Rats as potential reservoirs for neglected zoonotic Bartonella species in Flanders, Belgium
Abstract Background Bartonella spp. are vector-borne pathogens transmitted to humans via blood-sucking arthropods. Rodents such as the black rat ( Rattus rattus ) and Norway rat ( R. norvegicus ) are thought to be the main reservoirs. An infection with rodent-associated Bartonella spp. may cause sev...
Published in: | Parasites & Vectors |
---|---|
Main Authors: | , , , , , , |
Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
Language: | English |
Published: |
Springer Science and Business Media LLC
2020
|
Subjects: | |
Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/s13071-020-04098-y https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1186/s13071-020-04098-y.pdf https://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s13071-020-04098-y/fulltext.html |
id |
crspringernat:10.1186/s13071-020-04098-y |
---|---|
record_format |
openpolar |
spelling |
crspringernat:10.1186/s13071-020-04098-y 2023-05-15T18:05:41+02:00 Rats as potential reservoirs for neglected zoonotic Bartonella species in Flanders, Belgium Krügel, Maria Pfeffer, Martin Król, Nina Imholt, Christian Baert, Kristof Ulrich, Rainer G. Obiegala, Anna 2020 http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/s13071-020-04098-y https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1186/s13071-020-04098-y.pdf https://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s13071-020-04098-y/fulltext.html en eng Springer Science and Business Media LLC http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ CC-BY Parasites & Vectors volume 13, issue 1 ISSN 1756-3305 Infectious Diseases Parasitology journal-article 2020 crspringernat https://doi.org/10.1186/s13071-020-04098-y 2022-01-04T09:56:50Z Abstract Background Bartonella spp. are vector-borne pathogens transmitted to humans via blood-sucking arthropods. Rodents such as the black rat ( Rattus rattus ) and Norway rat ( R. norvegicus ) are thought to be the main reservoirs. An infection with rodent-associated Bartonella spp. may cause severe symptoms in humans such as endocarditis and neuroretinitis. The current knowledge of Bartonella prevalence in rats from western Europe is scarce. Methods Rats and a few other rodent by-catches were trapped in the context of a rodenticide resistance study at different sites in Flanders, Belgium. During dissection, biometric data were collected, and spleen tissues were taken. DNA was extracted from spleen samples and tested for Bartonella spp. by conventional generic polymerase chain reaction (PCR). To determine the Bartonella species, a selected number of amplicons were sequenced and compared with GenBank entries. Results In total, 1123 rodents were trapped. The predominate species was R. norvegicus (99.64%). Other rodents trapped included: two water voles ( Arvicola amphibius , 0.18%); one colour rat ( R. norvegicus forma domestica , 0.09%); and one muskrat ( Ondatra zibethicus , 0.09%). PCR analysis of 1097 rodents resulted in 410 (37.37%, 95% CI: 34.50–40.31%) Bartonella spp. DNA-positive samples. Bartonella tribocorum (94.68%, 95% CI: 88.02–98.25%) was the most frequently detected Bartonella species, followed by B. grahamii (3.19%, 95% CI: 0.66–9.04%) and B. doshiae (1.06%, 95% CI: 0.03–5.79%). An uncultured Bartonella species occurred in one water vole (1.06%, 95% CI: 0.03–5.79%). There was a significantly higher Bartonella prevalence in older rats compared to juveniles and a significant difference in Bartonella prevalence concerning the localisation of trapping sites. In contrast, there was no statistically significant difference in Bartonella prevalence regarding sex, degree of urbanisation and season. Conclusions Based on the high prevalence found, we conclude that the Norway rat seems to be a key reservoir host for zoonotic B. tribocorum in Belgium. Article in Journal/Newspaper Rattus rattus Springer Nature (via Crossref) Norway Parasites & Vectors 13 1 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Springer Nature (via Crossref) |
op_collection_id |
crspringernat |
language |
English |
topic |
Infectious Diseases Parasitology |
