Red Deer as Maintenance Host for Bovine Tuberculosis, Alpine Region

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.B ovine tuberculosis has one of the broadest host ranges of any known zoonotic pathogens.In addition to cattle, bovine tuberculosis affects many wild animal populations in North America, Europe, Africa, Asia, and New Zealand.Under certain conditions, wildlife play a role as reservoir and source of infection for domestic animals.Mycobacterium caprae has been isolated from cattle, domestic goats, domestic pigs, red deer (Cervus elaphus), and wild boar (1).Evidence is increasing that M. caprae is emerging in free-ranging red deer and cattle in the Alps (2,3).