Ying Bai, Lynn M Osikowicz, Jacoby Clark, Erik Foster, Christina Parise, Sarah Maes, Rebecca J Eisen
{"title":"在美国,从啮齿动物身上采集到的吸血蜱虫和太平洋蜱虫很少感染巴顿氏菌。","authors":"Ying Bai, Lynn M Osikowicz, Jacoby Clark, Erik Foster, Christina Parise, Sarah Maes, Rebecca J Eisen","doi":"10.1186/s13071-024-06541-w","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Ixodes scapularis and Ixodes pacificus are important vectors of multiple pathogens in the United States. However, their role in transmission of Bartonella spp., which are commonly reported in rodents and fleas, has been debated. Our previous investigation on Bartonella spp. in host-seeking I. scapularis and I. pacificus showed Bartonella spp. were absent in the ticks, suggesting the two species are unlikely to contribute to Bartonella transmission. It is unclear whether the absence of Bartonella spp. in the host-seeking ticks was attributable to ticks not being exposed to Bartonella in nature or being exposed but unable to acquire or transstadially transmit the bacterium. To assess the likelihood of exposure and acquisition, we tested Ixodes spp. ticks collected from rodents for Bartonella infections.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Blood-fed I. scapularis ticks (n = 792; consisting of 645 larvae and 147 nymphs), I. pacificus ticks (n = 45, all larvae), and Ixodes angustus ticks (n = 16, consisting of 11 larvae and 5 nymphs) collected from rodents from Minnesota and Washington were tested for Bartonella spp. using a quadruplex polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplicon next-generation sequencing approach that targets Bartonella-specific fragments on gltA, ssrA, rpoB, and groEL. In parallel, rodents and fleas collected from the same field studies were investigated to compare the differences of Bartonella distribution among the ticks, fleas, and rodents.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Bartonella spp. were commonly detected in rodents and fleas, with prevalence of 25.6% in rodents and 36.8% in fleas from Minnesota; 27.9% in rodents and 45.2% in fleas from Washington. Of all tested ticks, Bartonella DNA was detected by gltA in only one larval I. scapularis tick from Minnesota.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>The high prevalence of Bartonella spp. in rodents and fleas coupled with extremely low prevalence of Bartonella spp. in blood-fed ticks suggests that although Ixodes ticks commonly encounter Bartonella in rodents, they rarely acquire the infection through blood feeding. Notably, ticks were at various stages of feeding on rodents when they were collected. Laboratory transmission studies are needed to assess acquisition rates in fully blood-fed ticks and to assess transstadial transmission efficiency if ticks acquire Bartonella infections from feeding to repletion.</p>","PeriodicalId":19793,"journal":{"name":"Parasites & Vectors","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":3.0000,"publicationDate":"2024-10-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11520693/pdf/","citationCount":"0","resultStr":"{\"title\":\"Bartonella infections are rare in blood-fed Ixodes scapularis and Ixodes pacificus ticks collected from rodents in the United States.\",\"authors\":\"Ying Bai, Lynn M Osikowicz, Jacoby Clark, Erik Foster, Christina Parise, Sarah Maes, Rebecca J Eisen\",\"doi\":\"10.1186/s13071-024-06541-w\",\"DOIUrl\":null,\"url\":null,\"abstract\":\"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Ixodes scapularis and Ixodes pacificus are important vectors of multiple pathogens in the United States. However, their role in transmission of Bartonella spp., which are commonly reported in rodents and fleas, has been debated. Our previous investigation on Bartonella spp. in host-seeking I. scapularis and I. pacificus showed Bartonella spp. were absent in the ticks, suggesting the two species are unlikely to contribute to Bartonella transmission. It is unclear whether the absence of Bartonella spp. in the host-seeking ticks was attributable to ticks not being exposed to Bartonella in nature or being exposed but unable to acquire or transstadially transmit the bacterium. To assess the likelihood of exposure and acquisition, we tested Ixodes spp. ticks collected from rodents for Bartonella infections.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Blood-fed I. scapularis ticks (n = 792; consisting of 645 larvae and 147 nymphs), I. pacificus ticks (n = 45, all larvae), and Ixodes angustus ticks (n = 16, consisting of 11 larvae and 5 nymphs) collected from rodents from Minnesota and Washington were tested for Bartonella spp. using a quadruplex polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplicon next-generation sequencing approach that targets Bartonella-specific fragments on gltA, ssrA, rpoB, and groEL. In parallel, rodents and fleas collected from the same field studies were investigated to compare the differences of Bartonella distribution among the ticks, fleas, and rodents.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Bartonella spp. were commonly detected in rodents and fleas, with prevalence of 25.6% in rodents and 36.8% in fleas from Minnesota; 27.9% in rodents and 45.2% in fleas from Washington. Of all tested ticks, Bartonella DNA was detected by gltA in only one larval I. scapularis tick from Minnesota.