Northern Canada is warming at 3 times the global rate. Thus, changing diversity and distribution of vectors and pathogens is an increasing health concern. California serogroup (CSG) viruses are mosquitoborne arboviruses; wildlife reservoirs in northern ecosystems have not been identified. We detected CSG virus antibodies in 63% (95% CI 58%-67%) of caribou (n = 517), 4% (95% CI 2%-7%) of Arctic foxes (n = 297), 12% (95% CI 6%-21%) of red foxes (n = 77), and 28% (95% CI 24%-33%) of polar bears (n = 377). Sex, age, and summer temperatures were positively associated with polar bear exposure; location, year, and ecotype were associated with caribou exposure. Exposure was highest in boreal caribou and increased from baseline in polar bears after warmer summers. CSG virus exposure of wildlife is linked to climate change in northern Canada and sustained surveillance could be used to measure human health risks.
Related Resources
Webinar - Collaborative Research and Monitoring of Migratory Eastern Cape Churchill Caribou: Linking Wapusk National Park and an Indigenous Conservation Protected Area
Resource Date:
2018
Undermining Subsistence: Barren-Ground Caribou in a “Tragedy of Open Access”
Resource Date:
February
2018
Cross-Scale Controls on Carbon Emissions from Boreal Forest Megafires
Resource Date:
September
2018
Hydrological Functions of a Peatland in a Boreal Plains Ecosystem
Resource Date:
November
2018
Was this helpful?
|