Not Just Pictures: Utility of Camera Trapping in the Context of African Swine Fever and Wild Boar Management

Integrated surveillance and early warning system of emerging infectious diseases in China at community level: current status, gaps and perspectives

Emerging infectious diseases (EIDs) pose a significant threat to public health. Effective surveillance and early warning systems that monitor EIDs in a timely manner are crucial for their control. Given that more than half of EIDs are zoonotic, traditional integrated surveillance systems remain inadequate. Despite recent advances in integrated systems in China, there are few systemic reviews on the integrated surveillance and early warning system of EIDs at community level, particularly under the One Health framework. Here, this systematic review summarizes the current status of surveillance advances in China, including the multi-trigger integrated monitor system. It also highlights the mechanisms for embedding the One Health approach into local policy and practice, while identifying challenges and opportunities for improvement. Additionally, guidelines and recommendations are proposed to optimize the integration of multi-sectoral, multi-level and interdisciplinary cooperation at the human-animal-environment interface.

Relating Wildlife Camera Trap Data to Tick Abundance: Testing the Relationship in Different Habitats

The increase in acarological risk of tick bites is significantly driven by profound changes in landscape, which alter the density and distribution of wildlife that support tick populations. As a result of habitat shifts and land abandonment, which create environments conducive to tick proliferation, the risk of disease transmission to humans and animals is increasing. In this context, it is important to explore tick ecology by applying a comprehensive methodology. In this study, we examined the relationship between wildlife temporal occupancy and tick abundance in two distinct regions: an alpine hunting district and a natural park in the Apennines. For each sampling point, we calculated wildlife temporal occupancy from camera trap pictures and estimated ticks' abundance from dragging transects in the area immediately surrounding camera traps. In modelling the relationship between those two variables, we included abiotic factors such as saturation deficit, normalized difference vegetation index, and altitude. Results show the importance of altitude and wildlife temporal occupancy (itself related to different habitat and land management characteristics) on the ecology of questing ticks. If employed in management decisions for natural environments, such information is useful to modulate the acarological risk and thus the risk of tick-borne pathogens' transmission.

How abundant is a species at the limit of its distribution range? Crested porcupine Hystrix cristata and its northern population

The crested porcupine (Hystrix cristata) is a rodent present in Africa and southern Europe (Italy exclusively). The Italian population is expanding from the centre to the north and south, but little is known about the species' abundance. Reliable population density estimates are important for monitoring trends in wildlife populations and for developing effective conservation and management strategies. In this context, we aimed to first report crested porcupine population density on the northern limit of its current distribution range using a non-invasive approach. Specifically, we randomly placed 38 camera traps in an area of 242 km2 in north Italy (Lombardy region), and we applied camera trap distance sampling. We estimated a porcupine density of 0.49 ind·km-2 (±0.33, standard error). The results presented here are the first crested porcupine density estimate accounting for imperfect detection (i.e. species present but not detected). The abundance estimate reported here is fundamental for a better understanding of the species status in Europe and for implementing conservation and management plans.

The many boar identities: understanding difference and change in the geographies of European wild boar management

Wildlife management across Europe is increasingly characterised by a 'war on wild boar'. In response to epidemiological and economic threats to pig production and agriculture, state agencies, policymakers and hunting organizations have altered their management as they attempt to contain wild boar. Through a cross-section overview of eight European countries with differentiated strategies - the Czech Republic, France, Germany, Great Britain, Norway, Poland, Spain, and Sweden - we analyze five critical components of contemporary wild boar management: categorizing, responsibilizing, calculating, controlling, and sanitizing. We consider three critical triggers that change how wild boar and, by extension, a range of other 'wild' species are managed in relation to the aforementioned categories: (over)abundance and population growth, biosecurity crises, and technological innovation. While these triggers, on one hand, might streamline transborder management policies, we show how wild boar also uproot longstanding wildlife management cultures by transforming hunting traditions, landowner-hunter relations and meat handling practices.

Epidemiological analysis of African swine fever in the European Union during 2022

This report presents the epidemiological analysis of African swine fever (ASF) during 2022 based on the surveillance and pig population data submitted by the European Union (EU) affected countries and one neighbouring country. Coinciding with regulatory changes and an important decrease in ASF outbreaks in 2022 in the EU, the number of domestic pig samples tested as part of active surveillance decreased by 80%, while the number of samples from passive surveillance almost doubled compared with 2021. Most outbreaks among domestic pigs in the EU were detected by testing clinical suspicions (93% of outbreaks), followed by tracing activities (5%) and weekly testing of the first two dead pigs per establishment (2%). Although most of the wild boar samples came from hunted animals, the probability of detecting PCR-positive animals was much higher in wild boar found dead. The ASF outbreaks among domestic pigs in the EU decreased by 79% while a decrease of 40% in the wild boar cases was observed in comparison with 2021. This was strongly marked in Romania, Poland and Bulgaria, with a reduction of 50-80% compared with 2021. In many countries, an important decrease in the number of pig establishments was observed, especially of small establishments with fewer than 100 pigs. The regional between farm incidence and proportion of pigs lost due to ASF in the EU was in general very low (average of 1%) apart from some regions in Romania. The impact of ASF on wild boar populations was variable, with a decline in wild boar abundance observed in certain countries versus a stable or even increased population after ASF introduction. This supports the negative relationship observed in this report between the proportion of the country with restricted zones due to ASF in wild boar and wild boar hunting bags.