Monitoring Campaign over an Edible Dormouse Population (Glis glis; Rodentia: Gliridae) in Sicily: First Report of Mesocestodiasis.

Giorgia Schirò,Francesco Severini,Valentina Cumbo,Gianluca Marucci,Lucia Galuppo,Simone Mario Cacciò,Roberto Puleio,Guido Ruggero Loria,Mario Lo Valvo,Luigi Gradoni,Domenico Pieri

doi:10.3390/ani11040934

Abstract

Simple SummaryIn Nebrodi Park (Sicily, Italy), live many wild mammal species that move closer to human beings every day. The edible dormouse (Glis glis), in 2017 and 2018, was responsible for nut crop damage in the area. For this reason, a sanitary monitoring campaign involving 30 dormice was carried out by collecting rectal and conjunctival swabs and fur and nest content, which were then processed for laboratory examinations. A large presence of fleas belonging to Monopsyllus sciurorum was found. Necropsy of a dead dormouse revealed an infection of Mesocestoides lineatus, whose cysts were found in the abdomen cavity and on the liver; this is the first report of this in this species. Further studies are necessary to identify their role in the environment, considering the limited knowledge of this species in Italy.This study reports on the health status of the edible dormouse (Glis glis) living in Nebrodi Park (Sicily, Italy), responsible for nut crop damage in the area. In the frame of a monitoring campaign for potential zoonotic risk involving 30 dormice, rectal and conjunctival swabs and fur and nest content were collected for bacteriological and parasitological examinations, respectively. A large presence of fleas belonging to Monopsyllus sciurorum was found. Necropsy of a dead dormouse revealed an infection of Mesocestoides lineatus, whose cysts were found in the abdomen cavity and on the liver; this is the first report of this in this species. Further studies are necessary to identify their role in the environment, considering the limited knowledge of this species in Italy.

Highlights

This study was carried out in a Sicilian regional park, located in the Nebrodi mountains (Sicily, Italy), which still represents a sanctuary for biodiversity, hosting several animal species including a variety of micromammals
Little known about the sanitary state of edible dormice in Europe, this may move to look for better host nesting and,diseases,especially availability of food resources species may act as a reservoir for sites zoonotic those transmitted by[9]
Little is known about the sanitary state of edible dormice in Europe, this fleas and ticks [1], and for emerging viral disease, such as hantavirus, monkeypox, species may act as a reservoir host for zoonotic diseases, especially those transmitted and polyomaviruses [10,11,12]

Summary

Introduction

This study was carried out in a Sicilian regional park, located in the Nebrodi mountains (Sicily, Italy), which still represents a sanctuary for biodiversity, hosting several animal species including a variety of micromammals. The edible dormouse (Glis glis L.; Rodentia: Gliridae), an arboreal hibernating rodent, is one of the inhabitants of this rare Mediterranean landscape, still reported in the central–eastern areas of Sicily, including Madonie, Nebrodi, Peloritani, the Iblei mountains, and Mount Etna This species usually lives in arboreal nests, which are generally dug by other animals in the hollows of trees, and its mobility in the environment is both vertical and horizontal [1]. Little known about the sanitary state of edible dormice in Europe, this may move to look for better host nesting and,diseases, ,especially availability of food resources species may act as a reservoir for sites zoonotic those transmitted by[9]. Edible dormice seem to be, more than any otherby fleas andanticks [1], and for emerging viral disease, such as(Borrelia hantavirus, mammals, efficient reservoir host for Lyme disease spirochetes spp.)monkeypox, transmitand polyomaviruses [10,11,12]

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Discussion

Conclusion