenty-seven deer (77%) had E. chaffeensis-reactive indirect fluorescent-antibody assay titers of > or = 1:64; and the blood, spleens, or lymph nodes of seven (20%) deer were positive in a nested PCR assay with E. chaffeensis-specific primers. E. chaffeensis was isolated in DH82 cell cultures from the blood of five (14%) deer, including two deer that were PCR negative. Combination of culture and PCR results indicated that six (17%) deer were probably rickettsemic and that nine (26%) were probably infected. Restriction digestion of PCR products amplified from deer tissues and cell culture isolates resulted in a banding pattern consistent with the E. chaffeensis 16S rRNA gene sequence. The sequences of all PCR products from deer tissues or cell culture isolates were identical to the sequence of the Arkansas type strain of E. chaffeensis. Xenodiagnosis with C3H mice inoculated intraperitoneally with deer blood, spleen, or lymph node suspensions was unsuccessful. When viewed in the context of previous studies, these findings provide strong evidence that E. chaffeensis is maintained in nature primarily by a tick vector-vertebrate reservoir system consisting of lone star ticks and white-tailed deer.

Full Text

The Full Text of this article is available as a PDF (1.1 MB).

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Anderson B. E., Dawson J. E., Jones D. C., Wilson K. H. Ehrlichia chaffeensis, a new species associated with human ehrlichiosis. J Clin Microbiol. 1991 Dec;29(12):2838–2842. doi: 10.1128/jcm.29.12.2838-2842.1991. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Anderson B. E., Sims K. G., Olson J. G., Childs J. E., Piesman J. F., Happ C. M., Maupin G. O., Johnson B. J. Amblyomma americanum: a potential vector of human ehrlichiosis. Am J Trop Med Hyg. 1993 Aug;49(2):239–244. doi: 10.4269/ajtmh.1993.49.239. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Anderson B. E., Sumner J. W., Dawson J. E., Tzianabos T., Greene C. R., Olson J. G., Fishbein D. B., Olsen-Rasmussen M., Holloway B. P., George E. H. Detection of the etiologic agent of human ehrlichiosis by polymerase chain reaction. J Clin Microbiol. 1992 Apr;30(4):775–780. doi: 10.1128/jcm.30.4.775-780.1992. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Bloemer S. R., Snoddy E. L., Cooney J. C., Fairbanks K. Influence of deer exclusion on populations of lone star ticks and American dog ticks (Acari: Ixodidae). J Econ Entomol. 1986 Jun;79(3):679–683. doi: 10.1093/jee/79.3.679. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Bloemer S. R., Zimmerman R. H., Fairbanks K. Abundance, attachment sites, and density estimators of lone star ticks (Acari: Ixodidae) infesting white-tailed deer. J Med Entomol. 1988 Jul;25(4):295–300. doi: 10.1093/jmedent/25.4.295. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Davidson W. R., Siefken D. A., Creekmore L. H. Seasonal and annual abundance of Amblyomma americanum (Acari: Ixodidae) in central Georgia. J Med Entomol. 1994 Jan;31(1):67–71. doi: 10.1093/jmedent/31.1.67. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Dawson J. E., Anderson B. E., Fishbein D. B., Sanchez J. L., Goldsmith C. S., Wilson K. H., Duntley C. W. Isolation and characterization of an Ehrlichia sp. from a patient diagnosed with human ehrlichiosis. J Clin Microbiol. 1991 Dec;29(12):2741–2745. doi: 10.1128/jcm.29.12.2741-2745.1991. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Dawson J. E., Childs J. E., Biggie K. L., Moore C., Stallknecht D., Shaddock J., Bouseman J., Hofmeister E., Olson J. G. White-tailed deer as a potential reservoir of Ehrlichia spp. J Wildl Dis. 1994 Apr;30(2):162–168. doi: 10.7589/0090-3558-30.2.162. