A Global Perspective on Oral Vaccination of Wildlife against Rabies.

The long-term mitigation of human-domestic animal-wildlife conflicts is complex and difficult. Over the last 50 yr, the primary biomedical concepts and actualized collaborative global field applications of oral rabies vaccination to wildlife serve as one dramatic example that revolutionized the field of infectious disease management of free-ranging animals. Oral vaccination of wildlife occurred in diverse locales within Africa, Eurasia, the Middle East, and North America.

Borrelia persica infection in wild carnivores in Israel: molecular characterization and new potential reservoirs.

Background: Borrelia persica causes tick-borne relapsing fever in Israel, the eastern Mediterranean basin, and Asia. Relapsing fever is associated with severe illness and potentially death in humans and animals. Since B.

Fecal microbiota of the synanthropic golden jackal (Canis aureus).

The golden jackal (Canis aureus), is a medium canid carnivore widespread throughout the Mediterranean region and expanding into Europe. This species thrives near human settlements and is implicated in zoonoses such as rabies. This study explores for the first time, the golden jackal fecal microbiota.

Identification, Isolation, and Molecular Characterization of in .

Coronaviruses (CoVs) are enveloped viruses with a large RNA genome (26 to 32 kb) and are classified into four genera: , , and . CoV infections cause respiratory, enteric, and neurologic disorders in mammalian and avian species. In 2019, Oryx leucoryx animals suffered from severe hemorrhagic diarrhea and high morbidity rates.

Plasma cholinesterase activity: A benchmark for rapid detection of pesticide poisoning in an avian scavenger.

Poisoning due to exposure to organophosphate and carbamate pesticides is a common threat for many wildlife species, especially for scavengers such as vultures. The Griffon vulture population (Gyps fulvus), for instance, is deteriorating in the Eastern Mediterranean, and is considered to be critically endangered in Israel, where 48 out of 107 (45 %) known injury/mortality cases in 2010-2021 were caused by poisoning. Lack of specific clinical indications, together with levels of organophosphate or carbamate pesticides too low to detect, challenge the ability to diagnose and treat such poisoning events.

First detection of avian influenza subtype H4N6 in Israel in a wild mallard (Anas platyrhynchos).

Avian influenza viruses (AIV) are a worldwide threat to animal and human health. As wild waterfowl circulate and spread these viruses around the world, investigations of AIV prevalence in wild populations are critical for understanding pathogen transmission, as well as predicting disease outbreaks in domestic animals and humans. Surveillance efforts in this study have isolated H4N6 for the first time in Israel from a faecal sample of a wild mallard (Anas platyrhynchos).

The association between natural drinking water sources and the emergence of zoonotic leptospirosis among grazing beef cattle herds during a human outbreak.

Leptospirosis is a zoonotic bacterial disease associated with water abundance in tropical and temperate climate zones. Bacterial spread may also occur in dry and warm weather conditions when humans and animals are forced to share depleted water sources. In such settings, farm animals such as beef cattle, which may be present in large numbers in natural water sources, can play a major role in disease spread.

Short Term Safety, Immunogenicity, and Reproductive Effects of Combined Vaccination With Anti-GnRH (Gonacon) and Rabies Vaccines in Female Feral Cats.

Overpopulation of free-roaming cats is a major problem leading to negative impacts on animal health and welfare, public nuisance, transmission of zoonotic diseases, and well-documented harm to wildlife. Surgical sterilization had failed to provide a practical solution to free-roaming cats' overpopulation under field conditions; therefore, efficient and safe non-surgical immunocontraception methods are aspired. Rabies is a deadly virus that may infect people and animals.

Transmission of the Human Relapsing Fever Spirochete Borrelia persica by the Argasid Tick Ornithodoros tholozani Involves Blood Meals from Wildlife Animal Reservoirs and Mainly Transstadial Transfer.

, transmitted by the argasid tick , causes human tick-borne relapsing fever in the Middle East and Central Asia. Infection is acquired often when visiting tick-infested caves and reported to be transmitted mainly transovarially between ticks, occasionally infecting humans. To study the epidemiology of this infection, ticks were trapped in 24 caves in 12 geographic zones covering all of Israel and identified morphologically.

First isolation of foot and mouth disease virus from wild boars in the Middle East.

Domestic pigs are susceptible to foot and mouth disease virus (FMDV) infection and suffer from severe clinical disease. Our knowledge on the clinical manifestations of FMD in and its transmission by wild boars (Sus scrofa) is very limited. During an FMD outbreak in the Golan Heights in 2018, wild boars grazing in close proximity to cattle were observed showing lameness.

Genetic characteristics of Theileria equi in zebras, wild and domestic donkeys in Israel and the Palestinian Authority.

Equine piroplasmosis (EP) is an important tick-borne disease of equids, caused by Theileria equi and Babesia caballi. It is endemic in most parts of the world, including Israel, and has clinical and economic consequences. This study was set to evaluate the presence of EP parasites in domestic donkeys and in wild equids in Israel and the Palestinian Authority (PA).

Immobilization of captive Persian fallow deer (Dama dama mesopotamica) using medetomidine-ketamine or medetomidine-midazolam.

Objective: To establish and compare the effectiveness of two medetomidine-based immobilization protocols in Persian fallow deer (Dama dama mesopotamica).

Study Design: Prospective, randomized, blinded clinical study.

Animals: A group of 31 captive Persian fallow deer.

Molecular characterization of six Hyalomma species using mitochondrial markers.

Hyalomma species (Acari: Ixodidae) are vectors of several human and animal pathogens. However, due to their similar morphological properties, classification of related Hyalomma species is often challenging. Here we describe a combined approach for molecular characterization of six Hyalomma species: H.

