Fig. 3

Outbreak of infectious keratoconjunctivitis (IKC) in the Southern French Alps. Brown surfaces illustrate the distribution of wild Caprinae (light brown: chamois; dark brown: ibex) in the Queyras National Park (QNP, dark blue solid line), Mercantour National Park (MNP, royal blue solid line) and adjacent areas in France. The yellow solid line corresponds to the south-eastern border of the Ecrins National Park. a and b Spatio-temporal progression of the IKC outbreak in 2003–2009 (colored dots, names and arrows). Dots and names indicate the location of important places. Arrows depict the spatial progression of the epidemic front. Each color corresponds to a defined time period. The outbreak started in 2003 in Italy (green star) and spread to the south. In 2005 the entire QNP was affected. In 2006 only a few cases were recorded. In 2008–2009 the entire MNP was affected. c White diamonds represent the observed chamois and ibex affected by IKC although not sampled, whereas black diamonds are animals tested for Mycoplasma conjunctivae by PCR. d Geographical origin of the sequenced positive samples. The two isolated strains are represented by different symbols: Diamonds = MER_04-09; Reversed triangles = MER_07-09. The colored borders around these symbols correspond to different time periods based on the same color code as for the arrows and localities in a and b. The Italian strain (n°84 [70], white diamond with green border) is identical to one of the two French strains (black diamonds and reverse triangles)