Escherichia coliO157:H7 in wild boars (Sus scrofa) and Iberian ibex (Capra pyrenaica) sharing pastures with free-ranging livestock in a natural environment in Spain

Abstract

Background: Wild ungulates have greatly increased in abundance and range throughout Europe. This new situation presents a concern for public health because many wild ungulates are known reservoirs of zoonotic pathogens. Objectives: In this work, we tested for the presence of the zoonotic pathogen Escherichia coli O157:H7 in free-ranging livestock and sympatric wild boars (Sus scrofa) and Iberian ibex (Capra pyrenaica) in NE Spain from 2009 to 2011. In addition, antimicrobial resistance and virulence factors were assessed. Animals and methods: In total, individual fecal samples were obtained from 117 hunter-harvested wild boars and 160 Iberian ibexes. Fifty-five samples were obtained from cattle (5 herds, 380 animals in total) and four from the only horse herd in the Natural Park 'Ports de Tortosa i Beseit' (32 animals). Fecal samples were processed according to the ISO 16.654:2001 protocol to obtain E. coli O157 based on immunomagnetic separation. In addition, a multiplex polymerase chain reaction (PCR) targeting nine virulence factors characteristic of human pathotypes was performed. The prevalence was compared between host species with Fisher's exact test. Results: Four wild boars (3.41%, 95% CI D 0.94À8.52) and two Iberian ibexes (1.25%, 95% CI D 0.15À4.4) carried E. coli O157:H7, which was not found in livestock feces (n D 59, 95% CI D 0À8.94). All E. coli O157:H7 isolates were susceptible to all antimicrobial agents tested. Conclusions: These results indicate that when prevalence in co-habiting livestock is low, wild ungulates do not seem to play an important role as reservoirs of E. coli O157:H7.

Whole-genome sequence analysis of Shiga toxin-producing <i>Escherichia coli</i> O157 strains isolated from wild deer and boar in Japan

“…In this study, we found that 1.9% (9/474) of the wild deer and 0.7% (3/426) of the wild boar in Japan carried STEC O157. A similar prevalence in other wild animals has been reported in many studies in Europe and America [11,13,36,43,45,46], suggesting that the prevalence of STEC O157 among wild deer and boar in Japan was similar to prevalence in other countries.…”

“…The prevalence of STEC O157 in wild deer has been reported to be 0.3-2.4% in the United States [13,43,46], 1.5% in Spain [45], and 2.3% in Japan [47]. The prevalence of STEC strains in wild boar was also reported to be 0-3.4% in Spain [11,36,44] and 1.4% in Sweden [52]. Recently, Tomino et al [51] detected potential human pathogens including STEC O157 in wild deer and boar in Japan.…”

Wild capybaras as reservoir of shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli in urban Amazonian Region

“…Similarly, STEC strains reported in wild birds (1Á3%), wild boars (3Á3%), deer (7Á0%) and muflons (100%) in Spain (Alonso et al 2017), and in wild canids (crab-eating fox) (14Á0%) in Brazil (Riboldi et al 2018). Finally, with related occurrence rates, EHEC pathotype was also described in wild boars and Iberian ibexes faecal samples in Spain (Navarro-Gonzalez et al 2015).…”

Zoonotic pathogens from feral swine that pose a significant threat to public health

“…The presence of STEC in wild boar has been evaluated in several countries globally, including Switzerland (Wacheck et al., ), Belgium (Pierard, van Damme, Moriau, Stevens, & Lauwers, ) and Spain (Diaz‐Sanchez et al., , ; Navarro‐Gonzalez et al., ) and STEC were found in 9%, 27% and between 2.7 and 9.5% of samples tested, respectively. Additionally, STEC isolates were found in wild boar in Germany, although no prevalence determination was made in the study (Miko et al., ).…”