Miťková Katarína, Berthová Lenka, Kalúz Stanislav, Kazimírová Mária, Burdová Lenka, Kocianová Elena
Institute of Zoology, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Dúbravská cesta 9, 845 06, Bratislava, Slovakia.
Parasitol Res. 2015 Jul;114(7):2465-72. doi: 10.1007/s00436-015-4443-x. Epub 2015 Apr 7.
Information on circulation of rickettsiae between small mammals and their ectoparasitic mites is scarce. In this study, we investigated infestation rates of rodents with mites in some areas of SW Slovakia and the role of mites as possible vectors of pathogenic rickettsiae. A total of 615 rodents of five species were caught during 2010-2012. All individuals were examined for ectoparasites which resulted in 2821 mites belonging to three species of Laelapidae and six species of Trombiculidae. The most common Laelapidae species was Laelaps agilis (81.25 %), followed by Haemogamasus nidi, and Eulaelaps stabularis. Hirsutiella zachvatkini (16.52 %) was the dominant species of the family Trombiculidae. DNA extracted from rodent blood and ectoparasitic mites was examined for the presence of rickettsiae by PCR. By pooling mites, 345 pool samples were created, of which 112 (32.46 %) were found to be positive for the rickettsial DNA. From 487 examined rodent blood samples, rickettsial DNA was found in 46 (9.44 %). Sequencing DNA from the positive blood samples and mites revealed the identity of Rickettsia helvetica and Rickettsia monacensis. The results of the study suggest that ectoparasitic mites may be reservoirs as well as vectors of some pathogenic rickettsiae.
关于立克次氏体在小型哺乳动物与其体外寄生螨之间传播的信息很少。在本研究中，我们调查了斯洛伐克西南部一些地区啮齿动物的螨感染率，以及螨作为致病性立克次氏体可能传播媒介的作用。在2010年至2012年期间，共捕获了5种615只啮齿动物。对所有个体进行体外寄生虫检查，结果发现2821只螨，分属于厉螨科的3个物种和恙螨科的6个物种。最常见的厉螨科物种是敏捷厉螨（81.25%），其次是鸟巢血革螨和厩真厉螨。扎氏赫刺螨（16.52%）是恙螨科的优势物种。通过聚合酶链反应（PCR）检测从啮齿动物血液和体外寄生螨中提取的DNA，以确定是否存在立克次氏体。通过合并螨样本，创建了345个样本池，其中112个（32.46%）被发现立克次氏体DNA呈阳性。在487份检测的啮齿动物血液样本中，46份（9.44%）发现有立克次氏体DNA。对阳性血液样本和螨的DNA进行测序，确定了瑞士立克次氏体和蒙纳氏立克次氏体。研究结果表明，体外寄生螨可能是某些致病性立克次氏体的储存宿主和传播媒介。
