Disease threats to the endangered Iberian lynx (Lynx pardinus)

Abstract

The Iberian lynx, (Lynx pardinus), is the most endangered felid in the world. To determine whether sympatric carnivores are reservoirs of pathogens posing a disease risk for the lynx, evidence of exposure to 17 viral, bacterial and protozoan agents was investigated in 176 carnivores comprising 26 free-living lynx, 53 domestic cats, 28 dogs, 33 red foxes (Vulpes vulpes), 24 Egyptian mongooses (Herpestes ichneumon), 10 common genets (Genetta genetta) and 2 Eurasian badgers (Meles meles) in the areas inhabited by the last two populations of Iberian lynx, both in Andalusia (South-Western Spain). The results indicated that the lynx had low rates of contact with viral pathogens, with one seropositive finding each for feline leukemia virus, parvovirus and canine adenovirus-1, whereas contact with bacteria and protozoa appeared more frequent. Active infections with parvovirus, Ehrlichia spp., Mycobacterium bovis, Leptospira interrogans and Cytauxzoon spp. were confirmed. In contrast, 53% of the domestic cats were exposed to some infectious agent (prevalence range 4.5-11.4%). Antibodies to canine distemper virus and parvovirus were frequently found in dogs (32% and 42%, respectively) and foxes (30% and 12%). Past or present infections with parvovirus, Ehrlichia spp., Chlamydophila spp., M. bovis, Salmonella enterica, L. interrogans, Toxoplasma gondii, and Neospora caninum were also detected in these and other species surveyed. Questionnaires to owners revealed that 14% of the dogs but none of the cats had been vaccinated, and no cat had been neutered. Based on the apparent absence of acquired immunity of the lynx against infectious agents, the frequent detection of agents among sympatric carnivores, and the reported lack of immunocompetence of the Iberian lynx, a disease outbreak among the local abundant carnivores may pose a serious disease risk for lynx conservation.

Importance of canine distemper virus (CDV) infection in free-ranging Iberian lynxes (Lynx pardinus)

“…However, based on the high viral loads in all materials, CDV infection was assumed to be etiologically involved in the animal's death. Although the occurrence of CDV is well documented in many red fox populations of the Iberian 7 peninsula (Lopez-Pena et al, 1994;Sobrino et al, 2008;Millan et al, 2009;Santos et al, 2009), no CDV RNA was detected in 23 red foxes sampled in our study, and only one individual was CDV seropositive. One of the four samples collected from mustelids was CDV-positive; suggesting that a sizable portion of the mustelid population could be CDVinfected.…”

“…On the other hand, a recent study on Iberian lynxes from the Doñana region and other carnivores sampled between 2004 and 2006 failed to detect CDV antibodies (Millan et al, 2009). Therefore, the discovery of a dead, highly CDV RNApositive lynx is remarkable.…”

“…In Spain, CDV was frequently identified as a cause of death in dogs (Canis lupus familiaris), ferrets (Mustela putorius furo) and minks (Mustela lutreola) (Nieto et al, 1992) and the presence of CDV antigen was shown in other species including red foxes (Vulpes vulpes) (Lopez-Pena et al, 1994) and in genets (Genetta genetta) (Lopez-Pena et al, 2001). Additionally, serological evidence of CDV infection was reported in Spanish wolves (Canis lupus) (Sobrino et al, 2008) and domestic cats (Felis catus) (Millan et al, 2009). …”

Fatal canine adenovirus type 1 acute infection in a Yorkshire Terrier puppy in Portugal: a case report

“…Inconclusive histopathology findings necessitated the establishment of a comprehensive diagnosis strategy which took advantage of clinical, pathological, molecular, virological, serological and epidemiological data. Millan et al 2009 This is also the first report of canine adenovirus type 1 in domestic dogs in Portugal.…”

Six recommendations for improving monitoring of diseases shared with wildlife: examples regarding mycobacterial infections in Spain

“…In the last decade, however, resources for studying wildlife diseases increased after the identification of wildlife species as actors in the epidemiology of important livestock diseases, such as Aujeszky's disease (Müller et al 1998), bluetongue ) and bovine tuberculosis (bTB; Naranjo et al 2008), and more recently after realizing the importance of diseases in Iberian lynx (Lynx pardinus) conservation (Millán et al 2009). Risk factors for the appearance of wildlife reservoirs are commonly the spillover from domestic livestock in combination with anthropogenic activities such as translocation of wildlife, supplemental feeding of wildlife and wildlife populations reaching densities beyond normal habitat carrying capacities (Gortazar et al 2006;Palmer 2007).…”