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Faehndrich M, Woelfing B, Klink JC, Roller M, Baumgärtner W, Wohlsein P, Raue K, Strube C, Ewers C, Prenger-Berninghoff E, Verspohl J, Lavazza A, Capucci L, Tomaso H, Siebert U. Pathomorphological Findings and Infectious Diseases in Selected European Brown Hare ( Lepus europaeus Pallas, 1778) Populations from Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. Pathogens 2023; 12:1317. [PMID: 38003782 PMCID: PMC10675426 DOI: 10.3390/pathogens12111317] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/20/2023] [Revised: 10/22/2023] [Accepted: 10/24/2023] [Indexed: 11/26/2023] Open
Abstract
In the northernmost German federal state Schleswig-Holstein, populations of European brown hares (Lepus europaeus Pallas, 1778) show diverse densities and varying courses over the years. To examine differences in pathomorphological findings and infectious diseases as possible reasons for varying population dynamics, we assessed 155 hunted hares from three locations in Schleswig-Holstein from 2016 to 2020. We investigated the association of location, year, age, and sex of animals to certain pathomorphological findings and infectious diseases. Frequent pathomorphological findings were intestinal parasites (63.9%), hepatitis (55.5%), nephritis (31.0%), steatitis (23.2%), enteritis (13.5%), and pneumonia (5.2%). Body condition differed significantly between locations, and the prevalence of pneumonia was significantly higher in females. Enteritis was not detected in 2019, when much more juveniles were sampled. Hepatitis and nephritis occurred significantly more often in 2016 and among adults. Additionally, more adults showed hepatitis with concurrent serotitre for European brown hare syndrome virus (EBHSV), while intestinal parasitosis as well as high excretion rates of coccidia were more common in juveniles. Sampled animals showed high infection rates with Eimeria spp. (96.1%), Trichostrongylus spp. (52.0%), Graphidium strigosum (41.2%), and a high seroprevalence (90.9%) for EBHSV, without severe symptoms. This study revealed a low prevalence of infectious pathogens, but a high prevalence of chronic inflammations of unknown origin in the tested brown hare populations. Overall, our results indicate a rather minor importance of infectious diseases for observed population dynamics of analysed hare populations in Schleswig-Holstein.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marcus Faehndrich
- Institute for Terrestrial and Aquatic Wildlife Research, University of Veterinary Medicine Hannover, Foundation, 30559 Hannover, Germany; (M.F.); (J.C.K.); (M.R.)
| | - Benno Woelfing
- Institute for Terrestrial and Aquatic Wildlife Research, University of Veterinary Medicine Hannover, Foundation, 30559 Hannover, Germany; (M.F.); (J.C.K.); (M.R.)
| | - Jana C. Klink
- Institute for Terrestrial and Aquatic Wildlife Research, University of Veterinary Medicine Hannover, Foundation, 30559 Hannover, Germany; (M.F.); (J.C.K.); (M.R.)
| | - Marco Roller
- Institute for Terrestrial and Aquatic Wildlife Research, University of Veterinary Medicine Hannover, Foundation, 30559 Hannover, Germany; (M.F.); (J.C.K.); (M.R.)
| | - Wolfgang Baumgärtner
- Department of Pathology, University of Veterinary Medicine Hannover, Foundation, 30559 Hannover, Germany; (W.B.); (P.W.)
| | - Peter Wohlsein
- Department of Pathology, University of Veterinary Medicine Hannover, Foundation, 30559 Hannover, Germany; (W.B.); (P.W.)
| | - Katharina Raue
- Institute for Parasitology, Centre for Infection Medicine, University of Veterinary Medicine Hannover, Foundation, 30559 Hannover, Germany (C.S.)
| | - Christina Strube
- Institute for Parasitology, Centre for Infection Medicine, University of Veterinary Medicine Hannover, Foundation, 30559 Hannover, Germany (C.S.)
| | - Christa Ewers
- Institute of Hygiene and Infectious Diseases of Animals, Justus Liebig University Giessen, 35390 Giessen, Germany; (C.E.); (E.P.-B.)
| | - Ellen Prenger-Berninghoff
- Institute of Hygiene and Infectious Diseases of Animals, Justus Liebig University Giessen, 35390 Giessen, Germany; (C.E.); (E.P.-B.)
| | - Jutta Verspohl
- Institute for Microbiology, University of Veterinary Medicine Hannover, Foundation, 30559 Hannover, Germany;
| | - Antonio Lavazza
- Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale della Lombardia e dell’Emilia Romagna, 25124 Brescia, Italy; (A.L.); (L.C.)
| | - Lorenzo Capucci
- Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale della Lombardia e dell’Emilia Romagna, 25124 Brescia, Italy; (A.L.); (L.C.)
| | - Herbert Tomaso
- Friedrich-Loeffler-Institut—Federal Research Institute for Animal Health (FLI), Institute of Bacterial Infections and Zoonoses, 07743 Jena, Germany;
| | - Ursula Siebert
- Institute for Terrestrial and Aquatic Wildlife Research, University of Veterinary Medicine Hannover, Foundation, 30559 Hannover, Germany; (M.F.); (J.C.K.); (M.R.)
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Status of Infectious Diseases in Free-Ranging European Brown Hares ( Lepus europaeus) Found Dead between 2017 and 2020 in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. Pathogens 2023; 12:pathogens12020239. [PMID: 36839511 PMCID: PMC9959346 DOI: 10.3390/pathogens12020239] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/30/2022] [Revised: 01/22/2023] [Accepted: 01/31/2023] [Indexed: 02/05/2023] Open
Abstract
The European brown hare (Lepus europaeus) is a quite adaptable species, but populations have been decreasing for several decades in different countries, including Germany. To investigate infectious diseases as possible influences on observed population decline in the German federal state Schleswig-Holstein, 118 deceased free-ranging European brown hares were collected between 2017 and 2020 and underwent detailed postmortem examination with extended sampling. Infectious diseases were a major cause of death (34.7%). The number of juveniles found exceeded the adult ones. The main pathomorphological findings were hepatitis (32.8%), pneumonia (22.2%), nephritis (19.1%), liver necrosis (12.9%), and enteritis (40.7%). An unusual main finding was steatitis (20.9%) of unknown origin. Animals were mainly emaciated and showed high infection rates with Eimeria spp. (91.3%) and Trichostrongylus spp. (36.2%). European Brown Hare Syndrome Virus reached an epidemic status with few fatal infections (4.2%) and high seroprevalence (64.9%), whereas the prevalence of Rabbit Haemorrhagic Disease Virus 2 was very low (0.8%) in hares in Schleswig-Holstein. Pathogens such as Yersinia pseudotuberculosis (5.9%), Pasteurella multocida (0.8%), and Staphylococcus aureus (3.4%) only caused sporadic deaths. This study illustrates the wide distribution of various infectious pathogens with high mortality and even zoonotic potential. Infectious diseases need to be considered as an important influence on population dynamics in Schleswig-Holstein.
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