Environmentally transmitted pathogens in wild red (Cervus elaphus) and roe (Capreolus capreolus) deer: the role of land use and bioclimate

野生动物作为宿主或感染媒介，在家畜和人类的一些最重要病原体的流行病学中发挥着重要作用。野生动物宿主的存在可能使疾病管理复杂化，因为传统的控制措施，如疫苗接种，在野生动物物种中具有挑战性。尽管红鹿（Cervus elaphus）和狍子鹿（Capreolus Capreolus）在英国数量丰富且分布广泛，而且人们越来越意识到鹿可能在许多人畜共患病和牲畜病原体的流行病学中发挥作用，但人们对鹿种之间这些作用的差异知之甚少，它们的生态可能存在显著差异，以及土地利用和生物气候条件在多大程度上驱动了野鹿的感染风险。在全球范围内，有两种环境传播的细菌病原体，钩端螺旋体和鸟分枝杆菌亚种。副结核已被证明可感染家畜和野鹿种。这两种病原体在经济上都很重要，在牲畜中造成重大疾病和生产力损失，钩端螺旋体也是人畜共患疾病最常见和最广泛的原因之一。有利于这些病原体在环境中生存的生物气候条件，和/或促进野生动物和牲畜之间接触的土地利用变化，可能在增加感染风险方面发挥重要作用。为了进一步了解野生动物在这些环境传播病原体的维持和传播中的作用，本项目旨在：i)量化野鹿的暴露和携带，ii)探索这些病原体在鹿种之间的流行病学差异，以及iii)确定和量化土地利用和生物气候条件对感染概率的影响。

Wildlife play an important role in the epidemiology of some of the most important pathogens of livestock and humans, either as reservoirs or vectors of infection. The presence of wildlife hosts can complicate disease management as traditional control measures, such as vaccination, are challenging in wildlife species. Despite the abundance and widespread distribution of both red (Cervus elaphus) and roe (Capreolus capreolus) deer in the UK, and increasing awareness that deer may play a role in the epidemiology of numerous zoonotic and livestock pathogens, little is known about how these roles may differ between deer species, whose ecology can differ significantly, and to what extent land use and bioclimatic conditions drive infection risk in wild deer. Globally, two environmentally transmitted bacterial pathogens, Leptospira spp. and Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis (Map), have been shown to infect livestock and wild deer species. Both pathogens are economically important, causing significant disease and productivity losses in livestock and Leptospira spp. are also one of the most common and widespread causes of zoonotic disease. Bioclimatic conditions that favour the survival of these pathogens in the environment, and/or land use changes that facilitate contact between wildlife and livestock are likely to play an important role in driving infection risk. To advance our understanding of the role of wildlife in the maintenance and transmission of these environmentally transmitted pathogens, this project aims to: i) quantify exposure and carriage in wild deer, ii) explore how the epidemiology of these pathogens differs between deer species, and iii) identify and quantify the effects of land use and bioclimatic conditions on infection probability.