Red deer (Cervus elaphus) and white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) are hosts for different tick species and tick-borne pathogens and play a role in tick dispersal and maintenance in some regions. These factors stress the importance of controlling
tick infestations in deer and several methods such as culling and
acaricide treatment have been used. Tick
vaccines are a cost-effective alternative for tick control that reduced cattle
tick infestations and tick-borne pathogens prevalence while reducing the use of
acaricides. Our hypothesis is that vaccination with vector protective
antigens can be used for the control of
tick infestations in deer. Herein, three experiments were conducted to characterize (1) the antibody response in red deer immunized with recombinant BM86, the
antigen included in commercial tick
vaccines, (2) the antibody response and control of cattle
tick infestations in white-tailed deer immunized with recombinant BM86 or
tick subolesin (SUB) and experimentally infested with Rhipicephalus (Boophilus) microplus, and (3) the antibody response and control of Hyalomma spp. and Rhipicephalus spp. field
tick infestations in red deer immunized with mosquito akirin (AKR), the SUB ortholog and candidate protective
antigen against different tick species and other ectoparasites. The results showed that deer produced an antibody response that correlated with the reduction in
tick infestations and was similar to other hosts vaccinated previously with these
antigens. The overall
vaccine efficacy was similar between BM86 (E=76%) and SUB (E=83%) for the control of R. microplus infestations in white-tailed deer. The field trial in red deer showed a 25-33% (18-40% when only infested deer were considered) reduction in
tick infestations, 14-20 weeks after the first immunization. These results demonstrated that vaccination with vector protective
antigens could be used as an alternative method for the control of
tick infestations in deer to reduce tick populations and dispersal in regions where deer are relevant hosts for these ectoparasites.