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Temporal dynamics of European brown hare syndrome infection in Northern Italian brown hares (Lepus europaeus)

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Abstract

The progressive decline in the hare population across Europe has been associated with the occurrence of European brown hare syndrome (EBHS), a highly contagious disease considered endemic in all European countries. This study aimed to evaluate the in-field temporal dynamics of European brown hare syndrome virus (EBHSV) infection in wild European brown hares (Lepus europaeus) and to test the influence of population density on EBHS seroprevalence. A total of 512 blood samples were collected from free ranging hares captured for restocking in seven different areas of the province of Brescia (Northern Italy) during seven consecutive years (2006–2013) and tested using a competitive ELISA. A generalized linear mixed model estimated the yearly effects of population density on EBHS prevalence. Of the 512 tested, 344 (67.2 %) tested positive for EBHSV antibodies, with the annual seroprevalence ranging from 94.3 to 35.8 %. The prevalence was 3.303 times higher in areas with a density of over 15 hares/km2 and declined over the years. The results indicate the ongoing transmission of the virus in the tested brown hare population. Since the eradication of EBHS in a wild population is not feasible, a strategy aimed at promoting the endemic stability of the virus through density-dependent mechanisms could be applied; however, this seems more difficult in practice than in theory and would most likely require a very high density of brown hares.

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Acknowledgments

The authors gratefully acknowledge the cooperation of local hunters (Ambito Territoriale di Caccia Unico di Brescia, Brescia Province, Northern Italy), without whom, this study would not have been possible.

The authors wish to thank Alberto Tiraboschi, Giuseppe Bertocchi, Cristina Palotta, Giuliana Botti and Giuseppe Bozzoni of the Brescia laboratory IZSLER for the technical support.

The authors also wish to thank Lesley Benyon (ScienceDocs) and Mr. Alastair Tweedie for the editing of this manuscript.

Conflict of interest

The authors of this study received no financial aid or had personal relationships with people or organizations that could inappropriately influence or bias their work.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale della Lombardia e dell’Emilia Romagna (I.Z.S.L.E.R.), Brescia, Italy

    Mario Chiari, Nicola Ferrari, Daniele Giardiello, Dominga Avisani, Mariagrazia Zanoni, Giovanni Loris Alborali, Capucci Lorenzo & Lavazza Antonio

  2. Department of Veterinary Science and Public Health, Università degli Studi di Milano, Milan, Italy

    Nicola Ferrari & Paolo Lanfranchi

  3. Istituto Superiore per la Protezione e la Ricerca Ambientale, Ozzano dell’Emilia, Bologna, Italy

    Vittorio Guberti

  4. OIE Reference Laboratory for RHD, Via Bianchi 9, 25124, Brescia, Italy

    Capucci Lorenzo & Lavazza Antonio

Authors
  1. Mario Chiari
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  2. Nicola Ferrari
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  3. Daniele Giardiello
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  4. Dominga Avisani
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  5. Mariagrazia Zanoni
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  6. Giovanni Loris Alborali
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  7. Paolo Lanfranchi
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  8. Vittorio Guberti
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  9. Capucci Lorenzo
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  10. Lavazza Antonio
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Mario Chiari.

Additional information

Communicated by M. Artois

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Chiari, M., Ferrari, N., Giardiello, D. et al. Temporal dynamics of European brown hare syndrome infection in Northern Italian brown hares (Lepus europaeus). Eur J Wildl Res 60, 891–896 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10344-014-0856-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10344-014-0856-6

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