背景:气候变化的影响,在过去的几十年中,Fennoscandia的半驯化驯鹿(Rangifertarandustarandus)的补充饲料增加的主要原因是牧场流失到其他土地利用以及大型食肉动物的存在。喂养可能会使驯鹿承受压力,并增加动物与动物的接触,导致传染病传播的风险增加,如感染性角膜结膜炎(IKC)。因为它可以快速发展并且非常痛苦,IKC被描述为重要的动物福利问题和潜在的经济损失来源。这项研究的目的是通过在线问卷调查来调查IKC的当前存在以及IKC和补充喂养之间的潜在关联,2021年分布在挪威和瑞典的驯鹿牧民中。
结果:76名驯鹿牧民(33名来自挪威,43名来自瑞典)回答了问卷,分别占挪威和瑞典注册驯鹿牧群的6%和4%,分别。感染性角膜结膜炎很常见,在过去的10年中,76名牧民中有54名(71%)出现了临床症状。这些症状主要表现为流泪增加,导致“湿脸颊”,也有角膜炎和结膜炎。秋季和冬季是观察到IKC最多的季节。牧民报告了几项措施,例如屠宰和隔离受影响的驯鹿,阻止疾病的传播。2019/2020年的放牧年与牧群中IKC爆发的报道有关,也是大多数牧民(80%)进行补充喂养的放牧年。发现IKC与在围栏中进行的喂养之间存在显着关联(比值比=15.20),虽然以自由放养地区为食没有显著,负,与IKC暴发出现的关系(比值比=0.29)。最后,数据中有一个趋势表明IKC尤其影响小牛.
结论:感染性角膜结膜炎是一种常见疾病,主要在冬季和秋季观察。它通常具有轻度至中度严重的临床体征。我们的结果表明,IKC与压力和喂养情况有关,小牛可能比成年人更容易受到影响。然而,这需要进一步的研究来证实,优选在个体动物水平。
BACKGROUND: The effects of climate change, loss of pastureland to other land usage and presence of large carnivores are the main reasons for the increase in supplementary feeding of semi-domesticated reindeer (Rangifer tarandus tarandus) in Fennoscandia over the last decades. Feeding might expose reindeer to stress and increased animal-to-animal contact, leading to an increased risk of infectious disease transmission, such as infectious keratoconjunctivitis (IKC). As it can develop rapidly and be very painful, IKC is described as an important animal welfare concern and a potential source of economic loss. The aim of this study was to investigate the current presence of IKC and potential associations between IKC and supplementary feeding through an online questionnaire survey, distributed among reindeer herders in Norway and Sweden in 2021.
RESULTS: Seventy-six reindeer herders (33 from Norway and 43 from Sweden) responded to the questionnaire, representing 6% and 4% of the registered reindeer herding groups in Norway and Sweden, respectively. Infectious keratoconjunctivitis was common, with 54 (71%) of the 76 herders that responded having observed clinical signs during the past 10 years. These signs were mainly observed as increased lacrimation, causing \"wet cheeks\", but also as keratitis and conjunctivitis. Autumn and winter were the seasons in which IKC was observed most. The herders reported several measures, such as slaughter and isolation of affected reindeer, to counteract the spread of disease. The herding year 2019/2020 was associated with reports of outbreaks of IKC in herds as well as being the herding year where most herders (80%) had performed supplementary feeding. A significant association was found between IKC and feeding performed in an enclosure (odds ratio = 15.20), while feeding on free-range areas had a non-significant, negative, relationship with the appearance of IKC outbreaks (odds ratio = 0.29). Finally, there was a trend in the data suggesting that IKC affected calves especially.
CONCLUSIONS: Infectious keratoconjunctivitis is a common disease, mainly observed in winter and autumn. It usually has mild to moderately severe clinical signs. Our results imply that IKC is associated with stress and feeding situations and that calves might be more susceptible than adults, however, this needs to be confirmed with further studies, preferably at an individual animal level.