Drivers behind co-occurrence patterns between pathogenic bacteria, protozoa, and helminths in populations of the multimammate mouse, Mastomys natalensis

Broecke, Bram Vanden; Tafompa, Pamela Jones June; Mwamundela, Baraka Edson; Bernaerts, Lisse; Ribas, Alexis; Mnyone, Ladslaus L.; Leirs, Herwig; Mariën, Joachim

doi:10.1016/j.actatropica.2023.106939

Cited by 3 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 78 publications

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“…Besides the sex effects, we also found statistical support for a positive age effect on the presence of antibodies in some of the tested arboviruses. This increased seroprevalence with age corroborates previous findings for other pathogens (i.e., Bartonella sp., Anaplasma sp., helminths, and arenaviruses) [48,49,98]. This age effect further supports our hypothesis that M. natalensis is exposed to arboviruses and that individuals develop antibodies and gain immunity via repeated exposures throughout their life.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 85%

“…Given that both Togaviridae and Flaviviridae viruses are circulating in humans in East Africa, we hypothesize that these viral families may also both be present in rodents [5,10]. More specifically, it is plausible that both viral families could be found in M. natalensis, where pathogen co-infections are common [49]. This hypothesis is further supported by the fact that some viruses in both families are transmitted by the same arthropod vectors, such as Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus for both dengue virus and CHIKV [4,82].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This has large ecological and societal impacts due to crop damage and influences seasonal transmission dynamics of different pathogens [33][34][35]. The multimammate mouse is a known host for several zoonotic pathogens such as Lassa mammarenavirus, Yersinia pestis, Leptospira interrogans, Leishmania major as well as different ecto-and endoparasites [31,[36][37][38][39][40][41][42][43][44][45][46][47][48][49][50][51][52]. No studies have investigated or reported on arboviruses in M. natalensis, except Diagne et al (2019) who have detected Usutu virus RNA in M. natalensis.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Antibodies against medically relevant arthropod-borne viruses in the ubiquitous African rodentMastomys natalensis

De Kesel,

Broecke,

Borremans

et al. 2024

Preprint

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Over the past decades, the number of arthropod-borne virus (arbovirus) outbreaks has increased worldwide. Knowledge regarding the sylvatic cycle (i.e., non-human hosts/environment) of arboviruses is limited, particularly in Africa, and the main hosts for virus maintenance are unknown. Previous studies have shown the presence of antibodies against certain arboviruses (i.e., chikungunya-, dengue- and zika virus) in African non-human primates and bats. We hypothesize that small mammals, specifically rodents, may function as amplifying hosts in anthropogenic environments. The detection of RNA of most arboviruses is complicated by the virus's short viremic period within their hosts. An alternative to determine arbovirus hosts is by detecting antibodies, which can persist several months. We developed a high-throughput multiplex immunoassay to detect antibodies against 15 medically relevant arboviruses. We used this assay to assess almost 1,300 blood samples of the multimammate mouse, Mastomysnatalensis from Tanzania. In 24% of the samples, we detected antibodies against at least one of the tested arboviruses, with high seroprevalences of antibodies reacting against dengue virus serotype one (7.6%) and two (8.4%) and chikungunya virus (6%). Seroprevalence was higher in females and increased with age, which could be explained by inherent immunity and behavioral differences between sexes and the increased chance of exposure to an arbovirus with age. We evaluated whether antibodies against multiple arboviruses co-occur more often than randomly and found that this may be true for some members of the Flaviviridae and Togaviridae. In conclusion, the development of an assay against a wide diversity of medically relevant arboviruses enabled the analysis of a large sample collection of one of the most abundant African small mammals. Our findings suggest a role in the transmission of multiple arboviruses by this ubiquitous rodent and provide a solid foundation for future molecular screening to elucidate the role in the arbovirus transmission cycle.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 85%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Antibodies against medically relevant arthropod-borne viruses in the ubiquitous African rodentMastomys natalensis

De Kesel,

Broecke,

Borremans

et al. 2024

Preprint

Self Cite

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Antibodies against medically relevant arthropod-borne viruses in the ubiquitous African rodent Mastomys natalensis

De Kesel,

Vanden Broecke,

Borremans

et al. 2024

PLoS Negl Trop Dis

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Over the past decades, the number of arthropod-borne virus (arbovirus) outbreaks has increased worldwide. Knowledge regarding the sylvatic cycle (i.e., non-human hosts/environment) of arboviruses is limited, particularly in Africa, and the main hosts for virus maintenance are unknown. Previous studies have shown the presence of antibodies against certain arboviruses (i.e., chikungunya-, dengue-, and Zika virus) in African non-human primates and bats. We hypothesize that small mammals, specifically rodents, may function as amplifying hosts in anthropogenic environments. The detection of RNA of most arboviruses is complicated by the viruses’ short viremic period within their hosts. An alternative to determine arbovirus hosts is by detecting antibodies, which can persist several months. Therefore, we developed a high-throughput multiplex immunoassay to detect antibodies against 15 medically relevant arboviruses. We used this assay to assess approximately 1,300 blood samples of the multimammate mouse, Mastomys natalensis from Tanzania. In 24% of the samples, we detected antibodies against at least one of the tested arboviruses, with high seroprevalences of antibodies reacting against dengue virus serotype one (7.6%) and two (8.4%), and chikungunya virus (6%). Seroprevalence was higher in females and increased with age, which could be explained by inherent immunity and behavioral differences between sexes, and the increased chance of exposure to an arbovirus with age. We evaluated whether antibodies against multiple arboviruses co-occur more often than randomly and found that this may be true for some members of the Flaviviridae and Togaviridae. In conclusion, the development of an assay against a wide diversity of medically relevant arboviruses enabled the analysis of a large sample collection of one of the most abundant African small mammals. Our findings highlight that Mastomys natalensis is involved in the transmission cycle of multiple arboviruses and provide a solid foundation to better understand the role of this ubiquitous rodent in arbovirus outbreaks.

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Occurrence of multiple infections of rodents with parasites and bacteria in the Sibang Arboretum, Libreville, Gabon

Makouloutou-Nzassi,

Nze-Nkogue,

Makanga

et al. 2024

Vet World

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Background and Aim: Rodents are carriers or reservoirs of various bacteria, protozoa, viruses, and ectoparasites. Given the proximity of various rodent species and humans, there is a potential for the transmission of pathogens. Data on ecto- and endo-parasite prevalence in rodent populations in Gabon are limited. To fill this gap, we conducted a study in Libreville to investigate the occurrence of ecto- and endo-parasites in rodents. Materials and Methods: We captured and euthanized 68 rodents belonging to the genus Praomys and examined their ecto- and endo-parasite fauna, dissected their gastrointestinal tract for helminths, and prepared blood smears to examine blood-borne pathogens. Results: Our analyses identified three pathogen taxa: helminths (Protospirura spp., Trichuris spp., and Taenia spp.), protozoa (Babesia spp.), bacteria (Anaplasma spp.), and arthropods (Laelaps and Haemaphysalis). Overall, 91.2% of the rodents were infected with at least one pathogen and ectoparasite, with helminth and ectoparasite occurrence rate of 63.2% and ectoparasite occurrence at 44.1%. Protozoan infections (Babesia spp.) were found in 10.3% of the rodents, whereas bacteria (Anaplasma spp.) had an occurrence rate of 39.7%. Conclusion: Native rodents in Libreville harbor various infectious agents, ecto- and endo-parasites. These findings highlight the potential health risks associated with Praomys rodents for the transmission of various diseases to human population in Gabon and emphasize the need for investigation of rodents for their role as disease carriers. Keywords: Anaplasma, Babesia, Gabon, Haemaphysalis, Helminths, Laelaps, Praomys.

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Drivers behind co-occurrence patterns between pathogenic bacteria, protozoa, and helminths in populations of the multimammate mouse, Mastomys natalensis

Cited by 3 publications

References 78 publications

Antibodies against medically relevant arthropod-borne viruses in the ubiquitous African rodentMastomys natalensis

Antibodies against medically relevant arthropod-borne viruses in the ubiquitous African rodentMastomys natalensis

Antibodies against medically relevant arthropod-borne viruses in the ubiquitous African rodent Mastomys natalensis

Occurrence of multiple infections of rodents with parasites and bacteria in the Sibang Arboretum, Libreville, Gabon

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