Wildlife Ecology & Health group and Servei d'Ecopatologia de Fauna Salvatge, Departament de Medicina i Cirurgia Animals, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Bellaterra, Barcelona, Spain.
University of Salford Tick Infections Group, School of Environment and Life Sciences, University of Salford, Salford, UK.
Transbound Emerg Dis. 2022 Jul;69(4):e82-e95. doi: 10.1111/tbed.14268. Epub 2021 Aug 11.
Tick-borne pathogens (TBPs) constitute an emerging public health concern favoured by multidimensional global changes. Amongst these, increase and spread of wild boar (Sus scrofa) populations are of special concern since this species can act as a reservoir of zoonotic pathogens and promote tick abundance. Thus, we aimed to make a first assessment of the risk by TBPs resulting from wild boar and ticks in the vicinity of a highly populated area. Between 2014 and 2016, we collected spleen samples and 2256 ticks from 261 wild boars (out of 438 inspected) in the metropolitan area of Barcelona (MAB; northeast Spain). We morphologically identified four tick species: Hyalomma lusitanicum (infestation prevalence: 33.6%), Dermacentor marginatus (26.9%), Rhipicephalus sanguineus sensu lato (18.9%) and R. bursa (0.2%). Ticks were pooled according to species and individual host. A total of 180 tick pools and 167 spleen samples were screened by real-time PCR and/or reverse line blot hybridization assay for Ehrlichia sp., Anaplasma sp., Babesia sp., Rickettsia sp., Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato and Coxiella burnetii. Seventy-two out of the 180 tick pools were positive to Rickettsia spp. (minimum prevalence of 8.7%), including Rickettsia massiliae, R. slovaca and R. raoultii. We did not detect Rickettsia spp. in wild boar spleens nor other TBPs in ticks or wild boars. Since the ticks identified can bite humans, and the recorded spotted fever group (SFG) rickettsiae are zoonotic pathogens, there is a risk of SFG rickettsiae transmission for MAB inhabitants. Our results suggest a broader distribution of H. lusitanicum, competent vector for the Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever virus than previously known. Wild boar is not a Rickettsia spp. reservoir according to the spleen negative results. However, its abundance could favour tick life cycle and abundance, and its proximity to humans could promote the infection risk by Rickettsia spp.
蜱传病原体 (TBPs) 是一个新兴的公共卫生关注点，受到多维全球变化的影响。在这些变化中，野猪 (Sus scrofa) 种群的增加和扩散尤其令人关注，因为这种物种可以作为人畜共患病病原体的储存库，并促进蜱的滋生。因此，我们旨在首次评估附近人口稠密地区的野猪和蜱传播的 TBPs 带来的风险。2014 年至 2016 年，我们在西班牙东北部巴塞罗那大都市区（MAB）从 438 只受检野猪中采集了 261 只野猪的脾脏样本和 2256 只蜱（感染率：33.6%）。我们通过形态学鉴定了四种蜱种：钝缘蜱（Hyalomma lusitanicum）（感染率：33.6%）、边缘革蜱（Dermacentor marginatus）（感染率：26.9%）、边缘革蜱（Rhipicephalus sanguineus sensu lato）（感染率：18.9%）和钝缘革蜱（R. bursa）（感染率：0.2%）。根据物种和个体宿主将蜱混合。总共对 180 个蜱池和 167 个脾脏样本进行了实时 PCR 和/或反向线印迹杂交分析，以检测埃立克体属、无形体属、巴贝斯虫属、立克次体属、伯氏疏螺旋体属和贝纳柯克斯体。在 180 个蜱池中，有 72 个蜱池对立克次体属呈阳性（最低感染率为 8.7%），包括马氏立克次体、斯洛伐克立克次体和拉乌尔立克次体。我们在野猪的脾脏中未检测到立克次体属，也未在蜱或野猪中检测到其他 TBPs。由于所鉴定的蜱可以叮咬人类，而记录的斑点热群（SFG）立克次体是人畜共患病病原体，因此 MAB 居民存在 SFG 立克次体传播的风险。我们的结果表明，与以前已知的相比，钝缘蜱分布范围更广，是克里米亚-刚果出血热病毒的有效媒介。根据脾脏阴性结果，野猪不是立克次体属的储存库。然而，其丰富度可能有利于蜱的生命周期和数量，并且其接近人类可能会增加感染立克次体属的风险。
