Publication Date:
2023-12-13
Description:
Blood samples of live-caught polar bears (Ursus maritimus) from Svalbard collected 1991-2000 (Period 1) and 2006-2008 (Period 2) and from the pack ice of the Barents Sea collected in Period 1, were assayed for antibodies against Trichinella spp. by ELISA. Of 54 cubs-of-the-year included in the Period 1 sample, 53 were seronegative, indicating that exposure to Trichinella infected meat is uncommon during the first months of life for polar bears in the Svalbard region. Of 30 mother-offspring pairs, 18 mothers were seropositive with seronegative offspring (n = 27), suggesting (1) that maternal antibodies had dropped to levels below detection limit by the time of capture in April (offspring approximately 4 months old), and (2) supporting experimental studies in other animal models showing that vertical transmission of Trichinella spp. is uncommon. Bear 1 year and older had higher prevalence in Svalbard (78%) than in the Barents Sea (51%). There was no temporal change in prevalence for bears from Svalbard during the time between the two periods. The prevalence increased with age in both sexes. A positive correlation was found between anti-Toxoplasma gondii and anti-Trichinella spp. antibodies.
Keywords:
Age, relative, number of years; Area/locality; Barents Sea; BarentsSea_bear; Biological sample; BIOS; Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA); Event label; International Polar Year (2007-2008); IPY; Sample amount; Sampling date; Svalbard; Svalbard_bear; Ursus maritimus, seroprevalence of antibodies
Type:
Dataset
Format:
text/tab-separated-values, 115 data points
Permalink
