Azami-Conesa Iris, Sansano-Maestre Jose, Martínez-Díaz Rafael Alberto, Gómez-Muñoz María Teresa
Department of Animal Health, Faculty of Veterinary Sciences, Complutense University of Madrid, 28040 Madrid, Spain.
Department of Animal Health and Public Health, Catholic University of Valencia, 46002 Valencia, Spain.
Microorganisms. 2021 Jul 18;9(7):1531. doi: 10.3390/microorganisms9071531.
produces an endemic disease in the Mediterranean Basin that affects humans and domestic and wild mammals, which can act as reservoir or minor host. In this study, we analyzed the presence of the parasite in wild American minks, an invasive species in Spain. We screened for DNA by PCR using five primer pairs: Two targeting kinetoplast DNA (kDNA), and the rest targeting the ITS1 region, the small subunit of ribosomal RNA (SSU) and a repetitive sequence (Repeat region). The detection limit was determined for each method using a strain of and a bone marrow sample from an infected dog. PCR approaches employing the Repeat region and kDNA (RV1/RV2 primers) showed higher sensitivity than the other PCR methods when control samples were employed. However, only PCR of the Repeat region and nested PCR of SSU (LnSSU) detected the parasite in the samples, while the other three were unable to do so. The majority of the analyzed animals (90.1%) tested positive. American mink may act as an incidental host of the disease for other mammals and should be further investigated, not only for their negative impact on the local fauna, but also as carriers of zoonotic diseases.
在地中海盆地引发一种地方病，影响人类以及家养和野生哺乳动物，这些动物可作为储存宿主或次要宿主。在本研究中，我们分析了野生美洲水貂（西班牙的一种入侵物种）体内该寄生虫的存在情况。我们使用五对引物通过聚合酶链反应（PCR）筛选DNA：两对靶向动质体DNA（kDNA），其余三对分别靶向内部转录间隔区1（ITS1）、核糖体RNA小亚基（SSU）和一个重复序列（重复区域）。使用一种 菌株和一份来自受感染犬的骨髓样本为每种方法确定检测限。当使用对照样本时，采用重复区域和kDNA（RV1/RV2引物）的PCR方法显示出比其他PCR方法更高的灵敏度。然而，只有重复区域的PCR和SSU的巢式PCR（LnSSU）在样本中检测到了该寄生虫，而其他三种方法未能检测到。大多数被分析的动物（90.1%）检测呈阳性。美洲水貂可能作为其他哺乳动物该疾病的偶然宿主，不仅因其对当地动物群的负面影响，还因其作为人畜共患病携带者的身份，应进一步开展调查。
