An evaluation of two independent populations for Formosan ferret-badgers sampling in Taiwan

Since the first outbreak of Formosan Ferret-badger (Melogale moschata subaurantiaca) rabies (FFB rabies) in the main island of Taiwan in July 2013, by the end of 2023, there had been 10 FFB rabies-endemic counties or cities in Taiwan. The Animal Health Agencies of various counties and cities in the whole country have sustainably implemented surveillance of rabies epidemics in FFBs and other carnivorous animals. This study aimed to investigate any possible difference between the distribution of wild FFBs sampled by the Animal Health Agencies in the 10 FFB rabies-endemic counties or cities and the sample distribution of roadkill FFBs recorded by the Taiwan Roadkill Observation Network (TaiRON) in the same counties and cities. The samples from the governmental Animal Health Agencies and from the nonprofit TaiRON were independent due to the lack of no administrative connection between them. Therefore, in this study, Mann Whitney U test was adopted to determine the difference between the stated two independent sampled populations. The result of the Mann-Whitney U test showed that there was no significant difference (p=0.20) between the distributions of FFBs sampled by Animal Health Agencies and TaiRON at different elevations at α=0.05. In conclusion, statistically, the sample distribution of FFBs collected by Animal Health Agencies for surveillance of FFB rabies and that by the TaiRON network had the same representativeness.