1
|
Filippi A, Garbarino C, Nava M, Russo S, Soares Filipe JF, Bianchi A, Corlatti L, Gugiatti A, Buccheri Pederzoli C, Pigoli C, Pedrotti L, Arrigoni N, Ricchi M, Bertoletti I, Luzzago C. Active surveillance of paratuberculosis in Alpine-dwelling red deer ( Cervus elaphus). Front Vet Sci 2024; 11:1303096. [PMID: 38332752 PMCID: PMC10850319 DOI: 10.3389/fvets.2024.1303096] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/27/2023] [Accepted: 01/10/2024] [Indexed: 02/10/2024] Open
Abstract
Paratuberculosis (Johne's disease) is a globally widespread infectious disease affecting domestic and wild ruminants, caused by Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis (MAP). The bacterium is excreted in the feces and is characterized by high environmental resistance. The new Animal Health Law (Regulation EU 2016/429) on transmissible animal diseases, recently in force throughout the European Union, includes paratuberculosis within the diseases requiring surveillance in the EU, listing some domestic and wild Bovidae, Cervidae, and Camelidae as potential reservoirs. Taking advantage of a culling activity conducted in the Stelvio National Park (Italy), this study investigated MAP infection status of red deer (Cervus elaphus) between 2018 and 2022, and evaluated the probability of being MAP-positive with respect to individual and sampling-level variables. A total of 390 subjects were examined macroscopically and tested for MAP, using different diagnostic tools: IS900 qPCR, culture, histopathology, and serology. Twenty-three of them were found positive for MAP by at least one test, with an overall prevalence of 5.9% (95% CI 4.0-8.7), that, respectively, ranged from 12.4% in the first culling season to 2.0 and 2.1% in the 2019-2020 and 2021-2022 culling seasons. Quantitative PCR assay on ileocecal valve and mesenteric lymph nodes detected the highest number of MAP positive animals. The results of the study showed the increased probability of being MAP-positive with increasing age and that red deer with lower body mass values were more likely to be infected with MAP. Overall, the absence of signs of clinical paratuberculosis and gross lesions together with the low level of shedding witness early phases of the disease among the positive red deer and support an improvement of the paratuberculosis status of this population, as shown by the decreased prevalence of the disease over the years.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Anita Filippi
- Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale della Lombardia e dell'Emilia Romagna, Sezione di Piacenza, National Reference Center for Paratuberculosis, Piacenza, Italy
| | - Chiara Garbarino
- Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale della Lombardia e dell'Emilia Romagna, Sezione di Piacenza, National Reference Center for Paratuberculosis, Piacenza, Italy
| | - Matteo Nava
- Department of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Sciences, University of Milan, Lodi, Italy
- Wildlife Health Lab, University of Milan, Lodi, Italy
| | - Simone Russo
- Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale della Lombardia e dell'Emilia Romagna, Sezione di Piacenza, National Reference Center for Paratuberculosis, Piacenza, Italy
| | | | - Alessandro Bianchi
- Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale della Lombardia e dell'Emilia Romagna, Sezione di Sondrio, Sondrio, Italy
| | - Luca Corlatti
- Stelvio National Park—ERSAF Lombardia, Bormio, Italy
- Wildlife Ecology and Management, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany
| | | | | | - Claudio Pigoli
- Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale della Lombardia e dell’Emilia Romagna, Sezione di Milano, Milan, Italy
| | - Luca Pedrotti
- Stelvio National Park—ERSAF Lombardia, Bormio, Italy
| | - Norma Arrigoni
- Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale della Lombardia e dell'Emilia Romagna, Sezione di Piacenza, National Reference Center for Paratuberculosis, Piacenza, Italy
| | - Matteo Ricchi
- Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale della Lombardia e dell'Emilia Romagna, Sezione di Piacenza, National Reference Center for Paratuberculosis, Piacenza, Italy
- WOAH Reference Laboratory for Paratuberculosis, Piacenza, Italy
| | - Irene Bertoletti
- Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale della Lombardia e dell'Emilia Romagna, Sezione di Sondrio, Sondrio, Italy
| | - Camilla Luzzago
- Department of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Sciences, University of Milan, Lodi, Italy
- Wildlife Health Lab, University of Milan, Lodi, Italy
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Nava M, Corlatti L, Formenti N, Trogu T, Pedrotti L, Gugiatti A, Lanfranchi P, Luzzago C, Ferrari N. Parasite-mediated manipulation? Toxoplasma gondii infection increases risk behaviour towards culling in red deer. Biol Lett 2023; 19:20230292. [PMID: 37848050 PMCID: PMC10581775 DOI: 10.1098/rsbl.2023.0292] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/23/2023] [Accepted: 09/27/2023] [Indexed: 10/19/2023] Open
Abstract
Parasites can modify host behaviour to increase their chances of survival and transmission. Toxoplasma gondii is a globally distributed protozoan whose ability to modify host behaviour is well known in taxa such as rats and humans. Less well known are the effects on the behaviour of wild species, with the exception of a few studies on primates and carnivores. Taking advantage of a culling activity conducted in Stelvio National Park (Italy), the serological status of T. gondii was studied in 260 individuals of red deer Cervus elaphus with respect to the risk of being culled. A temporal culling rank index was fitted as a response variable, and T. gondii serological status as the main explanatory variable in linear models, accounting for covariates such as sex, age, jaw length, bone marrow fat and culling location. The overall seroprevalence of T. gondii was 31.5%, and the selected models suggested that seropositive deer were culled earlier than seronegative ones, but this effect was only evident in females, in individuals with medium-good body condition, and in areas with greater human presence. Our results suggest that T. gondii may be involved in risk behaviour in large herbivores, supporting its role as a facilitator of predation risk.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Matteo Nava
- Department of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Sciences, University of Milan, Lodi, Italy
| | - Luca Corlatti
- Stelvio National Park – ERSAF Lombardia, Bormio, Italy
- Chair of Wildlife Ecology and Management, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany
| | - Nicoletta Formenti
- Experimental Zooprophylactic Institute of Lombardy and Emilia-Romagna ‘‘Bruno Ubertini’’, Brescia, Italy
| | - Tiziana Trogu
- Experimental Zooprophylactic Institute of Lombardy and Emilia-Romagna ‘‘Bruno Ubertini’’, Brescia, Italy
| | - Luca Pedrotti
- Stelvio National Park – ERSAF Lombardia, Bormio, Italy
| | | | - Paolo Lanfranchi
- Department of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Sciences, University of Milan, Lodi, Italy
| | - Camilla Luzzago
- Department of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Sciences, University of Milan, Lodi, Italy
- Wildlife Health Lab, University of Milan, Lodi, Italy
| | - Nicola Ferrari
- Department of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Sciences, University of Milan, Lodi, Italy
- Wildlife Health Lab, University of Milan, Lodi, Italy
| |
Collapse
|