Importance of Common Wall Lizards in the Transmission Dynamics of Tick-Borne Pathogens in the Northern Apennine Mountains, Italy
| Autor: | Elisa Martello, R. de Sousa, Leonardo A. Ceballos, Maria Cristina Stella, Alessandro Mannelli, Laura Tomassone, C. Ragagli |
|---|---|
| Jazyk: | angličtina |
| Rok vydání: | 2017 |
| Předmět: |
0301 basic medicine
Male 0302 clinical medicine SFG Rickettsiae Zoonoses Rickettsia biology Ecology Ixodid ticks Ricinus Lizards Italy Tick-Borne Diseases Larva Female Nymph Ixodes ricinus Ixodidae Evolution Ixodid Ticks 030231 tropical medicine 030106 microbiology Zoology Soil Science Tick 03 medical and health sciences Borrelia burgdorferi Group Behavior and Systematics Borrelia burgdorferi s.l Northern Apennines Podarcis muralis Ecology Evolution Behavior and Systematics biology.animal parasitic diseases Animals Borrelia burgdorferi Podarcis Muralis Disease Reservoirs Infecções Sistémicas e Zoonoses Ixodes Lizard bacterial infections and mycoses biology.organism_classification Tick Infestations |
| Popis: | During the investigations on ticks and tick-borne pathogens (TBP) range expansion in the Northern Apennines, we captured 107 Podarcis muralis lizards. Sixty-eight animals were infested by immature Ixodes ricinus, Haemaphysalis sulcata and H. punctata. Borrelia burgdorferi s.l. was detected in 3.7% of I. ricinus larvae and 8.0% of nymphs. Together with the species-specific B. lusitaniae, we identified B. garinii, B. afzelii and B. valaisiana. Rickettsia spp. (18.1% larvae, 12.0% nymphs), namely R. monacensis, R. helvetica and R. hoogstraalii, were also found in I. ricinus. R. hoogstraalii was detected in H. sulcata nymphs as well, while the two H. punctata did not harbour any bacteria. One out of 16 lizard tail tissues was positive to R. helvetica. Our results support the hypothesis that lizards are involved in the epidemiological cycles of TBP. The heterogeneity of B. burgdorferi genospecies mirrors previous findings in questing ticks in the area, and their finding in attached I. ricinus larvae suggests that lizards may contribute to the maintenance of different genospecies. The rickettsiae are new findings in the study area, and R. helvetica infection in a tail tissue indicates a systemic infection. R. hoogstraalii is reported for the first time in I. ricinus ticks. Lizards seem to favour the bacterial exchange among different tick species, with possible public health consequences. info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
| Externí odkaz: |
|