Why are Svalbard Arctic foxes Brucella spp. seronegative?
Arctic foxes (Vulpes lagopus) are susceptible to smooth Brucella (s-Brucella) infection and may be exposed to such bacteria through the consumption of infected marine mammals, as implied by the finding of s-Brucella antibodies in polar bears (Ursus maritimus). Arctic foxes in Svalbard have not previ...
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Norwegian Polar Institute
2022
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Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.33265/polar.v41.7867 https://doaj.org/article/56f08095500a40c38afc3e114be1181c |
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fttriple:oai:gotriple.eu:oai:doaj.org/article:56f08095500a40c38afc3e114be1181c 2023-05-15T14:31:12+02:00 Why are Svalbard Arctic foxes Brucella spp. seronegative? Ingebjørg H. Nymo Eva Fuglei Torill Mørk Eva M. Breines Karin Holmgren Rebecca Davidson Morten Tryland 2022-07-01 https://doi.org/10.33265/polar.v41.7867 https://doaj.org/article/56f08095500a40c38afc3e114be1181c en eng Norwegian Polar Institute 0800-0395 1751-8369 doi:10.33265/polar.v41.7867 https://doaj.org/article/56f08095500a40c38afc3e114be1181c undefined Polar Research, Vol 41, Pp 1-8 (2022) infection serology smooth brucella s-brucella vulpes lagopus epizootiology envir geo Journal Article https://vocabularies.coar-repositories.org/resource_types/c_6501/ 2022 fttriple https://doi.org/10.33265/polar.v41.7867 2023-01-22T17:52:55Z Arctic foxes (Vulpes lagopus) are susceptible to smooth Brucella (s-Brucella) infection and may be exposed to such bacteria through the consumption of infected marine mammals, as implied by the finding of s-Brucella antibodies in polar bears (Ursus maritimus). Arctic foxes in Svalbard have not previously been investigated for s-Brucella antibodies, but such antibodies have been detected in Arctic foxes in Iceland, Alaska (USA) and Russia. We investigated blood from Svalbard Arctic foxes for s-Brucella antibodies using an indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (iELISA). The animals (0–13 years old) were either caught by fur trappers (1995–2003, n = 403) or found dead (1995 and 2003, n = 3). No seropositive animals were detected. Morbidity and mortality due to the infection cannot be ruled out. However, no known, large disease outbreaks of unknown aetiology have been reported. Furthermore, it is unlikely that the Svalbard Arctic fox is resistant to infection as Arctic foxes from other populations are susceptible, and there is circumpolar connectivity between populations. The discrepancy between the findings in Iceland and Svalbard is surprising as both populations are on islands with no known local sources of exposure to s-Brucella other than marine mammals. However, our negative findings suggest that marine mammals may not be a major source of infection for this species. Comparative investigations are needed in order to draw conclusions regarding the epizootiology of s-Brucella in Arctic foxes in Svalbard and Iceland. Article in Journal/Newspaper Arctic Fox Arctic Iceland Polar Research Svalbard Ursus maritimus Vulpes lagopus Alaska Unknown Arctic Svalbard Polar Research 41 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Unknown |
op_collection_id |
fttriple |
language |
English |
topic |
infection serology smooth brucella s-brucella vulpes lagopus epizootiology envir geo |
spellingShingle |
infection serology smooth brucella s-brucella vulpes lagopus epizootiology envir geo Ingebjørg H. Nymo Eva Fuglei Torill Mørk Eva M. Breines Karin Holmgren Rebecca Davidson Morten Tryland Why are Svalbard Arctic foxes Brucella spp. seronegative? |
topic_facet |
infection serology smooth brucella s-brucella vulpes lagopus epizootiology envir geo |
description |
Arctic foxes (Vulpes lagopus) are susceptible to smooth Brucella (s-Brucella) infection and may be exposed to such bacteria through the consumption of infected marine mammals, as implied by the finding of s-Brucella antibodies in polar bears (Ursus maritimus). Arctic foxes in Svalbard have not previously been investigated for s-Brucella antibodies, but such antibodies have been detected in Arctic foxes in Iceland, Alaska (USA) and Russia. We investigated blood from Svalbard Arctic foxes for s-Brucella antibodies using an indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (iELISA). The animals (0–13 years old) were either caught by fur trappers (1995–2003, n = 403) or found dead (1995 and 2003, n = 3). No seropositive animals were detected. Morbidity and mortality due to the infection cannot be ruled out. However, no known, large disease outbreaks of unknown aetiology have been reported. Furthermore, it is unlikely that the Svalbard Arctic fox is resistant to infection as Arctic foxes from other populations are susceptible, and there is circumpolar connectivity between populations. The discrepancy between the findings in Iceland and Svalbard is surprising as both populations are on islands with no known local sources of exposure to s-Brucella other than marine mammals. However, our negative findings suggest that marine mammals may not be a major source of infection for this species. Comparative investigations are needed in order to draw conclusions regarding the epizootiology of s-Brucella in Arctic foxes in Svalbard and Iceland. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Ingebjørg H. Nymo Eva Fuglei Torill Mørk Eva M. Breines Karin Holmgren Rebecca Davidson Morten Tryland |
author_facet |
Ingebjørg H. Nymo Eva Fuglei Torill Mørk Eva M. Breines Karin Holmgren Rebecca Davidson Morten Tryland |
author_sort |
Ingebjørg H. Nymo |
title |
Why are Svalbard Arctic foxes Brucella spp. seronegative? |
title_short |
Why are Svalbard Arctic foxes Brucella spp. seronegative? |
title_full |
Why are Svalbard Arctic foxes Brucella spp. seronegative? |
title_fullStr |
Why are Svalbard Arctic foxes Brucella spp. seronegative? |
title_full_unstemmed |
Why are Svalbard Arctic foxes Brucella spp. seronegative? |
title_sort |
why are svalbard arctic foxes brucella spp. seronegative? |
publisher |
Norwegian Polar Institute |
publishDate |
2022 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.33265/polar.v41.7867 https://doaj.org/article/56f08095500a40c38afc3e114be1181c |
geographic |
Arctic Svalbard |
geographic_facet |
Arctic Svalbard |
genre |
Arctic Fox Arctic Iceland Polar Research Svalbard Ursus maritimus Vulpes lagopus Alaska |
genre_facet |
Arctic Fox Arctic Iceland Polar Research Svalbard Ursus maritimus Vulpes lagopus Alaska |
op_source |
Polar Research, Vol 41, Pp 1-8 (2022) |
op_relation |
0800-0395 1751-8369 doi:10.33265/polar.v41.7867 https://doaj.org/article/56f08095500a40c38afc3e114be1181c |
op_rights |
undefined |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.33265/polar.v41.7867 |
container_title |
Polar Research |
container_volume |
41 |
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1766304885815377920 |