Red Deer as Maintenance Host for Bovine Tuberculosis, Alpine Region

Abstract

To estimate the prevalence of bovine tuberculosis in the Alpine region, we studied the epidemiology of Mycobacterium caprae in wildlife during the 2009–2012 hunting seasons. Free-ranging red deer (Cervus elaphus) were a maintenance host in a hot-spot area, mainly located in Austria.

Keywords

• Tuberculosis and other mycobacteria
• wildlife
• bovine tuberculosis
• Mycobacterium caprae
• reservoir host
• spillover host