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Dawson J. E., Stallknecht D. E., Howerth E. W., Warner C., Biggie K., Davidson W. R., Lockhart J. M., Nettles V. F., Olson J. G., Childs J. E. Susceptibility of white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) to infection with Ehrlichia chaffeensis, the etiologic agent of human ehrlichiosis. J Clin Microbiol. 1994 Nov;32(11):2725–2728. doi: 10.1128/jcm.32.11.2725-2728.1994. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Dawson J. E., Warner C. K., Baker V., Ewing S. A., Stallknecht D. E., Davidson W. R., Kocan A. A., Lockhart J. M., Olson J. G. Ehrlichia-like 16S rDNA sequence from wild white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus). J Parasitol. 1996 Feb;82(1):52–58. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Eng T. R., Harkess J. R., Fishbein D. B., Dawson J. E., Greene C. N., Redus M. A., Satalowich F. T. Epidemiologic, clinical, and laboratory findings of human ehrlichiosis in the United States, 1988. JAMA. 1990 Nov 7;264(17):2251–2258. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Ewing S. A., Dawson J. E., Kocan A. A., Barker R. W., Warner C. K., Panciera R. J., Fox J. C., Kocan K. M., Blouin E. F. Experimental transmission of Ehrlichia chaffeensis (Rickettsiales: Ehrlichieae) among white-tailed deer by Amblyomma americanum (Acari: Ixodidae). J Med Entomol. 1995 May;32(3):368–374. doi: 10.1093/jmedent/32.3.368. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. Haile D. G., Mount G. A. Computer simulation of population dynamics of the lone star tick, Amblyomma americanum (Acari: Ixodidae). J Med Entomol. 1987 May;24(3):356–369. doi: 10.1093/jmedent/24.3.356. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. Little S. E., Dawson J. E., Lockhart J. M., Stallknecht D. E., Warner C. K., Davidson W. R. Development and use of specific polymerase reaction for the detection of an organism resembling Ehrlichia sp. in white-tailed deer. J Wildl Dis. 1997 Apr;33(2):246–253. doi: 10.7589/0090-3558-33.2.246. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. Lockhart J. M., Davidson W. R., Dawson J. E., Stallknecht D. E. Temporal association of Amblyomma americanum with the presence of Ehrlichia chaffeensis reactive antibodies in white-tailed deer. J Wildl Dis. 1995 Apr;31(2):119–124. doi: 10.7589/0090-3558-31.2.119. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  16. Lockhart J. M., Davidson W. R., Stallknecht D. E., Dawson J. E. Site-specific geographic association between Amblyomma americanum (Acari: Ixodidae) infestations and Ehrlichia chaffeensis-reactive (Rickettsiales: Ehrlichieae) antibodies in white-tailed deer. J Med Entomol. 1996 Jan;33(1):153–158. doi: 10.1093/jmedent/33.1.153. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  17. McDade J. E. Ehrlichiosis--a disease of animals and humans. J Infect Dis. 1990 Apr;161(4):609–617. doi: 10.1093/infdis/161.4.609. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  18. Shankarappa B., Dutta S. K., Mattingly-Napier B. L. Antigenic and genomic relatedness among Ehrlichia risticii, Ehrlichia sennetsu, and Ehrlichia canis. Int J Syst Bacteriol. 1992 Jan;42(1):127–132. doi: 10.1099/00207713-42-1-127. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  19. Standaert S. M., Dawson J. E., Schaffner W., Childs J. E., Biggie K. L., Singleton J., Jr, Gerhardt R. R., Knight M. L., Hutcheson R. H. Ehrlichiosis in a golf-oriented retirement community. N Engl J Med. 1995 Aug 17;333(7):420–425. doi: 10.1056/NEJM199508173330704. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  20. Walker D. H., Dumler J. S. Emergence of the ehrlichioses as human health problems. Emerg Infect Dis. 1996 Jan-Mar;2(1):18–29. doi: 10.3201/eid0201.960102. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from Journal of Clinical Microbiology are provided here courtesy of American Society for Microbiology (ASM)

RESOURCES