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Candela, M.G.; Pardavila, X.; Ortega, N.; Lamosa, A.; Mangas, J.G.; Mart¡nez-Carrasco, C.
Canine distemper virus may affect European wild cat populations in Central Spain
2019 Mammalian Biology (97): 9-12
The main objective of this brief communication is to inform about the exposure to certain pathogens of interest for mesocarnivores in wildcats (_Felis silvestris silvestris_) that inhabit a human-domestic-wild ecotone located in a Natural Park (Serran¡a de Cuenca, Central Spain). Blood and mucosal swabs (nasal, conjunctival and rectal) samples were collected from nine alive animals to detect canine distemper virus (CDV), parvovirus (CPV/FPV), feline leukaemia virus (FeLV), feline coronavirus (FCoV), feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV), _Leptospira interrogans_, _Chlamydia felis_, _Ehrlichia canis_, _Toxoplasma gondii_, and _Neospora caninum_. ELISA, immunochromatograpy, microscopy agglutination test and PCR assays were used. The results show the first worldwide detection of exposure of wildcats to _L. interrogans_ (3 positive/9 analysed) and the first detection of exposure to CVD (7/9), of carriers of _C. felis_ (2/9) and of fecal spreading of CPV-FPV (2/9) in wildcats in Spain. Exposure to _T. gondii_ and CPV-FPV was detected in 5 of the 9 wildcats analysed, and to FelV in 4 of 9. No FIV, FCoV, _Ehrlichia canis_ and _Neospora caninum_ were detected. The results reveal the circulation of pathogens among the wildcat population studied, but more vigilance is needed for an accurate assessment of the impact of these pathogens on the health status of this population.
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