title: The two sides of border disease in Pyrenean chamois (Rupicapra pyrenaica): silent persistence and population collapse.
abstract: In 2001, border disease virus (BDV) was identified as the cause of a previously unreported disease in Pyrenean chamois (Rupicapra pyrenaica) in Spain. Since then, the disease has caused a dramatic decrease, and in some cases collapse, of chamois populations and has expanded to nearly the entire distribution area in the Pyrenees. Chamois BDV was characterized as BDV-4 genotype and experimental studies confirmed that it was the primary agent of the disease. The infection has become endemic in the Central and Eastern Pyrenees. However, while most Pyrenean chamois populations have been severely affected by the disease, others have not, despite the circulation of BDV in apparently healthy individuals, suggesting the existence of different viral strategies for persisting in the host population. Changes in the interplay of pathogen, host and environmental factors may lead to the formation of different disease patterns. A key factor influencing disease emergence may be pathogen invasiveness through viral mutation. Host factors, such as behavior, immunity at the population level and genetic variability, may also have driven different epidemiological scenarios. Climatic and other ecological factors may have favored secondary infections, such as pneumonia, that under particular circumstances have been major contributing factors in the high mortality observed in some areas.
authors.affiliation: Servei d'Ecopatologia de Fauna Salvatge,Departament de Medicina i Cirurgia Animals,Facultat de Veterinària,Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona,08193-Bellaterra,Spain.
authors.forename: Ignasi
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Marco
authors.affiliation: Servei d'Ecopatologia de Fauna Salvatge,Departament de Medicina i Cirurgia Animals,Facultat de Veterinària,Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona,08193-Bellaterra,Spain.
authors.forename: Oscar
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Cabezón
authors.affiliation: Servei d'Ecopatologia de Fauna Salvatge,Departament de Medicina i Cirurgia Animals,Facultat de Veterinària,Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona,08193-Bellaterra,Spain.
authors.forename: Roser
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Velarde
authors.affiliation: École Nationale Vétérinaire de Toulouse,31300-Toulouse,France.
authors.forename: Laura
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Fernández-Sirera
authors.affiliation: Servei d'Ecopatologia de Fauna Salvatge,Departament de Medicina i Cirurgia Animals,Facultat de Veterinària,Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona,08193-Bellaterra,Spain.
authors.forename: Andreu
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Colom-Cadena
authors.affiliation: Servei d'Ecopatologia de Fauna Salvatge,Departament de Medicina i Cirurgia Animals,Facultat de Veterinària,Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona,08193-Bellaterra,Spain.
authors.forename: Emmanuel
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Serrano
authors.affiliation: IRTA-Centre de Recerca en Sanitat Animal (CRESA),Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona,08193-Bellaterra,Spain.
authors.forename: Rosa
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Rosell
authors.affiliation: Servei d'Ecopatologia de Fauna Salvatge,Departament de Medicina i Cirurgia Animals,Facultat de Veterinària,Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona,08193-Bellaterra,Spain.
authors.forename: Encarna
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Casas-Díaz
authors.affiliation: Servei d'Ecopatologia de Fauna Salvatge,Departament de Medicina i Cirurgia Animals,Facultat de Veterinària,Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona,08193-Bellaterra,Spain.
authors.forename: Santiago
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Lavín
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001882:Border Disease / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000635:transmission; D018083:Border disease virus / Q000472:pathogenicity*; D005838:Genotype; D054884:Host-Pathogen Interactions; D048608:Rupicapra / Q000821:virology*; D013030:Spain / Q000453:epidemiology
keywords: Pyrenean chamois; Rupicapra pyrenaica; border disease virus; disease emergence; pestivirus