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Seroprevalence of pathogens in domestic carnivores on the border of Madidi National Park, Bolivia

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 February 2004

Christine V. Fiorello
Affiliation:
Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Environmental Biology, Center for Environmental Research and Conservation, Columbia University, 1200 Amsterdam Avenue, New York, NY 10027, USA Field Veterinary Program, Wildlife Conservation Society, 185th Street and Southern Boulevard, Bronx, NY 10460, USA Present address: C. V. Fiorello, Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Florida, P.O. Box 100126, Gainesville, FL 32610-0126, USA.
Sharon L. Deem
Affiliation:
Field Veterinary Program, Wildlife Conservation Society, 185th Street and Southern Boulevard, Bronx, NY 10460, USA Present address: S. L. Deem, Department of Animal Health, Smithsonian Institute, National Zoological Park, 3001 Connecticut Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20008, USA.
Matthew E. Gompper
Affiliation:
Department of Fisheries and Wildlife Sciences, 302 ABNR, University of Missouri, Columbia, Columbia, MO 65211-7240, USA
Edward J. Dubovi
Affiliation:
Cornell University Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory, Section of Virology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Cornell University, P.O. Box 5786, Ithaca, NY 14852-5786, USA
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Abstract

The importance of diseases of domestic animals in the conservation of wildlife is increasingly being recognised. Wild carnivores are susceptible to many of the pathogens carried by domestic dogs and cats and some of these pathogens have caused disease outbreaks and severe population declines in threatened species. The risk of disease spillover from domestic to wild carnivores in South America has not been extensively investigated. This study examined the disease exposure of domestic carnivores living near a protected area in Bolivia. Forty dogs and 14 cats living in three towns on the eastern border of Madidi National Park were sampled. High levels of exposure to canine distemper virus, canine parvovirus, Sarcoptes scabiei and Toxoplasma gondii were found among domestic dogs, with similarly high levels of exposure to feline parvovirus, feline calicivirus and T. gondii being found among domestic cats. If contact occurs between domestic and wild carnivores, disease spillover may represent an important risk for the persistence of wild carnivores in the region. Additional research is therefore necessary to determine if wild carnivores living in proximity to these domestic carnivore populations are being exposed to these pathogens.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
2004 The Zoological Society of London

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