Laboratorio de Ecología de Enfermedades, Instituto de Ciencias Veterinarias del Litoral (ICIVET-Litoral), Universidad Nacional del Litoral (UNL) - Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), R.P. Kreder 2805, Esperanza, Santa Fe, Argentina.
Instituto de Bio y Geociencias del NOA (IBIGEO), Universidad Nacional de Salta - Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas Y Técnicas (UNSa-CONICET), Salta, Argentina.
Ecohealth. 2023 Dec;20(4):381-389. doi: 10.1007/s10393-023-01671-6. Epub 2024 Jan 9.
Bartonella spp. are intracellular hemotropic bacteria primarily transmitted by arthropod vectors to various mammalian hosts, including humans. In this study, we conducted a survey on wild populations of sigmodontine rodents, Akodon azarae and Oxymycterus rufus, inhabiting the Paraná River delta region. The study involved eight grids organized in a crossed 2 × 2 design, where four of the grids were exposed to cattle while the other four were not, and four grids were located in implanted forest while the remaining four were in natural grasslands. Our objective was to examine whether the occurrence of Bartonella spp. in rodents was associated with silvopastoral activities (cattle raising associated with timber production) conducted in the region. Additionally, we evaluated the associations between Bartonella infection and other environmental and host factors. We present compelling evidence of a significant positive association between Bartonella prevalence and the presence of implanted forests and cattle. Furthermore, we identified the presence of a Bartonella genotype related to the pathogen Bartonella rochalimaea, infecting both A. azarae and Ox. rufus. These findings suggest that anthropogenic land-use changes, particularly the development of silvopastoral practices in the region, may disrupt the dynamics of Bartonella.
巴尔通体属（Bartonella spp.）是一类主要通过节肢动物媒介传播的细胞内噬血细菌，可感染多种哺乳动物宿主，包括人类。在本研究中，我们对栖息于巴拉那河三角洲地区的野生沙鼠科（Sigmodontinae）啮齿动物，即荒漠林沙鼠（Akodon azarae）和红尾沙鼠（Oxymycterus rufus），进行了一项调查。该研究采用了 2×2 交叉设计的 8 个网格组织，其中 4 个网格暴露于牛群，而另外 4 个网格未暴露；4 个网格位于人工林，而其余 4 个位于天然草原。我们的目的是研究巴尔通体属在啮齿动物中的流行情况是否与该地区开展的林牧活动（与木材生产相关的养牛业）有关。此外，我们还评估了巴尔通体感染与其他环境和宿主因素之间的关联。我们提供了有力的证据，表明巴尔通体属的流行与人工林和牛群的存在之间存在显著的正相关关系。此外，我们还发现了一种与病原体巴尔通体罗氏菌（Bartonella rochalimaea）相关的巴尔通体基因型，感染了荒漠林沙鼠和红尾沙鼠。这些发现表明，人为的土地利用变化，特别是该地区林牧实践的发展，可能会破坏巴尔通体的动态平衡。
