Hedgehogs and Squirrels as Hosts of Zoonotic <i>Bartonella</i> Species
Free-living animals frequently play a key role in the circulation of various zoonotic vector-borne pathogens. Bacteria of the genus <i>Bartonella</i> are transmitted by blood-feeding arthropods and infect a large range of mammals. Although only several species have been identified as cau...
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MDPI AG
2021-06-01
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| Series: | Pathogens |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0817/10/6/686 |
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| author | Karolina Majerová Ricardo Gutiérrez Manoj Fonville Václav Hönig Petr Papežík Lada Hofmannová Paulina Maria Lesiczka Yaarit Nachum-Biala Daniel Růžek Hein Sprong Shimon Harrus David Modrý Jan Votýpka |
| author_facet | Karolina Majerová Ricardo Gutiérrez Manoj Fonville Václav Hönig Petr Papežík Lada Hofmannová Paulina Maria Lesiczka Yaarit Nachum-Biala Daniel Růžek Hein Sprong Shimon Harrus David Modrý Jan Votýpka |
| author_sort | Karolina Majerová |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Free-living animals frequently play a key role in the circulation of various zoonotic vector-borne pathogens. Bacteria of the genus <i>Bartonella</i> are transmitted by blood-feeding arthropods and infect a large range of mammals. Although only several species have been identified as causative agents of human disease, it has been proposed that any <i>Bartonella</i> species found in animals may be capable of infecting humans. Within a wide-ranging survey in various geographical regions of the Czech Republic, cadavers of accidentally killed synurbic mammalian species, namely Eurasian red squirrel (<i>Sciurus vulgaris</i>), European hedgehog (<i>Erinaceus europaeus</i>) and Northern white-breasted hedgehog (<i>Erinaceus roumanicus</i>), were sampled and tested for <i>Bartonella</i> presence using multiple PCR reaction approach targeting several DNA loci. We demonstrate that cadavers constitute an available and highly useful source of biological material for pathogen screening. High infection rates of <i>Bartonella</i> spp., ranging from 24% to 76%, were confirmed for all three tested mammalian species, and spleen, ear, lung and liver tissues were demonstrated as the most suitable for <i>Bartonella</i> DNA detection. The wide spectrum of <i>Bartonella</i> spp. that were identified includes three species with previously validated zoonotic potential, <i>B. grahamii</i>, <i>B. melophagi</i> and <i>B. washoensis</i>, accompanied by ‘<i>Candidatus</i> B. rudakovii’ and two putative novel species, <i>Bartonella</i> sp. ERIN and <i>Bartonella</i> sp. SCIER. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T10:48:46Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-59bddbdaea3245378f018cc64f52df0f |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2076-0817 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T10:48:46Z |
| publishDate | 2021-06-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Pathogens |
| spelling | doaj.art-59bddbdaea3245378f018cc64f52df0f2023-11-21T22:22:59ZengMDPI AGPathogens2076-08172021-06-0110668610.3390/pathogens10060686Hedgehogs and Squirrels as Hosts of Zoonotic <i>Bartonella</i> SpeciesKarolina Majerová0Ricardo Gutiérrez1Manoj Fonville2Václav Hönig3Petr Papežík4Lada Hofmannová5Paulina Maria Lesiczka6Yaarit Nachum-Biala7Daniel Růžek8Hein Sprong9Shimon Harrus10David Modrý11Jan Votýpka12Department of Parasitology, Faculty of Science, Charles University, 12800 Prague, Czech RepublicKoret School of Veterinary Medicine, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Rehovot 76100, IsraelCenter for Infectious Disease Control, National Institute for Public Health and the Environment, 3721 Bilthoven, The NetherlandsInstitute of Parasitology, Biology Center, Czech Academy of Sciences, 37005 Ceske Budejovice, Czech RepublicDepartment of Pathology and