Department of Veterinary Medicine, University of Bari, Valenzano, Italy.
Clinvet SA, Mohammedia, Morocco.
PLoS Negl Trop Dis. 2023 Jul 19;17(7):e0011431. doi: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0011431. eCollection 2023 Jul.
The world-famous markets of Marrakech, also known in Arabic as souks, harbor a vast diversity of reptiles that are sold for medicinal/magic/pet purposes or used for snake charming. This unique epidemiological context has never been studied considering the interactions of humans, reptiles, and zoonotic pathogens. Thus, the aim of this study was to identify the parasites and pathogens present in blood and feces associated with handled reptiles in the markets of Marrakech to assess the risk of zoonotic transmission within the reptile-human interface. Privately owned reptiles (n = 118), coming from vendors or snake charmers, were examined and blood and feces sampled. DNA was extracted and molecular screening (cPCR, nPCR, qPCR, dqPCR) was performed aiming to identify potentially zoonotic pathogens (i.e., Anaplasma/Ehrlichia spp., Rickettsia spp., Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato, Coxiella burnetii, Babesia/Theileria spp., Cryptosporidium spp., Giardia spp., Leishmania spp., Cestoda). Overall, 28.9% (34/118) of reptiles were positive for at least one pathogen. In blood, Anaplasma spp. were detected in four snakes, with two Montpellier snakes positive for Anaplasma phagocytophilum, while Rickettsia spp. were detected in one Mediterranean chameleon and four puff adders. Leishmania tarentolae was molecularly detected in a Mediterranean chameleon and a Montpellier snake. In feces, the cox1 gene generated a myriad of sequences for nematodes, cestodes, fungi and bacteria. Importantly, Proteus vulgaris was identified from a Mediterranean chameleon. Cryptosporidium spp. nPCR yielded a positive sample (i.e., Cryptosporidium sp. apodemus genotype I) from a Moroccan worm lizard, as well as for bacteria such as Pseudomonas aeruginosa in an Egyptian cobra, and Morganella morganii from a puff adder. Results from this study demonstrated the risk of zoonotic transmission of microorganisms and parasites present in blood and feces from reptiles that are brought to the souks in Marrakech, Morocco, to be sold for medicinal purposes or used for snake charming, being in direct and straight contact with humans.
马拉喀什举世闻名的市场，在阿拉伯语中也被称为 souks，拥有各种各样的爬行动物，这些爬行动物被出售用于药用/魔术/宠物目的，或用于耍蛇。这种独特的流行病学背景从未被研究过，没有考虑人类、爬行动物和人畜共患病病原体之间的相互作用。因此，本研究的目的是确定马拉喀什市场中与被处理的爬行动物相关的血液和粪便中存在的寄生虫和病原体，以评估在爬行动物-人类界面内发生人畜共患病传播的风险。从商贩或耍蛇者那里采集了 118 只私人拥有的爬行动物（n = 118）进行检查和血液及粪便样本采集。提取 DNA 并进行分子筛选（cPCR、nPCR、qPCR、dqPCR），旨在鉴定潜在的人畜共患病病原体（即，无形体/埃立克体属、立克次体属、伯氏疏螺旋体属、贝氏柯克斯体、巴贝斯/泰勒虫属、隐孢子虫属、贾第虫属、利什曼原虫属、绦虫）。总的来说，118 只爬行动物中有 28.9%（34/118）至少有一种病原体呈阳性。在血液中，四种蛇中检测到无形体属，两种 Montpellier 蛇中检测到嗜吞噬细胞无形体，而地中海变色龙和四种膨腹毒蛇中检测到立克次体属。在粪便中，cox1 基因产生了大量的线虫、绦虫、真菌和细菌序列。重要的是，从地中海变色龙和 Montpellier 蛇中鉴定出了普通变形杆菌。Cryptosporidium spp. nPCR 从一只摩洛哥蠕虫蜥蜴中获得了一个阳性样本（即，Cryptosporidium sp. apodemus 基因型 I），从埃及眼镜蛇中获得了铜绿假单胞菌等细菌，以及从膨腹毒蛇中获得了摩根摩根菌。本研究结果表明，来自摩洛哥马拉喀什 souks 的用于药用目的或用于耍蛇的被带到 souks 的爬行动物的血液和粪便中存在微生物和寄生虫的人畜共患病传播风险，这些爬行动物与人类直接和直接接触。
