Fagre Anna C, Patyk Kelly A, Nol Pauline, Atwood Todd, Hueffer Karsten, Duncan Colleen
Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory, College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Colorado State University, 300 West Drake Road, Fort Collins, CO, 80524, USA.
Center for Epidemiology and Animal Health, Science Technology and Analysis Services (STAS), Veterinary Services (VS), Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), 2150 Centre Ave., Fort Collins, CO, 80526, USA.
Ecohealth. 2015 Sep;12(3):528-39. doi: 10.1007/s10393-015-1023-6. Epub 2015 Mar 20.
Disease was a listing criterion for the polar bear (Ursus maritimus) as threatened under the Endangered Species Act in 2008; it is therefore important to evaluate the current state of knowledge and identify any information gaps pertaining to diseases in polar bears. We conducted a systematic literature review focused on infectious agents and associated health impacts identified in polar bears. Overall, the majority of reports in free-ranging bears concerned serosurveys or fecal examinations with little to no information on associated health effects. In contrast, most reports documenting illness or pathology referenced captive animals and diseases caused by etiologic agents not representative of exposure opportunities in wild bears. As such, most of the available infectious disease literature has limited utility as a basis for development of future health assessment and management plans. Given that ecological change is a considerable risk facing polar bear populations, future work should focus on cumulative effects of multiple stressors that could impact polar bear population dynamics.
疾病是2008年北极熊（Ursus maritimus）被列为《濒危物种法》下受威胁物种的一个列入标准；因此，评估当前的知识状况并确定与北极熊疾病相关的任何信息空白非常重要。我们对北极熊中发现的感染因子及相关健康影响进行了系统的文献综述。总体而言，大多数关于野生北极熊的报告涉及血清学调查或粪便检查，几乎没有关于相关健康影响的信息。相比之下，大多数记录疾病或病理学的报告涉及圈养动物以及由病因病原体引起的疾病，这些病原体并不代表野生北极熊的接触机会。因此，大多数现有的传染病文献作为未来健康评估和管理计划制定的基础，实用性有限。鉴于生态变化是北极熊种群面临的一个重大风险，未来的工作应关注可能影响北极熊种群动态的多种压力源的累积影响。
