Publications by authors named "Xavier Fernandez Aguilar"

is a generalist zoonotic parasite that involves a wide range of warm-blooded animals as intermediate hosts and felines as definitive hosts. Recent studies have proved significant positive associations between human population density and seroprevalence in wildlife. However, there is limited data regarding wildlife in urban areas, where the highest human density occurs.

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is a zoonotic protozoan parasite distributed worldwide that is transmitted by phlebotomine sandflies. Dogs are the main reservoir for human infections. However, in recent years, the capacity of lagomorphs to contribute to transmission has been confirmed.

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Brucellosis is an important zoonotic disease affecting animals and subsistence harvesters in the circumarctic. We investigated recent trends (2015-2022) of brucellosis seropositivity in caribou () and muskoxen () in the Central Canadian Arctic by using data from community-based wildlife health surveillance programs. The overall sample prevalence of a antibodies was 10.

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Identifying the role that host species play in pathogen transmission and maintenance is crucial for disease control, but it is a difficult task, in particular for vector-borne and multi-host pathogens, and especially when wildlife species are involved. This is the case for a Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever virus (CCHFV) hotspot in north-eastern Spain, where Iberian ibex () and wild boar () are involved, but their roles in disease transmission are unclear. In this context, we studied the dynamics of CCHFV transmission in these two species during the collapse of an Iberian ibex population due to a sarcoptic mange outbreak.

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Assessing wildlife health in remote regions requires a multi-faceted approach, which commonly involves convenient samplings and the need of identifying and targeting relevant and informative indicators. We applied a novel wildlife health framework and critically assessed the value of different indicators for understanding the health status and trends of an endangered tundra caribou population. Samples and data from the Dolphin and Union caribou herd were obtained between 2015 and 2021, from community-based surveillance programs and from captured animals.

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Foodborne pathogens are an important cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. To assess the presence of Salmonella, Campylobacter and Arcobacter spp. in livestock, wildlife, and humans from different regions across western Uganda, 479 faecal samples were tested by PCR.

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Article Synopsis
  • * California serogroup (CSG) viruses were detected in wildlife, with 63% of caribou, 4% of Arctic foxes, 12% of red foxes, and 28% of polar bears testing positive for antibodies.
  • * Factors like sex, age, and temperature are linked to polar bear exposure, while specific locations and years affect caribou exposure, suggesting climate change influences wildlife virus risks and potential impacts on human health.
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Alpine grasslands are essential for carbon sequestration and food supply for domestic and wild herbivores inhabiting mountainous areas worldwide. These biomes, however, are alternatively threatened by the abandonment of agricultural and livestock practices leading to a fast-growing shrubification process while other mountain grasslands are suffering from the impacts of overgrazing. The functioning of alpine meadow ecosystems is primarily driven by climatic conditions, land-use legacies and grazing.

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Article Synopsis
  • Tick-borne pathogens (TBPs) are becoming a significant public health issue due to global changes, and wild boars are a major concern as they can host zoonotic pathogens and increase tick populations.
  • A study in the metropolitan area of Barcelona from 2014 to 2016 involved sampling wild boars and identifying tick species, finding a prevalence of Rickettsia spp. in tick pools but none in the wild boar spleens.
  • The findings indicate a transmission risk of Rickettsia spp. to local residents and suggest that while wild boars aren't direct reservoirs for Rickettsia, their presence may increase the risk of human infection through ticks.
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Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) has spread worldwide due to the inappropriate use of antimicrobial drugs in human and veterinary medicine, becoming a public health problem. However, little is known about its occurrence and maintenance in wild animals, and very few studies have been carried out in ecosystems subjected to low human pressure. In our study, nasal and lung swabs were collected from hunted Pyrenean chamois (), and nasal swabs from sympatric domestic sheep were also collected.

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Urbanisation is a global human-induced environmental change and one of the most important threats to biodiversity. To survive in human-modified environments, wildlife must adjust to the challenging selection pressures of urban areas through behaviour, morphology, physiology and/or genetic changes. Here we explore the effect of urbanisation in a large, highly adaptable and generalist urban adapter species, the wild boar (Sus scrofa, Linnaeus 1758).

