Instituto Universitario de Enfermedades Tropicales Y Salud Pública de Canarias, Universidad de La Laguna, San Cristóbal de La Laguna, Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain.
Department Obstetricia Y Ginecología, Pediatría, Medicina Preventiva Y Salud Pública, ToxicologíaMedicina Legal Y Forense Y Parasitología, Universidad de La Laguna, San Cristóbal de La Laguna, Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain.
Parasitol Res. 2022 Jan;121(1):345-354. doi: 10.1007/s00436-021-07369-4. Epub 2021 Nov 24.
Cryptosporidium spp. are worldwide protozoan parasites that can affect to a broad range of vertebrate hosts, including rodents. In the island of Corsica (France), there are no previous data about these protozoa infecting wild rodents. To estimate the distribution and occurrence, a total of 117 wild murine rodents of the species Rattus rattus (84), Mus musculus domesticus (21), Apodemus sylvaticus (11), and Rattus norvegicus (1) were captured in 24 different biotopes. Fecal samples were screened for Cryptosporidium spp. by nested PCR to amplify an 830 bp fragment of the 18S rRNA gene. As general occurrence, 15.4% of the rodents analyzed were positive for Cryptosporidium spp., being detected widely distributed along the island in R. rattus (17.6%) and M. m. domesticus (14.3%). Cryptosporidium viatorum, Cryptosporidium sp. rat genotype II, and Cryptosporidium sp. rat genotype III were successfully identified in R. rattus. The results herein reported provide the first data on Cryptosporidium spp. in wild murine species from a Mediterranean island and constitute the first report of the zoonotic species C. viatorum in R. rattus. Although a low occurrence of Cryptosporidium spp. in murids was obtained and only in one animal the zoonotic species C. viatorum was identified, our results highlight that wild murine rodents from Corsica could mediate in the maintenance and transmission of this protozoan to the environment and other hosts including humans and animals. Further studies are required to better understand the epidemiology of Cryptosporidium spp. in wild rodents from Corsica and their possible public health repercussions.
隐孢子虫是一种广泛分布于世界各地的原生动物寄生虫，可感染多种脊椎动物宿主，包括啮齿类动物。在科西嘉岛（法国），目前尚无这些原生动物感染野生啮齿动物的相关数据。为了评估其分布和发生情况，总共在 24 个不同的生境中捕获了 117 只野生鼠类啮齿动物，包括 Rattus rattus（84 只）、Mus musculus domesticus（21 只）、Apodemus sylvaticus（11 只）和 Rattus norvegicus（1 只）。采用巢式 PCR 方法对粪便样本进行隐孢子虫检测，以扩增 18S rRNA 基因的 830bp 片段。总体发生率为 15.4%，分析的啮齿动物中有隐孢子虫阳性，该寄生虫在岛上广泛分布于 R. rattus（17.6%）和 M. m. domesticus（14.3%）中。成功鉴定出 R. rattus 中存在的 C. viatorum、鼠基因型 II 隐孢子虫和鼠基因型 III 隐孢子虫。本研究首次报道了地中海岛屿野生鼠类中隐孢子虫的感染情况，并首次在 R. rattus 中发现了 C. viatorum 这一人类动物共患病原。虽然从鼠类中获得的隐孢子虫发生率较低，且仅在一只动物中鉴定出了 C. viatorum 这一人类动物共患病原，但本研究结果表明，科西嘉岛的野生鼠类可能在将该原生动物传播到环境和其他宿主（包括人类和动物）中起到了维持和传播的作用。需要进一步研究以更好地了解科西嘉岛野生鼠类中隐孢子虫的流行病学及其可能对公共卫生造成的影响。
