Abstract
Mycobacterium bovis infection was first described in free-ranging wildlife in France in 2001, with subsequent detection in hunter-harvested ungulates and badgers in areas where outbreaks of bovine tuberculosis (TB) were also detected in cattle. Increasing concerns regarding TB in wildlife led the French General Directorate for Food (DGAL) and the main institutions involved in animal health and wildlife management, to establish a national surveillance system for TB in free-ranging wildlife. This surveillance system is known as “Sylvatub.” The system coordinates the activities of various national and local partners. The main goal of Sylvatub is to detect and monitor M. bovis infection in wildlife through a combination of passive and active surveillance protocols adapted to the estimated risk level in each area of the country. Event-base surveillance relies on M. bovis identification (molecular detection) (i) in gross lesions detected in hunter-harvested ungulates, (ii) in ungulates that are found dead or dying, and (iii) in road-killed badgers. Additional targeted surveillance in badgers, wild boars and red deer is implemented on samples from trapped or hunted animals in at-risk areas. With the exception of one unexplained case in a wild boar, M. bovis infection in free-living wildlife has always been detected in the vicinity of cattle TB outbreaks with the same genotype of the infectious M. bovis strains. Since 2012, M. bovis was actively monitored in these infected areas and detected mainly in badgers and wild boars with apparent infection rates of 4.57–5.14% and 2.37–3.04%, respectively depending of the diagnostic test used (culture or PCR), the period and according to areas. Sporadic infection has also been detected in red deer and roe deer. This surveillance has demonstrated that M. bovis infection, in different areas of France, involves a multi-host system including cattle and wildlife. However, infection rates are lower than those observed in badgers in the United Kingdom or in wild boars in Spain.
Highlights
Wildlife can serve as a reservoir for multiple pathogens and may serve as a sentinel of the disease risk to humans and domestic animals
Targeted surveillance was implemented for wild boars and red deer in three at-risk areas, for wild boars and badgers in four at-risk areas and for the three species in four at-risk areas depending on the populations abundance and distribution
The implementation of a wide and important surveillance system as Sylvatub relies on the involvement, at the national or departmental level, of the main organizations involved in wildlife surveillance and field volunteers without whom this surveillance would not be possible
Summary
Wildlife can serve as a reservoir for multiple pathogens and may serve as a sentinel of the disease risk to humans and domestic animals. Bovine tuberculosis (TB) is a contagious and zoonotic disease caused by Mycobacterium bovis, and occasionally by M. caprae or M. tuberculosis (hereafter referred to as MTBC). This pathogen primarily infects cattle but can be transmitted to a wide range of host mammals, especially numerous wild animals such as Eurasian badgers (Meles meles), wild boars (Sus scrofa), red deer (Cervus elaphus), and roe deer (Capreolus capreolus) [2]. In the United Kingdom (UK) and in Ireland, the Eurasian badger is considered as TB reservoir, as is the wild boar in Spain These species are involved in the transmission of M. bovis to cattle [3,4,5,6]
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