RESUMO
Red fox (Vulpes vulpes) is the most abundant wild canid species in Austria, and it is a well-known carrier of many pathogens of medical and veterinary concern. The main aim of the present study was to investigate the occurrence and diversity of protozoan, bacterial and filarial parasites transmitted by blood-feeding arthropods in a red fox population in western Austria. Blood (n = 351) and spleen (n = 506) samples from foxes were examined by PCR and sequencing and the following pathogens were identified: Babesia canis, Babesia cf. microti (syn. Theileria annae), Hepatozoon canis, Anaplasma phagocytophilum, Candidatus Neoehrlichia sp. and Bartonella rochalimae. Blood was shown to be more suitable for detection of Babesia cf. microti, whilst the spleen tissue was better for detection of H. canis than blood. Moreover, extremely low genetic variability of H. canis and its relatively low prevalence rate observed in this study may suggest that the parasite has only recently been introduced in the sampled area. Furthermore, the data presented here demonstrates, for the first time, the possible vertical transmission of H. canis from an infected vixen to the offspring, and this could explain the very high prevalence in areas considered free of its main tick vector(s).
Assuntos
Artrópodes/parasitologia , Coccidiose/veterinária , Raposas/microbiologia , Raposas/parasitologia , Transmissão Vertical de Doenças Infecciosas , Doenças Parasitárias em Animais/epidemiologia , Anaplasma phagocytophilum/genética , Anaplasma phagocytophilum/isolamento & purificação , Anaplasma phagocytophilum/patogenicidade , Animais , Áustria/epidemiologia , Babesia/genética , Babesia/isolamento & purificação , Babesia/patogenicidade , Infecções Bacterianas/epidemiologia , Infecções Bacterianas/parasitologia , Infecções Bacterianas/veterinária , Bartonella/genética , Bartonella/isolamento & purificação , Bartonella/patogenicidade , Coccidiose/epidemiologia , Coccidiose/parasitologia , Coccidiose/transmissão , DNA de Protozoário/genética , Vetores de Doenças , Eucoccidiida/genética , Eucoccidiida/isolamento & purificação , Eucoccidiida/patogenicidade , Doenças Parasitárias em Animais/microbiologia , Doenças Parasitárias em Animais/parasitologia , Reação em Cadeia da Polimerase/veterináriaRESUMO
Wild ungulates may act as reservoirs of various vector borne pathogens that can infect humans and domestic animals. In the present study, blood samples from 196 red deer (Cervus elaphus) from Western Austria (Vorarlberg, Tyrol and Salzburg) were collected on filter paper and tested for Anaplasmataceae, Piroplasmida, Rickettsia and filarioid helminths using molecular tools. Babesia divergens was detected in ten (5.1%) and Anaplasma phagocytophilum in three (1.5%) of the 196 samples. Filarioid helminths, Rickettsia spp. and Theileria spp. were not detected. These findings indicate that red deer may serve as reservoirs of Babesia divergens and Anaplasma phagocytophilum in Western Austria. Further investigations are needed to assess the presence of these pathogens in ticks in this geographical region, and the significance of these pathogens in both animals and humans.
