What is the Difference Between Tuberculosis, Paratuberculosis and Mycoplasmosis in Deer?

By Nelda A. Rivera and Nohra Mateus-Pinilla

“Learning to differentiate diseases affecting white-tailed deer (WTD) in Illinois can be challenging, as many pathogens — including bacteria, viruses, protozoa, and prions — could cause disease.”

Figure 1. Risk of bovine tuberculosis (bTB) transmission/spread at the cattle-human-wildlife interface5,6. Domestic and wild reservoir hosts (black), potential reservoir hosts (dark gray), and final hosts (light gray) can interact with each other and through the environment. Dash line show the potential indirect routes of infection between wildlife and humans.

Are you interested in knowing the difference between tuberculosis, paratuberculosis, and mycoplasmosis and how these diseases affect deer? Check the article in the Illinois Outdoor Journal here.