Incompetence of white-tailed deer as amplifying hosts of vesicular stomatitis virus for Lutzomyia shannoni (Diptera: Psychodidae).

Sand flies, Lutzomyia shannoni Dyar, were allowed to feed on 3 white-tailed deer, Odocoileus virginiana Zimmermann, that previously had been infected with the New Jersey serotype of vesicular stomatitis (VSNJ) virus. Flies fed in the lower abdominal area of each deer on days 1-5 postinfection. A blood sample, nasal swab, and throat swab were taken during each feeding trial and examined for virus. Blood-fed flies were held for 4-5 d following the bloodmeal and tested for VSNJ virus infection. VSNJ virus was never detected in blood or from swabs taken from infected deer nor from any of the sand flies that fed on deer. The findings suggest that white-tailed deer do not fulfill the traditional concept of amplifying hosts of VSNJ virus.