![]() In many places, CDV surveillance is hampered by a lack of local laboratories set up to run the appropriate tests. Routine collection and archiving of samples like these are important for investigating disease. These were opportunistic samples, with most of the captures occurring as part of routine wildlife management. The team examined blood samples collected from tigers and leopards between 20 by veterinarians working for Nepal's Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation and the National Trust for Nature Conservation (NTNC). If tigers aren't eating dogs, it raises the question, how did these animals get infected? The situation may not be straightforward." Other species that could be acting as reservoirs include wild carnivores such as jackals and civets. And we can't forget three tigers also tested positive. When we found a greater exposure in leopards it seemed like a good fit, but we need more evidence to be sure. Jessica Bodgener, a veterinarian with Wildlife Vets International, who co-authored the paper, "and that leopards frequently eat dogs, while tigers do not. "We already know CDV is circulating in the Nepali dog population" said Dr. "Their national population has almost tripled in size over the past 12 years - however, globally the species remains endangered." As the larger and stronger of the two species, tigers have been displacing leopards from national parks and forcing them into areas with more people, where they often prey on street dogs.īased on the findings of this paper, these dogs may be the source of infection. Unlike leopards, "tigers are enjoying a resurgence in Nepal," Gilbert said. Could CDV push them even further into decline? Leopards also face increasing competition for space due to the expansion of the country's tiger population. Relatively little is known about the status of Nepal's leopards, but scientists believe the population is in decline due to a combination of poaching, habitat loss and human-wildlife conflict. The survey found 11% of tigers (three out of 28) and 30% of the leopards (six out of 20) had antibodies to CDV, indicating prior infection with the virus. 28 in the journal Pathogens, is the first definitive proof of infection in Nepal's big cats. "This study is a first step to understanding the potential impact for Nepalese tiger and leopard populations."Īlthough researchers have suspected distemper was infecting these species, the study, published Jan. "Canine distemper virus has been repeatedly identified as a threat to wild carnivores and their conservation," said Martin Gilbert, Cornell Wildlife Health Center wild carnivore health specialist and associate professor of practice in the Department of Population Medicine and Diagnostic Sciences.
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