Instituto de Investigación en Recursos Cinegéticos, IREC (UCLM, CSIC, JCCM), Ronda de Toledo s/n, 13005 Ciudad Real, Spain; Centro de Conservación de la Biodiversidad, Chiloe-Silvestre, Las Américas 1060, Ancud, Chiloé, Chile.
Vet Microbiol. 2013 Dec 27;167(3-4):448-54. doi: 10.1016/j.vetmic.2013.09.034. Epub 2013 Oct 9.
Very little is known about the diseases affecting the Darwin's fox (Lycalopex fulvipes), which is considered to be one of the most endangered carnivores worldwide. Blood samples of 30 foxes captured on Chiloé Island (Chile) were tested with a battery of PCR assays targeting the following pathogens: Ehrlichia/Anaplasma sp., Rickettsia sp., Bartonella sp., Coxiella burnetti, Borrelia sp., Mycoplasma sp., Babesia sp., Hepatozoon canis, Hepatozoon felis, Leishmania donovani complex, and Filariae. Analysis of the 16S rRNA gene revealed the presence of Mycoplasma spp. in 17 samples (56.7%, 95% Confidence Intervals= 38.2-73.7). Of these, 15 infections were caused by a Mycoplasma belonging to the M. haemofelis/haemocanis (Mhf/Mhc) group, whereas two were caused by a Mycoplasma showing between 89% and 94% identity with different Candidatus Mycoplasma turicensis from felids and rodents hemoplasmas. The analysis of the sequence of the RNA subunit of the RNase P gene of 10 of the foxes positive for Mhf/Mhc showed that eight were infected with M. haemocanis (Mhc), one with a Mycoplasma showing 94% identity with Mhc, and one by M. haemofelis (Mhf). One of the foxes positive for Mhc was infected with a Ricketssia closely related to R. felis. All foxes were negative for the other studied pathogens. Our results are of interest because of the unexpectedly high prevalence of Mycoplasma spp. detected, the variability of species identified, the presence of a potentially new species of hemoplasma, and the first time a hemoplasma considered to be a feline pathogen (Mhf) has been identified in a canid. Though external symptoms were not observed in any of the infected foxes, further clinical and epidemiological studies are necessary to determine the importance of hemoplasma infection in this unique species.
关于达尔文狐（Lycalopex fulvipes）的疾病知之甚少，它被认为是世界上最濒危的食肉动物之一。从奇洛埃岛（智利）捕获的 30 只狐狸的血液样本用一系列针对以下病原体的 PCR 检测进行了测试：埃立克体/无形体、立克次体、巴尔通体、柯克斯体、螺旋体、支原体、巴贝斯虫、犬血巴尔通体、猫血巴尔通体、杜氏利什曼原虫复合物和丝虫。16S rRNA 基因分析显示，17 个样本中存在支原体（56.7%，95%置信区间=38.2-73.7）。其中，15 种感染是由一种属于 M. haemofelis/haemocanis（Mhf/Mhc）组的支原体引起的，而两种感染是由一种支原体引起的，该支原体与不同的猫和啮齿动物血巴尔通体的候选支原体 Mycoplasma turicensis 具有 89%至 94%的同一性。对 10 只 Mhf/Mhc 阳性狐狸的 RNA 亚基 RNA 聚合酶基因序列进行分析显示，8 只感染了 M. haemocanis（Mhc），1 只感染了与 Mhc 高度同源的支原体，1 只感染了 M. haemofelis（Mhf）。一只 Mhc 阳性的狐狸感染了一种与 R. felis 密切相关的立克次体。所有狐狸均未感染其他研究的病原体。我们的结果很有趣，因为检测到的支原体的高流行率、鉴定的物种的多样性、一种潜在的新血原体的存在，以及首次在犬科动物中发现被认为是猫病原体的血原体（Mhf）。虽然在任何受感染的狐狸中都没有观察到外部症状，但仍有必要进行进一步的临床和流行病学研究，以确定血原体感染在这种独特物种中的重要性。
