Departamento de Sanidad Animal, Grupo de Investigación en Sanidad Animal y Zoonosis (GISAZ), UIC Zoonosis y Enfermedades Emergentes ENZOEM, Universidad de Córdoba, Córdoba, Spain.
Grupo de Virología Clínica y Zoonosis, Unidad de Enfermedades Infecciosas, Instituto Maimónides de Investigación Biomédica de Córdoba (IMIBIC), Hospital Universitario Reina Sofía, Universidad de Córdoba, Córdoba, Spain.
Zoonoses Public Health. 2024 Aug;71(5):549-559. doi: 10.1111/zph.13155. Epub 2024 May 21.
Coxiella burnetii, the causative agent of Q fever, is a zoonotic multi-host vector-borne pathogen of major public health importance. Although the European Food Safety Authority has recently made the monitoring of this bacterium in wildlife a priority, the role of wild lagomorphs in the transmission and maintenance of C. burnetii is poorly understood.
The aims of this study were to determine the prevalence and risk factors associated with C. burnetii circulation in European wild rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus) and Iberian hares (Lepus granatensis) and to assess the presence of this pathogen in ticks that feed on them in Mediterranean ecosystems in Spain, the country with the highest number of reported cases of Q fever in Europe.
A total of 574 spleen samples were collected from 453 wild rabbits and 121 Iberian hares, and 513 ticks (processed in 120 pools) between the 2017/2018 and 2021/2022 hunting seasons.
C. burnetii DNA was detected in 103 (17.9%; 95% CI: 14.8-21.1) of the 574 wild lagomorphs tested. By species, prevalence was 16.3% (74/453; 95% CI: 12.9-19.7) in the European wild rabbit and 24.0% (29/121; 95% CI: 16.4-31.6) in the Iberian hare. At least one positive lagomorph was found on 47.9% of the 96 hunting estates sampled and in every hunting season since 2018/2019. Two risk factors associated with C. burnetii infection were as follows: outbreak of myxomatosis on the hunting estate in the month prior to sampling and high tick abundance observed by gamekeepers on the hunting estate. C. burnetii DNA was also found in 33 of the 120 (27.5%; 95% CI: 19.5-35.5) tick pools tested. The pathogen was detected in 66.7% (4/6), 29.2% (26/89) and 21.4% (3/14) of Haemaphysalis hispanica, Rhipicephalus pusillus and Hyalomma lusitanicum pools respectively.
This study provides new epidemiological data on C. burnetii in European wild rabbits and is the first survey on this zoonotic pathogen performed in Iberian hares. Our results indicate widespread endemic circulation of C. burnetii and highlight the importance of both wild lagomorph species as natural reservoirs of this zoonotic bacterium in Mediterranean ecosystems in southern Spain, which may be of public and animal health concern. The high prevalence and wide diversity of positive tick species suggest the possible role of ticks in the epidemiological cycle of C. burnetii, with the potential risk of transmission to sympatric species, including humans.
Q 热的病原体贝氏柯克斯体是一种重要的人畜共患多宿主媒介传播病原体，对公共卫生具有重大影响。尽管最近欧洲食品安全局已将监测野生动物中的这种细菌作为优先事项，但野生兔形目动物在贝氏柯克斯体的传播和维持中的作用仍知之甚少。
本研究旨在确定欧洲野兔（Oryctolagus cuniculus）和伊比利亚野兔（Lepus granatensis）中循环的贝氏柯克斯体的流行率和相关风险因素，并评估在西班牙地中海生态系统中以它们为食的蜱中这种病原体的存在情况，西班牙是欧洲报告 Q 热病例最多的国家。
在 2017/2018 年至 2021/2022 年狩猎季节期间，从 453 只欧洲野兔和 121 只伊比利亚野兔中采集了 574 份脾脏样本，并对 513 只（120 个组合处理）蜱进行了处理。
在所检测的 574 只野生兔形目动物中，有 103 只（17.9%；95%CI：14.8-21.1）检测到贝氏柯克斯体 DNA。按物种分类，欧洲野兔的流行率为 16.3%（74/453；95%CI：12.9-19.7），伊比利亚野兔的流行率为 24.0%（29/121；95%CI：16.4-31.6）。在所采样的 96 个狩猎庄园中，有 47.9%的狩猎庄园至少有一只阳性兔形目动物，并且自 2018/2019 年以来每个狩猎季节都有阳性动物。与贝氏柯克斯体感染相关的两个风险因素如下：在采样前一个月狩猎庄园爆发黏液瘤病，以及狩猎庄园看守人观察到的蜱虫丰度高。在所检测的 120 个蜱组合中，有 33 个（27.5%；95%CI：19.5-35.5）检测到贝氏柯克斯体 DNA。该病原体在 Haemaphysalis hispanica、Rhipicephalus pusillus 和 Hyalomma lusitanicum 组合中分别检测到 66.7%（4/6）、29.2%（26/89）和 21.4%（3/14）。
本研究提供了有关欧洲野兔中贝氏柯克斯体的新流行病学数据，也是首次在伊比利亚野兔中进行的此类人畜共患病原体调查。我们的结果表明，贝氏柯克斯体在西班牙南部的地中海生态系统中广泛流行，这突显了这两个野生兔形目物种作为这种人畜共患病细菌的天然宿主的重要性，这可能引起公共卫生和动物健康方面的关注。高流行率和广泛的阳性蜱种多样性表明，蜱可能在贝氏柯克斯体的流行病学循环中发挥作用，具有向同种或其他共生物种（包括人类）传播的潜在风险。
