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Feral ferrets (Mustela furo) as hosts and sentinels of tuberculosis in New Zealand

The control and eventual eradication of bovine tuberculosis (TB) poses major challenges in New Zealand, given the variety of wildlife species susceptible to TB, many of which are capable of onwards transmission of Mycobacterium bovis infection. Here we discuss the role of feral ferrets (Mustela furo...

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Autores principales: Byrom, AE, Caley, P, Paterson, BM, Nugent, G
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: Taylor & Francis 2015
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4699325/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25495945
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/00480169.2014.981314
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author Byrom, AE
Caley, P
Paterson, BM
Nugent, G
author_facet Byrom, AE
Caley, P
Paterson, BM
Nugent, G
author_sort Byrom, AE
collection PubMed
description The control and eventual eradication of bovine tuberculosis (TB) poses major challenges in New Zealand, given the variety of wildlife species susceptible to TB, many of which are capable of onwards transmission of Mycobacterium bovis infection. Here we discuss the role of feral ferrets (Mustela furo), focussing on potential transmission or risk pathways that have implications for management of TB. Firstly inter-specific transmission to ferrets. Ferrets scavenge potentially infected wildlife, including other ferrets, thus prevalence of TB can be amplified through ferrets feeding on tuberculous carcasses, particularly brushtail possums (Trichosurus vulpecula). Secondly intra-specific transmission between ferrets. The rate of ferret-ferret transmission depends on population density, and in some places ferret densities exceed the estimated threshold for disease persistence. TB can therefore potentially be maintained independently of other sources of infection. Thirdly transmission from ferrets to other wildlife. These include the main wildlife maintenance host, brushtail possums, that will occasionally scavenge potentially tuberculous ferret carcasses. Fourthly transmission from ferrets to livestock. This is considered to occur occasionally, but the actual rate of transmission has never been measured. Fifthly geographical spread. M. bovis-infected ferrets can travel large distances and cause new outbreaks of TB at locations previously free of TB, which may have caused an expansion of TB-endemic areas.Ferrets play a complex role in the TB cycle in New Zealand; they are capable of contracting, amplifying and transmitting M. bovis infection, sometimes resulting in ferret populations with a high prevalence of TB. However, ferret population densities are usually too low to sustain infection independently, and transmission to other wildlife or livestock appears a rarer event than with possums. Nevertheless, management of ferrets remains a key part of the National Pest Management Strategy for TB. Control is prudent where M. bovis-infected ferret populations exist in high numbers, to reduce the onward transmission risk of any self-sustained infection to livestock. When ferret numbers are well below the theoretical disease maintenance threshold, ferret control is still sometimes warranted because of the animals’ ability to acquire infection when young and, through dispersal, transport it outside TB-endemic areas. Ferrets can also be used as disease sentinels for TB, especially in areas where alternative sentinel species are rare or expensive to survey, and when sampling of possums is not cost-effective.
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spelling pubmed-46993252016-01-15 Feral ferrets (Mustela furo) as hosts and sentinels of tuberculosis in New Zealand Byrom, AE Caley, P Paterson, BM Nugent, G N Z Vet J Review and Scientific Articles The control and eventual eradication of bovine tuberculosis (TB) poses major challenges in New Zealand, given the variety of wildlife species susceptible to TB, many of which are capable of onwards transmission of Mycobacterium bovis infection. Here we discuss the role of feral ferrets (Mustela furo), focussing on potential transmission or risk pathways that have implications for management of TB. Firstly inter-specific transmission to ferrets. Ferrets scavenge potentially infected wildlife, including other ferrets, thus prevalence of TB can be amplified through ferrets feeding on tuberculous carcasses, particularly brushtail possums (Trichosurus vulpecula). Secondly intra-specific transmission between ferrets. The rate of ferret-ferret transmission depends on population density, and in some places ferret densities exceed the estimated threshold for disease persistence. TB can therefore potentially be maintained independently of other sources of infection. Thirdly transmission from ferrets to other wildlife. These include the main wildlife maintenance host, brushtail possums, that will occasionally scavenge potentially tuberculous ferret carcasses. Fourthly transmission from ferrets to livestock. This is considered to occur occasionally, but the actual rate of transmission has never been measured. Fifthly geographical spread. M. bovis-infected ferrets can travel large distances and cause new outbreaks of TB at locations previously free of TB, which may have caused an expansion of TB-endemic areas.Ferrets play a complex role in the TB cycle in New Zealand; they are capable of contracting, amplifying and transmitting M. bovis infection, sometimes resulting in ferret populations with a high prevalence of TB. However, ferret population densities are usually too low to sustain infection independently, and transmission to other wildlife or livestock appears a rarer event than with possums. Nevertheless, management of ferrets remains a key part of the National Pest Management Strategy for TB. Control is prudent where M. bovis-infected ferret populations exist in high numbers, to reduce the onward transmission risk of any self-sustained infection to livestock. When ferret numbers are well below the theoretical disease maintenance threshold, ferret control is still sometimes warranted because of the animals’ ability to acquire infection when young and, through dispersal, transport it outside TB-endemic areas. Ferrets can also be used as disease sentinels for TB, especially in areas where alternative sentinel species are rare or expensive to survey, and when sampling of possums is not cost-effective. Taylor & Francis 2015-03-25 2015-03-10 /pmc/articles/PMC4699325/ /pubmed/25495945 http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/00480169.2014.981314 Text en © 2015 The Author(s). Published by Taylor & Francis http://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs License (http://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/), which permits non-commercial re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited, and is not altered, transformed, or built upon in any way.
spellingShingle Review and Scientific Articles
Byrom, AE
Caley, P
Paterson, BM
Nugent, G
Feral ferrets (Mustela furo) as hosts and sentinels of tuberculosis in New Zealand
title Feral ferrets (Mustela furo) as hosts and sentinels of tuberculosis in New Zealand
title_full Feral ferrets (Mustela furo) as hosts and sentinels of tuberculosis in New Zealand
title_fullStr Feral ferrets (Mustela furo) as hosts and sentinels of tuberculosis in New Zealand
title_full_unstemmed Feral ferrets (Mustela furo) as hosts and sentinels of tuberculosis in New Zealand
title_short Feral ferrets (Mustela furo) as hosts and sentinels of tuberculosis in New Zealand
title_sort feral ferrets (mustela furo) as hosts and sentinels of tuberculosis in new zealand
topic Review and Scientific Articles
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4699325/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25495945
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/00480169.2014.981314
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