Objectives: To determine historical events leading to establishment of bovine tuberculosis in the white-tailed deer population in the northeastern corner of the lower peninsula (NELP) of Michigan and describe factors relevant to the present outbreak of bovine tuberculosis in Michigan.
Sample population: Cattle and white-tailed deer in Michigan from 1920 to 1990.
Procedures: A search of extant historical documents (eg, scientific journals, books, public reports, and correspondence and internal reports from governmental agencies) was conducted. Factors investigated included the number of cattle and prevalence of tuberculosis, deer population and density levels, and changes in regional environments affecting the population and management of cattle and wild deer.
Results: High deer numbers and severe winter feed shortages resulting from habitat destruction in the NELP in 1930 contributed to the transmission of tuberculosis from cattle to deer. Starvation increased the susceptibility of deer to infection and modified behavior such that exposure to infected cattle was increased. Relocation of deer resulted in spread of infection to other sites, including locations at which spatial clusters of tuberculosis presently exist. Ribotyping of Mycobacterium bovis from a human patient suggests that the strain of M. bovis presently infecting white-tailed deer in the region is the same strain that affected cattle farms at that time.
Conclusions and clinical relevance: Feeding deer to maintain numbers above the normal carrying capacity of the NELP led to deer depending on consumption of livestock feed for survival during winter and increased contact with domestic cattle. This practice should be avoided.