MOLECULAR SURVEILLANCE FOR BARTONELLA, BORRELIA, AND RICKETTSIA SPECIES IN TICKS FROM DESERT BIGHORN SHEEP ( OVIS CANADENSIS) AND MULE DEER ( ODOCOILEUS HEMIONUS) IN SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA, USA.

:  Ticks (Acari: Ixodidae) were collected from 44 desert bighorn sheep ( Ovis canadensis) and 10 mule deer ( Odocoileus hemionus) in southern California, US during health inspections in 2015-16. Specimens were identified and screened by PCR analysis to determine the presence and prevalence of Bartonella, Borrelia, and Rickettsia species in ticks associated with these wild ruminants. None of the 60 Dermacentor hunteri and 15 Dermacentor albipictus ticks tested yielded positive PCR results. Additional tick specimens should be collected and tested to determine the prevalence of these confirmed or suspected tickborne pathogens within ruminant populations.