Spatial point pattern analyses of Bovine viral diarrhea virus infection in domestic livestock herds and concomitant seroprevalence in wild white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) in New York State, USA

Abstract

Bovine viral diarrhea virus (BVDV) is an economically important disease of domestic cattle that is capable of infecting cervids. A first step in the formulation of a regional BVDV management plan is a local assessment of the likelihood of pathogen transmission from wildlife to domestic livestock. To achieve this, blood samples were collected from hunter-harvested white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) throughout New York State in the fall of 2009 and 2010. The SVANOVIR BVDV p80-AB enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA; Svanova Biotech AV, Uppsala, Sweden) was used to screen sera for anti-BVDV antibodies. Because this ELISA is not validated for use in white-tailed deer, sera that tested positive were tested again using serum neutralization to verify the presence of antibodies. Spatial data describing the geographic location of BVDV antigen-positive cattle and camelid herds and BVDV-seropositive white-tailed deer were analyzed via the dual kernel density estimation method. In white-tailed deer, 7.48% (80/1,069) were BVDV-seropositive, whereas 3.43% (144/4,195) of tested herds were positive for BVDV antigen. An exploratory cluster analysis revealed 1 significant cluster of BVDV antigen-positive herds and 2 significant clusters of BVDV-seropositive deer. There was no spatial overlap between the clusters. The spatial point pattern and exploratory cluster analyses suggest that BVDV is maintained independently in domestic livestock herds in the western part of the state and in the white-tailed deer population in the northwestern part of the state. © 2013 The Author(s).