The document summarizes surveillance results for foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) in wild boar populations in Bulgaria and Turkey between 2011-2012. Serological testing found higher rates of FMD virus exposure in wild boar samples from Anatolia compared to Thrace. Within Thrace, exposure rates were highest near previous FMD outbreak locations in livestock. Additional surveys mapped wild boar populations across Eurasia and tested experimental FMD transmission between wild boar. Non-invasive surveillance methods were also developed and tested to monitor for FMD in wild populations.

1. SURVEILLANCE FOR
FMD IN WILD BOAR
IN 2011-2012
RESULTS FROM BULGARIA
AND TURKEY
Sergei Khomenko
Tsviatko Alexandrov
Naci Bulut
Sinan Aktas
Keith Sumption

2. Triggered by FMD
incursion to the EU
Jan-April 2011
Serotype “O”

3. Follow-up activities:
• Wildlife surveillance in Thrace (TR+BG) –
govt authorities / EU-FMD/FAO-EMPRES
• Anatolian wild boar survey for FMD (TR) –
EU-FMD/FAO-EMPRES
• Wild boar ecology telemetry project (BG) -
EU-FMD/FAO-EMPRES
• Development of non-invasive wildlife
surveillance methodology (BG) - EU-
FMD/FAO-EMPRES
• Wild boar population mapping (N Eurasia)
– FAO-EMPRES

4. Scope of the surveys
ANATOLIA (TR)
Dec 2011 – Feb 2012
N=252
THRACE (BG+TR)
Jan 2011 – Jan 2012
N=1004

5. Sero-positivity to FMDV:
Thrace (epidemic O) versus
Anatolia (endemic O, A, Asia)
AGE THRACE ANATOLIA
GROUP
n NSP+ (95 % CI), % n NSP+ (95 % CI), % P
ADULT 628 9.1 (6.9 – 11.6) 185 24.9 (18.3 - 32.4) <0.05
JUVENILE 358 5.6 (3.4 – 8.5) 67 7.5 (2.5 - 16.6) ns
ALL 1004 7.8 (6.2-9.6) 252 20.2 (15.5 - 25.7) <0.05
NO DIFFERENCE BETWEEN SEXES FOUND, ONLY BETWEEN AGES

6. NSP + in Wild Boar in Thrace

7. Spatio-temporal
variation in sero-
prevalence in
Thrace
Prevalence in time
(quarter yearly 2011)
To outbreaks TOTAL, n % Ab+ (95 % CI), %
Prevalence by 0 – 5 km 168 10.1 (6.0 - 15.7)
6 – 10 km 179 17.9 (12.6 - 24.3)
zones
11 – 20 km 223 8.5 (5.2 – 13.0)
around 21 – 30 km 113 -
outbreaks 31 – 50 km 186 5.4 (2.6 - 9.7)
> 50 km 134 -

8. Conclusions on FMD
epidemic in Thrace
• Spread was spatially and temporary limited;
• Transmission between livestock and wildlife
was both ways (facilitated by humans?);
• Disease event in wildlife developed in winter
and died away end of spring
• However, serology fails to identify sequence of
the different stages of this particular disease
event …
EFSA, 2012; Alexandrov et al (in prep.), Dhollander et al (in prep.)

9. Sero-prevalence in
5 provinces of concern Anatolia: NSP+ in
livestock v WB
30
20.2 • Distinctly different from LR
25
(P=0.1), but not SR (P=0.001);
17.4
20 • Except for Samsun prevalence
15 in WB does not differ from SR
(P=0.6-0.8);
10 5.9
lower 95 %
• Prevalence in WB correlates
5 upper 95 %
Prevalence
best with that in SR (r=0.9, R²
0 = 0,8), but not LR (ns).
LR SR WB

10. Regional variation in 60,000
infected with
sero-prevalence: FMD all over
Turkey !
UNITS n % NSP+ (95 % CI) % ASIA + %O+
ERZURUM 17 52,9 (27,8 - 77,0) 11,8 41,2
SAMSUN 73 28,8 (18,8 - 40,6) 28,8
GÜMÜŞHANE 58 17,2 (8,6 - 29,4) 12,1* 5,2
KASTAMONU 76 13,2 (6,5 - 22,9) 13,2
RİZE 21 4,8 (0,1 - 23,8) 4,8
TOTAL 252 20,2 (15,5 - 25,7) 3,6 16,7
ERZURUM is distinctly different from all other provinces (P<0.05)
SAMSUN has higher prevalence than KASTAMONU (P=0.05)
All other regional differences are NS
* One virus positive animal in GÜMÜŞHANE

11. Most closely related FMD Asia-1 viruses were
found to co-circulate in this region in cattle
Isolate from wild boar Closely related isolates from cattle
TURKEY