spellingShingle |
Infectious Diseases Parasitology Krügel, Maria Pfeffer, Martin Król, Nina Imholt, Christian Baert, Kristof Ulrich, Rainer G. Obiegala, Anna Rats as potential reservoirs for neglected zoonotic Bartonella species in Flanders, Belgium |
topic_facet |
Infectious Diseases Parasitology |
description |
Abstract Background Bartonella spp. are vector-borne pathogens transmitted to humans via blood-sucking arthropods. Rodents such as the black rat ( Rattus rattus ) and Norway rat ( R. norvegicus ) are thought to be the main reservoirs. An infection with rodent-associated Bartonella spp. may cause severe symptoms in humans such as endocarditis and neuroretinitis. The current knowledge of Bartonella prevalence in rats from western Europe is scarce. Methods Rats and a few other rodent by-catches were trapped in the context of a rodenticide resistance study at different sites in Flanders, Belgium. During dissection, biometric data were collected, and spleen tissues were taken. DNA was extracted from spleen samples and tested for Bartonella spp. by conventional generic polymerase chain reaction (PCR). To determine the Bartonella species, a selected number of amplicons were sequenced and compared with GenBank entries. Results In total, 1123 rodents were trapped. The predominate species was R. norvegicus (99.64%). Other rodents trapped included: two water voles ( Arvicola amphibius , 0.18%); one colour rat ( R. norvegicus forma domestica , 0.09%); and one muskrat ( Ondatra zibethicus , 0.09%). PCR analysis of 1097 rodents resulted in 410 (37.37%, 95% CI: 34.50–40.31%) Bartonella spp. DNA-positive samples. Bartonella tribocorum (94.68%, 95% CI: 88.02–98.25%) was the most frequently detected Bartonella species, followed by B. grahamii (3.19%, 95% CI: 0.66–9.04%) and B. doshiae (1.06%, 95% CI: 0.03–5.79%). An uncultured Bartonella species occurred in one water vole (1.06%, 95% CI: 0.03–5.79%). There was a significantly higher Bartonella prevalence in older rats compared to juveniles and a significant difference in Bartonella prevalence concerning the localisation of trapping sites. In contrast, there was no statistically significant difference in Bartonella prevalence regarding sex, degree of urbanisation and season. Conclusions Based on the high prevalence found, we conclude that the Norway rat seems to be a key reservoir host for zoonotic B. tribocorum in Belgium. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Krügel, Maria Pfeffer, Martin Król, Nina Imholt, Christian Baert, Kristof Ulrich, Rainer G. Obiegala, Anna |
author_facet |
Krügel, Maria Pfeffer, Martin Król, Nina Imholt, Christian Baert, Kristof Ulrich, Rainer G. Obiegala, Anna |
author_sort |
Krügel, Maria |
title |
Rats as potential reservoirs for neglected zoonotic Bartonella species in Flanders, Belgium |
title_short |
Rats as potential reservoirs for neglected zoonotic Bartonella species in Flanders, Belgium |
title_full |
Rats as potential reservoirs for neglected zoonotic Bartonella species in Flanders, Belgium |
title_fullStr |
Rats as potential reservoirs for neglected zoonotic Bartonella species in Flanders, Belgium |
title_full_unstemmed |
Rats as potential reservoirs for neglected zoonotic Bartonella species in Flanders, Belgium |
title_sort |
rats as potential reservoirs for neglected zoonotic bartonella species in flanders, belgium |
publisher |
Springer Science and Business Media LLC |
publishDate |
2020 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/s13071-020-04098-y https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1186/s13071-020-04098-y.pdf https://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s13071-020-04098-y/fulltext.html |
geographic |
Norway |
geographic_facet |
Norway |
genre |
Rattus rattus |
genre_facet |
Rattus rattus |
op_source |
Parasites & Vectors volume 13, issue 1 ISSN 1756-3305 |
op_rights |
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ |
op_rightsnorm |
CC-BY |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1186/s13071-020-04098-y |
container_title |
Parasites & Vectors |
container_volume |
13 |
container_issue |
1 |
_version_ |
1766177196200689664 |