Exposure of extensively farmed wild boars (Sus scrofa scrofa) to selected pig pathogens in Greece

Abstract

Background: Increased density and distribution of wild boar populations are likely to promote interactions and transmission of certain pathogens, not only among wild boar but also from wild boar to livestock or humans and vice versa. Objective: The purpose of this study was to determine seroprevalence against seven selected pathogens in wild boar living in four different areas in Greece. Animals and methods: In total, 359 serum samples were collected from extensively farmed wild boar (Sus scrofa scrofa) originating from four distinct geographical areas throughout Greece from April 2012 to August 2013. Samples were tested for antibodies to Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae, African swine fever virus (ASFV), Aujeszky's disease virus (ADV), classical swine fever virus (CSFV), Erysipelothrix rhusiopathiae, Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae and porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV). Prevalence was compared among the four regions using Fisher's exact test. Results: Low overall seropositivities of 2.4% and 5.6% were detected for E. rhusiopathiae and PRRSV, respectively, higher ones for ADV (32.0%) and the highest (72.5% and 90.5%) for M. hyopneumoniae and A. pleuropneumoniae, respectively. All sera tested were found negative for antibodies directed against CSFV and ASFV. Conclusions: This is the first report of exposure of wild boars to selected pig pathogens in Greece. These results are indicative of the circulation of these pathogens in Greece with the exception of CSFV and ASFV and suggestive of the potential role of wild boars on their maintenance and transmission to their domestic counterparts and vice versa.

Wild boars: A potential source of Erysipelothrix rhusiopathiae infection in Japan

“…The SpaA protein used in this study for the detection of anti‐ E. rhusiopathiae antibodies is not expressed in other Erysipelothrix species, including Erysipelothrix tonsillarum , which is phenotypically very similar to E. rhusiopathiae , indicating high reliability of the data. The high seropositivity in Japan was surprising in view of previous surveys in the European countries of Spain, Sweden, and Greece, in which seropositivity was reported as 15%, 17.5%, and 2.4%, respectively . The high seropositivity rate is most likely due to the high rate of carrier status: 90% (18/20) of the wild boars tested in this study carried E. rhusiopathiae in their tonsils.…”

“…The high seropositivity in Japan was surprising in view of previous surveys in the European countries of Spain, Sweden, and Greece, in which seropositivity was reported as 15%, 17.5%, and 2.4%, respectively. [14][15][16] The high seropositivity rate is most likely due to the high rate of carrier status: 90% (18/20) of the wild boars tested in this study carried E. rhusiopathiae in their tonsils.…”

Risk assessment of African swine fever in the south‐eastern countries of Europe

“…Further, farmed wild boar are present in Bosnia and Herzegovina for the purpose of training hunting dogs (Zahirovic et al., ) and Marinou et al. () mention ‘extensively farmed’ (fenced) WB in Greece.…”

Suidae and Tayassuidae

“…Aggregation and high wild boar density can influence spread (Boadella et al, 2011b;Risco et al, 2011;. Seroprevalence has been detected in wild boars in Japan and coastal Mediterranean countries, such as Greece and Spain; it is also likely to be present in other populations of wild boars (Closa-Sebastia et al, 2011;Marinou et al, 2015;Risco et al, 2011;Shimizu et al, 2016;Vicente et al, 2002).…”