title: Serological survey for antibodies against selected infectious agents among fallow deer (Dama dama) in central Italy.
abstract: Sera were collected from 224 fallow deer (Dama dama) in reserves in central Italy. Samples were tested for antibodies against Chlamydia spp., Brucella spp. and Coxiella spp. with the complement fixation (CF) test. Indirect immunofluorescence was used to test for antibodies against Borrelia spp. and agglutination tests were conducted for Leptospira interrogans antibodies. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) tests were used to detect antibodies against bovine herpesvirus-1 (BHV-1) and bovine viral diarrhoea virus (BVDV). All samples were negative for antibodies against Brucella spp., L. interrogans, Coxiella spp. and BHV-1. Four samples (1.8%) had antibodies against Chlamydia spp., nine (4%) against Borrelia spp. and 10 (4.5%) against BVDV. These results indicate that fallow deer in central Italy have a low rate of exposure to pathogens typical of domestic livestock.
authors.affiliation: Istituto di Igiene Veterinaria e Patologia Aviare, Facoltá Medicina Veterinaria, Universitá di Perugia, Italy.
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Cuteri
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Diverio
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Carnieletto
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Turilli
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Valente
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000907:Antibodies, Bacterial / Q000097:blood*; D000914:Antibodies, Viral / Q000097:blood*; D001424:Bacterial Infections / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000662:veterinary*; D003670:Deer; D005260:Female; D007558:Italy / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D016036:Seroepidemiologic Studies; D014777:Virus Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000662:veterinary*
chemical_list: D000907:Antibodies, Bacterial; D000914:Antibodies, Viral