Interaction Patterns between Wildlife and Cattle Reveal Opportunities for Mycobacteria Transmission in Farms from North-Eastern Atlantic Iberian Peninsula

Abstract

Interactions taking place between sympatric wildlife and livestock may contribute to interspecies transmission of the Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex or non-tuberculous mycobacteria, leading to the spread of relevant mycobacterioses or to interferences with the diagnosis of tuberculosis. The aim of this study was to characterize the spatiotemporal patterns of interactions between wildlife and cattle in a low bovine tuberculosis prevalence Atlantic region. Camera traps were set during a one-year period in cattle farms with a history of tuberculosis and/or non-tuberculous mycobacterioses. The frequency and duration of wildlife visits, and the number of individuals per visit, were analysed through generalized linear mixed models. The seasons, type of place, type of point, and period of the day were the explanatory variables. A total of 1293 visits were recorded during 2741 days of camera observation. Only 23 visits showed direct contacts with cattle, suggesting that mycobacteria transmission at the wildlife–livestock interface would occur mainly through indirect interactions. Cattle pastures represented the most appropriate habitat for interspecies transmission of mycobacteria, and badgers’ latrines appear to be a potential hotspot for mycobacteria circulation between badgers, wild boars, foxes, and cattle. According to both previous epidemiological information and the interaction patterns observed, wild boars, badgers, foxes, and small rodents are the species or group most often in contact with livestock, and thus may be the most involved in the epidemiology of mycobacterioses in the wildlife–livestock interface in this area.

Wild boar visits to commercial pig farms in southwest England: implications for disease transmission

“…There was very little wild boar activity detected on the farm compared to the farm perimeter, so potentially, more risky transmission events such as direct contact or shared use of feed and water may occur infrequently. These types of contact were not explicitly monitored or detectable in this study: water points have been found to be focal areas for indirect contacts between wild boar and livestock on pastures in Spain and France (Kukielka et al 2013, Payne et al 2016 but not in others (Varela-Castro et al 2021). Identifying risk factors and potential reasons for the difference in wild boar activity between farm 1 and farm 2 would be useful but is not evident from this study.…”

A review of bovine tuberculosis transmission risk in European wildlife communities

“…A considerable amount of research has been done examining the behaviour of both wildlife and cattle in pastures and near farm buildings as a means of assessing the risk of Mycobacterium bovis transmission (Smith et al 2008, Payne et al 2016, Varela-Castro et al 2021. Since much of the research into wildlife and Mycobacterium bovis has focused on badgers (35% of all surveys), our understanding of how disease transmission occurs in a wildlife community is rather limited (Macdonald et al 2004, Sidorovich et al 2011.…”

Zoonoses and Wildlife: One Health Approach

“…More than 50 different species—including wild and domestic ungulates (e.g., red deer, roe deer, fallow deer, chamois, mouflon, European bison, wild boar, sheep, goat, cattle), wild carnivores (e.g., wolf, Eurasian lynx, Eurasian badger, coypu, beech marten, golden jackal), micromammals (e.g., yellow-necked field mouse, long-tailed field mouse, European water vole, white-toothed shrew, garden dormouse, common vole, house mouse, western Mediterranean mouse, black rat, Eurasian red squirrel), non-human primates (the genera Cebuella, Cercocebus, Cercopithecus, Eulemur, Hylobates, Lemur, Macaca, Mandrillus, Saimiri, and Varecia ), turtles (e.g., Testudo hermanni , T. h. boettgeri , T. graeca , and T. marginata ), bats (the families Pteropodidae, Emballonuridae, Rhinolophidae, Hipposideridae, and Vespertilionidae), and ticks ( Ixodes ricinus , Dermacentor marginatus , Hyalomma marginatum )—are included. Regarding the zoonotic pathogens represented in this issue, the presence of or exposure to 17 different pathogens—including viruses [ 4 ] (West Nile virus), bacteria [ 5 , 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 , 13 ] ( Anaplasma phagocytophilum, Coxiella burnetii, Helicobacter pylori, H. suis, Mycobacterium tuberculosis Complex, Salmonella sp., and Leptospira interrogans sensu stricto), and parasitic protists [ 14 , 15 ] (e.g., Cryptosporidium spp., Giardia duodenalis , Blastocystis sp., Enterocytozoon bieneusi , Entamoeba histolytica , Entamoeba dispar , Balantioides coli , Troglodytella spp., Leishmania spp. )—are presented.…”

“…In this Special Issue, two studies are related to the interaction between domestic and wild species and the detection of mycobacteria in wild species such as badgers. Varela-Castro et al [ 6 ] characterized the interactions that take place between several wild mammals and cattle via camera-trapping in order to provide insights into the dynamics of mycobacterial transmission opportunities in the environment of cattle farms located in Atlantic habitats in the northern Iberian Peninsula. Camera traps were set during a one-year period in cattle farms with a history of tuberculosis and/or non-tuberculous mycobacteriosis.…”

“…According to both previous epidemiological information and the interaction patterns observed, wild boars, badgers, foxes, and small rodents are the species or groups most often in contact with livestock and, thus, may be the most involved in the epidemiology of mycobacteriosis in the wildlife–livestock interface in this area. As Valera-Castaro et al [ 6 ] pointed out in their work, the badger and its latrines are a hotspot for interspecies transmission—both domestic and wild; more specifically, Blanco Vázquez et al [ 9 ] investigated the prevalence, spatial distribution, and temporal distribution of tuberculosis in 673 free-ranging Eurasian badgers ( Meles meles ) in Asturias (Atlantic Spain) between 2008 and 2020. The study’s objective was to assess the role of badgers as a tuberculosis reservoir for cattle and other sympatric wild species in the region.…”