Michelet Lorraine, Joncour Guy, Devillers Elodie, Torina Alessandra, Vayssier-Taussat Muriel, Bonnet Sarah I, Moutailler Sara
UMR BIPAR, Animal Health Laboratory, ANSES, INRA, ENVA, 14 Rue Pierre et Marie Curie, 94706 Maisons Alfort cedex, France.
Technical Veterinary Groups National Society (SNGTV), 2, Kervellan, Callac, France.
Ticks Tick Borne Dis. 2016 Oct;7(6):1109-1115. doi: 10.1016/j.ttbdis.2016.08.014. Epub 2016 Aug 29.
Insular environments provide ideal natural conditions to study disease ecology, especially emerging diseases, due to clear differentiation between local and long-distance transmission. Such environments are of particular interest regarding tick-borne pathogens (TBP), since animal exchange with the mainland (along with any ticks they carry) is limited, and because such locations could lie on migratory routes for birds carrying ticks. Therefore both tick species and TBP may display different prevalence than those observed on the continent. As such, an epidemiological survey was performed on Belle-Ile-en-Mer, an island off the coast of Western France, in order to estimate the prevalence of tick species and the microorganisms they carried. Three tick species, Dermacentor marginatus, D. reticulatus, and Haemaphysalis punctata were collected at five different sites in 2010 and 2011. All ticks were tested for pathogen's and symbiont's DNA by (i) PCR for Anaplasma spp., Borrelia spp., Rickettsia spp.; (ii) real-time PCR for Francisella tularensis, Francisella-like endosymbionts (FLE) and Coxiella spp. and (iii) PCR-RLB for Babesia-Theileria spp. Pathogen DNA detected in D. marginatus including Borrelia spp. (18%), Rickettsia spp. (13%) which was identified as R. slovaca, Babesia spp. (8%), and Theileria spp. (1%). Pathogens detected in D. reticulatus including Rickettsia spp. (31%) identified as R. raoulti, Francisella-like endosymbiont (86%), and Babesia spp (21%). Pathogens detected in H. punctata including Rickettsia spp. (1%) identified as R. aeschlimannii, FLE (0.4%), Babesia spp. (18%), and Theileria spp. (7%). Anaplasma spp., F. tularensis, or Coxiella spp. were not detected in any of the collected ticks. This study represents the first epidemiological survey of the insular Belle-Ile-en-Mer environment. It demonstrated the presence of expected pathogens, consistent with reports from island veterinarians or physicians, as well as unexpected pathogens, raising questions about their potential introduction through infected animals and/or their dispersion by migratory birds.
岛屿环境为研究疾病生态学，尤其是新发疾病，提供了理想的自然条件，因为本地传播和远距离传播之间存在明显差异。就蜱传病原体（TBP）而言，此类环境特别引人关注，这是因为与大陆的动物交流（以及它们携带的任何蜱虫）有限，而且这些地点可能位于携带蜱虫的鸟类的迁徙路线上。因此，蜱虫种类和蜱传病原体的流行率可能与在大陆上观察到的有所不同。为此，在法国西部海岸外的贝勒岛进行了一项流行病学调查，以估计蜱虫种类及其携带的微生物的流行率。2010年和2011年在五个不同地点采集了三种蜱虫，即边缘革蜱、网纹革蜱和微小牛蜱。所有蜱虫都通过以下方法检测病原体和共生体的DNA：（i）针对无形体属、疏螺旋体属、立克次体属的聚合酶链反应（PCR）；（ii）针对土拉弗朗西斯菌、类弗朗西斯菌内共生体（FLE）和柯克斯体属的实时PCR；以及（iii）针对巴贝斯虫 - 泰勒虫属的PCR - 反向线点杂交（PCR - RLB）。在边缘革蜱中检测到的病原体包括疏螺旋体属（18%）、立克次体属（13%），鉴定为斯洛伐克立克次体、巴贝斯虫属（8%）和泰勒虫属（1%）。在网纹革蜱中检测到的病原体包括立克次体属（31%），鉴定为拉乌尔蒂立克次体、类弗朗西斯菌内共生体（86%）和巴贝斯虫属（21%）。在微小牛蜱中检测到的病原体包括立克次体属（1%），鉴定为埃氏立克次体、FLE（0.4%）、巴贝斯虫属（18%）和泰勒虫属（7%）。在所采集的任何蜱虫中均未检测到无形体属、土拉弗朗西斯菌或柯克斯体属。本研究是对贝勒岛岛屿环境的首次流行病学调查。它证明了预期病原体的存在，这与岛屿兽医或医生的报告一致，同时也发现了意外病原体，这引发了关于它们可能通过受感染动物引入和/或通过候鸟传播的问题。
