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1 July 1992 Borrelia sp. in Ticks Recovered from White-tailed Deer in Alabama
Shirley Luckhart, Gary R. Mullen, Lance A. Durden, James C. Wright
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Abstract

Six hundred sixty-five hunter-killed white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) from 18 counties in Alabama (USA) were examined for ticks. Most of the collections were made at state-operated wildlife management areas. Four species of ticks (n = 4,527) were recovered: the lone star tick Amblyomma americanum (n = 482); the Gulf Coast tick A. maculatum (n = 11); the winter tick Dermacentor albipictus (n = 1,242); and the black-legged tick Ixodes scapularis (n = 2,792). Fifty-six percent of the ticks (n = 2,555) were examined for Borrelia sp. spirochetes using an immunofluorescent, polyclonal antibody assay. Spirochetes were detected in I. scapularis (five females, seven males) from Barbour, Butler, Coosa, and Lee counties and A. americanum (four males, four nymphs) from Hale, Lee, and Wilcox counties. Area-specific prevalences in ticks were as high as 3.3% for I. scapularis and 3.8% for A. americanum.

Luckhart, Mullen, Durden, and Wright: Borrelia sp. in Ticks Recovered from White-tailed Deer in Alabama
Shirley Luckhart, Gary R. Mullen, Lance A. Durden, and James C. Wright "Borrelia sp. in Ticks Recovered from White-tailed Deer in Alabama," Journal of Wildlife Diseases 28(3), 449-452, (1 July 1992). https://doi.org/10.7589/0090-3558-28.3.449
Received: 6 May 1991; Published: 1 July 1992
KEYWORDS
Amblyomma americanum
Borrelia sp.
Ixodes scapularis
Lyme disease
Odocoileus virginianus
prevalence
survey
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