Detection of Tick-Borne Pathogens in Red Deer (), United Kingdom.

Deer represent a major vertebrate host for all feeding stages of the hard tick in the United Kingdom (UK), and could play a role in the persistence of tick-borne pathogens. However, there have been few studies reporting the presence of spp. and in deer in the UK, and those that detected were unable to confirm the species. To address this, we have investigated blood samples from red deer () for the presence of tick-borne pathogens. Total DNA was extracted from haemolysed blood that was removed from clotted blood sampled from culled, captive red deer. spp. were detected with a pan-piroplasm PCR that amplifies a fragment of the 18S rRNA gene. Species were identified based on identity with published sequences. was detected with a probe-based PCR targeting the gene. In addition, residual serum samples from a subset of animals were tested for the presence of anti-flavivirus antibodies. Of 105 red deer samples tested from three locations in the United Kingdom, 5 were positive for piroplasm and 5 were positive for . Co-infection with both pathogens was detected in two samples from one location. No evidence for antibodies against West Nile virus were detected. However, 12% of sera tested were positive for tick-borne encephalitis virus antibodies.