A UWM biologist was among researchers who recently found malaria parasites in North American deer.
Emily Latch, associate professor of biological sciences, was part of a team of led by the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute (SCBI) who found that the parasite Plasmodium odocoilei was present in up to 25 percent of white-tailed deer along the East Coast of the United States.
It is the first native malaria parasite in the Americas and also the first found living in deer.
The researchers also found that although the parasites are common across deer populations, they occur in low levels within individuals. It was not until the scientists used sensitive molecular genetics methods that they were able to detect the parasite in the samples.
The parasite does not infect humans, but researchers face a host of questions, such as whether it could infect other hoofed species.
The research was published Feb. 5 in “Science Advances.” Besides UWM and SCBI, institutions involved in the research included the American Museum of Natural History, the National Park Service, the University of Georgia and the University of Vermont.
