Ruminants appear to be the preferred or natural host for MAP, primarily domestic ruminants such as cattle, sheep and goat, but the disease in wild ruminants is also well documented, including red deer ( Cervus elaphus), roe-deer ( Capreolus capreolus), fallow deer ( Dama dama), white-tailed deer ( Odocoileus virginianus), alpine ibex ( Capra ibex) and riverine buffalo ( Bubalus bubalis) 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14.
Financial losses are related with decreased milk productivity, reduced feed conversion efficiency and slaughter value, limitations on animal trade and transactions of animal products, and increased costs related with premature culling and veterinary care 5. In the USA alone, costs have been estimated from $200 to $1,500 million 6, 7, 8. Different figures have been advanced for both dairy and beef cattle and these may vary from country to country (reviewed in Garcia and Shalloo, 2015 5). While not all countries report infection, paratuberculosis is a communicable disease that is widespread and represents a major problem for animal health, causing substantial economic losses that differ according to the production system, herd size, or herd management type 4. According to the OIE Worldwide Animal Health Information Database (WAHID interface), 58 out of 241 countries reported MAP infection during 2017. MAP is an infectious enteric pathogen that causes paratuberculosis or Johne’s disease, a chronic infection of the gastrointestinal tract that affects ruminants worldwide 4. This group of fastidious, phenotypically diverse, bacteria has specific pathogenicity and host range features, worldwide distribution and presumed zoonotic potential 1, 2, 3. Mycobacterium avium subspecies paratuberculosis ( MAP) is a member of the Mycobacterium avium complex (MAC) that also includes M. Density of livestock farms was found not to be a significant predictor, which may indicate that the livestock-wildlife interface is probably not important as an infection route for mongoose. Ecological modelling results suggested that the probability of MAP infection using IS 900 as proxy in mongoose is positively associated with higher altitude and temperature stability, as well as with lower annual rainfall. Achievement of MAP isolation would prove beyond any doubt that MAP is present in this wildlife population. The high proportion of DNA-positive specimens, concurrent with the apparent lack of gastro-enteric lesions and molecular confirmation of IS 900 in feces, argue for the presence of subclinical carriers that occasionally shed bacteria, potentially aiding as source of infection to susceptible species and possibly contributing for environmental contamination.
We demonstrate that important species of the Mediterranean carnivore guild, such as stone marten ( Martes foina) and common genet ( Genetta genetta), may also be exposed to MAP, being this the first time that occurrence in genet is reported. Molecular evidence of MAP using IS 900 as proxy was demonstrated in 7.43% (95%CI: 4.55–11.9) of surveyed carnivores, the highest proportions being registered for red fox ( Vulpes vulpes) (10% 95%CI: 4.0–23) and Egyptian mongoose ( Herpestes ichneumon) (6.0% 95%CI: 3.2–11). To test these hypotheses, we performed a retrospective survey, based on microbiological and molecular methods, in mainland Portugal including five sympatric species from the Herpestidae, Canidae, Viverridae, and Mustelidae families (n = 202) and examined 16 variables as putative predictors of MAP occurrence. In this study, we predicted that environmental, host-related, land use and human driven disturbance factors would modulate carnivore exposure to MAP. Despite sporadic reports of MAP occurrence in non-ruminants, information on the risk factors predisposing for infection is still scarce and evidence of transmission paths linking the livestock-wildlife-environment interfaces also remains lacking. paratuberculosis ( MAP) is the etiological agent of Johne’s disease or paratuberculosis, a chronic infection affecting domestic ruminants worldwide.
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