Close relationship of Plasmodium sequences detected from South American pampas deer ( Ozotoceros bezoarticus ) to Plasmodium spp. in North American white-tailed deer.

We report, for the first time, the presence of ungulate malaria parasites in South America. We conducted PCR-based surveys of blood samples of multiple deer species and water buffalo from Brazil and detected Plasmodium sequences from pampas deer ( Ozotoceros bezoarticus ) samples. Phylogenic analysis revealed that the obtained sequences are closely related to the Plasmodium odocoilei clade 2 sequence from North American white-tailed deer ( Odocoileus virginianus ). Nucleotide differences suggest that malaria parasites in South American pampas deer and North American P. odocoilei clade 2 branched more recently than the Great American Interchange.