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Infections by Chlamydiae are associated with ocular disease in humans and animals. In this study, the presence and diversity of spp. was assessed in diseased and healthy eyes of domestic sheep and wild ruminants that share mountain habitats in northern Spain.

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Article Synopsis
  • Fasciola hepatica, a liver parasite affecting ruminants, primarily relies on the freshwater snail Galba truncatula for its life cycle and is more common in lowland areas of Europe.
  • In a study from 2008 to 2019 in the National Game Reserve of Freser-Setcases, various species including Pyrenean chamois and domestic sheep were tested for antibodies against F. hepatica, revealing a higher prevalence in domestic cattle and sheep, with some chamois also showing signs of infection.
  • The research found F. hepatica DNA in only one snail sample collected at a high altitude, indicating the parasite can complete its life cycle in alpine regions, highlighting potential impacts of climate change on parasite distribution in
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Background: Wild boar () populations are increasing worldwide and invading urban areas. Live-capture can improve the management of this challenge, maximising efficiency, allowing scientific studies and potentially improving animal welfare. This study assesses teleanaesthesia, drop-net, corral trap and cage trap to live-capture wild boar in urban and peri-urban areas, evaluating efficiency and animal stress through haematology and serum biochemistry.

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In the recent past, peste des petits ruminants (PPR) emerged in East Africa causing outbreaks in small livestock across different countries, with evidences of spillover to wildlife. In order to understand better PPR at the wildlife-livestock interface, we investigated patterns of peste des petits ruminants virus (PPRV) exposure, disease outbreaks, and viral sequences in the northern Albertine Rift. PPRV antibodies indicated a widespread exposure in apparently healthy wildlife from South Sudan (2013) and Uganda (2015, 2017).

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Since 2001, Pyrenean chamois (Rupicapra pyrenaica pyrenaica) populations have been affected by border disease virus (BDV) causing mortalities of more than 80% in some areas. Field studies carried out in France, Andorra, and Spain have shown different epidemiological scenarios in chamois populations. This study was designed to confirm the presence of BDV strains of a high and low virulence in free-ranging chamois populations from Pyrenees and to understand the implications of these findings to the diverse epidemiological scenarios.

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In alpine habitats, the seasonally marked climatic conditions generate seasonal and spatial differences in forage availability for herbivores. Vegetation availability and quality during the growing season are known to drive life history traits of mountain ungulates. However, little effort has been made to understand the association between plant phenology and changes in the foraging strategies of these mountain dwellers.

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Mycoplasma conjunctivae is an obligate microparasite that causes Infectious Keratoconjunctivitis (IKC) in Caprinae species. IKC is a long-recognised disease, but little attention has been paid to the mechanisms of transmission of the mycoplasma and its occurrence in locations other than the eyes. In this study, the presence of M.

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Water-borne transmission may play an important role in the epidemiology of Toxoplasma gondii. Mammals closely related to freshwater ecosystems, such as the American mink (Neovison vison), are potentially valuable sentinels for T. gondii.

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Urban wild boars (Sus scrofa) from Barcelona, Spain, harbor great diversity of Streptococcus suis strains, including strains with the cps2 gene and with the same molecular profile as local human cases. The increasing trend of potential effective contacts for S. suis transmission is of public health concern.

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Border Disease Virus (BDV) causes health and economic impact on livestock and is also of importance in wildlife conservation as it causes high mortality outbreaks in Pyrenean chamois (Rupicapra pyrenaica pyrenaica). Pastoral practices are known as a main interspecies pathogen transmission. Hence, the presence of pestivirus in transhumant sheep flocks and sympatric chamois was assessed in areas with different epidemiological scenarios of chamois BDV infections.

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Functional roles of domestic and wild host populations in infectious keratoconjunctivitis (IKC) epidemiology have been extensively discussed claiming a domestic reservoir for the more susceptible wild hosts, however, based on limited data. With the aim to better assess IKC epidemiology in complex host-pathogen alpine systems, the long-term infectious dynamics and molecular epidemiology of Mycoplasma conjunctivae was investigated in all host populations from six study areas in the Pyrenees and one in the Cantabrian Mountains (Northern Spain). Detection of M.

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