contact with domestic dogs increases pathogen exposure in endangered african wild dogs (lycaon pictus)接触家犬增加病原体暴露在濒危非洲野狗(吕卡翁pictus).pdfVIP

Contact with Domestic Dogs Increases Pathogen Exposure in Endangered African Wild Dogs (Lycaon pictus) 1,2 2 2,3{ 2,3 4 Rosie Woodroffe *, Katherine C. Prager , Linda Munson , Patricia A. Conrad , Edward J. Dubovi , Jonna A. K. Mazet2 1 Institute of Zoology, Regent’s Park, London, United Kingdom, 2 Wildlife Health Center, University of California Davis, Davis, California, United States of America, 3 Department of Pathology, Microbiology and Immunology, University of California Davis, Davis, California, United States of America, 4 Animal Health Diagnostic Center, College of Veterinary Medicine, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, United States of America Abstract Background: Infectious diseases have contributed to the decline and local extinction of several wildlife species, including African wild dogs (Lycaon pictus). Mitigating such disease threats is challenging, partly because uncertainty about disease dynamics makes it difficult to identify the best management approaches. Serious impacts on susceptible populations most frequently occur when generalist pathogens are maintained within populations of abundant (often domestic) ‘‘reservoir’’ hosts, and spill over into less abundant host species. If this is the case, disease control directed at the reservoir host might be most appropriate. However, pathogen transmission within threatened host populations may also be important, and may not be controllable by managing another host species. Methodology/Principal Findings: We investigated interspecific and intraspecific transmission routes, by comparing African wild dogs’ exposure to six canine pathogens with behavioural measures of their opportunities for contact with domestic