Borrelia burgdorferi (sensu lato) in ectoparasites and reptiles in southern Italy

Otranto, Domenico; Colella, Vito; Lia, Riccardo Paolo; Nguyen, Van Long; Barros-Battesti, Darci Moraes; Iatta, Roberta; Dantas‐Torres, Filipe; Otranto, Domenico

doi:10.1186/s13071-019-3286-1

Cited by 52 publications

(50 citation statements)

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“…Indeed, the finding of D. marginatus as the most prevalent tick species detected (i.e., 99.4%) in the examined wild boar population, has already been previously reported in several areas of the Mediterranean basin (northeastern Spain, Ortuño et al, 2006;central Italy, Di Domenico et al, 2016;southern Corsica, Grech-Angelini et al, 2016). Although I. ricinus is one of the most abundant tick in Europe and vector of many pathogens, including those of zoonotic concern (Petney et al, 2012;Mendoza-Roldan et al, 2019), D. marginatus was frequently identified and screened as positive to Rickettsia monacensis ,R. slovaca and R. raoultii collected from human patients in Italy (Otranto et al, 2014). The higher prevalence of R. slovaca (9%) than R. raoultii (0.6%) detected in D. marginatus is of relevance considering its high pathogenicity in humans (Parola et al, 2009;El Karkouri et al, 2016;Li et al, 2018).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Also, lyme disease (LD) by Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato (s.l.) complex being mainly associated toIxodes ricinus (Durden and Beati, 2014) and different species of rodents and reptiles, which act as the main reservoir hosts (Rizzoli et al, 2014;Mendoza-Roldan et al, 2019;. In addition,Borrelia afzelii was molecularly detected in D. marginatuscollected from shepherd dogs in southern Hungary (Hornok et al, 2013) as well as in wild boars from Czech Republic (Juricová and Hubálek, 2009), northern Portugal (Faria et al, 2015) and central Italy (Ebani et al, 2017).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Spotted fever group Rickettsiae in Dermacentor marginatus from wild boars in Italy

Sgroi

Iatta

Lia

et al. 2020

Preprint

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Following the increase in wild boar population recorded in urban and peri-urban areas through Europe, the present survey aimed to assess the occurrence of zoonotic tick-borne bacteria in animals and their ticks collected from southern Italy, in order to evaluate the potential risk of infection for animals and humans. From October to December 2019, a total of 176 ticks collected from 93 wild boars and their spleen samples were molecularly screened for Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato complex, Coxiella burnetii and spotted fever group (SFG) Rickettsia species. Overall, all the wild boars were infested by ticks (mean intensity, 1.9) with Dermacentor marginatus and Ixodes ricinus being identified in 99.4% and 0.6%, respectively. Out of 93 wild boars, 17 (18.3%) were infested by ticks positive to spotted fever group (SFG) Rickettsia species. Rickettsia slovaca and Rickettsia raoultii were identified in 16 (9%) and 1 (0.6%) D. marginatus, respectively, whereas a single I. ricinus (0.6%) was infected by R. slovaca. A single wild boar (1.1%) scored positive to R. slovaca. All ticks and wild boars scored negative to C. burnetii and B. burgdorferi s.l. complex. Data herein obtained suggest wild boars are involved in the dissemination of D. marginatus, especially in peri-urban settlements of the study area. An integrated management approach is advocated for wild boar population control and preventing the potential risk of tick-borne bacteria in animals and humans.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Spotted fever group Rickettsiae in Dermacentor marginatus from wild boars in Italy

Sgroi

Iatta

Lia

et al. 2020

Preprint

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“…burnetii , A . phagocytophilum , Borrelia lusitaniae and eventually become infected themselves by these bacteria [ 7 , 10 , 11 , 26 – 31 , 32 ]. Nonetheless, the significance of reptiles, such as lizards, in the ecology of Rickettsiales and in the epidemiology of human infections is still to be ascertained.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The collection of lizards infested by I . ricinus and mites ( Neotrombicula autumnalis ) in woody areas of southern Italy [ 32 ], along with anecdotic reports of people complaining of MSF-like clinical signs in the same areas stimulated the present investigation. Our main objective was to detect these rickettsial microorganisms in reptiles, their ectoparasites, and free-living ticks from the same environment.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Role of reptiles and associated arthropods in the epidemiology of rickettsioses: A one health paradigm

