Schmitt Stephen M, Cooley Thomas M, Fitzgerald Scott D, Bolin Steven R, Lim Ailam, Schaefer Sara M, Kiupel Matti, Maes Roger K, Hogle Stephanie A, O'Brien Daniel J
Wildlife Disease Laboratory, Michigan Department of Natural Resources, 4125 Beaumont Rd., Room 250, Lansing, Michigan 48910-8106, USA.
J Wildl Dis. 2007 Oct;43(4):635-44. doi: 10.7589/0090-3558-43.4.635.
Eastern equine encephalitis (EEE) virus has been recognized as affecting horses and humans in the eastern United States for 70 yr. Evidence of exposure with EEE virus has been reported in a variety of free-ranging wild birds and mammals but cases of clinical disease are much less commonly reported. In Michigan, reports of outbreaks of EEE virus in equine species extend back more than a half century. We report diagnosis of EEE virus infection of multiple free-ranging white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) from three Michigan counties during late summer of 2005. Infection was confirmed in seven of 30 deer collected based on reported neurologic signs and results from immunohistochemistry, polymerase chain reaction, and/or virus isolation. One of the deer also was infected with West Nile virus and an eighth deer had microscopic lesions in the cerebrum consistent with those reported for EEE. To our knowledge, this is the first report of multiple cases of EEE in free-ranging white-tailed deer, and highlights several issues of significance to wildlife managers and public health officials.
东部马脑炎（EEE）病毒在美国东部被认为影响马匹和人类已有70年。在各种自由放养的野生鸟类和哺乳动物中都有接触EEE病毒的证据，但临床疾病病例的报告则少得多。在密歇根州，关于马类物种中EEE病毒爆发的报告可追溯到半个多世纪以前。我们报告了2005年夏末在密歇根州三个县对多只自由放养的白尾鹿（弗吉尼亚鹿）进行的EEE病毒感染诊断。根据报告的神经症状以及免疫组化、聚合酶链反应和/或病毒分离的结果，在采集的30只鹿中有7只被确诊感染。其中一只鹿还感染了西尼罗河病毒，第八只鹿大脑中有与EEE报告相符的微观病变。据我们所知，这是首次报告自由放养的白尾鹿中出现多例EEE病例，并突出了对野生动物管理者和公共卫生官员具有重要意义的几个问题。
