Hopping species and borders: detection of Bartonella spp. in avian nest fleas and arctic foxes from Nunavut, Canada

Parasites & Vectors

Neil B. Chilton¹  Ray T. Alisauskas²  Terry D. Galloway³  Julie Gailius⁴  Émilie Bouchard⁴  Emily J. Jenkins⁴  Kayla J. Buhler⁴  Ricardo G. Maggi⁵  Gustaf Samelius⁶ 

[1] Department of Biology, University of Saskatchewan, Science Place, S7N 5E2, Saskatoon, SK, Canada;Department of Biology, University of Saskatchewan, Science Place, S7N 5E2, Saskatoon, SK, Canada;Prairie and Northern Wildlife Research Centre, Wildlife Research Division, Environment and Climate Change Canada, 115 Perimeter Road, S7N 0X4, Saskatoon, SK, Canada;Department of Entomology, Faculty of Agricultural and Food Sciences, University of Manitoba, 12 Dafoe Road, R3T 2N2, Winnipeg, MB, Canada;Department of Veterinary Microbiology, Western College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Saskatchewan, 52 Campus Drive, S7N 5B4, Saskatoon, SK, Canada;Intracellular Pathogens Research Laboratory, College of Veterinary Medicine, North Carolina State University, 1060 William Moore Drive, 27606, Raleigh, NC, USA;Snow Leopard Trust, 4649 Sunnyside Ave North, Suite 325, 98103, Seattle, WA, USA;

关键词: Arctic fox;    Bartonella;    Disease ecology;    Flea;    Geese;    Nunavut;    Vector-borne disease;    Wildlife;    Zoonotic;   

DOI  :  10.1186/s13071-020-04344-3

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundIn a warmer and more globally connected Arctic, vector-borne pathogens of zoonotic importance may be increasing in prevalence in native wildlife. Recently, Bartonella henselae, the causative agent of cat scratch fever, was detected in blood collected from arctic foxes (Vulpes lagopus) that were captured and released in the large goose colony at Karrak Lake, Nunavut, Canada. This bacterium is generally associated with cats and cat fleas, which are absent from Arctic ecosystems. Arctic foxes in this region feed extensively on migratory geese, their eggs, and their goslings. Thus, we hypothesized that a nest flea, Ceratophyllus vagabundus vagabundus (Boheman, 1865), may serve as a vector for transmission of Bartonella spp.MethodsWe determined the prevalence of Bartonella spp. in (i) nest fleas collected from 5 arctic fox dens and (ii) 37 surrounding goose nests, (iii) fleas collected from 20 geese harvested during arrival at the nesting grounds and (iv) blood clots from 57 adult live-captured arctic foxes. A subsample of fleas were identified morphologically as C. v. vagabundus. Remaining fleas were pooled for each nest, den, or host. DNA was extracted from flea pools and blood clots and analyzed with conventional and real-time polymerase chain reactions targeting the 16S-23S rRNA intergenic transcribed spacer region.ResultsBartonella henselae was identified in 43% of pooled flea samples from nests and 40% of pooled flea samples from fox dens. Bartonella vinsonii berkhoffii was identified in 30% of pooled flea samples collected from 20 geese. Both B. vinsonii berkhoffii (n = 2) and B. rochalimae (n = 1) were identified in the blood of foxes.ConclusionsWe confirm that B. henselae, B. vinsonii berkhoffii and B. rochalimae circulate in the Karrak Lake ecosystem and that nest fleas contain B. vinsonii and B. henselae DNA, suggesting that this flea may serve as a potential vector for transmission among Arctic wildlife.

【 授权许可】

CC BY