Rosso Fausta, Ferrari Giulia, Weil Tobias, Tagliapietra Valentina, Marini Giovanni, Dagostin Francesca, Arnoldi Daniele, Girardi Matteo, Rizzoli Annapaola
Fondazione Edmund Mach, Research and Innovation Centre, Trento, Italy.
NBFC, National Biodiversity Future Center, Palermo, Italy.
Microbiologyopen. 2024 Dec;13(6):e010. doi: 10.1002/mbo3.70010.
Changes in land use, climate, and host community are leading to increased complexity in eco-epidemiological relationships and the emergence of zoonoses. This study investigates the changes in the prevalence of several Ixodes ricinus-transmitted pathogens in questing ticks over a 10-year interval (2011-2013, 2020) in natural and agricultural habitats of the Autonomous Province of Trento (North-eastern Alps), finding an average prevalence of infection of 27.1%. Analysis of 2652 ticks, investigating four infectious agents (Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato, Anaplasma spp., Rickettsia spp., and Babesia spp.), revealed the circulation of 11 different zoonotic pathogens, with varying infection rates across different years and habitats. In 2020, we found a decrease in Anaplasma phagocytophilum, associated with agricultural habitats, and Rickettsia spp., found in all habitats. In the same year, Babesia spp. increased in both habitats, similar to Borrelia burgdorferi sensu stricto, which was related to natural habitats. Co-infections were identified in 8% of positive-tested ticks with different spatiotemporal associations, primarily in natural settings. Our results provide new evidence that the risk of infection with tick-borne pathogens in the Alpine region varies over time and in different environments, broadening the current information on co-infection rates and the circulation of zoonotic pathogens, previously not reported in this area.
土地利用、气候和宿主群落的变化正导致生态流行病学关系日益复杂，人畜共患病不断出现。本研究调查了特伦托自治省（阿尔卑斯山东北部）自然和农业栖息地中，在10年期间（2011 - 2013年、2020年）饥饿蜱中几种蓖麻硬蜱传播病原体的流行率变化，发现平均感染率为27.1%。对2652只蜱进行分析，研究四种感染因子（狭义伯氏疏螺旋体、无形体属、立克次体属和巴贝斯虫属），发现11种不同人畜共患病原体的传播情况，不同年份和栖息地的感染率各不相同。2020年，我们发现与农业栖息地相关的嗜吞噬细胞无形体以及在所有栖息地均有发现的立克次体属有所减少。同年，巴贝斯虫属在两种栖息地均有所增加，狭义伯氏疏螺旋体也是如此，它与自然栖息地有关。在8%检测呈阳性的蜱中发现了具有不同时空关联的共同感染，主要发生在自然环境中。我们的结果提供了新的证据，表明阿尔卑斯地区蜱传播病原体的感染风险随时间和不同环境而变化，拓宽了目前关于共同感染率和人畜共患病原体传播情况的信息，该地区此前尚未有相关报道。
