Wildlife research-science for a changing environment

Editorial.Peer Reviewe

La tuberculosis animal: una infección multi-hospedador

Grupo de investigación en Sanidad y Biotecnología (SaBio) del Instituto de Investigación en Recursos Cinegéticos IREC (Universidad de Castilla – La Mancha & CSIC).Este libro ha sido financiado por la Acción Complementaria AC2014-00004-00-00 del Instituto Nacional de Investigación y Tecnología Agraria y Alimentaria (INIA), dentro del Plan Nacional de Investigación Científica, Desarrollo e Innovación 2013-2016, por el Fondo Europeo de Desarrollo Regional (FEDER) y por el Ayuntamiento de Gijón, a través de Divertia. También ha contado con la colaboración de Zerep Carbónicas y Aguas S.A.Peer Reviewe

Change of editorship and scope

2 páginas.-- Editorial.Peer reviewe

Introduction to this issue: Dealing with TB in wildlife

Peer reviewe

Effect of haemolysis and repeated freeze-thawing cycles on wild boar serum antibody testing by ELISA

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Monitoring wildlife diseases is needed to identify changes in disease occurrence. Wildlife blood samples are valuable for this purpose but are often gathered haemolysed. To maximise information, sera often go through repeated analysis and freeze-thaw cycles. Herein, we used samples of clean and haemolysed Eurasian wild boar (<it>Sus scrofa</it>) serum stored at -20°C and thawed up to five times to study the effects of both treatments on the outcome of a commercial ELISA test for the detection of antibodies against Suid Herpesvirus 1 (ADV).</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The estimated prevalence of antibodies against ADV was 50-53% for clean and haemolysed sera. Hence, haemolysis did not reduce the mean observed serum antibody prevalence. However, 10 samples changed their classification after repeated freeze-thawing. This included 3 (15%) of the clean sera and 7 (41%) of the haemolysed sera.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>We recommend (1) establishing more restrictive cut-off values when testing wildlife sera, (2) recording serum quality prior to sample banking, (3) recording the number of freezing-thawing cycles and (4) store sera in various aliquots to reduce repeated usage. For instance, sera with more than 3 freeze-thaw cycles and a haemolysis of over 3 on a scale of 4 should better be discarded for serum antibody monitoring. Even clean (almost not haemolysed) sera should not go through more than 5 freeze-thaw cycles.</p

Favorabilidad ecogeográfica para el corzo: distribución y abundancia

[EN]: Species distribution models (SDM) are widely used in ecology, biogeography and conservation. Here, we modelled the distribution of roe deer (Capreolus capreolus) in mainland Spain in order to i) determine its macro-ecological requirements, ii) assess the favourability for this species and iii) explore the model usefulness as an index of the species relative abundance. Our results showed that roe deer distribution can be explained by predictors related with topography, climate, lithology, geography and human activity. Climate was the more relevant factor, followed by human activity, topography, spatial location and lithology. The model accurately predicted the species probability of occurrence and also, but weakly, the species' relative abundance.[ES]: Los modelos de distribución de especies (SDM) están siendo cada vez más usados para abordar cuestiones relacionadas con la ecología, biogeografía y conservación de las especies. En este estudio nos proponemos realizar un modelo de distribución para el corzo (Capreolus capreolus) en la España peninsular para estudiar los determinantes macroambientales de su rango de distribución, evaluar la favorabilidad para la especie, y la utilidad del modelo como indicador de su abundancia relativa. El modelo indica que su distribución se puede explicar en términos topográficos, climáticos, litológicos, geográficos y de presión humana. El clima fue el factor que en su efecto puro explicó un mayor porcentaje de variación, y le siguen la presión humana, la topografía, la localización espacial y la litología. El modelo obtenido predijo con elevada precisión la probabilidad de presencia de la especie y con cierto detalle su abundancia relativa.Este trabajo ha sido promovido y financiado por la Consejería de Medio Ambiente de la Junta de Comunidades de Castilla – La Mancha. P. Acevedo disfruta de un contrato dentro del programa Juan de la Cierva –Fondo Social Europeo y sus investigaciones están parcialmente financiadas por el proyecto del Plan Nacional CGL2009-11316 - FEDER.Peer Reviewe

The epidemiology of Mycobacterium bovis in wild deer and feral pigs and their roles in the establishment and spread of bovine tuberculosis in New Zealand wildlife

