Drivers of canine distemper virus exposure in dogs at a wildlife interface in Janos, Mexico

Rocío Almuna; Andrés M López-Pérez; Rosa E Sarmiento; Gerardo Suzán

doi:10.1002/vro2.7

Drivers of canine distemper virus exposure in dogs at a wildlife interface in Janos, Mexico

Vet Rec Open. 2021 May 5;8(1):e7. doi: 10.1002/vro2.7. eCollection 2021 Dec.

Authors

Rocío Almuna^{1

2}, Andrés M López-Pérez^{3

4}, Rosa E Sarmiento⁵, Gerardo Suzán⁴

Affiliations

¹ ECOS (Ecosystem-Complexity-Society) Laboratory, Center for Local Development (CEDEL), Villarrica Campus Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile Villarrica Chile.
² Centro Regional de Investigación para la Sostenibilidad de la Agricultura y los Territorios Rurales_Ceres Pontificia Universidad Católica de Valparaíso Valparaíso Chile.
³ Department of Veterinary Medicine and Epidemiology University of California California USA.
⁴ Departamento de Etología, Fauna Silvestre y Animales de Laboratorio, Facultad de Medicina Veterinaria y Zootecnia Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Ciudad Universitaria Mexico City México.
⁵ Departamento de Microbiología e Inmunología, Facultad de Medicina Veterinaria y Zootecnia, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Ciudad Universitaria Mexico City México.

PMID: 33981441
PMCID: PMC8109910
DOI: 10.1002/vro2.7

Abstract

Background: Human population expansion has increased the contact between domestic animals and wildlife, thereby increasing the transmission of infectious diseases including canine distemper virus (CDV). Here, we investigated the risk factors associated with CDV exposure in domestic and wild carnivores from the Janos Biosphere Reserve (JBR), Mexico.

Methods: A cross-sectional household questionnaire study was performed in four rural towns to investigate the risk factors associated with the presence of CDV in domestic and wild carnivores from the JBR, Mexico. In addition, we tested serum samples from 70 dogs and three wild carnivores, including one bobcat (Lynx rufus), one striped skunk (Mephitis mephitis) and one gray fox (Urocyon cinereoargenteus) for CDV antibodies using immunochromatographic and viral neutralization assays.

Results: Overall, 62% of domestic dogs were seropositive for CDV, and the presence of antibodies was significantly higher in free-roaming owned dogs than dogs with restricted movement. Among the wild carnivores, only the bobcat was seropositive. The rate of vaccination against CDV in dogs was low (7%), and there was a high rate of direct interactions between domestic dogs and wild carnivores.

Conclusion: Our serological assays show that CDV is circulating in both domestic dogs and wild carnivores, suggesting cross-species transmission. Our finding of low vaccination rates, high number of unrestrained owned dogs and direct interactions between wildlife and domestic animals reported in the region may be perpetuating the high prevalence of the virus and increasing the risk of CDV transmission between wild and domestic carnivores. Therefore, long-term longitudinal studies are recommended in order to monitor infectious diseases at the domestic-wildlife interface in this highly biodiverse region.

Keywords: canine distemper virus; disease spillover; domestic dog; domestic‐wildlife interface; wild carnivores.