Publications by authors named "Korneliusz Kurek"

Infections with zoonotic pathogens have received increasing attention in recent years, as reflected in the literature of both veterinary and human medicine. and are recognised as the principal causes of waterborne outbreaks worldwide, but there is still limited data on the role of wild carnivores, such as red foxes and wolves, as reservoir hosts and in disseminating these pathogens in the environment. The aim of the current project was to analyse the prevalence and abundance of and infections in foxes from seven voivodeships and in wolves from the Warmia-Masuria Voivodeship in Poland and to conduct a phylogenetic analysis of the detected parasites.

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  • Dirofilaria repens is a zoonotic parasite affecting canines and other carnivores, with dogs serving as a primary reservoir and source of infection for mosquitoes.
  • A study analyzed 511 samples from seven wild carnivore species in Poland to detect the presence of this parasite, revealing a total prevalence of 3.13% and positive cases in several regions, particularly Masovia, which had the highest prevalence.
  • This research marks the first comprehensive examination of D. repens in wild hosts in Poland, identifying the first case in Eurasian badgers in the country and the second case in Europe.
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  • African swine fever (ASF), caused by the ASFV virus, poses a serious threat to pigs and wild boars, particularly in Eastern and Central Europe, leading to significant economic losses.
  • The study aimed to investigate whether wolves could act as indirect vectors for ASFV by analyzing fecal samples from wolves in ASF-affected areas of Poland, but all samples tested negative for the virus.
  • The findings suggest that while wolves do consume ASFV-positive wild boars, the virus does not survive in their intestines, indicating that wolves might actually help limit ASFV transmission through scavenging behavior.
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Our understanding of animal adaptations to human pressure is limited by the focus on rare taxa, despite that common species are more significant in shaping structure, function and service provision of ecosystems. Thus better understanding of their ecology and behavioural adjustments is central for drafting conservation actions. In this study, we used radio-telemetry on 21 individuals (10 females, 11 males) to provide data on spatial ecology, habitat selection and use of roosts of one of the commonest species, the whiskered bat (Myotis mystacinus), inhabiting the Carpathian Mountains (southern Poland).

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