Epidemiology of fasciolosis affecting Iberian ibex (Capra pyrenaica) in southern Spain

Abstract

Between 1995 and 2006, we surveyed the presence of Fasciola hepatica in Iberian ibex (Capra pyrenaica) from Andalucía (southern Spain) by both necropsy (n = 2,096) and coprological approaches (n = 380). Most of the samples came from the Sierra Nevada mountain range (n = 1,884 and 267, respectively), and all positive cases involved animals from this location. The prevalence reached 0.53% by necropsy and 1.87% by faecal examination. Taking into account both diagnostic methodologies and the total number of animals affected (n = 14), we obtained a yearly prevalence of 0.7 +/- 0.3%. The infection with F. hepatica was found not to be related to host sex, climatology or to co-infection with Sarcoptes scabiei (the most important parasite affecting Iberian ibex, with a prevalence of 49.27 +/- 7.90% in the examined animals). The prevalence of fasciolosis decreased significantly during the period under study and this would be explained by an increase of ibex resistance to this fluke as a result of a reduction of the parasite abundance in the area and/or a reduction of the host infection rate. There was no statistical difference between the two diagnostic methods for the examination of fasciolosis during the period in which both methods were used. Therefore, examination of faecal samples as a non-invasive procedure may provide a useful approach for monitoring fasciolosis in wild ungulate populations. The results of the present study provided foundation for the effective control of F. hepatica infection in Iberian ibex.

Genetic variability among Fasciola hepatica samples from different host species and geographical localities in Spain revealed by the novel SRAP marker

“…In Spain, F. hepatica occurs in both domestic and wild hosts, including dama), cattle (Bos taurus), domestic sheep (Ovis aries), goat (Capra hircus), Iberian ibex (Capra pyrenaica), red deer (Cervus elaphus), European mouflon (Ovis aries), chamois (Rupicapra pyrenaica), roe deer (Capreolus capreolus), and man (Cordero del Campillo et al 1994;Lavín et al 1995;Pérez et al 2006;Alasaad et al 2007Alasaad et al , 2008. The prevalence in domestic animals is high, up to 85.1% and 83.3% in cattle and ovine, respectively, under field conditions from Galicia (Northwest Spain;Sánchez-Andrade et al 2000;Paz-Silva et al 2003) but less important in wildlife, 0.7% in Iberian ibex (Alasaad et al 2008).…”

Skin-scale genetic structure of Sarcoptes scabiei populations from individual hosts: empirical evidence from Iberian ibex-derived mites

“…Iberian ibex (Capra pyrenaica) is a natural host for S. scabiei (Pérez et al 1997(Pérez et al , 2002, with high prevalence (up to 50%) of mangy animals (Alasaad et al 2008a). For this study, we used three mangy males of Iberian ibex, culled for management purpose in Sierra Nevada Mountain in Southern Spain.…”

Molecular epidemiology of a fatal sarcoptic mange epidemic in endangered San Joaquin kit foxes (Vulpes macrotis mutica)

“…Sarcoptes scabiei infests a wide array of hosts in many communities. Although multiple hosts in a community may experience mange simultaneously, examination of mite genetics often reveals various degrees of host preference and speci city, a phenomenon described as the "host-taxon law" [6,10,11,[35][36][37][38][39][40][41]. Mange is fatal in kit foxes and may contribute to local extinction of the endangered San Joaquin kit fox in Bakers eld [19,42].…”