Survey of Serum Amyloid A and Bacterial and Viral Frequency Using qPCR Levels in Recently Captured Feral Donkeys from Death Valley National Park (California)
Sara Jerele,
Eric Davis,
Samantha Mapes,
Nicola Pusterla,
Francisco Javier Navas González,
Carlos Iglesias Pastrana,
Essam Mahmoud Abdelfattah,
Amy McLean
Affiliations
Sara Jerele
International Animal Welfare Training Institute, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of California Davis, Davis, CA 95617, USA
Eric Davis
International Animal Welfare Training Institute, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of California Davis, Davis, CA 95617, USA
Samantha Mapes
Equine Viral Disease Laboratory, Department of Pathology, Microbiology, and Immunology, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of California Davis, Davis, CA 95617, USA
Nicola Pusterla
Equine Viral Disease Laboratory, Department of Pathology, Microbiology, and Immunology, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of California Davis, Davis, CA 95617, USA
Francisco Javier Navas González
Department of Genetics, Faculty of Veterinary Sciences, University of Córdoba, 14071 Córdoba, Spain
Carlos Iglesias Pastrana
Department of Genetics, Faculty of Veterinary Sciences, University of Córdoba, 14071 Córdoba, Spain
Essam Mahmoud Abdelfattah
Department of Animal Hygiene, and Veterinary Management, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Benha University, Qalubiya Governorate 13511, Egypt
Amy McLean
The Worldwide Donkey Breeds Project, Faculty of Veterinary Sciences, University of Córdoba, 14071 Córdoba, Spain
Feral donkey removal from state land has raised concerns in terms of disease transmission between equine species. Disease outbreaks may occur as a result of the relocation of animals to new environments. Virus and bacteria DNA load and serum amyloid A derived from the pathogenic processes that they involve were measured in recently captured donkeys. Blood and nasal swabs were collected from 85 donkeys (Death Valley National Park, Shoshone, California); 24 were retested after 30/60 days in the Scenic (Arizona) long-term holding facility co-mingled with feral donkeys from Arizona and Utah. Quantitative Real-Time PCR (qPCR) was performed to detect viral and bacterial genomic material (equine influenza A [EIV], equine rhinitis A and B viruses, AHV-2, AHV-3, AHV-5 and EHV-1, EHV-4, Streptococcus equi subspecies equi and zooepidemicus,). Significant relations between behavior, body condition score, nasal discharge, and coughing were found in donkeys for which AHV-2 and Streptococcus zooepidemicus DNA was detected. Higher SAA concentrations were found in foals. AHV-2 and Streptococcus zooepidemicus DNA concentrations significantly differed between sampling moments (p Streptococcus zooepidemicus were involved.