12. FMD outbreaks in
Serotypes in livestock 350
livestock (5 provinces)
and wild boar mismatch ! 300
250
200
NO SEROTYPE “A” FOUND ! 150
100
50
0
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
% outbreaks by serotype
A Asia-1 O
100
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0

13. Does age
matter?
3 adult (3-5 yrs)
wild boar might
have been exposed
to two serotypes
during their life
AGE GROUP ASIA + (%) O + (%) Total +
ADULT (>21 month) 5 (13) 34 (87) 39
SUB-ADULT (<21 and > 12 months) 3 (43) 4 (57) 7
JUVENILE (<12 months) 1 (20) 4 (80) 5
ALL 9 (18) 42 (82) 51

14. THRACE: virus O + ANATOLIA: virus Asia-1 +
Dec 2010 Feb 2012
BG: O
TR: Serotype O Serotypes A, Asia, O
160
140 KURBAN KURBAN
120
100
?
80
Livestock
60
Wild Boar
40
20
0
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
2010 2011 2012
Rut Farrowing Rut Farrowing Rut Farrowing Rut

15. ??? Hypothesis outline: ???
• FMD easily spills over to WB from SR (Kurban in 2010-2011?)
and develops into epidemics in Nov – March;
• Some serotypes (e.g. O, Asia) are better transmitted by WB,
than the others (e.g. A) ?..
• Livestock (summer) and WB (winter) epidemics are in a
seasonal antiphase (“old serotypes” detected);
• Hunters can play important role in disease transmission from
WB to livestock;
• Mostly adult animals are involved (rut?);
• Many piglets born thereafter have maternal Ab protection
(low prevalence in juveniles);
• This + low population density in early spring + higher
temperatures bring R0 below 1.

16. • Clinical signs on the 4 DPI
Experimental (domestic 2 DPI) – e.g.
infection incubation 4 days;
• Most severe and evident
lesions – 7 DPI;
• Viraemia: 1 DPI through at
least 9 DPI;
• NSP antibodies detected 7-8
DPI;
• RNA in saliva normally
found up to 14 DPI and up
to DPI 24 DPI intermittently.
CREDITS: A. Breithaupt, K. Depner, B. Haas, M. Beer (FLI – Federal Research
Institute for Animal Health Institute of Diagnostic Virology)

17. Non-invasive surveillance Chichikin et al, 2012
NEEDS: SOLUTIONS:
• Aims at detecting • Ropes (validated on
virus by PCR; farms and in wild
• Targets epi-unit (all boar for ASF
animals attending (Chichikin et al,
a feeding site); 2012).
• As frequent as • CSF vaccine baits
needed; with swabs;
• Cost effective; • Swabs incorporated
into food baits (e.g.
• Logistically simple.
maize cobs).

18. EXPERIMENT WITH A TAME WILD BOAR EASY TO INCORPORATE
ANY SWABS INTO
6 1
7 2
8 3
SUITS FOR COMMERCIAL FEEDERS
9 4
10 5

19. Telemetry project
Strandzha (10)
Tutrakan (10) • Movements and habitat use
of wild boar;
• 20 GPS/GSM Tellus collars
BULGARIA
(1 year – 24 fixes a day);
• Adult females (group
leaders) targeted;
• All adults and piglets ear-
tagged.
http://www.followit.se/wildliferesearch.html

20. Trapped … A male’s home range - 23.09 – 10.10.2012
STRANDZHA
~ 4 km
… and collared
>500 positions by now

21. Progress and challenges
with telemetry project
• 90 animals trapped, but most juveniles + trap
failures, poor GSM coverage, heat, lack of Zoletil …
• 4 collars put into operation (two consistently give
signal: a male in Strandzha and female in Tutrakan);
• Field labor input underestimated – need more time
and personnel;
• Local collaborators were found and involved;
• Potential cooperation with ASFORCE (+ 20
transmitters) is considered

22. Historical range of Sus scrofa FMD in
wild boar:
1. Caucasus 1902
1908
1911
2 1917
5 1919
1925
2. Kazakh- 1927
1 stan 1931
1941
3 2011 ?
4 3. Kyrgyz- 1953
stan
4. Israel 1987-
1999
2007
2011 ?
5. Europe
1920s?
2011
Marek & Hutÿra, 1931; Sludskiy, 1956; Danilkin, 2002

23. 1*1 km
+ = resolution
density data
product
504 spatial objects
48 countries
(NUTs 1)
Population and/or
harvest data
(2005-2010)
3,600,000 –
post harvest
2-2,500,000 -
harvested
Khomenko, Robinson, Gilbert (in prep.)

24. THANKS TO ALL