Dipartimento di Sanità Pubblica e Zootecnia, Università degli Studi di Bari, 70010 Valenzano, Bari, Italy.
Exp Appl Acarol. 2011 Nov;55(3):293-300. doi: 10.1007/s10493-011-9470-4. Epub 2011 Jul 5.
The present study aimed to identify ticks collected from road-killed wildlife species retrieved in several localities of southern Italy and to assess the presence of Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato, Anaplasma phagocytophilum and Rickettsia spp. DNA in ticks. Collections were carried out from January 2000 to December 2009 on wild animals found dead within the territories of 11 municipalities from three regions (i.e., Apulia, Basilicata, and Calabria). In total, 189 carcasses of wild animals belonging to 10 species were checked for tick infestation, and 40 animals belonging to seven species were found parasitized. One hundred and twenty-five ixodid ticks (11 larvae, 14 nymphs, 77 males, and 23 females) were collected and identified as belonging to nine species, namely Dermacentor marginatus, Haemaphysalis erinacei, Hyalomma marginatum, Ixodes acuminatus, Ixodes canisuga, Ixodes hexagonus, Ixodes ricinus, Rhipicephalus bursa, and Rhipicephalus turanicus. None of the 36 tick specimens tested by PCR was positive for tick-borne pathogens. The results add new information on the tick fauna associated with wild animals in Italy, reporting new tick-host associations. Further field studies are still needed to ascertain the suitability of certain wildlife species as hosts for some tick species, particularly for those implicated in the transmission of pathogens to domestic animals and humans. Finally, from a conservation perspective, it would be interesting to assess whether these wild animals (e.g., Lepus corsicanus) are exposed to tick-borne pathogens, investigating the possible implications for their health and behavior.
本研究旨在鉴定从意大利南部几个地区采集的死于道路的野生动物身上采集的蜱，并评估蜱中是否存在博氏疏螺旋体、嗜吞噬细胞无形体和 Rickettssia 属 DNA。采集工作于 2000 年 1 月至 2009 年 12 月在三个地区（即普利亚、巴西利卡塔和卡拉布里亚）的 11 个市的领土内发现的死亡野生动物身上进行。总共检查了 10 种野生动物的 189 具尸体，发现有蜱虫感染，其中 7 种 40 只动物被发现寄生。共采集并鉴定了 125 只硬蜱（11 只幼虫、14 只若虫、77 只雄性和 23 只雌性），属于 9 个种，即边缘革蜱、欧洲硬蜱、边缘革蜱、锐缘革蜱、犬栉首蜱、森林革蜱、扇头蜱、肩突硬蜱和图兰扇头蜱。通过 PCR 检测的 36 个蜱标本均未对蜱传病原体呈阳性。这些结果为意大利野生动物相关的蜱类动物群提供了新的信息，并报告了新的蜱-宿主关系。还需要进一步的实地研究来确定某些野生动物物种作为某些蜱种宿主的适宜性，特别是那些与向家畜和人类传播病原体有关的蜱种。最后，从保护的角度来看，了解这些野生动物（如科西嘉兔）是否接触过蜱传病原体，研究其对健康和行为的潜在影响将是很有趣的。
