Department of Preventive Veterinary Medicine and Animal Health, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of São Paulo, Av. Prof. Orlando Marques de Paiva 87, Cidade Universitária, 05508-270 São Paulo, SP, Brazil.
J Med Entomol. 2013 May;50(3):640-6. doi: 10.1603/me12272.
This study evaluated infection by vector-borne agents in 58 crab-eating fox (Cerdocyon thous L.) that were road-killed in an Atlantic rainforest reserve in the state of Espírito Santo, southeastern Brazil. Spleen, lung, or blood samples collected from the foxes were tested in the laboratory by a battery of polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assays targeting bacteria of the genera Rickettsia, Borrelia, Coxiella, Anaplasma, and Ehrlichia; and protozoa of the genera Babesia, Hepatozoon, and Leishmania. Of the targeted organisms, evidence of infection in the foxes was detected for Ehrlichia and Hepatozoon organisms only. Overall, six (10.3%) foxes were infected by an ehrlichial agent closely related to an ehrlichial agent recently detected in free-ranging Jaguars [(Panthera onca (L.)] in central-western Brazil, and to Ehrlichia ruminantium. For Hepatozoon, 28 (48.3%) foxes were infected by an agent closely related to Hepatozoon sp. Curupira 2 and H. americanum; and one (1.7%) fox was infected by an organism closely related to reptile-associated Hepatozoon agents. Finally, 11 (19.0%) foxes were found infested by Amblyomma cajennense (F.) nymphs, which were all PCR negative for the range of vector-borne agents cited above. Because the haplotypes found in free-ranging foxes are genetically closely related to pathogens of great veterinary importance, namely E. ruminantium and H. americanum, it is highly desirable to know if these novel organisms have any important role as agents of diseases in domestic animals and wildlife in Brazil.
本研究评估了在巴西东南部圣埃斯皮里图州的一个大西洋雨林保护区内因车祸而死亡的 58 只食蟹狐（Cerdocyon thous L.）中，媒介传播病原体的感染情况。从狐狸身上采集的脾脏、肺或血液样本在实验室中通过聚合酶链反应（PCR）检测试剂盒进行了测试，该试剂盒针对细菌属立克次体、螺旋体、柯克斯体、无形体和埃立克体；以及原生动物属巴贝斯虫、肝孢虫和利什曼原虫。在所针对的生物中，仅在狐狸体内检测到埃立希体和肝孢虫属生物的感染证据。总体而言，有 6 只（10.3%）狐狸感染了一种与最近在巴西中西部自由放养的美洲虎（Panthera onca (L.)）中检测到的一种埃立希体密切相关的埃立希体病原体，与埃立希体牛种也有关。对于肝孢虫，有 28 只（48.3%）狐狸感染了一种与 Curupira 2 肝孢虫和 H. americanum 密切相关的病原体；并且有 1 只（1.7%）狐狸感染了一种与爬行动物相关的肝孢虫病原体密切相关的病原体。最后，有 11 只（19.0%）狐狸被 Amblyomma cajennense (F.) 若虫寄生，所有这些若虫在上述范围内的媒介传播病原体的 PCR 检测均为阴性。由于在自由放养的狐狸中发现的单倍型在遗传上与具有重要兽医意义的病原体（即埃立希体牛种和 H. americanum）密切相关，因此非常有必要了解这些新病原体在巴西的家畜和野生动物疾病中是否具有重要作用。
