SUMMARYThe bacterium Francisella tularensis causes the vector-borne zoonotic disease tularemia, and may infect a wide range of hosts including invertebrates, mammals and birds. Transmission to humans occurs through contact with infected animals or contaminated environments, or through arthropod vectors. Tularemia has a broad geographical distribution, and there is evidence which suggests local emergence or re-emergence of this disease in Europe. This review was developed to provide an update on the geographical distribution of F. tularensis in humans, wildlife, domestic animals and vector species, to identify potential public health hazards, and to characterize the epidemiology of tularemia in Europe. Information was collated on cases in humans, domestic animals and wildlife, and on reports of detection of the bacterium in arthropod vectors, from 38 European countries for the period 1992-2012. Multiple international databases on human and animal health were consulted, as well as published reports in the literature. Tularemia is a disease of complex epidemiology that is challenging to understand and therefore to control. Many aspects of this disease remain poorly understood. Better understanding is needed of the epidemiological role of animal hosts, potential vectors, mechanisms of maintenance in the different ecosystems, and routes of transmission of the disease.

Many infectious diseases originating from, or carried by, wildlife affect wildlife conservation and biodiversity, livestock health, or human health. We provide an update on changes in the epidemiology of 25 selected infectious, wildlife-related diseases in Europe (from 2010-16) that had an impact, or may have a future impact, on the health of wildlife, livestock, and humans. These pathogens were selected based on their: 1) identification in recent Europe-wide projects as important surveillance targets, 2) inclusion in European Union legislation as pathogens requiring obligatory surveillance, 3) presence in recent literature on wildlife-related diseases in Europe since 2010, 4) inclusion in key pathogen lists released by the Office International des Epizooties, 5) identification in conference presentations and informal discussions on a group email list by a European network of wildlife disease scientists from the European Wildlife Disease Association, or 6) identification as pathogens with changes in their epidemiology during 2010-16. The wildlife pathogens or diseases included in this review are: avian influenza virus, seal influenza virus, lagoviruses, rabies virus, bat lyssaviruses, filoviruses, canine distemper virus, morbilliviruses in aquatic mammals, bluetongue virus, West Nile virus, hantaviruses, Schmallenberg virus, Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever (CCHF) virus, African swine fever virus, amphibian ranavirus, hepatitis E virus, bovine tuberculosis (Mycobacterium bovis), tularemia (Francisella tularensis), brucellosis (Brucella spp.), salmonellosis (Salmonella spp.), Coxiella burnetii, chytridiomycosis, Echinococcus multilocularis, Leishmania infantum, and chronic wasting disease. Further work is needed to identify all of the key drivers of disease change and emergence, as they appear to be influencing the incidence and spread of these pathogens in Europe. We present a summary of these recent changes during 2010-16 to discuss possible commonalities and drivers of disease change and to identify directions for future work on wildlife-related diseases in Europe. Many of the pathogens are entering Europe from other continents while others are expanding their ranges inside and beyond Europe. Surveillance for these wildlife-related diseases at a continental scale is therefore important for planet-wide assessment, awareness of, and preparedness for the risks they may pose to wildlife, domestic animal, and human health.

The European wild boar populations are growing and spreading to new areas, which might constitute a threat to public health, since wild boar can harbour pathogens with the potential to cause serious illness in humans. Tonsils, ileocaecal lymph nodes and faecal samples were collected from 88 Swedish wild boars and analysed for the presence of the zoonotic pathogens Salmonella spp., Yersinia enterocolitica, Y. pseudotuberculosis and enterohaemorrhagic Escherichia coli O157:H7 (EHEC). A combination of cultivation and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) analysis was used and overall, 20% of sampled individuals tested positive for Y. enterocolitica, 20% for Y. pseudotuberculosis and 10% for Salmonella spp. A total of 41% of sampled individuals tested positive for one or more of these three pathogens. No EHEC were detected. Samples PCR-positive for Salmonella spp. were cultivated further and six isolates were obtained, belonging to Salmonella enterica subspecies enterica and subspecies diarizone. The pathogens were most commonly detected in tonsil samples.

Background: During the past decade, Chorioptes mites occupying the outer ear canals have been a common finding at routine necropsies of moose (Alces alces) in Sweden, but neither the taxonomy of the mites nor lesions from the infestation have been investigated. In this study, the mites are characterized by morphological and molecular techniques, and the histopathology of the skin of the outer ear canal is described.