Jeske Kathrin, Emirhar Duygu, García Jesús T, González-Barrio David, Olea Pedro P, Fons Francisco Ruiz, Schulz Jana, Mayer-Scholl Anne, Heckel Gerald, Ulrich Rainer G
Institute of Novel and Emerging Infectious Diseases, Friedrich-Loeffler-Institut, Südufer 10, 17493 Greifswald-Insel Riems, Germany.
Institute of Diagnostic Virology, Friedrich-Loeffler-Institut, Südufer 10, 17493 Greifswald-Insel Riems, Germany.
J Wildl Dis. 2021 Oct 1;57(4):733-742. doi: 10.7589/JWD-D-20-00109.
The common vole (Microtus arvalis) is a major agricultural pest in Europe and is a reservoir for several zoonotic agents, such as Leptospira spp. and Tula orthohantavirus (TULV). However, little is known about the occurrence of those pathogens in voles from Spain, where the species has largely expanded its distribution range in the past decades, causing agricultural pests and zoonotic diseases. For a molecular survey, 580 common voles and six Lusitanian pine voles (Microtus lusitanicus) were collected in 26 localities from four provinces of northwestern Spain. We assessed the presence of Leptospira spp. DNA in kidney tissue by PCR targeting the lipL32 gene, detecting a prevalence of 7.9% (95% confidence interval, 5.9-10.4) for common voles and of 33.3% (95% confidence interval, 4.3-77.7) for Lusitanian pine voles. We identified Leptospira kirschneri in 24 animals and Leptospira borgpetersenii in two animals, using secY gene-specific PCR. We analyzed environmental and demographic factors (such as age class, weight, and sex) and population dynamics data for their potential effect on the Leptospira spp. prevalence in those voles. The Leptospira spp. DNA detection rate in common voles increased significantly with maximum air temperature, vole weight, and amount of accumulated rainfall during the 90 d before capture and within the peak phase of the population cycle. We assessed the presence of TULV in lung tissue of 389 voles by reverse-transcription PCR, with no positive results. The absence of TULV might be explained by the evolutionary isolation of the common vole in Spain. The detection of two Leptospira genomospecies underlines the necessity for further typing efforts to understand the epidemiology of leptospiral infection in the common vole and the potential risk for human health in Spain.
普通田鼠（Microtus arvalis）是欧洲主要的农业害虫，也是几种人畜共患病原体的宿主，如钩端螺旋体属和图拉正汉坦病毒（TULV）。然而，对于西班牙田鼠中这些病原体的存在情况知之甚少，在过去几十年里，该物种在西班牙的分布范围大幅扩大，引发了农业虫害和人畜共患病。为了进行分子调查，在西班牙西北部四个省份的26个地点收集了580只普通田鼠和6只卢西塔尼亚松田鼠（Microtus lusitanicus）。我们通过靶向lipL32基因的PCR检测肾脏组织中钩端螺旋体属DNA，普通田鼠的检出率为7.9%（95%置信区间，5.9 - 10.4），卢西塔尼亚松田鼠的检出率为33.3%（缉5%置信区间，4.3 - 77.7）。我们使用secY基因特异性PCR在24只动物中鉴定出基氏钩端螺旋体，在2只动物中鉴定出波氏钩端螺旋体。我们分析了环境和人口统计学因素（如年龄组、体重和性别）以及种群动态数据，以了解它们对这些田鼠中钩端螺旋体属患病率的潜在影响。普通田鼠中钩端螺旋体属DNA的检出率随着最高气温、田鼠体重以及捕获前90天内和种群周期高峰期的累计降雨量显著增加。我们通过逆转录PCR评估了389只田鼠肺组织中TULV的存在情况，未得到阳性结果。西班牙普通田鼠的进化隔离可能解释了未检测到TULV的原因。两种钩端螺旋体基因组种的检测凸显了进一步分型工作的必要性，以了解普通田鼠钩端螺旋体感染的流行病学以及西班牙人类健康面临的潜在风险。
