Serologic survey for selected disease agents in brown bears (Ursus arctos) from Karacabey sanctuary (Bursa, Turkey).

Abstract

Sixty brown bears (Ursus arctos) (51 adults, 9 subadults / 21 female, 39 male) were chemically immobilized with ketamine hydrochloride and xylazine hydrochloride and sampled at Karacabey Ovakorusu Bear Sanctuary-Bursa, Turkey. All bears were clinically healthy at the time of sampling. Serum samples were tested for the presence of antibodies to Canine distemper virus (CDV), Canine parvovirus type 2 (CPV-2), Canine adenovirus type 1 (CAV-1), Leptospira interrogans serovars, Brucella spp., Borrelia burgdorferi, Ehrlichia canis, Anaplasma phagocytophilum, Leishmania infantum, Toxoplasma gondii, and Dirofilaria immitis. Serologic evidence of exposure was found to the following agents: Leptospira spp. (n=39) 65%, T. gondii (n=12) 20%, and CDV (n=25) 41.6% (with low titers: 1/2 - 1/11), whereas no antibodies were detected against CAV-1, CPV-2, Brucella spp., B. burgdorferi, Ehrlichia canis, Anaplasma phagocytophilum, Leishmania infantum, and Dirofilaria immitis. In conclusion the data obtained in this study, provide results on the seroprevalence of selected infectious diseases, and emphasize the need for research and protection against infectious diseases of brown bears in Turkey.