Department of Ecology, Faculty of Biology, Institute of Zoology, Biological and Chemical Research Centre, University of Warsaw, 101 Żwirki i Wigury St., 02-089 Warsaw, Poland.
Department of Parasitology, Faculty of Biology, Institute of Zoology, University of Warsaw, 1 Miecznikowa St., 02-096 Warsaw, Poland.
Epidemiol Infect. 2018 Apr;146(5):589-593. doi: 10.1017/S095026881800033X. Epub 2018 Mar 5.
The anticipated worldwide surge in urban environments is generating ever-greater interest in the study of host-pathogen interactions in this specific type of habitat. We investigated the potential of city-inhabiting rodents to serve as the main Lyme borreliosis agents (Borrelia spp.) reservoir. We also tried to verify if anthropogenic disturbances changing the vertebrate species community composition may also alter the scheme of Borrelia spp. circulation. A total of 252 Apodemus mice (A. agrarius, A. flavicollis, A. sylvaticus) were captured in Warsaw (Poland), at sites classified into different zones of anthropogenic disturbance, ranging from suburban forests to municipal parks strictly in the city centre. Borrelia spp. infection, ascertained based on bacterium DNA presence in the rodents' blood, was found only in A. agrarius and A. flavicollis (7.6 and 6%, respectively). Only one species from the Borrelia genus - the mammal-associated species B. afzelii - was found in the mice studied. We found no statistical evidence of a correlation between infection in Apodemus mice and the zone of anthropogenic disturbance where the mice were caught. Non-homogeneous concentrations of Borelia spp. infected specimens within the strict city centre area suggest a lack of contact between members of particular mice subpopulations, and their responsibility for relatively high, but local Borrelia spp. infection.
预计全球城市环境的激增，使人们对这种特定栖息地中宿主-病原体相互作用的研究产生了更大的兴趣。我们研究了城市栖息的啮齿动物作为主要莱姆病病原体（Borrelia spp.）储存库的潜力。我们还试图验证改变脊椎动物物种群落组成的人为干扰是否也会改变 Borrelia spp.的循环模式。总共在华沙（波兰）捕获了 252 只小家鼠（A. agrarius、A. flavicollis、A. sylvaticus），这些小家鼠是在从郊区森林到市中心严格的市政公园等不同人为干扰区域的地点捕获的。基于啮齿动物血液中细菌 DNA 的存在，确定了 Borrelia spp.感染，仅在 A. agrarius 和 A. flavicollis 中发现（分别为 7.6%和 6%）。在所研究的小鼠中，只发现了一种属于 Borrelia 属的物种，即与哺乳动物相关的物种 B. afzelii。我们没有发现感染的小家鼠与它们被捕获的人为干扰区域之间存在相关性的统计证据。在严格的市中心区域内，感染了 Borrelia spp.的标本浓度不均匀，表明特定小鼠亚种群成员之间缺乏接触，而这些亚种群成员负责相对较高但局部的 Borrelia spp.感染。
