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Comparative survey of canine parvovirus, canine distemper virus and canine enteric coronavirus infection in free-ranging wolves of central Italy and south-eastern France

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Abstract

Diseases likely affect large carnivore demography and can hinder conservation efforts. We considered three highly contagious viruses that infect a wide range of domestic and wild mammals: canine parvovirus type 2 (CPV-2), canine distemper virus (CDV) and canine enteric coronaviruses (CECoV). Infection by either one of these viruses can affect populations through increased mortality and/or decreased general health. We investigated infection in the wolf populations of Abruzzo, Lazio e Molise National Park (PNALM), Italy, and of Mercantour National Park (PNM), France. Faecal samples were collected during one winter, from October to March, from four packs in PNALM (n = 79) and from four packs in PNM (n = 66). We screened samples for specific sequences of viral nucleic acids. To our knowledge, our study is the first documented report of CECoV infection in wolves outside Alaska, and of the large-scale occurrence of CPV-2 in European wolf populations. The results suggest that CPV-2 is enzootic in the population of PNALM, but not in PNM and that CECoV is episodic in both areas. We did not detect CDV. Our findings suggest that density and spatial distribution of susceptible hosts, in particular free-ranging dogs, can be important factors influencing infections in wolves. This comparative study is an important step in evaluating the nature of possible disease threats in the studied wolf populations. Recent emergence of new viral strains in Europe additionally strengthens the need for proactive monitoring of wolves and other susceptible sympatric species for viral threats and other impairing infections.

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Acknowledgements

We are deeply grateful to J. Miklossy for highly valuable comments on this manuscript. We are very appreciative of the detailed and constructive comments provided by the reviewers, which helped to improve the quality of this manuscript. We are very thankful to P. Ciucci for giving access to collected faecal material and to the direction of PNALM for welcomingly facilitating our collaboration. We are also grateful to V. Benetka and K. Walk for the laboratory work and warmly thank V. Benetka for her comments on our results. This study would not have been possible without the help of L. Grottoli, G. Millisher and their collaborators from PNALM and PNM respectively, who collected faecal samples in the field. We also thank K. Kunkel for reviewing the manuscript, as well as S. Rossi and V. Luddeni for discussions regarding the situation in France. This study was funded by the Animal Physiology and Parasitology laboratories, University of Neuchâtel, Switzerland.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Biology, University of Neuchâtel, Neuchâtel, Switzerland

    Barbara Molnar, Peter-Allan Diehl & Bruno Betschart

  2. Office National de la Chasse et de la Faune Sauvage, Gap, France

    Christophe Duchamp

  3. Institute of Virology, Department of Pathobiology, University of Veterinary Medicine, Vienna, Austria

    Karin Möstl

  4. CP 16, 1921, Martigny-Croix, Switzerland

    Barbara Molnar

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  1. Barbara Molnar
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Correspondence to Barbara Molnar.

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Communicated by C. Gortázar

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Molnar, B., Duchamp, C., Möstl, K. et al. Comparative survey of canine parvovirus, canine distemper virus and canine enteric coronavirus infection in free-ranging wolves of central Italy and south-eastern France. Eur J Wildl Res 60, 613–624 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10344-014-0825-0

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