The Role of Scavenging in Disease Dynamics

Vicente, Joaquı́n; VerCauteren, Kurt C.

doi:10.1007/978-3-030-16501-7_7

Cited by 17 publications

(20 citation statements)

References 80 publications

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“…It can be faster than finding and disposing the waste properly by the farmer. At this time, it has not been determined that black vultures increase the risk of transmission of brucellosis in livestock, rather it appears to reduce the risk and likely act as a biological control agent of disease [4,31,48].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Seroepidemiology of bovine brucellosis in Colombia’s preeminent dairy region, and its potential public health impact

et al. 2020

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A cross-sectional study was conducted to determine the associated factors of brucellosis in Colombia's preeminent dairy region declared in quarantine. A total of 656 samples were collected from cows ≥ 2-year-old from 40 herds. Samples were screened by the Rose Bengal Plate Test, and the Fluorescence Polarized Assay test and Competitive ELISA were used as confirmatory tests. A cow was classified as positive if the screening and both confirmatory tests were positive. A herd was classified as positive if at least one cow was seropositive. The factors associated to seropositivity were tested using a logistic regression model with explanatory variables regarding cattle management, zootechnical parameters, and sanitary practices. The seroprevalence at the animal level was 6.6% (43/656) and at herd level 27.5% (11/40). In the model, five variables explained the animal cases: purchase or animal transfer between owner's farms (

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Seroepidemiology of bovine brucellosis in Colombia’s preeminent dairy region, and its potential public health impact

et al. 2020

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“…In this sense, further research should evaluate how microorganisms affect the different age classes of vultures and whether they can be transmitted vertically (through the egg), producing reproductive failure, especially in order to understand effects on the demographic rates and population dynamics of threatened vulture species. However, it is important to take into account that studying infections requires challenging evaluations of individuals and population health (Vicente & VerCauteren 2019), especially given that there is a lack of baseline information for most vulture species. This constraint probably explains the current lack of knowledge of the individual and population effects of microorganisms on vultures.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Implications of bacterial, viral and mycotic microorganisms in vultures for wildlife conservation, ecosystem services and public health

Plaza

Blanco

Lambertucci

2020

Ibis

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The effects that microorganisms (bacteria, viruses and fungi) have on their hosts remain unexplored for most vulture species. This is especially relevant for vultures, as their diet consists of carcasses in various stages of decomposition, which are breeding grounds for potentially pathogenic microorganisms. Here we review current knowledge of bacterial, viral and mycotic microorganisms present in wild vultures. We consider their potential to cause disease in vultures and whether this poses any population‐level threats. Furthermore, we address the question of whether vultures may act as disease spreaders or mitigators. We found 76 articles concerning bacterial, viral and mycotic microorganisms present in 13 vulture species, 57 evaluating bacteria, 13 evaluating viruses and six evaluating mycotic microorganisms. These studies come from all continents where vultures are present, but mainly from Europe and North America, and the most studied species was the Griffon Vulture Gyps fulvus. We found that vultures are colonized by zoonotic pathogens, and even host‐specific human pathogens. Some recorded bacteria showed multi‐antibiotic resistance, especially those that can be associated with anthropogenic food subsides such as supplementary feeding stations. We found evidence that vulture health can be affected by some microorganisms, producing a wide array of clinical alterations that have the potential to influence mortality risk and fitness. We did not find clear scientific evidence that vultures play an epidemiological role spreading microorganisms to humans and other species. However, there is evidence that vultures could prevent the spread of infectious diseases through their removal of decomposing organic material. The evaluation of vulture exposure to microorganisms is of fundamental importance to design better conservation policies for this threatened group, which may serve a key role as ecosystem cleaners.

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“…For instance, carcass consumption by some facultative scavengers such as wild boars ( Sus scrofa ) seems to play a role in the transmission of tuberculosis; contacts between mammals at carcasses increase with carrion persistence, maximizing the probability of disease spread; human health costs from rabies increased dramatically in India apparently due to population increases of feral dogs and rats feeding on persistent carcasses (Barron, Tompkins, Ramsey, & Bosson, ; Markandya et al, ; Ogada, Torchin, Kinnaird, & Ezenwa, ). Noteworthy, although many works highlight the role of scavenging in disease dynamics, major knowledge gaps persist regarding the underlying mechanisms as well as the epidemiological consequences of carcass presence in ecosystems, which are in turn highly context dependent (Vicente & VerCauteren, ).…”

Section: The Need For Systematic On‐ground Carcass Monitoringmentioning

confidence: 99%

Time to monitor livestock carcasses for biodiversity conservation and public health

Mateo‐Tomás

Olea

López‐Bao

2019

Journal of Applied Ecology

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1. Law enforcement and integration of environmental issues into other policies able to affect species and ecosystems are cornerstones for the effective protection of biodiversity. We illustrate the necessity of monitoring and improving such enforcement and integration through the example of the European sanitary policies for managing livestock carcasses after the "mad cow disease" outbreak while supporting scavengers' conservation.2. Continuous updates of EU sanitary regulations for reconciling scavenger conservation and public health have led to actions whose implementation and monitoring rely on delineating scavenger feeding zones and estimating livestock mortality and scavenger feeding requirements (SFRs).3. However, the lack of clear and homogeneous criteria to calculate SFRs results in remarkable variations (e.g. of up to >450% in some regions). Although we offer a prospective approach to improve SFR calculations, we show here the high levels of uncertainty in these estimates based on the imperfect information available regarding scavengers' ecology.4. Synthesis and applications. The multiple socioeconomic and ecological impacts of sanitary crises such as "mad cow disease" underpin the need for high-level political commitments to guarantee public health, food security and biodiversity conservation. To effectively integrate scavenger conservation into sanitary policies, the shortfalls here detected when estimating scavenger feeding requirements should be addressed. We recommend policymakers establish systematic on-ground carcass monitoring for detecting implementation gaps (e.g. food shortages compromising scavenger conservation, potential risks of disease transmission), and to modify EU sanitary regulations accordingly. This monitoring would increase knowledge on scavenging ecology and epidemiological surveillance while enhancing cross-compliance. Lessons learned in Europe may help to integrate conservation issues into other sectorial policies worldwide. K E Y W O R D S environmental policy integration, human-mediated carcasses, large carnivores, Natura 2000, public health, sanitary regulations, scavenging, vultures

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The Role of Scavenging in Disease Dynamics

Cited by 17 publications

References 80 publications

Seroepidemiology of bovine brucellosis in Colombia’s preeminent dairy region, and its potential public health impact

Seroepidemiology of bovine brucellosis in Colombia’s preeminent dairy region, and its potential public health impact

Implications of bacterial, viral and mycotic microorganisms in vultures for wildlife conservation, ecosystem services and public health

Time to monitor livestock carcasses for biodiversity conservation and public health

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