Multiple Co-infections of Rodents with Hantaviruses,Leptospira,andBabesiain Croatia

Abstract

Hantaviruses, Leptospira spp., and Babesia spp. are rodent-borne pathogens present worldwide. We studied multiple co-infections of small rodents in Croatia with all three pathogens. Twenty-eight Apodemus flavicollis and 16 Myodes glareolus were tested for the presence of hantavirus RNA by real-time RT-PCR, Leptospira strains by renoculture method and Babesia DNA by PCR. Anti-hantavirus antibodies and anti-Leptospira antibodies were detected by serological methods. Very high infection rates with each pathogen were found in A. flavicollis: 20 of 28 rodents (71%) were infected with Dobrava virus, 13 rodents (46%) were infected with Leptospira, and 5 rodents (18%) were infected with Babesia. Multiple co-infections with all three pathogens were found in 3 of 28 (11%) A. flavicollis animals, suggesting that the same rodent host can be infected with several pathogens at the same time. Dual infections with both hantaviruses and Leptospira were found in 7 of 44 rodents (16%), with hantaviruses and Babesia in 2 rodents (5%), and double infection with both Leptospira and Babesia were found in 1 rodent (2%). Since hantaviruses, Leptospira, and Babesia have similar geographical distributions, it is to be expected that in other parts of the world multiple co-infections, representing a serious threat to public health, can be found.

Molecular Survey of Zoonotic Agents in Rodents and Other Small Mammals in Croatia

“…were isolated from 13 of 28 A. flavicollis captured in Žutica forest. 41 Leptospira interrogans, L. kirschneri, and L. borgpetersenii were identified as the Leptospira species in our study, similar to previous reports from Croatian rodents. 32,33 Hantavirus and Leptospira also represented the most frequent coinfections.…”

“…32,33 Hantavirus and Leptospira also represented the most frequent coinfections. We previously showed coinfections with both agents in humans 10 and rodents 41,42 highlighting the potential risk for simultaneous transmission of these pathogens. The clinical underestimation of hantavirus and Leptospira coinfections was recently emphasized.…”

Multiple Infections of Rodents with Zoonotic Pathogens in Austria

“…In our study, we found seven of 110 (6.4%) of the animals infected by two pathogens and additionally two of 110 (1.8%) by three. In a study on 44 rodents in Croatia, dual infections with hantaviruses and Leptospira (16%), hantaviruses and Babesia (5%), and Leptospira and Babesia (2%), and triple infections in 7% of the rodents were demonstrated (Tadin et al 2012). Moreover, interactions of pathogens, i.e., of CPXV, Babesia microti, Bartonella spp., and Anaplasma phagocytophilum, have been identified in field voles (Telfer et al 2010).…”

Abandonment, Ecological Assembly and Public Health Risks in Counter-Urbanizing Cities

“…Similarly, comparisons of census records and land use to trapping-based estimates of rodent demography indicate that species diversity and densities are elevated in neighborhoods of New Orleans with concentrations of abandonment due to flooding following Hurricane Katrina [148]. Increased rodent species richness and abundance may permit the presence of greater pathogen diversity [86,149,150] because different rodents harbor different pathogens, though some species can be co-infected with multiple pathogens including Leptospira, Babesia and Hantaviruses [150]. Because rodent-associated pathogens are generally spread by direct contact, inhalation and ingestion of rodent saliva, urine and feces [151], exposure risk can increase with the abundance and density of infected rodents, particularly when human-wildlife interfaces favor greater contact [152].…”