Bovine Tuberculosis in Doñana Biosphere Reserve: The Role of Wild Ungulates as Disease Reservoirs
Author Information
Author(s): Gortázar Christian, Torres María José, Vicente Joaquín, Acevedo Pelayo, Reglero Manuel, de la Fuente José, Negro Juan José, Aznar-Martín Javier
Primary Institution: IREC National Wildlife Research Institute (CSIC-UCLM-JCCM), Ciudad Real, Spain
Hypothesis
M. bovis infection prevalence in wild ungulates will depend on host ecology and that variation in prevalence will reflect variation in the interaction between hosts and environmental risk factors.
Conclusion
The study found high prevalence rates of M. bovis infection in wild boar, red deer, and fallow deer, suggesting that wild ungulates play a significant role in the epidemiology of bovine tuberculosis.
Supporting Evidence
- 65 out of 124 wild boar tested positive for M. bovis, indicating a prevalence of 52.4%.
- 26 out of 95 red deer tested positive for M. bovis, indicating a prevalence of 27.4%.
- 18 out of 97 fallow deer tested positive for M. bovis, indicating a prevalence of 18.5%.
- Wild boar showed more than twice the prevalence of M. bovis compared to deer.
- Prevalence of M. bovis infection decreased from north to south in wild boar and red deer.
Takeaway
This study shows that wild boars and deer in a protected area in Spain have a lot of tuberculosis, which can make it hard to keep cattle healthy.
Methodology
The study involved sampling wild ungulates for M. bovis infection and using modeling and GIS to identify risk factors.
Potential Biases
Potential biases may arise from the non-random sampling of wildlife populations.
Limitations
The study was correlational and did not establish direct causation between factors and infection rates.
Participant Demographics
The study included European wild boar, red deer, and fallow deer from Doñana National Park.
Statistical Information
P-Value
p<0.001
Confidence Interval
95% CI 43.6–61.2 for wild boar, 18.4–36.3 for red deer, 10.8–26.3 for fallow deer
Statistical Significance
p<0.001
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
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