Increased Prevalence of Brucella suis and Pseudorabies Virus Antibodies in Adults of an Isolated Feral Swine Population in Coastal South Carolina

1 July 2002

journal article
Published by Wildlife Disease Association in Journal of Wildlife Diseases

Vol. 38 (3) , 653-656
https://doi.org/10.7589/0090-3558-38.3.653

Abstract

Two hundred twenty seven adult (.8 mo) feral swine (Sus scrofa) trapped from April through July 1999 at three locations on a coastal South Carolina (USA) peninsula with restricted ingress and egress were tested for Brucella suis and pseudorabies virus (PRV) an- tibodies. Approximately 44% of the animals tested positive for B. suis antibodies and 61% tested positive for antibodies to PRV. Previous surveys (1976 and 1992) of feral swine at the same location with similar methods indicated lower seroprevalences (28% and 18% for B. suis and 0% and 19% for PRV). We also found 39% of feral swine seropositive (n 5179) for Trichinella spiralis and 49% seropositive (n5181) for Toxoplasma gondii. Results of re- peated sampling demonstrated that seropreva- lence to pathogens can increase with time in an isolated, unhunted population of feral swine suggesting an increased risk to local domestic livestock and potentially to human health.

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