Bartonella infections in three species of Microtus: prevalence and genetic diversity, vertical transmission and the effect of concurrent Babesia microti infection on its success

Tołkacz, Katarzyna; Alsarraf, Mohammed; Kowalec, Maciej; Dwużnik, Dorota; Grzybek, Maciej; Behnke, Jerzy M.; Bajer, Anna

doi:10.1186/s13071-018-3047-6

Cited by 27 publications

(38 citation statements)

References 45 publications

(109 reference statements)

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“…In the present study, a very high prevalence (74.7%) was detected in Microtus spp. which is line with recent studies from Poland and Spain (47–66.8%) [36, 37]. Individuals belonging to the genus Microtus were thus far not examined for immunity or the ability to resolve Bartonella infections.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 83%

Highly prevalent bartonellae and other vector-borne pathogens in small mammal species from the Czech Republic and Germany

et al. 2019

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Background Rodents are important reservoirs for zoonotic vector-borne agents. Thus, the distribution of rodents and their vicinity to humans and companion animals may have an important impact on human and animal health. However, the reservoir potential of some rodent genera, e.g. Microtus , has not yet been precisely examined concerning tick-borne pathogens in Central Europe. Therefore, we examined small mammals from Germany and the Czech Republic for the following vector-borne pathogens: Babesia spp., Bartonella spp., Anaplasma phagocytophilum , “ Candidatus Neoehrlichia mikurensis” (CNM) and Coxiella burnetii . Spleen DNA from 321 small mammals belonging to four genera, Myodes ( n = 78), Apodemus ( n = 56), Microtus ( n = 149), Sorex ( n = 38), collected during 2014 in Germany and the Czech Republic were available for this study. DNA samples were examined for the presence of Babesia and Bartonella DNA by conventional PCR targeting the 18S rRNA gene and the 16S–23S rRNA intergenic spacer region, respectively. For the detection of CNM, A. phagocytophilum and C. burnetii real-time PCR assays were performed. Results Bartonella spp. DNA was detected in 216 specimens (67.3%) with 102/174 (58.6%) positive in Germany and 114/147 (77.6%) in the Czech Republic. The prevalence in each genus was 44.9% for Myodes , 63.2% for Sorex , 77.2% for Microtus and 75% for Apodemus. Four Bartonella species, i.e. Bartonella sp. N40, B. grahamii , B. taylorii and B. doshiae , as well as uncultured bartonellae, were detected. The Bartonella species diversity was higher in rodents than in shrews. In total, 27/321 (8.4%) small mammals were positive for CNM and 3/321 (0.9%) for A. phagocytophilum ( S. coronatus and M. glareolus ). All samples were negative for Babesia spp. and Coxiella spp. Conclusions While the detected high prevalence for Bartonella in Apodemus and Myodes spp. is confirmatory with previous findings, the prevalence in Microtus ...

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 83%

Highly prevalent bartonellae and other vector-borne pathogens in small mammal species from the Czech Republic and Germany

et al. 2019

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“…Again, Bartonella infections were prevalent in rodent hosts from Niewiadów, where no D. reticulatus were recorded. Finally, all three species/genotypes of Bartonella identified in the present study have been previously found/described in rodents (Welc-Faleciak et al 2008a;Paziewska et al 2011;Buffet et al 2013;Gutierrez et al 2015;Tołkacz et al 2018). Thus we conclude that the Bartonella DNA detected in feeding juvenile D. reticulatus in this study represents a case of typical 'meal contamination' and does not support a vector role of this tick species for these bacteria.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 81%

“…For the detection of Bartonella spp., the 330 bp gene fragment of rpoB was amplified in a nested PCR as described previously (Paziewska et al 2011;Tołkacz et al 2018). In the first reaction, primers 1400F, 2300R were used for amplification of the 900 bp rpoB fragment; in a second step primers rpoB F, rpoB R were used for amplification of the 330 bp rpoB fragment.…”

