Viruses of the Serengeti: patterns of infection and mortality in African lions

Abstract

Summary1. We present data on the temporal dynamics of six viruses that infect lions (Panthera leo) in the Serengeti National Park and Ngorongoro Crater, Tanzania. These populations have been studied continuously for the past 30 years, and previous research has documented their seroprevalence for feline herpesvirus, feline immunode®ciency virus (FIV), feline calicivirus, feline parvovirus, feline coronavirus and canine distemper virus (CDV). A seventh virus, feline leukaemia virus (FeLV), was absent from these animals. 2. Comprehensive analysis reveals that feline herpesvirus and FIV were consistently prevalent at high levels, indicating that they were endemic in the host populations. Feline calici-, parvo-and coronavirus, and CDV repeatedly showed a pattern of seroprevalence that was indicative of discrete disease epidemics: a brief period of high exposure for each virus was followed by declining seroprevalence. 3. The timing of viral invasion suggests that dierent epidemic viruses are associated with dierent minimum threshold densities of susceptible hosts. Furthermore, the proportion of susceptibles that became infected during disease outbreaks was positively correlated with the number of susceptible hosts at the beginning of each outbreak. 4. Examination of the relationship between disease outbreaks and host ®tness suggest that these viruses do not aect birth and death rates in lions, with the exception of the 1994 outbreak of canine distemper virus. Although the endemic viruses (FHV and FIV) were too prevalent to measure precise health eects, there was no evidence that FIV infection reduced host longevity.

Inbreeding Depression Increases Susceptibility to Bovine Tuberculosis in Lions: An Experimental Test Using an Inbred–outbred Contrast Through Translocation

“…Lions in HiP were exposed to and became infected with various feline viruses, including FHV, FCV, FCoV, and FPV, with antibody prevalences comparable to those in other ecosystems (Packer et al, 1999;Spencer, 1992). We did not find any significant differences in prevalence of antibody to these viruses between inbred native and outbred translocated lions, suggesting that these diseases were not the reason for the decline of the inbred native HiP lion population.…”

“…As a result of the bTB control program, the number of infected buffalos has been greatly reduced, which reduced the risk of spillover into predators. Therefore, one possibility for the absence of bTB deaths in the translocated animals and their offspring might be a long (Maddock et al, 1996;Trinkel et al, 2008), and inbred lions are especially susceptible to infectious disease (Packer et al, 1991;Kissui and Packer, 2004). Inbreeding depression, therefore, could explain the native HiP lions' high bTB infection rate.…”

“…In this study, we found an FIV antibody prevalence of 14% in [2001][2002], which increased to 42% in 2006. Feline immunodeficiency virus is considered to be nonpathogenic in lions (Packer et al, 1999) and, so far, FIV does not seem to have great importance to the clinical health of HiP lions. However, the interaction between diseases also has to be considered.…”

Noninvasive Assessment of Gastrointestinal Parasite Infections in Free-Ranging Primates

“…Host density is of central importance to infection rates in directly transmitted parasites (Poulin, 1998), and intraspecific studies have demonstrated that host density positively correlates with parasite prevalence and diversity (Morand and Poulin, 1998;Packer et al, 1999). However, studies that have concurrently examined primate density and habitat characteristics in relation to primate parasite prevalence reveal that habitat characteristics may be a better predictor of parasitic infection than primate density is (Gillespie, 2004;Gillespie and Chapman, 2005;Stuart et al, 1993).…”

Serological survey of anti-Salmonella antibodies in coatis (Nasua narica) and raccoons (Procyon lotor) in southeast Mexico

“…Animal clusters and high contact rates with humans and/or domestic animals were linked to increase the prevalence of pathogens (Packer et al 1999). Certain infectious diseases, such as Salmonella, are commonly shared between humans, domestic animals and wildlife.…”