UCD Veterinary Sciences Centre, University College Dublin, Ireland.
MunsterTechnological University, Kerry Campus, Ireland.
Ticks Tick Borne Dis. 2023 Nov;14(6):102221. doi: 10.1016/j.ttbdis.2023.102221. Epub 2023 Jul 3.
Babesia microti is a tick-transmitted protozoan parasite of wildlife that can also cause serious disease in humans. It is now well established that B. microti represents an assemblage of different strains or species, only some of which are important zoonotic pathogens. Therefore, in order to assess the potential public health risk associated with B. microti in any given location, it is important to determine the strains that are present. This is the first study on the presence and identity of B. microti in Ireland. Overall, 314 wood mice (Apodemus sylvaticus), 243 bank voles (Myodes glareolus) and 634 questing Ixodes ricinus nymphs collected in various locations across Ireland were screened for the presence of B. microti by metabarcoding and nested PCR, respectively. Overall 8 rodent spleen samples (1.4%) were positive for B. microti, while all tick samples tested negative. Rodent isolates were identified as the 'Munich' strain which rarely causes human disease and is chiefly transmitted by the mouse tick, Ixodes trianguliceps. Together with reports from the UK these results suggest that B. microti does not represent a significant public health risk in Britain or Ireland.
微小巴贝斯虫是一种通过蜱传播的野生动物原生动物寄生虫，也可导致人类严重疾病。现在已经明确，微小巴贝斯虫代表了不同株或种的集合体，其中只有一些是重要的人畜共患病病原体。因此，为了评估特定地点与微小巴贝斯虫相关的潜在公共卫生风险，确定存在的菌株非常重要。这是爱尔兰首次对微小巴贝斯虫的存在和身份进行的研究。总体而言，通过代谢组学和巢式 PCR，分别对在爱尔兰各地收集的 314 只林鼠（Apodemus sylvaticus）、243 只黑线姬鼠（Myodes glareolus）和 634 只游走的硬蜱幼虫样本进行了微小巴贝斯虫的存在情况筛查。总体而言，有 8 份啮齿动物脾脏样本（1.4%）呈微小巴贝斯虫阳性，而所有蜱样本均呈阴性。啮齿动物分离株被鉴定为“慕尼黑”株，该株很少引起人类疾病，主要通过鼠蜱，即三棘血蜱传播。结合英国的报告，这些结果表明，微小巴贝斯虫在英国或爱尔兰并不构成重大公共卫生风险。
