Mycobacterium avium subspecies paratuberculosis (MAP) is a common pathogen in domestic ruminants that causes granulomatous inflammation of the small intestine leading to emaciation and wasting. Clinical disease (Johne’s disease) is also reported for several wild ruminant species. Between 2007 and 2009 we collected 561 fecal samples from caribou (Rangifer tarandus ssp.) representing 10 herds of migratory caribou, two herds of caribou from Greenland, and three populations of boreal woodland caribou. Feces were tested for MAP by bacterial culture and PCR targeting the IS900 insertion sequence. In total, 31 samples from eight different populations representing all three ecotypes were found positive for MAP by PCR, with one sample from the Rivière-aux-Feuilles herd also being culture positive for the type II (cattle) strain. The proportion of positive animals was particularly high in the Akia-Maniitsoq herd in Greenland, and Rivière-aux-Feuilles and Rivière-George herds in northeastern Canada (23.4, 11.5, and 10.0%, respectively). Our results indicate that MAP is present in several caribou herds of different ecotypes in northern Canada and Greenland and that MAP circulates within wildlife populations that do not have ongoing contact with domestic livestock. The epidemiology, pathogenicity, and effects on the health of caribou in northern ecosystems remain unknown.
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Epidemiology|
October 01 2012
DETECTION OF MYCOBACTERIUM AVIUM SUBSPECIES PARATUBERCULOSIS IN SEVERAL HERDS OF ARCTIC CARIBOU (RANGIFER TARANDUS SSP.)
Taya Forde;
Taya Forde
1 Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Calgary, 3350 Hospital Drive NW, Calgary, Alberta T2N 4N1, Canada
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Karin Orsel;
Karin Orsel
1 Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Calgary, 3350 Hospital Drive NW, Calgary, Alberta T2N 4N1, Canada
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Jeroen De Buck;
Jeroen De Buck
1 Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Calgary, 3350 Hospital Drive NW, Calgary, Alberta T2N 4N1, Canada
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Steeve D. Côté;
Steeve D. Côté
2 Département de Biologie et Centre d’études Nordiques, Université Laval, 1045 Avenue de la Médecine, Québec, Québec G1V 0A6, Canada
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Christine Cuyler;
Christine Cuyler
3 Greenland Institute of Natural Resources, Kivioq 2, PO Box 570, 3900 Nuuk, Greenland
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Tracy Davison;
Tracy Davison
4 Department of Environment and Natural Resources, Government of the Northwest Territories, Bag Service #1, Shell Lake, Inuvik, Northwest Territories X0E 0T0, Canada
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Brett Elkin;
Brett Elkin
5 Department of Environment and Natural Resources, Government of the Northwest Territories, 500-5102 50th Avenue, Yellowknife, Northwest Territories X1A 3S8, Canada
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Allicia Kelly;
Allicia Kelly
6 Department of Environment and Natural Resources, Government of the Northwest Territories, Box 900, Ft. Smith, Northwest Territories X0E 0P0, Canada
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Martin Kienzler;
Martin Kienzler
7 Department of Environment, Government of Yukon, Box 600, Dawson City, Yukon Territory Y0B 1G0, Canada
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Richard Popko;
Richard Popko
8 Department of Environment and Natural Resources, Government of the Northwest Territories, PO Box 130, Norman Wells, Northwest Territories X0E 0V0, Canada
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Joëlle Taillon;
Joëlle Taillon
2 Département de Biologie et Centre d’études Nordiques, Université Laval, 1045 Avenue de la Médecine, Québec, Québec G1V 0A6, Canada
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Alasdair Veitch;
Alasdair Veitch
8 Department of Environment and Natural Resources, Government of the Northwest Territories, PO Box 130, Norman Wells, Northwest Territories X0E 0V0, Canada
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Susan Kutz
Susan Kutz
9
1 Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Calgary, 3350 Hospital Drive NW, Calgary, Alberta T2N 4N1, Canada
9 Corresponding author (email: skutz@ucalgary.ca)
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J Wildl Dis (2012) 48 (4): 918–924.
Article history
Received:
September 06 2011
Accepted:
June 13 2012
Citation
Taya Forde, Karin Orsel, Jeroen De Buck, Steeve D. Côté, Christine Cuyler, Tracy Davison, Brett Elkin, Allicia Kelly, Martin Kienzler, Richard Popko, Joëlle Taillon, Alasdair Veitch, Susan Kutz; DETECTION OF MYCOBACTERIUM AVIUM SUBSPECIES PARATUBERCULOSIS IN SEVERAL HERDS OF ARCTIC CARIBOU (RANGIFER TARANDUS SSP.). J Wildl Dis 1 October 2012; 48 (4): 918–924. doi: https://doi.org/10.7589/2011-09-261
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