Parasitology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Veterinary Sciences, 61242 Brno, Czech RepublicDepartment of Pathology and Parasitology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Veterinary Sciences, 61242 Brno, Czech RepublicDepartment of Pathology and Parasitology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Veterinary Sciences, 61242 Brno, Czech RepublicKoret School of Veterinary Medicine, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Rehovot 76100, IsraelInstitute of Parasitology, Biology Center, Czech Academy of Sciences, 37005 Ceske Budejovice, Czech RepublicCenter for Infectious Disease Control, National Institute for Public Health and the Environment, 3721 Bilthoven, The NetherlandsKoret School of Veterinary Medicine, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Rehovot 76100, IsraelInstitute of Parasitology, Biology Center, Czech Academy of Sciences, 37005 Ceske Budejovice, Czech RepublicDepartment of Parasitology, Faculty of Science, Charles University, 12800 Prague, Czech RepublicFree-living animals frequently play a key role in the circulation of various zoonotic vector-borne pathogens. Bacteria of the genus <i>Bartonella</i> are transmitted by blood-feeding arthropods and infect a large range of mammals. Although only several species have been identified as causative agents of human disease, it has been proposed that any <i>Bartonella</i> species found in animals may be capable of infecting humans. Within a wide-ranging survey in various geographical regions of the Czech Republic, cadavers of accidentally killed synurbic mammalian species, namely Eurasian red squirrel (<i>Sciurus vulgaris</i>), European hedgehog (<i>Erinaceus europaeus</i>) and Northern white-breasted hedgehog (<i>Erinaceus roumanicus</i>), were sampled and tested for <i>Bartonella</i> presence using multiple PCR reaction approach targeting several DNA loci. We demonstrate that cadavers constitute an available and highly useful source of biological material for pathogen screening. High infection rates of <i>Bartonella</i> spp., ranging from 24% to 76%, were confirmed for all three tested mammalian species, and spleen, ear, lung and liver tissues were demonstrated as the most suitable for <i>Bartonella</i> DNA detection. The wide spectrum of <i>Bartonella</i> spp. that were identified includes three species with previously validated zoonotic potential, <i>B. grahamii</i>, <i>B. melophagi</i> and <i>B. washoensis</i>, accompanied by ‘<i>Candidatus</i> B. rudakovii’ and two putative novel species, <i>Bartonella</i> sp. ERIN and <i>Bartonella</i> sp. SCIER.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0817/10/6/686<i>Bartonella grahamii</i><i>B. melophagi</i><i>B. rochalimae</i><i>B. washoensis</i>‘<i>Candidatus</i> B. rudakovii’hedgehogs |
| spellingShingle | Karolina Majerová Ricardo Gutiérrez Manoj Fonville Václav Hönig Petr Papežík Lada Hofmannová Paulina Maria Lesiczka Yaarit Nachum-Biala Daniel Růžek Hein Sprong Shimon Harrus David Modrý Jan Votýpka Hedgehogs and Squirrels as Hosts of Zoonotic <i>Bartonella</i> Species Pathogens <i>Bartonella grahamii</i> <i>B. melophagi</i> <i>B. rochalimae</i> <i>B. washoensis</i> ‘<i>Candidatus</i> B. rudakovii’ hedgehogs |
| title | Hedgehogs and Squirrels as Hosts of Zoonotic <i>Bartonella</i> Species |
| title_full | Hedgehogs and Squirrels as Hosts of Zoonotic <i>Bartonella</i> Species |
| title_fullStr | Hedgehogs and Squirrels as Hosts of Zoonotic <i>Bartonella</i> Species |
| title_full_unstemmed | Hedgehogs and Squirrels as Hosts of Zoonotic <i>Bartonella</i> Species |
| title_short | Hedgehogs and Squirrels as Hosts of Zoonotic <i>Bartonella</i> Species |
| title_sort | hedgehogs and squirrels as hosts of zoonotic i bartonella i species |
| topic | <i>Bartonella grahamii</i> <i>B. melophagi</i> <i>B. rochalimae</i> <i>B. washoensis</i> ‘<i>Candidatus</i> B. rudakovii’ hedgehogs |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0817/10/6/686 |
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