Serosurvey for selected pathogens in Iberian roe deer

Abstract

BackgroundThe roe deer is the most abundant and widespread wild Eurasian cervid. Its populations are expanding and increasingly in contact with livestock. This may affect the distribution of infectious diseases shared with other wild and domestic ungulates.MethodsWe investigated the antibody seroprevalence against Pestivirus, Herpesvirus, Bluetongue (BT) virus, M. avium paratuberculosis (MAP), and Brucella sp. in 519 roe deer from different regions in Spain, south-western Europe.ResultsNo antibodies were detected against BT and Brucella sp. However, antibodies were detected against Pestivirus (1.5%), Herpesvirus (0.2%) and MAP (9.2%). MAP antibodies were detected in seven of the eight populations (range 5-16.4%).ConclusionsThe detection of MAP antibodies in samples from most roe deer populations suggests that contact with MAP is widespread in this wildlife species. The highest prevalence was detected in sites with abundant dairy cattle and frequent use of liquid manure on pastures. Considering the results obtained regarding exposure to different pathogens, we suggest that antibody prevalences in this non-gregarious browser are largely determined by environmental factors, potentially modulating vector populations or pathogen survival in the environment.

Prevalence and distribution of infectious and parasitic agents in roe deer from Spain and their possible role as reservoirs

“…Those results are close to that found in previous studies in Spain by Boadella et al (2010) who explained these low percentages by the characteristic behaviour of this ungulate that would lead to fewer intra-and inter-specific contacts. However, this explanation is in contradiction with the high prevalence registered in this study for some direct life-cycle parasites, such as GI nematodes and Eimeria.…”

“…However, this explanation is in contradiction with the high prevalence registered in this study for some direct life-cycle parasites, such as GI nematodes and Eimeria. The absence of herpesvirus and pestivirus in this study coincides with the low prevalence detected by Boadella et al (2010) in previous studies in Spain or by Candela et al (2014) in France and reflects a relative isolation of roe deer from domestic animals.…”

“…A very high percentage of the animals included in this study resulted positive for at least one pathogen, and most of them were in contact with more than two agents, indicating widespread pathogen circulation in roe deer populations from the Iberian Peninsula. Those results are in contrast to the results of Boadella et al (2010) who hypothesised that roe deer would not be an important species for wildlife disease surveillance as its non-gregarious behaviour would lead to fewer intra-specific contacts and its selective feeding behaviour could lead to less inter-specific contacts.…”

“…The logistic regression model showed that roe deer infected with GI nematodes have significantly higher risk (OR 4.69) to be infected with Eimeria; both parasites have a direct life cycle determined by the survival of the infecting stages in the environment. Boadella et al (2010) suggested that seroprevalences in roe deer are largely determined by environmental factors, potentially modulating vector populations or pathogen survival in the environment. Previous studies in NW Spain have revealed that roe deer may act as a potential reservoir for domestic ruminants for some species of gastrointestinal nematodes (Pato et al 2013) but not for Eimeria due to the lack of cross infections (D ıaz et al 2010).…”

“…The presence of Pestiviruses and Herpesviruses has been also reported in wild ungulates, including roe deer (Vilcek & Nettleton 2006;Boadella et al 2010); nevertheless, information about the epidemiology and risk factors of these viruses in roe deer is still scarce.…”