Seroprevalence and Risk Factors Associated to Mycobacterium bovis in Wild Artiodactyl Species from Southern Spain, 2006–2010

Abstract

The control of bovine tuberculosis (bTB) is at a critical point in the last stage of eradication in livestock. Wildlife species recently have emerged infected with TB in Europe, particularly ungulates in the Iberian Peninsula. Epidemiological information regarding TB in wild ungulates including affected species, prevalence, associated risk factors and appropriate diagnostic methods need to be obtained in these countries.A cross-sectional study was carried out on wild artiodactyl species, including Eurasian wild boar (Sus scrofa) red deer (Cervus elaphus), roe deer (Capraelus capraelus), fallow deer (Dama dama), Spanish ibex (Capra pyrenaica hispanica) and mouflon (Ovis musimon), in Spain to assess the seroprevalence against Mycobacterium bovis or cross-reacting members of the Mycobcaterium tuberculosis complex (MTBC), and to provide information on associated risk factors. Previously, two in-house indirect enzyme linked immunosorbent assays (bPPD-ELISA and MPB83-ELISA) were developed using known TB status sera. Positive reference sera were selected from infected animals confirmed by culture. The M. bovis isolates belonged to spoligotypes SB0121, SB0120, SB0295, SB0265 and SB0134. Two hundred and two out of 1367 (7.5%; 95% CI: 6.1–8.9) animals presented antibodies against M. bovis by both bPPD-ELISA and MPB83-ELISA. Significantly higher TB seroprevalence was observed in wild boar compared to the other species analyzed. Interestingly, seropositivity against M. bovis was not found in any out of 460 Spanish ibex analyzed. The logistic regression model for wild boar indicated that the seropositivity to M. bovis was associated with age, location and year of sampling, while the only risk factor associated with M. bovis seroprevalence in red deer and fallow deer was the age. The seroprevalence observed indicates a widespread exposure to MTBC in several wild artiodactyl species in southern Spain, which may have important implications not only for conservation but also for animal and public health.

Management of hunting waste as control measure for tuberculosis in wild ungulates in south-central Spain

“…The high individual (59.9%) and game estate (100%) seroprevalence detected in wild boar in the present study confirms a widespread contact of wild boar to MTC in SCS. The results agree with those previously reported in this region (García‐Bocanegra et al., ; Vicente et al., ) and confirm the key role of wild boar as the main wild reservoir of MTC in Mediterranean ecosystems of the Iberian Peninsula (Naranjo, Gortázar, Vicente, & de La Fuente, ). The significantly higher seroprevalence observed in adults reflects a greater probability of exposure to the mycobacteria and the long persistence of MTC antibodies and suggests horizontal infection as the main route of MTC transmission.…”

“…ELISA test is suitable diagnosis method for surveillance in wild ungulate populations (Boadella et al., ). The Se and Sp described for the P22‐ELISA used in our study are within the accuracy values previously reported in wild boar (Se: 72.6%–100%; Sp: 89%–100%) and red deer (Se: 45.7%–86.7%; Sp: 52.0%–100%) (Griffin, Nagai, & Buchan, ; Griffin, Cross, Chinn, Rodgers, & Buchan, ; Aurtenetxe et al., ; Boadella et al., ; García‐Bocanegra et al., ; Wadhwa et al., ). The Se of the P22‐ELISA (82.3% and 70.1% in wild boar and red deer, respectively) suggests that the seroprevalence found in the study areas may be underestimated.…”

Molecular characterization of Mycobacterium bovis infection in cattle and buffalo in Amazon Region, Brazil

“…This spoligotype is considered the second most frequent in Brazil (Zumárraga et al, ), described in the state of Paraíba (Higino et al, ), Bahia (Filho et al, ), Mato Grosso, Goiás (Carvalho et al, ), Mato Grosso do Sul, Santa Catarina (Parreiras et al, ) and the state of São Paulo (Rocha, ), but not described or identified in the states of Amazonas and Pará. Outside of Brazil, it was described in buffaloes in Argentina (Zumárraga et al, ) and alpacas ( Lama pacos ) (García‐Bocanegra et al, ), and wild boars ( Sus scrofa ) in Spain (García‐Bocanegra et al, ).…”

Mycobacteriosis outbreak caused by Mycobacterium avium subsp. avium detected through meat inspection in five porcine fattening farms

“…The wild boar ( Sus scrofa ) is the third animal species, followed by cattle and goats, in number of MTBC isolates in Spain (Rodriguez-Campos and others 2012). Thus, it is considered to be the main wild reservoir of TB (Naranjo and others 2008, Garcia-Bocanegra and others 2012). The domestic pig ( Sus scrofa domestica ) accounts for 1 per cent of Spanish MTBC isolates from animals in the period 1996–2011 (Rodriguez-Campos and others 2012).…”