HISTOMONOSIS AND LYMPHOPROLIFERATIVE DISEASE VIRUS IN MALE WILD TURKEYS (MELEAGRIS GALLOPAVO) IN ALABAMA, USA

Wild Turkeys (Meleagris gallopavo) are an important game species in the USA and have experienced population declines in many areas of their range for >10 yr. Among other hypotheses, increased disease prevalence or novel disease emergence could be contributing factors in Wild Turkey population declines. To address some knowledge gaps and further understand the impacts of two important diseases on Wild Turkey populations, we sought to document the prevalence of histomonosis and lymphoproliferative disease virus (LPDV) in Alabama, USA, and to evaluate the spatial epidemiology of LPDV. We collected hunter-harvested Wild Turkey carcasses and paired observational surveys across Alabama during the 2022 and 2023 spring hunting seasons. During necropsies we collected the ceca, which was frozen and stored at -20 °C, and the spleen, which was stored in 70% ethanol at 20 °C or frozen and stored at -20 °C. We screened cecal walls for Histomonas meleagridis DNA and spleens for LPDV proviral DNA by using quantitative PCR and PCR, respectively. We detected H. meleagridis, the disease-causing protozoan for histomonosis, in 0.7% (3/435) of our samples. We detected LPDV proviral DNA in 88.7% (416/469) of our sample of frozen spleens. Our results suggest that evaluation of the impact of histomonosis on Wild Turkey populations is difficult through active surveillance alone. We detected proviral LPDV DNA in Wild Turkeys from nearly every county sampled in Alabama (53/56 counties); however, a generalized linear mixed model did not reveal a statistically significant relationship between LPDV and land cover type. Our findings demonstrate that LPDV is widely distributed with high rates of prevalence in Alabama. Because the effects of these two diseases and others on Wild Turkey population vital rates have not been well established, further work is warranted.