et al. 2021

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We assessed the presence of Rickettsia spp., Coxiella burnetii and Anaplasma phagocytophilum in reptiles, their ectoparasites and in questing ticks collected in a nature preserve park in southern Italy, as well as in a peri-urban area in another region. We also investigated the exposure to these pathogens in forestry workers, farmers and livestock breeders living or working in the nature preserve park given the report of anecdotal cases of spotted fever rickettsioses. Rickettsia spp. were molecularly detected in Podarcis muralis and Podarcis siculus lizards (i.e., 3.1%), in Ixodes ricinus (up to 87.5%) and in Neotrombicula autumnalis (up to 8.3%) collected from them as well as in I. ricinus collected from the environment (up to 28.4%). Rickettsia monacensis was the most prevalent species followed by Rickettsia helvetica. An undescribed member of the family Anaplasmataceae was detected in 2.4% and 0.8% of the reptiles and ectoparasites, respectively. Sera from human subjects (n = 50) were serologically screened and antibodies to Rickettsia spp. (n = 4; 8%), C. burnetti (n = 8; 16%) and A. phagocytophilum (n = 11; 22%) were detected. Two ticks collected from two forestry workers were positive for spotted fever group (SFG) rickettsiae. Ixodes ricinus is involved in the transmission of SFG rickettsiae (R. monacensis and R. helvetica) in southern Europe and lizards could play a role in the sylvatic cycle of R. monacensis, as amplifying hosts. Meanwhile, N. autumnalis could be involved in the enzootic cycle of some SFG rickettsiae among these animals. People living or working in the southern Italian nature preserve park investigated are exposed to SFG rickettsiae, C. burnetii and A. phagocytophilum.

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“…We cannot exclude the possibility that other wild species could be involved in PCV3 epidemiology. Immature tick stages do not depend on small rodents alone, and other, nontested, hosts including birds, reptiles or other wild small mammal species typically feed larvae and nymphs [ 22 , 27 , 28 ]. Therefore, PCV3 susceptibility, if present, could likely affect only a subset of them, and further studies should be performed to increase the number of considered species and fill this knowledge gap.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Lack of Evidence on the Susceptibility of Ticks and Wild Rodent Species to PCV3 Infection

et al. 2020

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Porcine circovirus 3 (PCV3) is an emerging virus, first detected in 2016 and widespread in the swine industry. Although not considered a primary pathogen, PCV3 is potentially linked to several clinical conditions that threaten swine farming. Wild boars are considered the main reservoir species for PCV3 infection in the wild, but recent detection in roe deer, chamois and associated ticks has complicated our understanding of its epidemiology. Much emphasis has been placed on ticks, as competent vectors, and wild rodents, which typically feed immature tick stages. The aim of this study was to clarify whether wild rodent species and associated ticks are susceptible to PCV3 infection and involved in its spread. Wild small mammals’ serum samples and hosted ticks were, therefore, collected from areas where no wild boars were present and tested by PCR, targeting the PCV3 rep gene. A total of 90 yellow-necked mice (Apodemus flavicollis), two wood mice (A. sylvaticus), 26 bank voles (Myodes glareolus) and 262 Ixodes spp. ticks were investigated. PCV3 DNA was not detected in serum or in tick samples. These findings support the hypothesis that the investigated species do not have an actual role as PCV3 reservoirs. Further studies would be necessary to state whether these species, or others that we did not test, are involved in PCV3 infection spread—in particular when susceptible species share the same habitat.

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Borrelia burgdorferi (sensu lato) in ectoparasites and reptiles in southern Italy

Cited by 52 publications

References 60 publications

Spotted fever group Rickettsiae in Dermacentor marginatus from wild boars in Italy

Spotted fever group Rickettsiae in Dermacentor marginatus from wild boars in Italy

Role of reptiles and associated arthropods in the epidemiology of rickettsioses: A one health paradigm

Lack of Evidence on the Susceptibility of Ticks and Wild Rodent Species to PCV3 Infection

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