Thompson Alec T, White Seth, Shaw David, Egizi Andrea, Lahmers Kevin, Ruder Mark G, Yabsley Michael J
Southeastern Cooperative Wildlife Disease Study, Department of Population Health, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, USA; Center for the Ecology of Infectious Diseases, Odum School of Ecology, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, USA.
Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, USA.
Ticks Tick Borne Dis. 2020 Sep;11(5):101450. doi: 10.1016/j.ttbdis.2020.101450. Epub 2020 May 22.
The Asian longhorned tick, Haemaphysalis longicornis, has recently become established in the United States. In East Asia, Australia, and New Zealand, the native and previously introduced ranges, this tick is a vector of an important pathogen of cattle, Theileria orientalis. In 2017, the pathogenic Ikeda genotype of T. orientalis was associated with cattle mortalities in Virginia and in 2018 the exotic H. longicornis was detected at this same site. To investigate the possible role of this exotic tick in the epidemiology of theileriosis in Virginia, we tested host-seeking H. longicornis for piroplasm infections. We document the detection of exotic Theileria orientalis Ikeda genotype in 12.7 % (15/118) environmentally collected H. longicornis using both the 18S rRNA and major piroplasm surface protein (MPSP) gene targets. This is the first detection of a pathogen in H. longicornis in its introduced range in the United States and offers new insight into the animal health risks associated with the introduction of this exotic tick species to North America.
亚洲长角血蜱（Haemaphysalis longicornis）最近在美国定殖。在东亚、澳大利亚和新西兰，即其原生范围和先前引入的区域，这种蜱是牛的一种重要病原体——东方泰勒虫（Theileria orientalis）的传播媒介。2017年，东方泰勒虫的致病伊贺田基因型与弗吉尼亚州的牛死亡有关，2018年在同一地点检测到外来的亚洲长角血蜱。为了调查这种外来蜱在弗吉尼亚州泰勒虫病流行病学中的可能作用，我们检测了寻找宿主的亚洲长角血蜱的梨形虫感染情况。我们使用18S rRNA和主要梨形虫表面蛋白（MPSP）基因靶点，记录了在环境中采集的118只亚洲长角血蜱中，有12.7%（15/118）检测到外来的东方泰勒虫伊贺田基因型。这是在美国引入范围内首次在亚洲长角血蜱中检测到病原体，为将这种外来蜱引入北美所带来的动物健康风险提供了新的见解。
