Institute of Animal Hygiene and Veterinary Public Health, University of Leipzig, An den Tierkliniken 1, 04103, Leipzig, Germany.
Parasit Vectors. 2019 Mar 26;12(1):131. doi: 10.1186/s13071-019-3382-2.
Rodents are important in the life-cycle of ticks as hosts for immature developmental stages. Both rodents and ticks are of public health interest as they are reservoirs and vectors for different tick-borne pathogens (TBP). The aim of this study was to reassess the prevalence of TBP in previously studied areas of the city of Leipzig (Saxony, Germany).
In the years 2015-2017 rodents and ticks were collected in parks and forest areas in Saxony. DNA was extracted from the rodents, attached and questing ticks. Samples were screened for the presence of Anaplasma phagocytophilum, Babesia spp., Borrelia burgdorferi (s.l.), "Candidatus Neoehrlichia mikurensis" (CNM), Bartonella spp., Hepatozoon spp. and Rickettsia spp. using PCR methods. Rodent, attached nymph and questing tick (nymph and adult) samples were tested individually, while attached larvae were further processed in pools.
A total of 165 rodents (Apodemus agrarius, n = 1; A. flavicollis, n = 59; Arvicola terrestris, n = 1; Myodes glareolus, n = 104), 1256 attached ticks (Ixodes ricinus, n = 1164; Dermacentor reticulatus, n = 92) and 577 questing ticks (I. ricinus, n = 547; D. reticulatus, n = 30) were collected. The prevalence levels in rodents were 78.2% for Bartonella spp., 58.2% for CNM, 49.1% for B. burgdorferi (s.l.) 29.1% for Rickettsia spp. and 24.2% for Hepatozoon spp. The minimal infection rates (MIR) in attached larvae ticks were 39.8% for Rickettsia spp., 32.7% for Bartonella spp., 7.1% for CNM and 8.8% for B. burgdorferi (s.l.) and the prevalence rates in attached nymphs were 33.7% for Bartonella spp., 52.9% for Rickettsia spp., 13.5% for CNM and 11.3% for B. burgdorferi (s.l.) Both rodents and attached ticks were negative for Babesia spp. The prevalence in questing ticks was 18.2% for Rickettsia spp., 7.3% for CNM, 6.4% for B. burgdorferi (s.l.) and 1.4% for Babesia spp. All tested samples were Anaplasma-negative. Sequencing revealed the occurrence of 14 identified species.
This research is the first evaluation of the prevalence for Hepatozoon spp. in rodents from Germany. In comparison to earlier studies, detected pathogens species remained the same; however, the prevalence for particular pathogens differed.
作为未成熟发育阶段的宿主，啮齿动物在蜱的生命周期中起着重要作用。啮齿动物和蜱都是公共卫生关注的对象，因为它们是不同蜱传病原体（TBP）的储存宿主和传播媒介。本研究的目的是重新评估莱比锡市（德国萨克森州）先前研究区域中 TBP 的流行情况。
在 2015-2017 年间，在萨克森州的公园和森林地区收集了啮齿动物和蜱虫。从啮齿动物、附着和寄生的蜱虫中提取 DNA。使用 PCR 方法检测 Anaplasma phagocytophilum、Babesia spp.、Borrelia burgdorferi（s.l.）、“Candidatus Neoehrlichia mikurensis”（CNM）、Bartonella spp.、Hepatozoon spp. 和 Rickettsia spp. 的存在情况。对啮齿动物、附着的若虫和寄生的蜱虫（若虫和成虫）样本进行了单独检测，而附着的幼虫样本则进一步在池子里进行处理。
共采集了 165 只啮齿动物（A. agrarius，n=1；A. flavicollis，n=59；A. terrestris，n=1；M. glareolus，n=104）、1256 只附着的蜱虫（I. ricinus，n=1164；D. reticulatus，n=92）和 577 只寄生的蜱虫（I. ricinus，n=547；D. reticulatus，n=30）。啮齿动物的患病率分别为 Bartonella spp. 78.2%、CNM 58.2%、B. burgdorferi（s.l.）49.1%、Rickettsia spp. 29.1%和 Hepatozoon spp. 24.2%。附着幼虫蜱的最小感染率（MIR）分别为 Rickettsia spp. 39.8%、Bartonella spp. 32.7%、CNM 7.1%和 B. burgdorferi（s.l.）8.8%，附着若虫的患病率分别为 Bartonella spp. 33.7%、Rickettsia spp. 52.9%、CNM 13.5%和 B. burgdorferi（s.l.）11.3%。啮齿动物和附着的蜱虫均未检测到 Babesia spp.。寄生的蜱虫的患病率分别为 Rickettsia spp. 18.2%、CNM 7.3%、B. burgdorferi（s.l.）6.4%和 Babesia spp. 1.4%。所有检测样本均为 Anaplasma 阴性。测序结果显示发生了 14 种已识别的物种。
这是首次评估德国啮齿动物中 Hepatozoon spp.的流行情况。与早期研究相比，检测到的病原体种类保持不变；然而，特定病原体的患病率有所不同。
