Prevalence and distribution of infectious and parasitic agents in roe deer from Spain and their possible role as reservoirs

Abstract

In order to provide up-to-date information about the prevalence of infectious and parasitic agents in Spanish roe deer (Capreolus capreolus), samples from 93 animals hunted from January 2013 to April 2015 were collected and analysed by parasitological, serological and molecular techniques. Sampled animals came from four roe deer populations corresponding to Oceanic, Continental, Mediterranean and Mountainous ecosystems of Spain. Data regarding sex, age and year were also considered. A high percentage of roe deer (95.7%) resulted positive for at least one agent. Sarcocystis spp. was the most frequently diagnosed genus (88.8%), followed by gastrointestinal nematodes (62.9%) and Schmallenberg virus (53.5%). Varestrongylus capreoli (38%), Anaplasma phagocitophylum (34.2%), Eimeria spp. (29.2%), Toxoplasma gondii (25%) and Cephenemyia stimulator (23.8%) displayed medium prevalences and, finally low percentages were registered for Moniezia spp. (6.7%), Dictyocaulus noerneri (2.4%) and Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis (1.5%). No infections by Neospora caninum, Bovine herpesvirus, pestivirus or Coxiella burnetii were found. Climate was significantly associated with the prevalence of T. gondii, C. stimulator and A. phagocitophylum, with higher prevalences in animals from Oceanic and Mediterranean areas. Our results suggest that infections affecting Spanish roe deer, especially those of parasitic aetiology, represent one of the causes of the descent in the abundance of this ungulate in the last years. Moreover, the high prevalence of zoonotic agents such as T. gondii and A. phagocitophylum could also have a great relevance in the environmental and/or Public Health. ARTICLE HISTORY

Serosurveillance and Molecular Investigation of Wild Deer in Australia Reveals Seroprevalence of Pestivirus Infection

“…Pestivirus antibody detection was performed in serum and plasma using a blocking ELISA kit with sensitivity and specificity comparable with other similar kits [31], also validated for non-bovine samples [32][33][34]. Concordance in results were found in eight overlapped specimens (serum and plasma), and two of the remaining overlapped specimens revealed positive outcomes only in one of the samples.…”

Prevalence and distribution of Babesia and Theileria species in roe deer from Spain

“…Hunting locations were classified in four different ecological areas previously described (Morrondo et al, 2017): Oceanic ( n = 67), Mountain ( n = 28), Continental ( n = 34) and Mediterranean ( n = 45) (Fig. 1).…”

“…Information from two animals was incomplete so they were not age-classified.

Fig. 1Map of Spain (modified from Morrondo et al, 2017) showing the four ecological areas. Dots represent the presence of Babesia spp.

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“…Map of Spain (modified from Morrondo et al, 2017) showing the four ecological areas. Dots represent the presence of Babesia spp.…”

Sucrose Effects on Change of Histological Structure of Meat

“…Саркоспоридіоз реєструється в різних країнах світу. Виявляють хворобу серед диких і свійських тварин, також у людей (Ortega and Cama, 2018;Morrondo at al., 2017;Kutty at al., 2015). Хвороба має латентний перебіг діагностують її під час проведення ветеринарано-санітарної експертизи продуктів забою сільськогосподарських тварин, виявляють саркоцисти у серцевому м'язі, скелетних м'язах, діафрагмі, стравоході, реєструють втрату живої ваги, якісних показників м'яса (Panziera at al., 2018;Amairia at al., 2018).…”