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Esson C, Samelius G, Strand TM, Lundkvist Å, Michaux JR, Råsbäck T, Wahab T, Mijiddorj TN, Berger L, Skerratt LF, Low M. The prevalence of rodent-borne zoonotic pathogens in the South Gobi desert region of Mongolia. Infect Ecol Epidemiol 2023; 13:2270258. [PMID: 37867606 PMCID: PMC10588514 DOI: 10.1080/20008686.2023.2270258] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/02/2022] [Accepted: 10/09/2023] [Indexed: 10/24/2023] Open
Abstract
The alpine ecosystems and communities of central Asia are currently undergoing large-scale ecological and socio-ecological changes likely to affect wildlife-livestock-human disease interactions and zoonosis transmission risk. However, relatively little is known about the prevalence of pathogens in this region. Between 2012 and 2015 we screened 142 rodents in Mongolia's Gobi desert for exposure to important zoonotic and livestock pathogens. Rodent seroprevalence to Leptospira spp. was >1/3 of tested animals, Toxoplasma gondii and Coxiella burnetii approximately 1/8 animals, and the hantaviruses being between 1/20 (Puumala-like hantavirus) and <1/100 (Seoul-like hantavirus). Gerbils trapped inside local dwellings were one of the species seropositive to Puumala-like hantavirus, suggesting a potential zoonotic transmission pathway. Seventeen genera of zoonotic bacteria were also detected in the faeces and ticks collected from these rodents, with one tick testing positive to Yersinia. Our study helps provide baseline patterns of disease prevalence needed to infer potential transmission between source and target populations in this region, and to help shift the focus of epidemiological research towards understanding disease transmission among species and proactive disease mitigation strategies within a broader One Health framework.
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Affiliation(s)
- Carol Esson
- One Health Research Group, Medical and Veterinary Sciences, James Cook University, Townsville, Queensland, Australia
| | - Gustaf Samelius
- Snow Leopard Trust, Seattle, Washington, USA
- Nordens Ark, Åby Säteri, Hunnebostrand, Sweden
| | - Tanja M. Strand
- Zoonosis Science Centre, Department of Medical Biochemistry and Microbiology, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
- National Veterinary Institute (SVA), Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Åke Lundkvist
- Zoonosis Science Centre, Department of Medical Biochemistry and Microbiology, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Johan R. Michaux
- Laboratoire de génétique de la conservation, Institut de Botanique, Université de Liège, Liège, Belgium
- Animal Sante Territoire Risque Environnement, Centre International de Recherche Agronomique pour le Developpement, Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique, Université de Montpellier, Montpellier, France
| | | | - Tara Wahab
- Public Health Agency of Sweden, Stockholm, Sweden
| | | | - Lee Berger
- One Health Research Group, Melbourne Veterinary School, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
| | - Lee F. Skerratt
- One Health Research Group, Melbourne Veterinary School, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
| | - Matthew Low
- Department of Ecology, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Uppsala, Sweden
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Brown VR, Miller RS, Bowden CF, Smyser TJ, Ledesma NA, Hartwig A, Gordy P, Anderson AM, Porter SM, Alexander K, Gouker Z, Gidlewski T, Bowen RA, Bosco-Lauth AM. Disease Progression and Serological Assay Performance in Heritage Breed Pigs following Brucella suis Experimental Challenge as a Model for Naturally Infected Feral Swine. Pathogens 2023; 12:pathogens12050638. [PMID: 37242308 DOI: 10.3390/pathogens12050638] [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: 03/10/2023] [Revised: 04/19/2023] [Accepted: 04/20/2023] [Indexed: 05/28/2023] Open
Abstract
Invasive feral swine (Sus scrofa) are one of the most important wildlife species for disease surveillance in the United States, serving as a reservoir for various diseases of concern for the health of humans and domestic animals. Brucella suis, the causative agent of swine brucellosis, is one such pathogen carried and transmitted by feral swine. Serology assays are the preferred field diagnostic for B. suis infection, as whole blood can be readily collected and antibodies are highly stable. However, serological assays frequently have lower sensitivity and specificity, and few studies have validated serological assays for B. suis in feral swine. We conducted an experimental infection of Ossabaw Island Hogs (a breed re-domesticated from feral animals) as a disease-free proxy for feral swine to (1) improve understanding of bacterial dissemination and antibody response following B. suis infection and (2) evaluate potential changes in the performance of serological diagnostic assays over the course of infection. Animals were inoculated with B. suis and serially euthanized across a 16-week period, with samples collected at the time of euthanasia. The 8% card agglutination test performed best, whereas the fluorescence polarization assay demonstrated no capacity to differentiate true positive from true negative animals. From a disease surveillance perspective, using the 8% card agglutination test in parallel with either the buffered acidified plate antigen test or the Brucella abortus/suis complement fixation test provided the best performance with the highest probability of a positive assay result. Application of these combinations of diagnostic assays for B. suis surveillance among feral swine would improve understanding of spillover risks at the national level.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vienna R Brown
