RT Journal Article
T1 Accelerometer-based detection of African swine fever infection in wild boar
A1 Morelle, Kevin
A1 Barasona García-Arévalo, José Ángel
A1 Bosch López, Jaime Alfonso
A1 Heine, Georg
A1 Daim, Andreas
A1 Arnold, Janosch
A1 Bauch, Toralf
A1 Kosowska, Aleksandra
A1 Cadenas Fernández, Estefanía
A1 Martínez Avilés, Marta
A1 Zúñiga, Daniel
A1 Wikelski, Martin
A1 Sánchez-Vizcaíno Rodríguez, José Manuel
A1 Safi, Kamran
AB Infectious wildlife diseases that circulate at the interface with domestic animals pose significant threats worldwide and require early detection and warning. Although animal tracking technologies are used to discern behavioural changes, they are rarely used to monitor wildlife diseases. Common disease-induced behavioural changes include reduced activity and lethargy (‘sickness behaviour’). Here, we investigated whether accelerometer sensors could detect the onset of African swine fever (ASF), a viral infection that induces high mortality in suids for which no vaccine is currently available. Taking advantage of an experiment designed to test an oral ASF vaccine, we equipped 12 wild boars with an accelerometer tag and quantified how ASF affects their activity pattern and behavioural fingerprint, using overall dynamic body acceleration. Wild boars showed a daily reduction in activity of 10–20% from the healthy to the viremia phase. Using change point statistics and comparing healthy individuals living in semi-free and free-ranging conditions, we show how the onset of disease-induced sickness can be detected and how such early detection could work in natural settings. Timely detection of infection in animals is crucial for disease surveillance and control, and accelerometer technology on sentinel animals provides a viable complementary tool to existing disease management approaches.
PB The Royal Society
SN 0962-8452
YR 2023
FD 2023-08-30
LK https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14352/104620
UL https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14352/104620
LA eng
NO Morelle K et al. 2023Accelerometer-based detection of Africanswine fever infection in wild boar. Proc. R. Soc.B 290: 20231396.https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2023.1396
NO Open access funding provided by the Max Planck Society.
NO European Commission
NO Austrian Research Promotion Agency (FFG)
DS Docta Complutense
RD 19 dic 2025