Reservoir Competence of Wildlife Host Species for<i>Babesia microti</i>

Hersh, Michelle H.; Tibbetts, Michael D.; Strauss, Mia; Ostfeld, Richard S.; Keesing, Felicia

doi:10.3201/eid1812.111392

Cited by 107 publications

(115 citation statements)

References 38 publications

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“…It was first described in a vole near Lisbon in 1910 as Smithia microtia (Microtus incertus, now Microtus arvalis subspecies incertus, the common vole [Walter 1981]. Babesia microti has since been detected in small mammals, humans and hard ticks from Europe and the USA [Kogut et al 2005, Hildebrandt et al 2007, Silaghi et al 2012, Hersh et al 2012. Human babesiosis caused by B.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Molecular examinations of Babesia microti in rodents and rodent-attached ticks from urban and sylvatic habitats in Germany

Obiegala

Pfeffer

Pfister

et al. 2015

Ticks and Tick-borne Diseases

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Small mammals serve as reservoir hosts for tick-borne pathogens, especially for those which are not transmitted transovarially in ticks -such as Babesia microti. Molecular investigations on the prevalence of B. microti in wild small mammals and on attached ticks from differently structured areas may provide information on the circulation of B. microti in different ecological niches. In 2012 and 2013, 622 rodents (396 Myodes glareolus, 178 Apodemus flavicollis, 36 Apodemus sylvaticus, 4 Apodemus agrarius, 7 Microtus arvalis, 1 Microtus agrestis) were captured from three differently structured habitats (urban, sylvatic, recultivated) in Germany. Attached ticks were collected from 449 small mammals (3250 Ixodes ricinus, 7 Ixodes trianguliceps, 133 Dermacentor reticulatus). A representative selection of a maximum of 5 ticks per developmental stage and species per 30 rodents of each species, location and year resulting in 965 ticks was further investigated. DNA was extracted from tick, blood and spleen samples, and tested by PCR for the partial 18S rRNA gene of B. microti with subsequent sequencing. The prevalence was significantly higher in rodents from the sylvatic site (4.6%) than in rodents captured at both other sites (0-0.6%) (2= 11.95; p= 0.00125). Body and spleen weight of infected M. glareolus from the sylvatic site were significantly higher compared to those from non-infected individuals from that site (p = 0.00288 and p = 0.00017, respectively). Babesia microti DNA was detected in 3 out of 965 attached ticks (0.3%; 95%CI: 0-1) from all sites, but they derived exclusively from rodents captured at the sylvatic site. At the same site, I. ricinus nymphs (7.7%; 95%CI: 1-25.3) were significantly more often infected than I. ricinus larvae (0%; 95%CI: 0-1.3)(2 = 26.72; p <0.0001). The majority of positive rodents was also found at that site. I. trianguliceps occurred exclusively and the majority of M. glareolus at that site. Thus, it may be assumed that the circulation of B. microti is more efficient where this tick species and voles exist sympatrically than in areas with a predominant occurrence of Apodemus species. microti with subsequent sequencing. The prevalence was significantly higher in rodents from the sylvatic site (4.6%) than in rodents captured at both other sites (0-0.6%) (χ²= 11.95; p= 0.00125).Body and spleen weight of infected M. glareolus from the sylvatic site were significantly higher compared to those from non-infected individuals from that site (p=0.00288 and p=0.00017, respectively). Babesia microti DNA was detected in 3 out of 965 attached ticks (0.3%; 95%CI: 0-1) from all sites, but they derived exclusively from rodents captured at the sylvatic site. At the same site, I. ricinus nymphs (7.7%; 95%CI: 1-25.3) were significantly more often infected than I. ricinus larvae (0%; 95%CI: 0-1.3)(χ²=26.72; p <0.0001). The majority of positive rodents was also found at that site. I. trianguliceps occurred exclusively and the majority of M. glareolus at that site. Thus, it may be assumed that...

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Molecular examinations of Babesia microti in rodents and rodent-attached ticks from urban and sylvatic habitats in Germany

Obiegala

Pfeffer

Pfister

et al. 2015

Ticks and Tick-borne Diseases

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“…microti can infect many species of animals [9] and different strains of mice with different susceptibility to infection [10]. Previous studies compared the susceptibility of one outbred (CF1) and four inbred (BALB/c, C57, CBA, and C3H) strains of mice with human-origin B. microti.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Inhibitory effects of 19 antiprotozoal drugs and antibiotics on Babesia microti infection in BALB/c mice

Yao

Zhang

Liu

et al. 2015

J Infect Dev Ctries

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Introduction: Different results have been achieved in the evaluation of antiparasitic drug activity in Mongolian jirds, hamsters, and BALB/c mice infected with Babesia microti. The aims of the present study were to find a preferable method for drug screening and to re-evaluate the activity of several drugs against B. microti. Methodology: The activity of 19 drugs on B. microti-infected BALB/c mice was evaluated. The study was built on Peters' four-day suppressive test, and the pathogenicity of the blood from the treated mice was also used as indicator. Results: The results showed that 15 of the 19 drugs had little or no in vivo effect against B. microti. The inhibitory rates of atovaquone and azithromycin were high at all doses, but the microscopy-negative blood of recovered mice was still infectious. Similar to robenidine hydrochloride at 25 and 50 mg/kg, primaquine at 100 mg/kg had a 100% inhibitory rate. Robenidine hydrochloride achieved a 100% inhibitory rate at 100 mg/kg, and the blood of recovered mice did not result in parasitemia in subpassage experiments. Parasite-negative blood from mice treated with antimalarial drugs (clinically used for babesiosis) still caused parasitemia in subpassage experiments. This suggests that these drugs cannot eradicate the parasites. Conclusions: Peters' four-day suppressive test and the pathogenicity of the blood from the treated mice are suitable methods for preliminary investigating possible drugs against B. microti. Considering that robenidine hydrochloride achieved the best activity against B. microti in BALB/c mice in our study, further studies are needed.

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“…Nine percent of the ticks sampled were co-infected with more than one pathogen which is not surprising given that zoonotic pathogens share a common I. scapularis tick vector and small mammal reservoirs [4][5][6]. We saw no evidence that coinfection occurred more or less often than expected based upon the co-infections predicted by combinations of the pathogens independent frequencies.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 54%

“…(Peromyscus leucopus) [4][5][6]. Although Lyme disease is the leading vector-borne zoonotic disease caused by B. burgdorferi in the U.S., human co-infection with B. microti (Babesiosis) and A. phagocytophilum (Anaplasmosis) can occur in patients infected with B. burgdorferi [7][8][9].…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Adult Ixodes scapularis Ticks in a Lyme Disease Hot Spot are Vectors for Emerging Pathogens

Irani¹

2016

SOJMID

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Reservoir Competence of Wildlife Host Species forBabesia microti

Abstract: Competence data will aid understanding of the spread of human babesiosis.

Cited by 107 publications

References 38 publications

Molecular examinations of Babesia microti in rodents and rodent-attached ticks from urban and sylvatic habitats in Germany

Molecular examinations of Babesia microti in rodents and rodent-attached ticks from urban and sylvatic habitats in Germany

Inhibitory effects of 19 antiprotozoal drugs and antibiotics on Babesia microti infection in BALB/c mice

Adult Ixodes scapularis Ticks in a Lyme Disease Hot Spot are Vectors for Emerging Pathogens

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