Abstract

INSUASTY OSORIO, Julián Alejandro; RAMIREZ BENAVIDES, Ginés Fernando  and  MEJIA MORALES, Luis Miguel. EPIDEMIOLOGIC STUDY OF THE WILD RABBIT Sylvilagus brasiliensis, IN "LOS NEVADOS" NATURAL NATIONAL PARK. Bol. Cient. Mus. Hist. Nat. Univ. Caldas [online]. 2008, vol.12, n.1, pp.90-110. ISSN 0123-3068.

This epidemiologic study was carried out with the goal of identifying ethiological agents responsible of current diseases in Sylvilagus brasiliensis wild rabbit populations in "Los Nevados" Natural National Park. With a conservation medicine focus under the concept of "Ecologic Disease Triad" and through a "Factorial Analysis of Multiple Correspondences and the SPAD-WIN software the current relationship between symptoms and wounds observed was determined and analyzed. Ethiological agents were identified through histopathology, microbiology and parasitology tests, taking into account special environmental conditions that help the spread of epidemic break outs in this specie. The wild rabbits of this sample act as intermediate hostesses of Taenias sp. and Echinococcus sp. which cause massive infestations in epidemic dimension. Fester dermatitis was detected, which was caused by ectoparasites and bacteria such as Staphylococcus aureus, as well as pulmonary infections. These phenomena cause density and spatial movement changes in this specie. The nutritional state directly influenced the frequency and form of the illnesses. The type of interaction among the hostess, agent and environment alter the diseases' manifestation that affect these rabbit populations in the studied areas.

Keywords : USylvilagus brasiliensis; epidemiologic study; conservation medicine; multivariate analysis; Taenias; Echinococcus; Staphylococcus; "Los Nevados" Natural National Park.

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