Valdez Karen, Aguilar Patricia V, Fernandez Diana, Bamunuarachchi Gayan, Boon Adrianus C M, Morrill John C, Palermo Pedro M, Watts Douglas M
Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education (ORISE), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Atlanta, Georgia, USA.
Department of Pathology, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, Texas, USA.
Vector Borne Zoonotic Dis. 2025 Apr;25(4):295-302. doi: 10.1089/vbz.2024.0107. Epub 2025 Mar 19.
The tick-borne pathogens, Bourbon virus (BRBV) and Heartland virus (HRTV) are the cause of febrile illnesses that may progress to severe and fatal diseases. As a preliminary effort to determine if these viruses were enzootic in Texas, ticks and blood samples were collected from feral swine () and white-tailed deer () (WTD) killed by gunning as part of an abatement program during 2019-2021 in Travis County, Texas. Ticks were collected from these animals by hand and blood samples were obtained by cardiac puncture using 22-gauge needles and 5 mL syringes. Information was recorded for each animal, including date, sex, and location. The species of ticks were identified morphologically using a taxonomic key, and serum samples were tested for neutralizing antibodies to BRBV and HRTV. A total of 83 and 58 ticks were collected from feral swine, and 196 and 11 from WTD. Although , the implicated vector of both viruses was collected from feral swine, neutralizing antibody was not detected to BRBV, but 12% (9/75) had antibody to HRTV as evidence of a previous infection. Of the serum samples obtained from WTD, all were negative for BRBV neutralizing antibody, but 6.6%% (5/75) were positive for HRTV antibody. These preliminary results indicated that HRTV was enzootic in Travis, County, Texas and further studies are warranted to determine the specific tick vectors and the possible role of WTD and feral swine in the maintenance and transmission cycle of this virus.
蜱传病原体波旁病毒（BRBV）和哈特兰病毒（HRTV）可引发发热性疾病，这些疾病可能会发展为严重的致命疾病。作为确定这些病毒在得克萨斯州是否为动物流行病的初步工作，在2019年至2021年期间，作为得克萨斯州特拉维斯县一项消减计划的一部分，从被枪击致死的野猪和白尾鹿身上采集了蜱虫和血液样本。通过手工从这些动物身上采集蜱虫，并使用22号针头和5毫升注射器通过心脏穿刺获取血液样本。记录了每只动物的信息，包括日期、性别和地点。使用分类学检索表从形态学上鉴定蜱虫的种类，并检测血清样本中针对BRBV和HRTV的中和抗体。从野猪身上共采集到83只和58只蜱虫，从白尾鹿身上采集到196只和11只蜱虫。虽然这两种病毒的潜在传播媒介蜱虫是从野猪身上采集到的，但未检测到针对BRBV的中和抗体，但12%（9/75）的动物有针对HRTV的抗体，证明曾有过感染。在从白尾鹿获得的血清样本中，所有样本针对BRBV的中和抗体均为阴性，但6.6%（5/75）针对HRTV抗体呈阳性。这些初步结果表明，HRTV在得克萨斯州特拉维斯县呈动物流行病状态，有必要进行进一步研究以确定具体的蜱虫传播媒介以及白尾鹿和野猪在该病毒的维持和传播循环中可能发挥的作用。
