Department of Parasitology and Zoology, Faculty of Veterinary Science, Szent István University, Budapest, Hungary.
Ticks Tick Borne Dis. 2011 Dec;2(4):231-4. doi: 10.1016/j.ttbdis.2011.09.001. Epub 2011 Sep 24.
The European hedgehog (Erinaceus europaeus) is known to host several ectoparasites and also tick-borne pathogens, but there is scant information on its eastern relative, the Northern white-breasted hedgehog (Erinaceus roumanicus). We have studied an urban population of E. roumanicus in a city park of central Budapest, Hungary, for 2 years to investigate their tick and flea species. A total of 5063 ticks and 818 fleas were collected from 247 hedgehogs (including 46 recaptures). Ectoparasite prevalence and intensity differed significantly (p<0.001) between the 2 study years attributable to the enhanced tick removal rate due to anaesthesia used in the second year. The most common tick species was Ixodes ricinus (93.7%) followed by unidentified Ixodes larvae (5%). Only 57 hedgehog ticks (I. hexagonus) were removed from 22 hedgehogs. One I. acuminatus and one Hyalomma marginatum nymph were also collected. Mean intensity of tick infestation was 26.5 (range: 0-155 ticks/host) and mean intensity of flea infestation was 6.6 (range: 0-78 fleas/host). Most fleas (99.4%) collected were hedgehog fleas (Archaeopsylla erinacei), dog fleas (Ctenocephalides canis) were found on 2 hedgehogs. Hyalomma marginatum has previously not been found in Hungary, and I. acuminatus was only reported sporadically before. The large number of ectoparasites and the 2 imported tick species may thus survive in close proximity to humans if hedgehogs are present. This calls attention to the risk of possible tick-borne human infections that urban hedgehogs can pose.
欧洲刺猬（Erinaceus europaeus）已知携带几种外寄生虫和蜱传病原体，但有关其东部亲缘种，即白腹刺猬（Erinaceus roumanicus）的信息甚少。我们在匈牙利布达佩斯市中心的一个城市公园对一个城市种群的白腹刺猬进行了为期 2 年的研究，以调查其蜱和跳蚤物种。从 247 只刺猬（包括 46 只重捕刺猬）中收集了 5063 只蜱和 818 只跳蚤。由于第二年使用了麻醉，蜱的去除率提高，因此第二年的外寄生虫患病率和强度有显著差异（p<0.001）。最常见的蜱种是硬蜱（Ixodes ricinus）（93.7%），其次是未鉴定的硬蜱幼虫（5%）。从 22 只刺猬中仅去除了 57 只刺猬蜱（I. hexagonus）。还收集了 1 只 I. acuminatus 和 1 只 Hyalomma marginatum 若虫。蜱的平均感染强度为 26.5（范围：0-155 只/宿主），跳蚤的平均感染强度为 6.6（范围：0-78 只/宿主）。收集到的大多数跳蚤（99.4%）都是刺猬跳蚤（Archaeopsylla erinacei），在 2 只刺猬上发现了狗跳蚤（Ctenocephalides canis）。Hyalomma marginatum 以前在匈牙利没有发现过，I. acuminatus 以前也只是零星报道过。如果刺猬存在，大量的外寄生虫和 2 种进口蜱种可能会在人类附近生存。这引起了人们对城市刺猬可能带来的可能蜱传人类感染的风险的关注。
