Pathogen and Microbiome Institute, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, Arizona, United States of America.
Department of Parasitology and Zoology, University of Veterinary Medicine, Budapest, Hungary.
PLoS Negl Trop Dis. 2024 Oct 25;18(10):e0012584. doi: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0012584. eCollection 2024 Oct.
Potentially zoonotic pathogens have been previously detected in bat-associated ticks, but their role in disease transmission and their frequency of feeding on non-bat hosts is poorly known.
METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: We used molecular blood meal analysis to reveal feeding patterns of the bat-associated tick species Ixodes ariadnae, I. simplex, and I. vespertilionis collected from cave and mine walls in Central and Southeastern Europe. Vertebrate DNA, predominantly from bats, was detected in 43.5% of the samples (70 of 161 ticks) but in these ticks we also detected the DNA of non-chiropteran hosts, such as dog, Canis lupus familiaris, wild boar, Sus scrofa, and horse, Equus caballus, suggesting that bat-associated ticks may exhibit a much broader host range than previously thought, including domestic and wild mammals. Furthermore, we detected the zoonotic bacteria Neoehrlichia mikurensis in bat ticks for the first time, and other bacteria, such as Bartonella and Wolbachia.
CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: In the light of these findings, the role of bat ticks as disease vectors should be urgently re-evaluated in more diverse host systems, as they may contribute to pathogen transmission between bats and non-chiropteran hosts.
先前在与蝙蝠相关的蜱中检测到了潜在的人畜共患病病原体，但它们在疾病传播中的作用及其对非蝙蝠宿主的取食频率尚不清楚。
方法/主要发现：我们使用分子血液餐分析来揭示从中欧和东南欧洞穴和矿山墙壁收集的蝙蝠相关蜱种 Ixodes ariadnae、I. simplex 和 I. vespertilionis 的取食模式。在 43.5%的样本（161 只蜱中的 70 只）中检测到脊椎动物 DNA，主要来自蝙蝠，但在这些蜱中，我们还检测到了非翼手目宿主的 DNA，如狗、Canis lupus familiaris、野猪、Sus scrofa 和马、Equus caballus，这表明与蝙蝠相关的蜱可能具有比以前想象的更广泛的宿主范围，包括家养和野生动物。此外，我们首次在蝙蝠蜱中检测到了人畜共患病细菌 Neoehrlichia mikurensis 以及其他细菌，如巴尔通体和沃尔巴克氏体。
结论/意义：鉴于这些发现，蝙蝠蜱作为疾病媒介的作用应该在更多样化的宿主系统中紧急重新评估，因为它们可能有助于病原体在蝙蝠和非翼手目宿主之间的传播。