- National Feral Swine Damage Management Program, USDA APHIS Wildlife Services, Fort Collins, CO 80521, USA
| | - Ryan S Miller
- Centers for Epidemiology and Animal Health, USDA APHIS Veterinary Services, Fort Collins, CO 80521, USA
| | - Courtney F Bowden
- National Wildlife Research Center, USDA APHIS Wildlife Services, Fort Collins, CO 80521, USA
| | - Timothy J Smyser
- National Wildlife Research Center, USDA APHIS Wildlife Services, Fort Collins, CO 80521, USA
| | - Nicholas A Ledesma
- National Veterinary Services Laboratories, USDA APHIS Veterinary Services, Ames, IA 50010, USA
| | - Airn Hartwig
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80521, USA
| | - Paul Gordy
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80521, USA
| | - Aaron M Anderson
- National Wildlife Research Center, USDA APHIS Wildlife Services, Fort Collins, CO 80521, USA
| | - Stephanie M Porter
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80521, USA
| | - Kate Alexander
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80521, USA
| | - Zane Gouker
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80521, USA
| | - Thomas Gidlewski
- National Wildlife Disease Program, USDA APHIS Wildlife Services, Fort Collins, CO 80521, USA
| | - Richard A Bowen
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80521, USA
| | - Angela M Bosco-Lauth
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80521, USA
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Pepin KM, Miller RS, Wilber MQ. A framework for surveillance of emerging pathogens at the human-animal interface: Pigs and coronaviruses as a case study. Prev Vet Med 2021; 188:105281. [PMID: 33530012 PMCID: PMC7839430 DOI: 10.1016/j.prevetmed.2021.105281] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/10/2020] [Revised: 11/09/2020] [Accepted: 01/19/2021] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
Pigs (Sus scrofa) may be important surveillance targets for risk assessment and risk-based control planning against emerging zoonoses. Pigs have high contact rates with humans and other animals, transmit similar pathogens as humans including CoVs, and serve as reservoirs and intermediate hosts for notable human pandemics. Wild and domestic pigs both interface with humans and each other but have unique ecologies that demand different surveillance strategies. Three fundamental questions shape any surveillance program: where, when, and how can surveillance be conducted to optimize the surveillance objective? Using theory of mechanisms of zoonotic spillover and data on risk factors, we propose a framework for determining where surveillance might begin initially to maximize a detection in each host species at their interface. We illustrate the utility of the framework using data from the United States. We then discuss variables to consider in refining when and how to conduct surveillance. Recent advances in accounting for opportunistic sampling designs and in translating serology samples into infection times provide promising directions for extracting spatio-temporal estimates of disease risk from typical surveillance data. Such robust estimates of population-level disease risk allow surveillance plans to be updated in space and time based on new information (adaptive surveillance) thus optimizing allocation of surveillance resources to maximize the quality of risk assessment insight.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kim M Pepin
- National Wildlife Research Center, Wildlife Services, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, United States Department of Agriculture, 4101 Laporte Ave., Fort Collins, CO, 80526, United States.
| | - Ryan S Miller
- Centers for Epidemiology and Animal Health, Veterinary Services, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, United States Department of Agriculture, 2150 Center Ave., Fort Collins, CO, 80526, United States
| | - Mark Q Wilber
- Ecology, Evolution, and Marine Biology, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA, 93106, United States
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Chaudhary V, Wisely SM, Hernández FA, Hines JE, Nichols JD, Oli MK. A multi‐state occupancy modelling framework for robust estimation of disease prevalence in multi‐tissue disease systems. J Appl Ecol 2020. [DOI: 10.1111/1365-2664.13744] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/28/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Vratika Chaudhary
- Department of Wildlife Ecology and Conservation University of Florida Gainesville FL USA
| | - Samantha M. Wisely
- Department of Wildlife Ecology and Conservation University of Florida Gainesville FL USA
- School of Natural Resources and Environment University of Florida Gainesville FL USA
| | - Felipe A. Hernández
- Instituto de Medicina Preventiva VeterinariaFacultad de Ciencias VeterinariasEdificio Federico Saelzer Valdivia Chile
| | - James E. Hines
- U.S. Geological SurveyPatuxent Wildlife Research Center Beltsville MD USA
| | - James D. Nichols
- U.S. Geological SurveyPatuxent Wildlife Research Center Laurel MD USA
| | - Madan K. Oli
- Department of Wildlife Ecology and Conservation University of Florida Gainesville FL USA
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