Outbreak of human leptospirosis linked to contaminated water bodies in Northern Israel, June to August 2018.

We report preliminary findings of a large outbreak of human leptospirosis with 36 confirmed/probable and 583 suspected cases from June-August 2018, linked to contaminated water bodies in Northern Israel. There was a travel-associated case in Germany; additional cases are being investigated in other countries. The presumed chain of transmission, implicating wild boar and cattle, raises multiple challenges for risk assessment, risk management and risk communication currently being addressed by a public health response team.

Exposure to spp. and spp. in wildlife from Israel.

Neosporosis and besnoitiosis, caused by cyst-forming protozoa and , respectively, are parasitic infestations of livestock in Israel. These parasites cause significant economic losses in cattle due to reproductive and productive disorders. Both parasites have been detected in several wild ruminant species throughout other regions of the world, while the existence of a sylvatic life cycle in Israel remains uncertain.

Detection of Toxoplasma gondii in three common bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus); A first description from the Eastern Mediterranean Sea.

Toxoplasma gondii has been described in several marine mammals around the world including numerous species of cetaceans, yet infection and transmission mechanisms in the marine environment are not clearly defined. The Israel Marine Mammal Research and Assistance Center has been collating a database of all marine mammal stranding events along the country's national coastlines since 1993. In this study, we describe the molecular detection and characterisation of T.

A survey of Babesia spp. and Hepatozoon spp. in wild canids in Israel.

Background: Babesia spp. and Hepatozoon spp. are apicomplexan parasites that infect a variety of animals, including canids.

Borrelia persica infection in rock hyraxes.

Tick-borne relapsing fever (TBRF) is an acute infectious disease caused by arthropod-borne spirochetes of the genus Borrelia and characterized by recurrent episodes of fever. Borrelia persica, the causative agent of this disease in Israel, is transmitted by the argasid tick Ornithodoros tholozani. There is little information about the maintenance and possible vertebrate reservoirs of B.

Oral vaccination of wildlife using a vaccinia-rabies-glycoprotein recombinant virus vaccine (RABORAL V-RG): a global review.

RABORAL V-RG is an oral rabies vaccine bait that contains an attenuated ("modified-live") recombinant vaccinia virus vector vaccine expressing the rabies virus glycoprotein gene (V-RG). Approximately 250 million doses have been distributed globally since 1987 without any reports of adverse reactions in wildlife or domestic animals since the first licensed recombinant oral rabies vaccine (ORV) was released into the environment to immunize wildlife populations against rabies. V-RG is genetically stable, is not detected in the oral cavity beyond 48 h after ingestion, is not shed by vaccinates into the environment, and has been tested for thermostability under a range of laboratory and field conditions.

A RETROSPECTIVE COMPARISON OF CHEMICAL IMMOBILIZATION WITH THIAFENTANIL, THIAFENTANIL-AZAPERONE, OR ETORPHINE-ACEPROMAZINE IN CAPTIVE PERSIAN FALLOW DEER (DAMA DAMA MESOPOTAMICA).

Records of 56 Persian fallow deer (Dama dama mesopotamica) immobilized for translocation were reviewed. Twenty-three were administered 0.05 ± 0.

REFRACTOMETRIC URINE SPECIFIC GRAVITY OF FREE-LIVING EGYPTIAN FRUIT BATS (ROUSETTUS AEGYPTIACUS).

In both human and veterinary medicine, urine specific gravity (USG) is commonly measured by refractometry to indirectly reflect the osmolality of urine to thereby evaluate the kidney's ability to concentrate or dilute urine according to physiologic need and certain disease conditions. However, for accurate interpretation of the significance of any value, knowledge of the expected USG for the healthy species in question is required. It is generally believed that fruit bats, and Egyptian fruit bats (Rousettus aegyptiacus) in particular, are unable to highly concentrate their urine.

Molecular characterization of Trichinella species from wild animals in Israel.

Trichinellosis is a worldwide disease caused by nematode worms of the genus Trichinella, frequently diagnosed in Israel. However, the identity of the Israeli isolates have not been studied. Here we describe the molecular characterization of 58 isolates collected from jackals (Canis aureus), wild boar (Sus scrofa), foxes (Vulpes vulpes) and a wolf (Canis lupus) in central and northern Israel.

Detection of Bartonella spp. in wild carnivores, hyraxes, hedgehog and rodents from Israel.

Bartonella infection was explored in wild animals from Israel. Golden jackals (Canis aureus), red foxes (Vulpes vulpes), rock hyraxes (Procavia capensis), southern white-breasted hedgehogs (Erinaceus concolor), social voles (Microtus socialis), Tristram's jirds (Meriones tristrami), Cairo spiny mice (Acomys cahirinus), house mice (Mus musculus) and Indian crested porcupines (Hystrix indica) were sampled and screened by molecular and isolation methods. Bartonella-DNA was detected in 46 animals: 9/70 (13%) golden jackals, 2/11 (18%) red foxes, 3/35 (9%) rock hyraxes, 1/3 (33%) southern white-breasted hedgehogs, 5/57 (9%) Cairo spiny mice, 25/43 (58%) Tristram's jirds and 1/6 (16%) house mice.

Seroprevalence of Foot-and-Mouth Disease in Susceptible Wildlife in Israel.

Foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) epidemics recur in Israel almost every year. Wild even-toed ungulates are seldom affected during these epidemics. The seroprevalence of FMD in wild ungulates during 2000 and 2005-2013 was estimated using anti-non-structural proteins ELISA.