Deer antibodies may locate tick exposure where surveys are thin
WHAT THE EVIDENCE SAYS
Sera from 201 red deer harvested in two seasons in 2017–2019 were tested for antibodies to the Ixodes-associated endosymbiont Midichloria mitochondrii. Calves had lower response rates than older deer, and samples differed among park areas, consistent with spatially heterogeneous prior tick contact.
WHY IT MATTERS / OUR READ
Wildlife serology can prioritize where to deploy direct tick counts and pathogen testing when landscape-scale surveillance is sparse.
CAVEATS / UNCERTAINTY
Antibodies cannot identify where or when every contact happened, establish present-day tick density or prove infection with a human pathogen. This is an accepted peer-reviewed article awaiting final formatting.
SOURCE
Parasitology Research — Cafiso et al., accepted 28 October 2026
View original evidence ↗
An Italian Alpine sentinel study measures past contact, not confirmed infections.
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