Abstract

Tuberculosis has been diagnosed in wild boar (Sits scrofa) in several European countries during the last decade; however, almost no information has been reported to date for Portugal. This study aimed to investigate tuberculosis in wild boar in Portugal through characterization of Mycobacterium bovis infection and identification of disease risk factors. Tissue samples were obtained from hunted wild boar during the 2005 and 2006 hunting seasons. Samples were inspected for gross lesions and processed for culture. Acid-fast bacterial isolates were identified by polymerase chain reaction and spoligotyping, Associations between tuberculosis in wild boar anal several variables linked to wild ungulate diversity and relative abundance, livestock density, and cattle tuberculosis incidence were investigated. Mycobacterium bovis isolates were identified in 18 of 162 wild boars from three of eight study areas. Infection rates ranged from 6% (95% confidence interval [CIP95%]=1-21%) to 46% (CIP95%=27-67%) in the three infected study areas; females in our sample were at greater risk of being infected than males (odds ratio=4.33; CIP95%=3.31-5.68). Spoligotyping grouped the M. bovis isolates in three clusters and one isolate was a novel spoligotype not previously reported in international databases. Detection of M. bovis was most consistently associated with variables linked to wild ungulate relative abundance, suggesting that these species, particularly the wild boar, might act as maintenance hosts in Portugal.

Keywords

Descriptive epidemiology; Mycobacterium bovis; risk factors; spoligotypes; tuberculosis; wild boar

Published in

Journal of Wildlife Diseases
2009, Volume: 45, number: 4, pages: 1048-1061
Publisher: WILDLIFE DISEASE ASSOC, INC

SLU Authors

• Svenson, Stefan

  • Department of Biomedical Science and Veterinary Public Health, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
    

Sustainable Development Goals

SDG3 Good health and well-being


UKÄ Subject classification

Other Veterinary Science


Publication Identifiers

DOI: https://doi.org/10.7589/0090-3558-45.4.1048

Permanent link to this page (URI)

https://res.slu.se/id/publ/49045