Wildlife Interactions on Baited Places and Waterholes in a French Area Infected by Bovine Tuberculosis.

ABSTRACT: Interactions among wildlife species are major drivers for the transmission of multi-host pathogens, such as Mycobacterium bovis, which also affect livestock. Although France is officially free from bovine tuberculosis (bTB), some areas are still harboring infection in cattle and wildlife. We aimed at characterizing the visits of susceptible wild species (badger, red deer, and wild boar) at baited places and waterholes, considered as possible hotspots for contacts. We described the visits in terms of frequency, duration, and number of individuals and studied the influence of the season. Then, we estimated the frequency of intraspecies and interspecies interactions occurring at baited places and waterholes which may lead to bTB transmission, including direct and indirect contacts thro

SUBMITTER: Payne A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5237639 | biostudies-literature | 2016

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature