Buntrock Kim Nina, Ballhorn Wibke, Podlich Heike, Malmström Johan, Happonen Lotta, Chowdhury Sounak, Jurke Annette, Kempf Volkhard A J
Institute for Medical Microbiology and Infection Control, University Hospital, National Reference Laboratory for Bartonella Infections, Goethe University, Paul-Ehrlich-Str. 40, 60596, Frankfurt Am Main, Germany.
Division of Infection Medicine, Lund University, Lund, Sweden.
Parasit Vectors. 2025 Aug 4;18(1):332. doi: 10.1186/s13071-025-06856-2.
Bartonella schoenbuchensis is suspected to cause deer ked dermatitis and febrile diseases in humans. Deer keds (Lipoptena cervi), which infest cervids (e.g., roe deer, fallow deer), are discussed as potential vectors for B. schoenbuchensis.
We analyzed the seroprevalence of anti-B. schoenbuchensis immunoglobulin G (IgG) antibodies in sera of forest workers (FW; n = 82) compared to control sera of non-forest workers (NFW; n = 118) from North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. For this purpose, an immunofluorescence assay (IFA) using Vero E6 cells infected with B. schoenbuchensis was established, and serum titers were assessed. Whole cell lysate of B. schoenbuchensis was introduced for analysis of seroreactivity by western blotting. Immunodominant proteins were identified by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry.
When using human sera, 54.9% (n = 45/82) of FW were tested positive at a titre ≥ 320 whereas IFA reactivity was 66.1% (n = 78/118) in NFW. When the cut-off titre was set to ≥ 640, then 18,3% (n = 15/82) of FW and 20,3% (n = 24/118) of NFW displayed seroreactivity, respectively. In immunoblot analysis, IFA-positive sera reacted with 18 different bands ranging from ca. 40-300 kDa. No elevated reactivity of sera from FW compared to those of NFW was observed.
Our data speak against an increased seroprevalence of anti-B. schoenbuchensis IgG titers in FW, which are regularly exposed to deer keds, weakening the hypothesis that B. schoenbuchensis is transmitted to humans by deer keds.
疑似舒氏巴尔通体可引发人类的蜱性皮炎和发热性疾病。侵袭鹿类（如狍、黇鹿）的蜱（鹿蜱）被认为是舒氏巴尔通体的潜在传播媒介。
我们分析了德国北莱茵 - 威斯特法伦州森林工作者（FW；n = 82）血清中抗舒氏巴尔通体免疫球蛋白G（IgG）抗体的血清阳性率，并与非森林工作者（NFW；n = 118）的对照血清进行比较。为此，建立了一种使用感染舒氏巴尔通体的Vero E6细胞的免疫荧光测定法（IFA），并评估血清滴度。引入舒氏巴尔通体的全细胞裂解物通过蛋白质印迹法分析血清反应性。通过液相色谱 - 串联质谱法鉴定免疫显性蛋白。
使用人血清时，FW中有54.9%（n = 45/82）的人在滴度≥320时检测呈阳性，而NFW中的IFA反应性为66.1%（n = 78/118）。当截断滴度设定为≥640时，FW中有18.3%（n = 15/82）和NFW中有20.3%（n = 24/118）显示出血清反应性。在免疫印迹分析中，IFA阳性血清与18条不同的条带发生反应，范围约为40 - 300 kDa。未观察到FW血清与NFW血清相比反应性升高。
我们的数据表明，经常接触鹿蜱的FW中抗舒氏巴尔通体IgG滴度的血清阳性率并未增加，这削弱了舒氏巴尔通体通过鹿蜱传播给人类的假设。
