Impact of Annual Bacterial Epizootics on Albatross Population on a Remote Island

• Published in: EcoHealth
• Main Authors: Jaeger, Audrey, Gamble, Amandine, Lagadec, Erwan, Lebarbenchon, Camille, Bourret, Vincent, Tornos, Jérémy, Barbraud, Christophe, Lemberger, Karin, Delord, Karine, Weimerskirch, Henri, Thiebot, Jean-Baptiste, Boulinier, Thierry, Tortosa, Pablo
• Other Authors: Laboratoire d'Ecologie Marine (ECOMAR), Université de La Réunion (UR)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Processus Infectieux en Milieu Insulaire Tropical (PIMIT), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-IRD-Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM)-Université de La Réunion (UR), Centre d’Ecologie Fonctionnelle et Evolutive (CEFE), Université de Montpellier (UM)-Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD France-Sud )-Université Paul-Valéry - Montpellier 3 (UPVM)-École pratique des hautes études (EPHE), Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Centre international d'études supérieures en sciences agronomiques (Montpellier SupAgro)-Institut national d’études supérieures agronomiques de Montpellier (Montpellier SupAgro), Institut national d'enseignement supérieur pour l'agriculture, l'alimentation et l'environnement (Institut Agro)-Institut national d'enseignement supérieur pour l'agriculture, l'alimentation et l'environnement (Institut Agro)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement (INRAE), Réserve Naturelle Nationale des Terres Australes Françaises, TAAF, Centre d'Études Biologiques de Chizé - UMR 7372 (CEBC), Université de La Rochelle (ULR)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement (INRAE), Vet Diagnostics, National Institute of Polar Research Tokyo (NiPR)
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: HAL CCSD 2020
• Subjects: Bacteria; Disease ecology; Eco-epidemiology; Molecular biology; Seabird; Wildlife; [SDE]Environmental Sciences; Indian; Amsterdam Island
• Online Access: https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-02907078; https://doi.org/10.1007/s10393-020-01487-8

International audience The reduced species richness typical of oceanic islands provides an interesting environmental setup to examine in natura the epidemiological dynamics of infectious agents with potential implications for public health and/or conservation. On Amsterdam Island (Indian Ocean), recurrent die-offs of Indian yellow-nosed albatross (Thalassarche carteri) nestlings have been attributed to avian cholera, caused by the bacterium Pasteurella multocida. In order to help implementing efficient measures for the control of this disease, it is critical to better understand the local epidemiology of P. multocida and to examine its inter- and intra-annual infection dynamics. We evaluated the infection status of 264 yellow-nosed albatrosses over four successive breeding seasons using a real-time PCR targeting P. multocida DNA from cloacal swabs. Infection prevalence patterns revealed an intense circulation of P. multocida throughout the survey, with a steady but variable increase in infection prevalence within each breeding season. These epizootics were associated with massive nestling dies-offs, inducing very low fledging successes (≤ 20%). These results suggest important variations in the transmission dynamics of this pathogen. These findings and the developed PCR protocol have direct applications to guide future research and refine conservation plans aiming at controlling the disease.