Dataset Information

West Nile Virus and Related Flavivirus in European Wild Boar (Sus scrofa), Latium Region, Italy: A Retrospective Study.

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND:A retrospective sero-survey for evidence of West Nile virus (WNV) infection in European wild boar (Sus scorfa) was conducted in the Latium region, Italy, on stored serum samples of the period November 2011 to January 2012. METHODS:Sera were collected from 168 European wild boars and screened for antibodies to WNV and other Flaviviruses by competitive enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (cELISA). All sera positive for Flavivirus antibodies by cELISA were further examined by virus neutralization test (VNT). To test the presence of Flavivirus RNA in samples, an RT-PCR was performed using a pan-Flavivirus primers pair. RESULTS:Thirteen wild boars (7.73%) were seropositive for Flaviviruses. The hemolysis of serum samples limited the interpretation of the VNT for 7 samples, confirming the presence of specific antibody against WNV in a single European wild boar serum sample. The presence of ELISA positive/VNT negative samples suggests the occurrence of non-neutralizing antibodies against WNV or other antigen-related Flaviviruses. No samples resulted positive for Flavivirus by RT-PCR assay. CONCLUSION:Although a moderately high percentage of animals with specific antibody for WNV has been detected in wild boar in other surveillance studies in Europe, this has not been reported previously in Italy. Together, these data indicate that European wild boar are exposed to WNV and/or other related-Flavivirus in central Italy and confirm the usefulness of wild ungulates, as suitable Flavivirus sentinels.

SUBMITTER: Petruccelli A

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7143470 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Publications

West Nile Virus and Related Flavivirus in European Wild Boar (<i>Sus scrofa</i>), Latium Region, Italy: A Retrospective Study.

Petruccelli Angela A Zottola Tiziana T Ferrara Gianmarco G Iovane Valentina V Di Russo Cristina C Pagnini Ugo U Montagnaro Serena S

Animals : an open access journal from MDPI 20200316 3

<h4>Background</h4>A retrospective sero-survey for evidence of West Nile virus (WNV) infection in European wild boar (<i>Sus scorfa</i>) was conducted in the Latium region, Italy, on stored serum samples of the period November 2011 to January 2012.<h4>Methods</h4>Sera were collected from 168 European wild boars and screened for antibodies to WNV and other Flaviviruses by competitive enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (cELISA). All sera positive for Flavivirus antibodies by cELISA were further exa ...[more]

PMID: 32188017

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Project description:BACKGROUND:Wild boars (Sus scrofa L.) are globally widely distributed, and their populations have increased in Europe during recent decades. Encounters between humans and wild boars are rare because of the predominantly nocturnal lifestyle of the latter, and wild boar management by hunting is a challenging task. Animal activity patterns are important for understanding the behaviour of a species. However, knowledge of detailed temporal patterns and an understanding of the drivers of wild boar activity at a fine temporal scale are lacking. Of special relevance for human-wild boar interactions (e.g., encounters, conflicts, and management) is the question of whether nocturnal activity depends on anthropogenic factors and, particularly, how local hunting regimes may affect activity patterns. We used GPS telemetry and acceleration measurements to shed light on this part of wild boar behaviour, observing 34 animals in Central Europe. Animals were tracked along a gradient of hunting pressure from hunting-free areas to areas with low or high hunting pressure. Fitted generalised additive models allowed predicting the probability of active behaviour under differing disturbance regimes precisely to day of year and time of day. RESULTS:The wild boars were predominantly nocturnal, with peak activity at approximately midnight. However, the data showed increased activity during daylight for wild boars that used no-hunting zones or reduced-hunting zones. Large areas with low disturbance levels promoted activity during daylight more than smaller areas with an intermediate disturbance regime. High air temperatures and locations within forests reduced the probability of active behaviour, whereas proximity to tracks used for forestry or agriculture was accompanied by a higher probability of activity. CONCLUSIONS:We conclude that wild boars flexibly adjust their activity to their local environmental conditions, considering disturbances at the scale of long-term home ranges as well as actual small-scale landscape quality. Entire wild boar home ranges should be covered in the delineation of reserves intending to stimulate activity during daylight.

Dataset Information

West Nile Virus and Related Flavivirus in European Wild Boar (Sus scrofa), Latium Region, Italy: A Retrospective Study.

Publications

West Nile Virus and Related Flavivirus in European Wild Boar (<i>Sus scrofa</i>), Latium Region, Italy: A Retrospective Study.

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