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Updated: Jul 15, 2026

Feeding of Ticks on Animals for Transmission and Xenodiagnosis in Lyme Disease Research
Published on: August 31, 2013
TB-infected deer are more closely related than non-infected deer
Julie A Blanchong1, Kim T Scribner, Alexandra N Kravchenko
1Department of Fisheries and Wildlife, 13 Natural Resources Building, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824, USA. jablanchong@wisc.edu
Abstract:
Identifying mechanisms of pathogen transmission is critical to controlling disease. Social organization should influence contacts among individuals and thus the distribution and spread of disease within a population. Molecular genetic markers can be used to elucidate mechanisms of disease transmission in wildlife populations without undertaking detailed observational studies to determine probable contact rates. Estimates of genealogical relationships within a bovine tuberculosis-infected white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) population indicated that infected deer were significantly more closely related than non-infected deer suggesting that contact within family groups was a significant mechanism of disease transmission. Results demonstrate that epidemiological models should incorporate aspects of host ecology likely to affect the probability of disease transmission.
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