Serosurvey of small carnivores in the Bolivian Chaco

Five species of Bolivian carnivores, including nine Geoffroy's cats (Oncifefs geoffroyi), ten ocelots (Leopardu.s paurdalis), one jaguarundi (Herpailums yaguarondi), nine pampas foxes (P.seudalopex gymnocercus), and five crab-eating foxes (Cerdocyon thous) were sampled between March 2001 and April 2005 and tested for antibodies to common pathogens of domestic carnivores. Carnivores were trapped in three areas: a village, the region between human settlements and a protected area, and within Kaa-Iva National Park, Bolivia. Antibodies to canine distemper virus were detected in ocelots and pampas foxes. Antibodies to canine paivosirus were detected in pampas foxes and crab-eating foxes. Geoffroy's cats and all of the ocelots tested positive for antibodies to feline calicivirus (FCV), while fewer than half of Geoffroy's cats and no ocelots had antibodies to feline panleukopenia (FPV). These results confirm that these species of Bolivian carnivores are not naive to common pathogens of domestic carnivores, and seropositive animals were found in villages as well as in the national park.