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>The high prevalence of Bartonella spp. in rodents and fleas coupled with extremely low prevalence of Bartonella spp. in blood-fed ticks suggests that although Ixodes ticks commonly encounter Bartonella in rodents, they rarely acquire the infection through blood feeding. Notably, ticks were at various stages of feeding on rodents when they were collected. Laboratory transmission studies are needed to assess acquisition rates in fully blood-fed ticks and to assess transstadial transmission efficiency if ticks acquire Bartonella infections from feeding to repletion.</p>\",\"PeriodicalId\":19793,\"journal\":{\"name\":\"Parasites & Vectors\",\"volume\":null,\"pages\":null},\"PeriodicalIF\":3.0000,\"publicationDate\":\"2024-10-29\",\"publicationTypes\":\"Journal Article\",\"fieldsOfStudy\":null,\"isOpenAccess\":false,\"openAccessPdf\":\"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11520693/pdf/\",\"citationCount\":\"0\",\"resultStr\":null,\"platform\":\"Semanticscholar\",\"paperid\":null,\"PeriodicalName\":\"Parasites & Vectors\",\"FirstCategoryId\":\"3\",\"ListUrlMain\":\"https://doi.org/10.1186/s13071-024-06541-w\",\"RegionNum\":2,\"RegionCategory\":\"医学\",\"ArticlePicture\":[],\"TitleCN\":null,\"AbstractTextCN\":null,\"PMCID\":null,\"EPubDate\":\"\",\"PubModel\":\"\",\"JCR\":\"Q1\",\"JCRName\":\"PARASITOLOGY\",\"Score\":null,\"Total\":0}","platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Parasites & Vectors","FirstCategoryId":"3","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1186/s13071-024-06541-w","RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"PARASITOLOGY","Score":null,"Total":0}
Bartonella infections are rare in blood-fed Ixodes scapularis and Ixodes pacificus ticks collected from rodents in the United States.
Background: Ixodes scapularis and Ixodes pacificus are important vectors of multiple pathogens in the United States. However, their role in transmission of Bartonella spp., which are commonly reported in rodents and fleas, has been debated. Our previous investigation on Bartonella spp. in host-seeking I. scapularis and I. pacificus showed Bartonella spp. were absent in the ticks, suggesting the two species are unlikely to contribute to Bartonella transmission. It is unclear whether the absence of Bartonella spp. in the host-seeking ticks was attributable to ticks not being exposed to Bartonella in nature or being exposed but unable to acquire or transstadially transmit the bacterium. To assess the likelihood of exposure and acquisition, we tested Ixodes spp. ticks collected from rodents for Bartonella infections.
Methods: Blood-fed I. scapularis ticks (n = 792; consisting of 645 larvae and 147 nymphs), I. pacificus ticks (n = 45, all larvae), and Ixodes angustus ticks (n = 16, consisting of 11 larvae and 5 nymphs) collected from rodents from Minnesota and Washington were tested for Bartonella spp. using a quadruplex polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplicon next-generation sequencing approach that targets Bartonella-specific fragments on gltA, ssrA, rpoB, and groEL. In parallel, rodents and fleas collected from the same field studies were investigated to compare the differences of Bartonella distribution among the ticks, fleas, and rodents.
Results: Bartonella spp. were commonly detected in rodents and fleas, with prevalence of 25.6% in rodents and 36.8% in fleas from Minnesota; 27.9% in rodents and 45.2% in fleas from Washington. Of all tested ticks, Bartonella DNA was detected by gltA in only one larval I. scapularis tick from Minnesota.
Conclusions: The high prevalence of Bartonella spp. in rodents and fleas coupled with extremely low prevalence of Bartonella spp. in blood-fed ticks suggests that although Ixodes ticks commonly encounter Bartonella in rodents, they rarely acquire the infection through blood feeding. Notably, ticks were at various stages of feeding on rodents when they were collected. Laboratory transmission studies are needed to assess acquisition rates in fully blood-fed ticks and to assess transstadial transmission efficiency if ticks acquire Bartonella infections from feeding to repletion.
期刊介绍:
Parasites & Vectors is an open access, peer-reviewed online journal dealing with the biology of parasites, parasitic diseases, intermediate hosts, vectors and vector-borne pathogens. Manuscripts published in this journal will be available to all worldwide, with no barriers to access, immediately following acceptance. However, authors retain the copyright of their material and may use it, or distribute it, as they wish.
Manuscripts on all aspects of the basic and applied biology of parasites, intermediate hosts, vectors and vector-borne pathogens will be considered. In addition to the traditional and well-established areas of science in these fields, we also aim to provide a vehicle for publication of the rapidly developing resources and technology in parasite, intermediate host and vector genomics and their impacts on biological research. We are able to publish large datasets and extensive results, frequently associated with genomic and post-genomic technologies, which are not readily accommodated in traditional journals. Manuscripts addressing broader issues, for example economics, social sciences and global climate change in relation to parasites, vectors and disease control, are also welcomed.