Seroprevalences of specific antibodies against avian pathogens in free-ranging ring-necked pheasants (Phasianus colchicus) in Northwestern Germany

Friederike Gethöffer; Nele Curland; Ulrich Voigt; Benno Woelfing; Tobias Ludwig; Ursula Heffels-Redmann; Hafez Mohamed Hafez; Michael Lierz; Ursula Siebert

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0255434

Seroprevalences of specific antibodies against avian pathogens in free-ranging ring-necked pheasants (Phasianus colchicus) in Northwestern Germany

PLoS One. 2021 Aug 4;16(8):e0255434. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0255434. eCollection 2021.

Authors

Friederike Gethöffer¹, Nele Curland¹, Ulrich Voigt¹, Benno Woelfing¹, Tobias Ludwig¹, Ursula Heffels-Redmann², Hafez Mohamed Hafez³, Michael Lierz², Ursula Siebert¹

Affiliations

¹ Institute for Terrestrial and Aquatic Wildlife Research, University of Veterinary Medicine Hannover, Hannover, Germany.
² Clinic for Birds, Reptiles, Amphibians and Fish, Justus Liebig Universität Giessen, Giessen, Germany.
³ Institute of Poultry Diseases, Freie Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany.

Abstract

Infectious diseases in captive pheasants (Phasianus colchicus) are well known, but there is a lack of knowledge about occurrence and distribution of pathogens in free-ranging pheasants in Germany. We investigated 604 sera from hunted pheasants and 152 sera from wild caught pheasants between 2011 to 2015, with the aim to determine the prevalence of specific antibodies against different viruses: Avian influenza virus (AIV) of subtypes H5, H7, H9, paramyxovirus type 1 (PMV-1), avian encephalomyelitis virus (AEV), infectious bursitis disease virus (IBDV), infectious bronchitis virus (IBV), infectious laryngotracheitis virus (ILTV), avian metapneumovirus (aMPV) and Salmonella sp., Mycoplasma synoviae (MS) and Mycoplasma gallisepticum (MG). In addition, 178 caeca were investigated for Histomonas meleagridis. The study reveals an ongoing circulation of IBV in the wild pheasant population during the study. Also high seroprevalences of specific antibodies against aMPV depending on the area and a strong increase in prevalence of IBDV antibodies in sera of pheasants in Lower Saxony were detected. ILTV antibody prevalences differed between areas and AEV antibody detection differed between years significantly, whereas specific antibodies against PMV-1 could not be detected and antibodies against AIV-H5, -H7 and -H9 and Mycoplasma spp. were detected in very few cases.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Animals
Herpesvirus 1, Gallid
Infectious bronchitis virus*
Poultry Diseases
Quail
Seroepidemiologic Studies*

Grants and funding

The study was partly supported by funds of the Lower Saxony Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Consumer Protection (ML)., the Hunters association of North-Rhine-Westphalia, the Hunters association of Lower Saxony and the Association of the sponsors of the Institute for Wildlife Research. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.