Abstract

Between October 2007 and March 2008, 153 wild boars shot in the Canton of Geneva in Switzerland were sampled. 51% of the animals were males and 49% were females. The weight of most (81%) animals varied between 20 and 60 kg. Prevalence of enteropathogenic Yersinia was studied from tonsils and faeces using cultural and molecular based methods and from tonsil fluid using an ELISA system. Prevalence of anti-Yersinia antibodies in tonsil fluid was 65%. Detection rate of enteropathogenic Yersinia in tonsils of 153 wild boars by real-time PCR was 44%. ail-positive Y. enterocolitica and inv-positive Y. pseudotuberculosis were detected by PCR in 35 and 20% of the animals, respectively. Both species were detected in 10% of the animals. Isolation rate of enteropathogenic Yersinia was low; ail-positive Y. enterocolitica and inv-positive Y. pseudotuberculosis were found in 9 and 3% of the animals, respectively. Prevalence was shown to be clearly higher in tonsils compared to faeces. Furthermore, females were more commonly positive than males. This study shows that the prevalence of enteropathogenic Yersinia is high and both enteropathogenic Y. enterocolitica and Y. pseudotuberculosis are common findings in tonsils of wild boars in Switzerland. Although the prevalence of ail-positive Y. enterocolitica was shown to be clearly lower in wild boars compared to fattening pigs.