Wild boar tuberculosis in Iberian Atlantic Spain: a different picture from Mediterranean habitats

Abstract

BackgroundInfections with Mycobacterium bovis and closely related members of the Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex (MTC) are shared between livestock, wildlife and sporadically human beings. Wildlife reservoirs exist worldwide and can interfere with bovine tuberculosis (TB) eradication efforts. The Eurasian wild boar (Sus scrofa) is a MTC maintenance host in Mediterranean Iberia (Spain and Portugal). However, few systematic studies in wild boar have been carried out in Atlantic regions. We describe the prevalence, distribution, pathology and epidemiology of MTC and other mycobacteria from wild boar in Atlantic Spain. A total of 2,067 wild boar were sampled between 2008 and 2012.ResultsThe results provide insight into the current status of wild boar as MTC and Mycobacterium avium complex (MAC) hosts in temperate regions of continental Europe. The main findings were a low TB prevalence (2.6%), a low proportion of MTC infected wild boar displaying generalized TB lesions (16.7%), and a higher proportion of MAC infections (4.5%). Molecular typing revealed epidemiological links between wild boar and domestic – cattle, sheep and goat – and other wildlife – Eurasian badger (Meles meles) and red fox (Vulpes vulpes) – hosts.ConclusionsThis study shows that the likelihood of MTC excretion by wild boar in Atlantic habitats is much lower than in Mediterranean areas. However, wild boar provide a good indicator of MTC circulation and, given the current re-emergence of animal TB, similar large-scale surveys would be advisable in other Atlantic regions of continental Europe.

La gestión del lobo en España. Controversias científicas en torno a su caza

“…A igualdad de pérdida económica, es más impactante la presencia de un ternero muerto o herido que un prado levantado por las hozaduras de una piara de jabalíes. Además, entre los daños indirectos de los ungulados se encuentra la transmisión de enfermedades al ganado (Muñoz-Mendoza et al, 2013;Guta et al, 2014), que en la reserva de caza de Riaño representa la primera preocupación de los ganaderos, muy por encima que la causada por los daños del lobo. De veinte ganaderos de la reserva entrevistados en 2014, el 85% estaban preocupados por las enfermedades del ganado, el 20% por la proliferación de ciervos y jabalíes y solo el 5% estaban preocupados por el lobo (Exploring traditional husbandry methods to reduce wolf predation on freeranging cattle in Portugal and Spain).…”

Spatial Analysis of Wildlife Tuberculosis Based on a Serologic Survey Using Dried Blood Spots, Portugal

“…There is a core area in the central–southwestern region, in which the average prevalence of macroscopic lesions is 59% in wild boar ( 4 ). At the periphery of this core area, prevalence decreases, and becomes low to undetectable in eastern, northern, and western regions of the Iberian Peninsula ( 5 – 7 ). Nevertheless, spatial analyses of bovine TB on wildlife in the Iberian Peninsula, other than disease mapping, are notably lacking.…”

Detection of Mycobacteria, Mycobacterium avium Subspecies, and Mycobacterium tuberculosis Complex by a Novel Tetraplex Real-Time PCR Assay

“…avium (and subsp. silvaticum) is well-known for causing typical avian TB (5) in a broad range of bird species, but it can infect other hosts, for example, humans, cattle, deer, and wild boar (9,10,14,15). Coinfection with different members of M. tuberculosis complex and M. avium subspecies or with other mycobacterial species combinations is not rare in animal and human hosts (16)(17)(18).…”