Frauke Ecke, Hussein Khalil, Magnus Evander, Magnus Magnusson, Bo Niklasson, Navinder J Singh, Birger Hörnfeldt
Pathogens might affect behavior of infected reservoir hosts and hence their trappability, which could bias population estimates of pathogen prevalence. In this study, we used snap-trapping data on Puumala orthohantavirus (PUUV)-infected ( n = 1619) and noninfected ( n = 6940) bank voles ( Myodes glareolus ) from five vole cycles, normally representing increase, peak, and decline phase, to evaluate if infection status affected trapping success. If PUUV infection, as previously suggested, increases activity and/or mobility, we would expect a higher proportion of infected than noninfected specimens in the first trapping night...
May 2022: Vector Borne and Zoonotic Diseases