First detections of Rickettsia helvetica and R. monacensis in ectoparasitic mites (Laelapidae and Trombiculidae) infesting rodents in south-western Slovakia

Abstract

Information on circulation of rickettsiae between small mammals and their ectoparasitic mites is scarce. In this study, we investigated infestation rates of rodents with mites in some areas of SW Slovakia and the role of mites as possible vectors of pathogenic rickettsiae. A total of 615 rodents of five species were caught during 2010-2012. All individuals were examined for ectoparasites which resulted in 2821 mites belonging to three species of Laelapidae and six species of Trombiculidae. The most common Laelapidae species was Laelaps agilis (81.25 %), followed by Haemogamasus nidi, and Eulaelaps stabularis. Hirsutiella zachvatkini (16.52 %) was the dominant species of the family Trombiculidae. DNA extracted from rodent blood and ectoparasitic mites was examined for the presence of rickettsiae by PCR. By pooling mites, 345 pool samples were created, of which 112 (32.46 %) were found to be positive for the rickettsial DNA. From 487 examined rodent blood samples, rickettsial DNA was found in 46 (9.44 %). Sequencing DNA from the positive blood samples and mites revealed the identity of Rickettsia helvetica and Rickettsia monacensis. The results of the study suggest that ectoparasitic mites may be reservoirs as well as vectors of some pathogenic rickettsiae.

Molecular epidemiology and phylogeny of spotted fever group Rickettsia in camels ( Camelus dromedarius ) and their infesting ticks from Tunisia

“…In addition , Rickettsia spp. was identified, not only, in other several ixodid tick species as Amblyomma gemma (Koka et al, ), Dermacentor variabilis (3.6%) (Ammerman et al, ), Rhipicephalus sanguineus sensu lato (37.5%) (Khrouf et al, ) and Ixodes ricinus (38%) (Sfar et al, ), but also in the cat flea Ctenocephalides felis (0.3%) (Znazen et al, ), the Trombiculidae mites infesting rodents (32.46%) (Miťková et al, ) and the ovine blood‐sucking fly Melophagus ovinus (12.63%) (Liu et al, ). This may consolidate the major role of arthropod vectors, particularly ticks, in rickettsial spread (Parola et al, ).…”

“…These results consolidate previous findings describing the presence of these two Rickettsia species in Ixodes ricinus from the north‐west of Tunisia (Sfar et al, ). Nevertheless, these two species were identified not only in ticks feeding on the common wall lizard from the neighbour country Italy (Tomassone et al, ) but also in rodents blood and infesting fleas and mites from Lithuania (Busaitiene et al, ; Radzijevskaja et al, ) and Slovakia (Minichova et al, ; Miťková et al, ). Furthermore , R. monacensis and R. helvetica are characterized as novel potential human pathogens in Europe (Jado et al, ).…”

“…Rickettsia spp. was identified in cattle (Edwards, Goddard, Jones, Paddock, & Varela‐Stokes, ; Eisawi, Hassan, Hussien, Musa, & El Hussein, ), small ruminants (Yan, Hongmei, Yasuko, Weiqing, & Hong, ), horses (Pacheco et al, ), cats (Breitschwerdt et al, ; Rajib et al, ), dogs (Grasperge, Wolfson, & Macaluso, ; Pacheco et al, ), wild ruminants such as red deer ( Cervus elaphus ) and roe deer ( Capreolus capreolus ) (Elfving, Malmsten, Dalin, & Nilsson, ) and rodents (Busaitiene, Radzijevskaja, Bal, & ciauskas & Paulauskas, A., ; Miťková et al, ).…”

Taxonomy and distribution of African chiggers (Acariformes, Trombiculidae)

“…The significance of trombiculids as specific vectors of Orientia tsutsugamushi (causative agent of scrub typhus) is most known in the Asia-Pacific region and Western South America (Weitzel et al 2016); however, reports of indigenous scrub typhus supported by serological data were published for some African countries as well (Giroud & Jadin 1951;Osuga et al 1991;Ghorbani et al 1997;Thiga et al 2015;Maina et al 2016). Moreover, trombiculids can serve as reservoirs, if not vectors, of some other pathogens, namely Ehrlichia, Borrelia, and Rickettsia (Fernandez-Soto et al 2001;Literak et al 2008;Mit'ková et al 2015). Generally, the diversity of chiggers having medical or veterinary importance is under-reported, even in Europe (Ripka & Stekolnikov 2006;Stekolnikov et al 2014Stekolnikov et al , 2016.…”

<b>Estudos morfológicos e investigação da presença de bactérias e protozoários em ácaros (Trombidiformes), parasitos de répteis e anfíbios, no estado de São Paulo</b>

“…Há relatos de detecção de Rickettsia em pools de ácaros trombiculídeos para a Turquia e Japão, mas os ácaros não puderam ser identificados após extração (CHOI et al, 2007;MIŤKOVÁ et al, 2015). No presente estudo foi possível padronizar um protocolo eficiente, econômico e que permitiu recuperar o material testemunho para posterior identificação, mas todos foram negativos para a presença de patógenos.…”