Department of Fish and Wildlife Conservation, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Virginia, United States of America.
Chobe Research Institute, Centre for Conservation of African Resources, Animals, Communities, and Land use (CARACAL), Kasane, Botswana.
PLoS Negl Trop Dis. 2020 Mar 17;14(3):e0007888. doi: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0007888. eCollection 2020 Mar.
Campylobacter is a common, but neglected foodborne-zoonotic pathogen, identified as a growing cause of foodborne disease worldwide. Wildlife and domestic animals are considered important reservoirs, but little is known about pathogen infection dynamics in free-ranging mammalian wildlife particularly in sub-Saharan Africa. In countries like Botswana, there is significant overlap between humans and wildlife, with the human population having one of the highest HIV infection rates in the world, increasing vulnerability to infection.
METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: We investigated Campylobacter occurrence in archived human fecal samples (children and adults, n = 122, 2011), feces from free-ranging banded mongooses (Mungos mungo, n = 201), surface water (n = 70), and river sediment samples (n = 81) collected in 2017 from the Chobe District, northern Botswana. Campylobacter spp. was widespread in humans (23.0%, 95% CI 13.9-35.4%), with infections dominantly associated with C. jejuni (82.1%, n = 28, 95% CI 55.1-94.5%). A small number of patients presented with asymptomatic infections (n = 6). While Campylobacter spp. was rare or absent in environmental samples, over half of sampled mongooses tested positive (56%, 95% CI 45.6-65.4%). Across the urban-wilderness continuum, we found significant differences in Campylobacter spp. detection associated with the type of den used by study mongooses. Mongooses utilizing man-made structures as den sites had significantly higher levels of C. jejuni infection (p = 0.019) than mongooses using natural dens. Conversely, mongooses using natural dens had overall higher levels of detection of Campylobacter at the genus level (p = 0.001).
These results suggest that landscape features may have important influences on Campylobacter species exposure and transmission dynamics in wildlife. In particular, data suggest that human-modified landscapes may increase C. jejuni infection, a primarily human pathogen, in banded mongooses. Pathogen circulation and transmission in urbanizing wildlife reservoirs may increase human vulnerability to infection, findings that may have critical implications for both public and animal health in regions where people live in close proximity to wildlife.
弯曲菌是一种常见但被忽视的食源性病原体，已被确定为全球食源性疾病不断增加的一个原因。野生动物和家养动物被认为是重要的储存宿主，但对于自由放养的哺乳动物野生动物，特别是在撒哈拉以南非洲地区，人们对其病原体感染动态知之甚少。在博茨瓦纳等国家，人类与野生动物之间存在着显著的重叠，其人口是世界上艾滋病毒感染率最高的国家之一，这使得人类更容易受到感染。
方法/主要发现：我们调查了 2017 年在博茨瓦纳北部乔贝区采集的存档人类粪便样本（儿童和成人，n = 122，2011 年）、自由放养的斑鬣狗（Mungos mungo，n = 201）粪便、地表水（n = 70）和河底沉积物样本（n = 81）中弯曲菌属的发生情况。弯曲菌属在人类中广泛存在（23.0%，95%置信区间 13.9-35.4%），感染主要与空肠弯曲菌（82.1%，n = 28，95%置信区间 55.1-94.5%）有关。少数患者表现出无症状感染（n = 6）。虽然环境样本中弯曲菌属很少或不存在，但检测到的斑鬣狗有一半以上呈阳性（56%，95%置信区间 45.6-65.4%）。在城市-荒野连续体上，我们发现弯曲菌属的检测与研究斑鬣狗使用的巢穴类型有显著差异。利用人造结构作为巢穴的斑鬣狗，空肠弯曲菌感染水平显著更高（p = 0.019）。相反，使用天然巢穴的斑鬣狗在属水平上总体上有更高水平的弯曲菌属检测（p = 0.001）。
这些结果表明，景观特征可能对野生动物中弯曲菌属的暴露和传播动态有重要影响。特别是，数据表明，人类改造的景观可能会增加空肠弯曲菌（一种主要的人类病原体）在斑鬣狗中的感染。城市化野生动物储存库中的病原体循环和传播可能会增加人类感染的脆弱性，这一发现可能对人与野生动物密切接触的地区的公共卫生和动物健康都有重要意义。
