Background: The health status of wild animals is of particular interest in veterinary epidemiology to have certainty on the
diseases that affect each species, and which ones may be shared with domestic species and humans. Epidemiological surveillance
should be done as frequently as possible to predict the appearance of emerging diseases in susceptible animal populations.
The pampas deer (Ozotoceros bezoarticus) is an artiodactyl mammal belonging to the suborder of ruminants, considered on
Appendix 1 of CITES and is designated an endangered species by the IUCN. Small isolated populations have been reported
in Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay. In Uruguay there are two wild populations, and there is a third semi-captive population with
approximately 80 individuals at the Estación de CrÃa de Fauna Autóctona Cerro Pan de Azúcar (ECFA, Maldonado, Uruguay).
Until now, there is scarce information reported on infectious and parasitic diseases in this specie. The aim of this work was to
determine the presence of antibodies against Leptospirosis (Leptospira interrogans, 21 serovars), Toxoplasmosis (Toxoplasma
gondii), Brucellosis (Brucella abortus), Chlamydiosis (Chlamydophila abortus), Enzootic bovine leukosis, Bovine herpesvirus
and Bovine viral diarrhea in the ECFA pampas deer population.
Materials, Methods & Results: Standard international serological tests were used to determine the presence of antibodies for
each disease in serum obtained in 2009 from 12 males of this population, located in two groups of six animals in different
paddocks. They were captured with darts with ketamine, xylazine and atropine, and anesthesia was later reversed with
yohimbine. The results showed that all animals were serologically positive for toxoplasmosis using the Sabin & Feldman Test,
and negative for all the others diseases.
Discussion: Toxoplasmosis positive results indicate that the animals have been previously exposed to this pathogen. The
possible explanation of the source of infection of the deer can be consumption of contaminated water or food from wild and
domestic free cats that have been commonly observed in the same areas, often in close contact with this deer population. The
presence of antibodies against this disease has been reported in other populations of the species. As that report came from
another subspecies under wild conditions, our data expand the information to another population, maintained in semicaptivity.
Environmental control of toxoplasmosis in zoos should imply careful management of captive felids and susceptible
species, feeding, including disinfection of cleaning equipment, and exclusion of stray animals for the protection of collection
animals as well as animal staff and visitors. In another hand, there were not antibodies against the others infectious diseases
researched (Leptospirosis, Brucellosis, Chlamydiosis, Enzootic Bovine Leukosis, Bovine Viral Diarrhea and Bovine
Herpesvirus), so we suggest that animals have not been exposed to these diseases, or if they were, exposure was not long
enough to make serum antibodies to be undetectable for the techniques used. Finally, although environmental conditions
cannot be extrapolated to wild populations, it is now confirmed that pampas deer is a potential reservoir of toxoplasmosis. This
is the first report of antibodies against toxoplasmosis in semicaptive pampas deer in Uruguay.
