Prevalence of Japanese encephalitis virus antibody in sika deer (Cervus nippon) in Odaigahara, Kii Peninsula, Japan

Abstract

Sero-epidemiological study of Japanese encephalitis virus was conducted on sika deer (Cervus nippon) captured in Odaigahara, a forested area, on Kii peninsula, Japan, in 2009 and 2010. Nine (10.3%) out of 87 deer had neutralizing antibodies against Japanese encephalitis virus (JEV) Oki431S strain, belonging to genotype 1, a widely circulating genotype in Japan, and one (1.1%) had that against JEV Beijing-1 strain, vaccine strain, genotype 3. Prevalence rates of JEV Oki431S antibody tended to increase with age and reached 20%. This result indicates that deer are sensitive to JEV, and also strongly suggests that Odaigahara is a JEV-endemic area, with rather low virus activity.