In New Zealand, wild deer and feral pigs are assumed to be spillover hosts for Mycobacterium bovis, and so are not targeted in efforts aimed at locally eradicating bovine tuberculosis (TB) from possums (Trichosurus vulpecula), the main wildlife host. Here we review the epidemiology of TB in deer and pigs, and assess whether New Zealand's TB management programme could be undermined if these species sometimes achieve maintenance host status. In New Zealand, TB prevalences of up to 47% have been recorded in wild deer sympatric with tuberculous possums. Patterns of lesion distribution, age-specific prevalences and behavioural observations suggest that deer become infected mainly through exposure to dead or moribund possums. TB can progress rapidly in some deer (<10%), but generalised disease is uncommon in wild deer; conversely some infected animals can survive for many years. Deer-to-deer transmission of M. bovis is rare, but transmission from tuberculous deer carcasses to scavengers, including possums, is likely. That creates a small spillback risk that could persist for a decade after transmission of new infection to wild deer has been halted. Tuberculosis prevalence in New Zealand feral pigs can reach 100%. Infections in lymph nodes of the head and alimentary tract predominate, indicating that TB is mostly acquired through scavenging tuberculous carrion, particularly possums. Infection is usually well contained, and transmission between pigs is rare. Large reductions in local possum density result in gradual declines (over 10 years) in TB prevalence among sympatric wild deer, and faster declines in feral pigs. Elimination of TB from possums (and livestock) therefore results in eventual disappearance of TB from feral pigs and wild deer. However, the risk of spillback infection from deer to possums substantially extends the time needed to locally eradicate TB from all wildlife (compared to that which would be required to eradicate disease from possums alone), while dispersal or translocation of pigs (e.g. by hunters) creates a risk of long-distance spread of disease. The high rate at which pigs acquire M. bovis infection from dead possums makes them useful as sentinels for detecting TB in wildlife. It is unlikely that wild deer and feral pigs act as maintenance hosts anywhere in New Zealand, because unrestricted year-round hunting keeps densities low, with far less aggregation than on New Zealand farms. We conclude that active management of wild deer or feral pigs is not required for local TB eradication in New Zealand.Funding to support the drafting of this review was provided by TBfree New Zealand (Project R10735-01), with co-funding from the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (Contact C09X0803); Christian Gortazar additionally acknowledges support from Plan Nacional I+D+i AGL2011-30041 (MINECO, Spain) for his contribution to this review.Peer Reviewe

Leishmania infantum in free-ranging hares, Spain, 2004-2010

Iberian hares (Lepus granatensis) were recently deemed responsible for an outbreak of human leishmaniasis affecting metropolitan Madrid, Spain. However, the reservoir potential of hares in Europe is poorly known. We report a retrospective survey on Leishmania infantum, the causal agent of zoonotic endemic leishmaniasis in the Mediterranean basin, infection status of Iberian, European (Le. europaeus) and Broom (Le. castroviejoi) hares in Spain. Spleen samples from 94 hares were tested by polymerase chain reaction. Sequencing and restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) assays were performed on positive samples and RFLP patterns compared with those of strains reported in the scientific literature. DNA prevalence in hare spleen samples was 43.6% (95% confidence interval: 33.6-53.6). In all six regions studied at least one positive sample was found. RFLP revealed existence of specific hare strains of L. infantum differing from those reported in wild carnivores in Spain. The widespread presence of L. infantum in the most abundant Spanish hare species and the recent evidence of the ability of naturally infected hares to transmit the pathogen to Phlebotomus perniciosus, its main vector in the western Mediterranean, suggest that hares may have an unexpected role in the epidemiology of L. infantum in Spain.This study is a contribution to project POII09-0141-8176 (JCCM and EU-FEDER) and EU grants ANTIGONE (278976) and APHAEA (EMIDA ERA-NET). F. Ruiz-Fon acknowledges a Juan de la Cierva contract (Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad).Peer Reviewe

Middle east respiratory syndrome (MERS) coronavirus: a new challenge for veterinarians?

Letter to the Editor.C. Gortázar acknowledges support from EU FP7 grant ANTIGONE on emerging diseases (contract number 278976).Peer Reviewe

Wild boar: an increasing concern for Aujeszky's disease control in pigs?

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The goal of this study was describing the temporal evolution of Aujeszky's disease virus (ADV) contact prevalence among Eurasian wild boar (<it>Sus scrofa</it>) populations under different management regimes and contact likelihoods with domestic pigs. Given the recent increase in wild boar abundance throughout Europe, we hypothesized that wild boar contact with ADV would remain stable in time even after significant reduction of ADV prevalence in domestic pigs.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Sera from 1659 wild boar were collected from 2000 to 2010 within 6 areas of the Iberian Peninsula and tested for the presence of antibodies against ADV by ELISA. According to sampling date, wild boar were grouped into three time periods. ADV prevalence was compared through period both globally and by geographic area. Overall seroprevalence for the ten-year study period was 49.6 ± 2.4%. The highest seroprevalence was recorded in areas with intense wild boar management. The annual proportion of positive wild boar sampling sites remained stable through the study period, while the percentage of domestic pig AD positive counties decreased from 70% in 2003 to 1.7% in 2010.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Results presented herein confirmed our hypothesis that ADV would remain almost stable in wild boar populations. This evidences the increasing risk wild boar pose in the final stages of ADV eradication in pigs and for wildlife conservation.</p