Abstract
BackgroundRodents are important in the life-cycle of ticks as hosts for immature developmental stages. Both rodents and ticks are of public health interest as they are reservoirs and vectors for different tick-borne pathogens (TBP). The aim of this study was to reassess the prevalence of TBP in previously studied areas of the city of Leipzig (Saxony, Germany).MethodsIn the years 2015–2017 rodents and ticks were collected in parks and forest areas in Saxony. DNA was extracted from the rodents, attached and questing ticks. Samples were screened for the presence of Anaplasma phagocytophilum, Babesia spp., Borrelia burgdorferi (s.l.), “Candidatus Neoehrlichia mikurensis” (CNM), Bartonella spp., Hepatozoon spp. and Rickettsia spp. using PCR methods. Rodent, attached nymph and questing tick (nymph and adult) samples were tested individually, while attached larvae were further processed in pools.ResultsA total of 165 rodents (Apodemus agrarius, n = 1; A. flavicollis, n = 59; Arvicola terrestris, n = 1; Myodes glareolus, n = 104), 1256 attached ticks (Ixodes ricinus, n = 1164; Dermacentor reticulatus, n = 92) and 577 questing ticks (I. ricinus, n = 547; D. reticulatus, n = 30) were collected. The prevalence levels in rodents were 78.2% for Bartonella spp., 58.2% for CNM, 49.1% for B. burgdorferi (s.l.) 29.1% for Rickettsia spp. and 24.2% for Hepatozoon spp. The minimal infection rates (MIR) in attached larvae ticks were 39.8% for Rickettsia spp., 32.7% for Bartonella spp., 7.1% for CNM and 8.8% for B. burgdorferi (s.l.) and the prevalence rates in attached nymphs were 33.7% for Bartonella spp., 52.9% for Rickettsia spp., 13.5% for CNM and 11.3% for B. burgdorferi (s.l.) Both rodents and attached ticks were negative for Babesia spp. The prevalence in questing ticks was 18.2% for Rickettsia spp., 7.3% for CNM, 6.4% for B. burgdorferi (s.l.) and 1.4% for Babesia spp. All tested samples were Anaplasma-negative. Sequencing revealed the occurrence of 14 identified species.ConclusionsThis research is the first evaluation of the prevalence for Hepatozoon spp. in rodents from Germany. In comparison to earlier studies, detected pathogens species remained the same; however, the prevalence for particular pathogens differed.
Highlights
Rodents are important in the life-cycle of ticks as hosts for immature developmental stages
Burgdorferi (s.l.) and the prevalence rates in attached nymphs were 33.7% for Bartonella spp., 52.9% for Rickettsia spp., 13.5% for Candidatus Neoehrlichia mikurensis” (CNM) and 11.3% for B. burgdorferi (s.l.) Both rodents and attached ticks were negative for Babesia spp
This study reports very high prevalence levels for tick-borne pathogens (TBP), especially in rodents
Summary
Rodents are important in the life-cycle of ticks as hosts for immature developmental stages. Both rodents and ticks are of public health interest as they are reservoirs and vectors for different tick-borne pathogens (Saxony, Germany). Small mammals are important hosts for the developmental immature stages of ticks in their natural life-cycle. Ixodes ricinus is the most prevalent tick species in Europe and is responsible for the transmission of most zoonotic tick-borne pathogens (TBP) [2]; Dermacentor reticulatus is a rising concern as a potential vector of TBP. While A. phagocytophilum is known to cause mild to severe symptoms in humans, dogs and other mammals, CNM is rather an opportunistic agent mostly affecting immunosuppressed humans and dogs [7, 8]. Wild boars and hedgehogs are regarded as reservoirs for A. phagocytophilum, the reservoir function of small mammals is disputable, as there are supportive as well as refutable studies [1, 9,10,11,12]
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