Institute of Animal Hygiene and Veterinary Public Health, University of Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany.
Wildlife Research Institute, State Agency for Nature, Environment and Consumer Protection North Rhine-Westphalia, Bonn, Germany.
Parasit Vectors. 2024 Aug 24;17(1):361. doi: 10.1186/s13071-024-06428-w.
European wildcats (Felis silvestris) are widely distributed in Europe and a strictly protected species in Germany. Lately, anthropogenic protective efforts lead to increasing numbers of wildcats in southwestern Germany. Moreover, in recent years the numbers of domestic cats are increasing. Thus, the contact between domestic and wildcats may lead to the spread of zoonotic pathogens in both animal species. As data on vector-borne pathogens (VBPs) in wildcats from Germany are limited to date, the objective of this study was to investigate the presence and current distribution of VBPs in wildcats from southwestern Germany.
Skin and spleen samples from 117 European wildcats, originating from a regional carcass-monitoring program in southwestern Germany, were examined by real-time and conventional polymerase chain reaction (PCR) for the presence of Anaplasma phagocytophilum, Neoehrlichia mikurensis, Rickettsia spp., Bartonella spp., and Piroplasmida.
In total, 6.8% (n = 8) of the wildcats were Rickettsia-positive, specified as R. helvetica. Three wildcats were positive for A. phagocytophilum (2.6%), one for Bartonella spp., namely B. taylorii (0.8%), and 84 for Cytauxzoon spp. (71.8%). Out of these 84 samples, 23 were further sequenced revealing very high identity levels (99.84-100%) to C. europaeus, which is considered to be pathogenic for domestic cats. All wildcats were negative for the presence of N. mikurensis DNA.
European wildcats in southwestern Germany are hosting several VBPs. With the exception of Cytauxzoon spp., low prevalence rates of most examined pathogens suggest that wildcats are primarily incidental hosts for sylvatic pathogens associated with rodents, in contrast to domestic cats. However, the high prevalence of the cat-associated pathogen C. europaeus suggests that wildcats in southwestern Germany may serve as reservoirs for this pathogen.
欧洲野猫（Felis silvestris）广泛分布于欧洲，在德国被严格保护。最近，人为的保护措施导致德国西南部的野猫数量不断增加。此外，近年来家猫的数量也在增加。因此，家猫和野猫之间的接触可能导致这两种动物物种中的人畜共患病原体传播。由于目前德国关于野生猫科动物媒介传播病原体（VBPs）的数据有限，本研究的目的是调查德国西南部野生猫科动物中 VBPs 的存在情况及其分布情况。
对来自德国西南部区域性尸体监测计划的 117 只欧洲野猫的皮肤和脾脏样本进行实时和常规聚合酶链反应（PCR）检测，以确定是否存在嗜吞噬细胞无形体、新立克次体、立克次体、巴尔通体和梨形虫。
共有 6.8%（n=8）的野生猫科动物为立克次体阳性，具体为 R. helvetica。3 只野生猫科动物为嗜吞噬细胞无形体阳性（2.6%），1 只为巴尔通体阳性（0.8%），84 只为细胞内梨形虫阳性（71.8%）。在这 84 个样本中，有 23 个进一步测序，显示与被认为对家猫具有致病性的 C. europaeus 具有非常高的同一性（99.84-100%）。所有野生猫科动物均未检测到新立克次体 DNA。
德国西南部的欧洲野猫携带多种 VBPs。除细胞内梨形虫外，大多数被检查的病原体的低流行率表明，与家猫相比，野生猫科动物主要是与啮齿动物相关的野生病原体的偶然宿主。然而，高流行率的猫科动物相关病原体 C. europaeus 表明，德国西南部的野生猫科动物可能是该病原体的宿主。
