College of Veterinary Medicine, Northwest A&F University, Yangling 712100, PR China.
College of Veterinary Medicine, Henan Agricultural University, Zhengzhou 450046, PR China - Key Laboratory of Quality and Safety Control of Poultry Products (Zhengzhou), Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Zhengzhou 450046, PR China - International Joint Research Laboratory for Zoonotic Diseases of Henan, Zhengzhou 450046, PR China.
Parasite. 2024;31:59. doi: 10.1051/parasite/2024061. Epub 2024 Sep 27.
Enterocytozoon bieneusi is a zoonotic pathogen prevalent in mammalian and avian hosts across the globe. Wild small mammals, being abundant worldwide, serve as important sources of zoonotic disease transmission to humans. Here, 227 fecal samples were collected from five rodent and shrew species on 34 pig farms in China to investigate the prevalence and molecular characterization of E. bieneusi. The overall prevalence of E. bieneusi was 17.18% (39/227), with a distribution of 23.53% (32/136) in Rattus tanezumi, 8.62% (5/58) in Rattus norvegicus, and 8.00% (2/25) in Mus musculus. Eight E. bieneusi genotypes were identified, comprising four known genotypes: D (n = 8), EbpC (n = 8), PigEBITS7 (n = 9), and EbpA (n = 2), and four novel genotypes: CHPR1 (n = 7), CHPR2 (n = 1), CHPR3 (n = 2), and CHPR4 (n = 2). This study is the first to report E. bieneusi in rodents from pig farms in Henan, Shaanxi, and Shanxi Provinces in China. The host range of genotype EbpC was expanded with its first detection in M. musculus and R. tanezumi. All identified E. bieneusi genotypes belong to group 1, raising concerns about these sympatric rodents being reservoirs of zoonotic transmission. Moreover, the widespread distribution of genotype EbpC suggests potential cross-species transmission between sympatric rodents and domestic pigs. Our findings highlight the potential role of sympatric rodents in facilitating the spillover of E. bieneusi from pig farms, which could pose a potential public health threat.
肠微孢子虫是一种在全球范围内流行于哺乳动物和禽类宿主中的人畜共患病病原体。野生小型哺乳动物在全球范围内广泛存在，是向人类传播人畜共患病的重要来源。本研究从中国 34 个猪场的 5 种啮齿动物和鼩鼱中采集了 227 份粪便样本，以调查肠微孢子虫的流行情况和分子特征。肠微孢子虫的总流行率为 17.18%（39/227），其中 Rattus tanezumi 中的流行率为 23.53%（32/136），Rattus norvegicus 中的流行率为 8.62%（5/58），Mus musculus 中的流行率为 8.00%（2/25）。鉴定出 8 种肠微孢子虫基因型，包括 4 种已知基因型：D（n=8）、EbpC（n=8）、PigEBITS7（n=9）和 EbpA（n=2），以及 4 种新基因型：CHPR1（n=7）、CHPR2（n=1）、CHPR3（n=2）和 CHPR4（n=2）。本研究首次报道了中国河南、陕西和山西省猪场的啮齿动物中存在肠微孢子虫。EbpC 基因型的宿主范围随着其在 M. musculus 和 R. tanezumi 中的首次检测而扩大。所有鉴定出的肠微孢子虫基因型均属于第 1 组，这引起了对这些同域啮齿动物作为人畜共患病传播储主的关注。此外，EbpC 基因型的广泛分布表明同域啮齿动物与家猪之间存在潜在的跨物种传播。本研究结果强调了同域啮齿动物在促进肠微孢子虫从猪场溢出中的潜在作用，这可能对公共卫生构成潜在威胁。
