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The geographic distribution, and the biotic and abiotic predictors of select zoonotic pathogen detections in Canadian polar bears.
- Source :
-
Scientific reports [Sci Rep] 2024 May 26; Vol. 14 (1), pp. 12027. Date of Electronic Publication: 2024 May 26. - Publication Year :
- 2024
-
Abstract
- Increasing Arctic temperatures are facilitating the northward expansion of more southerly hosts, vectors, and pathogens, exposing naïve populations to pathogens not typical at northern latitudes. To understand such rapidly changing host-pathogen dynamics, we need sensitive and robust surveillance tools. Here, we use a novel multiplexed magnetic-capture and droplet digital PCR (ddPCR) tool to assess a sentinel Arctic species, the polar bear (Ursus maritimus; nā=ā68), for the presence of five zoonotic pathogens (Erysipelothrix rhusiopathiae, Francisella tularensis, Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex, Toxoplasma gondii and Trichinella spp.), and observe associations between pathogen presence and biotic and abiotic predictors. We made two novel detections: the first detection of a Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex member in Arctic wildlife and the first of E. rhusiopathiae in a polar bear. We found a prevalence of 37% for E. rhusiopathiae, 16% for F. tularensis, 29% for Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex, 18% for T. gondii, and 75% for Trichinella spp. We also identify associations with bear age (Trichinella spp.), harvest season (F. tularensis and MTBC), and human settlements (E. rhusiopathiae, F. tularensis, MTBC, and Trichinella spp.). We demonstrate that monitoring a sentinel species, the polar bear, could be a powerful tool in disease surveillance and highlight the need to better characterize pathogen distributions and diversity in the Arctic.<br /> (© 2024. The Author(s).)
- Subjects :
- Animals
Arctic Regions
Canada epidemiology
Toxoplasma genetics
Toxoplasma isolation & purification
Trichinella isolation & purification
Trichinella genetics
Mycobacterium tuberculosis genetics
Mycobacterium tuberculosis isolation & purification
Francisella tularensis isolation & purification
Francisella tularensis genetics
Female
Male
Ursidae microbiology
Ursidae parasitology
Zoonoses parasitology
Zoonoses microbiology
Zoonoses epidemiology
Subjects
Details
- Language :
- English
- ISSN :
- 2045-2322
- Volume :
- 14
- Issue :
- 1
- Database :
- MEDLINE
- Journal :
- Scientific reports
- Publication Type :
- Academic Journal
- Accession number :
- 38797747
- Full Text :
- https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-024-62800-x