Section: Detection Of Pathogen Dna By Pcrmentioning

confidence: 99%

The role of juvenile Dermacentor reticulatus ticks as vectors of microorganisms and the problem of ‘meal contamination’

et al. 2019

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Juvenile Dermacentor reticulatus ticks inhabit nests and burrows of their rodent hosts and cannot be collected from vegetation. To detect vertical transmission of Babesia canis in D. reticulatus, we studied larvae and nymphs collected from rodents. However, the molecular techniques used for detection of pathogen DNA are sensitive enough to detect not only pathogens vectored by ticks but also those taken up with current or previous blood meals ('meal contamination') or just present in the environment and on the tick or host surface ('environmental contaminations'). Thus, an additional aim of our study was to evaluate the extent of such contamination while studying feeding ticks collected from rodents. Juvenile D. reticulatus were collected from 140 rodents: 91 bank voles trapped in two forest sites in the Mazury Lake District and 49 rodents (Apodemus and Microtus spp.) from an open habitat near the town of Białobrzegi in Central Poland. Altogether 504 D. reticulatus ticks, comprising 266 individually evaluated nymphs and 238 larvae assigned to 50 larval pools, were studied for the presence of Babesia, Bartonella and Rickettsia spp. DNA. Statistical analyses were conducted to (1) evaluate the effect of rodent host factors (species, sex and age) on prevalence of infection in ticks, and (2) to compare the frequency of positive samples between groups of pathogen-positive and pathogen-negative rodent hosts. To complete the last aim, blood samples obtained from 49 rodents from Białobrzegi were studied for the presence of Babesia and Bartonella DNA. Infestation of rodent hosts with juvenile ticks ranged between 46 and 78%, with a mean abundance of 3.6 ticks/rodent for D. reticulatus and 4.8 ticks/rodent for Ixodes ricinus. The highest prevalence of PCR-positive D. reticulatus samples was obtained for Rickettsia spp. (28%) and R. raoultii was identified in 22 sequenced PCR products. Babesia DNA was detected in 20 (7.5%), including B. microti in 18 (6.8%) and B. canis in two (0.8%) of 266 D. reticulatus nymphs that were analyzed. Babesia microti DNA was also detected in four pools of D. reticulatus larvae (4/50 pools = 8%). The detection success of B. microti in D. reticulatus was associated with the species of the rodent hosts of the ticks (much higher for typical B. microti-host-species such as Microtus spp. than for Apodemus spp.) and host age (3 × higher in ticks collected from adult hosts in comparison to juvenile ones). Moreover, the DNA of B. microti was detected in 68% of D. reticulatus nymphs collected from B. microti-positive rodents in comparison to only 1.6% of nymphs collected from B. microti-negative rodents. Bartonella DNA was

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“…The study site was located in the Mazury Lake District region in the northeastern corner of Poland (Urwitałt, near Mikołajki; 53°48’50.25”N, 21°39’7.17”E) and previously described [ 29 , 30 ]. Voles were collected in August 2013 during the late summer season, when rodent population density is at its highest in the annual cycle.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Animals were weighed to the nearest gram, total body length, and tail length were measured in millimetres. Animals were allocated to three age classes (juveniles, subadult, and adults), based on body weight and nose-to-anus length together with a reproductive condition (scrotal, semi-scrotal, or non-scrotal for males; lactating, pregnant or receptive for females) [ 29 , 30 , 31 , 32 ]. Recent reports suggest taxonomic changes within vole species [ 33 ].…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Zoonotic Viruses in Three Species of Voles from Poland

Grzybek

Tołkacz

Sironen

et al. 2020

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Rodents are known to be reservoir hosts for a plethora of zoonotic viruses and therefore play a significant role in the dissemination of these pathogens. We trapped three vole species (Microtus arvalis, Alexandromys oeconomus and Microtus agrestis) in northeastern Poland, all of which are widely distributed species in Europe. Using immunofluorescence assays, we assessed serum samples for the presence of antibodies to hantaviruses, arenaviruses and cowpox viruses (CPXV). We detected antibodies against CPXV and Puumala hantavirus (PUUV), the overall seroprevalence of combined viral infections being 18.2% [10.5–29.3] and mostly attributed to CPXV. We detected only one PUUV/TULV cross-reaction in Microtus arvalis (1.3% [0.1–7.9]), but found similar levels of antibodies against CPXV in all three vole species. There were no significant differences in seroprevalence of CPXV among host species and age categories, nor between the sexes. These results contribute to our understanding of the distribution and abundance of CPXV in voles in Europe, and confirm that CPXV circulates also in Microtus and Alexandromys voles in northeastern Poland.

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Bartonella infections in three species of Microtus: prevalence and genetic diversity, vertical transmission and the effect of concurrent Babesia microti infection on its success

Cited by 27 publications

References 45 publications

Highly prevalent bartonellae and other vector-borne pathogens in small mammal species from the Czech Republic and Germany

Highly prevalent bartonellae and other vector-borne pathogens in small mammal species from the Czech Republic and Germany

The role of juvenile Dermacentor reticulatus ticks as vectors of microorganisms and the problem of ‘meal contamination’

Zoonotic Viruses in Three Species of Voles from Poland

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