Fatal babesiosis in a free-ranging iberian wolf co-infected with Hepatozoon canis and Leishmania infantum: Epidemiological implications for the cantabrian wolf population
Fayos, Manena (Centro de Recuperación de Fauna Silvestre de Cantabria)
Sastre Alaiz, Natalia (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Departament de Ciència Animal i dels Aliments)
Palomar, Ana M. (Hospital San Pedro-Centro de Investigación Biomédica de La Rioja)
Sacristán, Carlos (Centro de Investigación en Sanidad Animal (CISA-INIA-CSIC))
Sacristán, Irene (Centro de Investigación en Sanidad Animal (CISA-INIA-CSIC))
Ewbank, Ana Carolina (Centro de Investigación en Sanidad Animal (CISA-INIA), CSIC, Valdeolmos, 28130, Madrid, Spain)
Serrano Ferron, Emmanuel (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Departament de Ciència Animal i dels Aliments)
Velarde, Roser (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Departament de Ciència Animal i dels Aliments)

Fecha:	2025
Resumen:	Health surveillance of large carnivores, such as the Iberian wolf (Canis lupus signatus), allows the early detection of emerging and established pathogens in natural environments, due to their position in the top of the food chain. In 2022, the carcass of a wild wolf was found in Cantabria, Northwest Spain. A complete post-mortem investigation, including full necropsy, histopathological and molecular analysis concluded that the cause of death was a systemic hemolytic disease caused by Babesia canis. Furthermore, the wolf was co-infected with Hepatozoon canis and Leishmania infantum. Consequently, a molecular investigation of Babesia spp. , Hepatozoon spp. , Leishmania spp. , Ehrlichia spp. , Anaplasma spp. , and Rickettsia spp. was performed in the Cantabrian wolf population (n = 91). The prevalences found were 6. 3 % (5/79) for B. canis, 96. 3 % (78/81) for H. canis, and 23. 8 % (21/88) for L. infantum. None of the wolves were positive to Ehrlichia spp. , Anaplasma spp. , or Rickettsia spp. The co-infection prevalences were also investigated. To our knowledge, this is the first description of a fatal babesiosis in a wild wolf, as well as the first detection of B. canis and H. canis infection in the Iberian wolf population. We have found a low B. canis prevalence, while the H. canis prevalence is the highest recorded so far. The detection of L. infantum highlights the circulation of this zoonotic pathogen in a non-endemic region.
Derechos:	Aquest document està subjecte a una llicència d'ús Creative Commons. Es permet la reproducció total o parcial, la distribució, i la comunicació pública de l'obra, sempre que no sigui amb finalitats comercials, i sempre que es reconegui l'autoria de l'obra original. No es permet la creació d'obres derivades.
Lengua:	Anglès
Documento:	Article ; recerca ; Versió publicada
Materia:	Babesia canis ; Canis lupus, Co-Infections ; Spain ; Vector-borne diseases ; Wildlife
Publicado en:	International Journal for Parasitology: Parasites and Wildlife, Vol. 27 (May 2025) , art. 101080, ISSN 2213-2244

DOI: 10.1016/j.ijppaw.2025.101080
PMID: 40503085

9 p, 4.8 MB

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