Recent reports of natural paratuberculosis (or Johne's disease) in rabbits, foxes, and stoats has focused debate on the presence and importance of wildlife reservoirs in the epidemiology of this disease. This paper describes an extensive study investigating 18 nonruminant wildlife species for evidence of paratuberculosis. Using both culture and histopathological analysis, fox, stoat, weasel, crow, rook, jackdaw, rat, wood mouse, hare, and badger were found to harbor Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis , the causative organism of paratuberculosis, suggesting that the epidemiology of this disease is more complex than previously realized.

The management of many pathogens, which are of concern to humans and their livestock, is complicated by the pathogens' ability to cross-infect multiple host species, including wildlife. This has major implications for the management of such diseases, since the dynamics of infection are dependent on the rates of both intra- and inter-specific transmission. However, the difficulty of studying transmission networks in free-living populations means that the relative opportunities for intra- versus inter-specific disease transmission have not previously been demonstrated empirically within any wildlife-livestock disease system. Using recently-developed proximity data loggers, we quantify both intra-and inter-specific contacts in a wildlife-livestock disease system, using bovine tuberculosis (bTB) in badgers and cattle in the UK as our example. We assess the connectedness of individuals within the networks in order to identify whether there are certain ‘high-risk’ individuals or groups of individuals for disease transmission within and between species. Our results show that contact patterns in both badger and cattle populations vary widely, both between individuals and over time. We recorded only infrequent interactions between badger social groups, although all badgers fitted with data loggers were involved in these inter-group contacts. Contacts between badgers and cattle occurred more frequently than contacts between different badger groups. Moreover, these inter-specific contacts involved those individual cows, which were highly connected within the cattle herd. This work represents the first continuous time record of wildlife-host contacts for any free-living wildlife-livestock disease system. The results highlight the existence of specific individuals with relatively high contact rates in both livestock and wildlife populations, which have the potential to act as hubs in the spread of disease through complex contact networks. Targeting testing or preventive measures at high-contact groups and individuals within livestock populations would enhance the effectiveness and efficiency of disease management strategies.

Fasciola hepatica (liver fluke) is a physically and economically devastating parasitic trematode whose rise in recent years has been attributed to climate change. Climate has an impact on the free-living stages of the parasite and its intermediate host Lymnaea truncatula, with the interactions between rainfall and temperature having the greatest influence on transmission efficacy. There have been a number of short term climate driven forecasts developed to predict the following season's infection risk, with the Ollerenshaw index being the most widely used. Through the synthesis of a modified Ollerenshaw index with the UKCP09 fine scale climate projection data we have developed long term seasonal risk forecasts up to 2070 at a 25 km square resolution. Additionally UKCIP gridded datasets at 5 km square resolution from 1970-2006 were used to highlight the climate-driven increase to date. The maps show unprecedented levels of future fasciolosis risk in parts of the UK, with risk of serious epidemics in Wales by 2050. The seasonal risk maps demonstrate the possible change in the timing of disease outbreaks due to increased risk from overwintering larvae. Despite an overall long term increase in all regions of the UK, spatio-temporal variation in risk levels is expected. Infection risk will reduce in some areas and fluctuate greatly in others with a predicted decrease in summer infection for parts of the UK due to restricted water availability. This forecast is the first approximation of the potential impacts of climate change on fasciolosis risk in the UK. It can be used as a basis for indicating where active disease surveillance should be targeted and where the development of improved mitigation or adaptation measures is likely to bring the greatest benefits.

SUMMARY: The bacteriumFrancisella tularensiscauses the vector-borne zoonotic disease tularemia, and may infect a wide range of hosts including invertebrates, mammals and birds. Transmission to humans occurs through contact with infected animals or contaminated environments, or through arthropod vectors. Tularemia has a broad geographical distribution, and there is evidence which suggests local emergence or re-emergence of this disease in Europe. This review was developed to provide an update on the geographical distribution ofF. tularensisin humans, wildlife, domestic animals and vector species, to identify potential public health hazards, and to characterize the epidemiology of tularemia in Europe. Information was collated on cases in humans, domestic animals and wildlife, and on reports of detection of the bacterium in arthropod vectors, from 38 European countries for the period 1992–2012. Multiple international databases on human and animal health were consulted, as well as published reports in the literature. Tularemia is a disease of complex epidemiology that is challenging to understand and therefore to control. Many aspects of this disease remain poorly understood. Better understanding is needed of the epidemiological role of animal hosts, potential vectors, mechanisms of maintenance in the different ecosystems, and routes of transmission of the disease.

Host-parasite interactions are often seen as an arms race, with parasites attempting to overcome host resistance to infection. Herbivory is a common route of transmission of parasites that represents the most pervasive challenge to mammalian growth and reproduction. The present paper reviews the foraging skills of mammalian herbivores in relation to their ability to exploit plant properties to combat parasites. The starting point is that foraging behaviour may ameliorate the impact of parasitism in three ways; hosts could: (1) avoid foraging in areas contaminated with parasites; (2) select diets which increase their resistance to parasites; (3) select for foods containing anti-parasitic properties (self-medication). Details are given of the pre-requisite skills needed by herbivores if they are to combat parasitism via behaviour, i.e. herbivores are able to: (a) determine their parasitic state and alter their behaviour in relation to that state (behaviours 1, 2 and 3); (b) determine the environmental distribution of parasites (behaviour 1); (c) distinguish plant species or plant parts that increase their resistance to parasites (behaviour 2) or have anti-parasitic properties (behaviour 3). Mammalian herbivores cannot detect the presence of the parasites themselves and must rely on cues such as faeces. Despite the use of these cues contacting parasites may be inevitable and so mechanisms to combat parasitism are necessary. Mammalian herbivores have the foraging skills needed to exploit the heterogeneous distributions of nutrients and parasites in complex foraging environments in order to avoid, and increase their resistance to, parasites. Current evidence for the use of plant secondary metabolites (PSM) by herbivores for self-medication purposes remains equivocal. PSM have both positive (anti-parasitic) and negative (toxic) effects on herbivores. Here details are given of an experimental approach using tri-trophic (plant-herbivore-parasite) interactions that could be used to demonstrate self-medication in animals. There is strong evidence suggesting that herbivore hosts have developed the foraging skills needed to take advantage of plant properties to combat parasites and thus use behaviour as a weapon in the host-parasite arms race.