Eco-Virological Preliminary Study of Potentially Emerging Pathogens in Hedgehogs (Erinaceus europaeus) Recovered at a Wildlife Treatment and Rehabilitation Center in Northern Italy

Abstract

Simple Summary: Most of the newly emerging infections arise from animal reservoirs, frequently represented by wildlife species. Western European hedgehogs (Erinaceus europaeus) are mammalian hibernators, mainly nocturnal and insectivorous, living in natural open and green spaces as well as artificial, rural and urban, areas. They are generalist predators of macro-invertebrates, but they may also eat meat, bird eggs and on occasion pet food. These ecological and feeding habits, along with their high population densities, notable synanthropic attitudes, frequent contacts with sympatric wild and domestic species, including humans, implicate the possibility of intra-and interspecies interactions accounting for the possible involvement of E. europaeus in the ecology of several potentially emerging pathogens, including coronaviruses. Using PCR-based and virus isolation methods, we found that 58.3% of 24 hedgehogs' fecal samples were PCR-positive for Erinaceus coronaviruses (EriCoVs). We did not observe any clinical disease related to the EriCoV infection in hedgehogs. However, the high mutation rates characterizing members of the Coronaviridae family and their potential successful interspecies host jumps-as that likely occurred in the Novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) emergence-should be considered in the management of hedgehogs admitted to multi-species wildlife rehabilitation centers, recommending their return back to the original recovery areas.Abstract: The Western European Hedgehog (Erinaceus europaeus) is one of the four hedgehog species belonging to the genus Erinaceus. Among them, E. amurensis is extant in East Asia's areas only, whereas E. europaeus, E. roumanicus and E. concolor are mainly found in Europe. E. europaeus is endemically distributed from western to central and southern Europe, including Italy. Western European hedgehogs' ecological and feeding habits, along with their high population densities, notable synanthropic attitudes, frequent contacts with sympatric wild and domestic species, including humans, implicate the possible involvement of E. europaeus in the ecology of potentially emerging viruses, Animals 2020, 10, 407 2 of 10 such as coronaviruses, influenza A and influenza D viruses, canine distemper virus, pestiviruses and Aujeszky's disease virus. We examined 24 E. europaeus individuals found injured in urban and rural areas of Northern Italy. Of the 24 fecal samples collected and tested for the above-mentioned pathogens by both PCR-based and virus isolation methods, 14 were found PCR-positive for betacoronaviruses belonging to lineage C and related to the known Erinaceus coronaviruses (EriCoVs), as determined by partial sequencing of the virus genome. Our findings suggest that hedgehogs could be considered natural reservoirs of CoVs, and also act as chronic shedding carriers of these potentially emerging RNA viruses.

Characterizing trends in human-wildlife conflicts in the American Midwest using wildlife rehabilitation records

“…An increase in admissions of both species due to canine distemper may suggest an increase in overall prevalence of canine distemper cases during those years. This facility also admitted a noteworthy number of cases of Mycoplasma conjunctivitis, an ocular infectious disease primarily affecting finch species that was first observed in Ohio in 1994 [31,51], throughout the examined time period, These findings, in conjunction with other recent work that has observed annual fluctuations in West Nile virus cases admitted to a Minnesota wildlife rehabilitation facility [32] and characterized European hedgehogs as a natural reservoir for some coronaviruses via surveillance testing of admissions to a facility in northern Italy [52], may implicate value for wildlife rehabilitation admissions for disease monitoring. However, additional research is needed which compares wildlife records and monitored wildlife population disease prevalence before conclusions can be drawn.…”

Can Coronaviruses Steal Genes from the Host as Evidenced in Western European Hedgehogs by EriCoV Genetic Characterization?

“…To determine the evolutionary relationship with other merbecoviruses, 12 fecal samples collected from Western European hedgehogs ( Erinaceus europaeus ) previously tested positive for CoVs [ 16 ] were subject to NGS to obtain complete genome sequences. From eight out of 12 samples, the sequence reads obtained enabled to build complete genomes ( Table 1 ).…”

“…The hedgehogs were non-invasively sampled at a wildlife treatment and rehabilitation center and fecal samples were collected. Animals tested pan-CoV positive by RT-PCR [ 16 ] were enrolled in the study ( Table 1 ). Total RNA was extracted by QIAmp Viral Mini kit (Qiagen, Milan, Italy) stored at −80 °C or immediately used.…”

“…Hedgehogs are mammals belonging to the Eulipotyphla order which is phylogenetically related to the Chiroptera order [ 11 ] and have been recently identified as possible reservoir of MERS-CoV-like strains in Europe and Asia [ 12 , 13 , 14 , 15 , 16 ]. In particular, within the genus Erinaceus two species have been suggested as reservoirs of novel CoVs which have been clustered into a separate Betacoronavirus clade, among Merbecovirus members.…”

Pathology of Coronavirus Infections: A Review of Lesions in Animals in the One-Health Perspective

“…In European hedgehogs ( Erinaceus europaeus), hedgehog coronavirus 1 (subgenus Merbecovirus), referred to as Erinaceus CoV (EriCoV), was not associated to disease, so that the Western European hedgehog is considered a potential reservoir host [ 171 , 172 , 173 ]. Similarly, in amur hedgehogs ( Erinaceus amurensis ), hedgehog coronavirus HKU31 (Ea-HedCoV HKU31) was detected with no description of associated lesions [ 174 ].…”