Lawsonia intracellularis infection in wild boars in northwest Spain

Lawsonia intracellularis infection in wild boars pose a risk to swine production as well as to other animals since this bacteria has the ability to cross species barriers, infecting different animal species and even causing disease in some of them. The aim of this research was to determine the prevalence of faecal shedders in wild boars from game reserves in the provinces of Zamora and Valladolid, Spain, in order to explore their potential as infection source or even reservoirs of L. intracellularis. Colon content samples were collected from hunted wild boars and processed for the extraction of DNA and detection and quantification of L. intracellularis using qPCR. Up to 40% of the animals were found to be faecal shedders, with higher prevalence among females (55%) in comparison with males (10%). According to this results, wild boars culled in northwestern Spain are a relevant source of L. intracellularis infection for other suids as well as for other animal species.