The Role of Game (Wild Boar and Roe Deer) in the Spread of Tick-Borne Encephalitis in the Czech Republic

Abstract

In the Czech Republic, the incidence of human tick-borne encephalitis (TBE) has been increasing over the last two decades. At the same time, populations of game have also shown an upward trend. In this country, the ungulate game is the main host group of hosts for Ixodes ricinus female ticks. This study examined the potential contribution of two most widespread game species (roe deer [Capreolus capreolus] and wild boar [Sus scrofa]) to the high incidence of TBE in the Czech Republic, using the annual numbers of culls as a proxy for the game population. This was an ecological study, with annual figures for geographical areas-municipalities with extended competence (MEC)-used as units of analysis. Between 2003 and 2011, a total of 6213 TBE cases were reported, and 1062,308 roe deer and 989,222 wild boars were culled; the culls of roe deer did not demonstrate a clear temporal trend, but wild boar culls almost doubled (from 77,269 to 143,378 per year). Statistical analyses revealed a positive association between TBE incidence rate and the relative number of culled wild boars. In multivariate analyses, a change in the numbers of culled wild boars between the 25th and 75th percentile was associated with TBE incidence rate ratio of 1.23 (95% confidence interval 1.07-1.41, p = 0.003). By contrast, the association of TBE with culled roe deer was not statistically significant ( p = 0.481). The results suggest that the size of the wild boar population may have contributed to the current high levels and the rising trend in incidence of TBE, whereas the regulated population of roe deer does not seem to be implicated in recent geographical or temporal variations in TBE in the Czech Republic.

The importance of wildlife in the ecology and epidemiology of the TBE virus in Sweden: incidence of human TBE correlates with abundance of deer and hares

“…In a recent study Kriz et al [ 147 ] examined the potential contribution of the two most widespread game species, roe deer and wild boar, to the high incidence of TBE in the Czech Republic. They used the annual numbers of game shot as a proxy for the densities of different wildlife species.…”

“…Statistical analyses suggest that the size of the wild boar population contributed to the presently high and increasing incidence of TBE. In contrast, the regulated population of roe deer appeared not to have significantly contributed to the recent geographical and temporal increase of human TBE cases in the Czech Republic [ 147 ]. Thus, in these respects the situation in the Czech Republic differs from that in the six Swedish counties analysed in the present paper.…”

Phylogenetics of tick-borne encephalitis virus in endemic foci in the upper Rhine region in France and Germany

“…The natural habitat of wild boar is larger and this species is able to migrate longer distances up to 40 km, whereas roe deer have a smaller radius of migration and habitat. There are several studies which indicate a link between wild boar population and local and regional spreading patterns of TBE [ 25 – 27 ]. In the Netherlands TBEV positive serum samples were detected from wild boars long before the first human TBE case occurred in 2016 [ 28 ].…”

Phylogenetic Lineages and Postglacial Dispersal Dynamics Characterize the Genetic Structure of the Tick, Ixodes ricinus, in Northwest Europe

“…In particular large mammals such as red deer, moose, roe deer ( Capreolus capreolus) and wild boar ( Sus scrofa ) have great potential of transporting I . ricinus owing to their generally high abundance across much of NW Europe, their great dispersal ability, and often high infestation by adult ticks [42, 43]. Transport of ticks by mammals would probably have been even larger in the past, when most of continental Europe was covered by extensive forests.…”