title: Detection of Rickettsia helvetica in ticks collected from European hedgehogs (Erinaceus europaeus, Linnaeus, 1758).
abstract: The role of wild mammals in the dissemination and maintenance of Rickettsia in nature is still under investigation. European hedgehogs (Erinaceus europaeus) are often heavily infested by tick and flea species that are known to harbor and transmit different Rickettsia spp. We investigated ixodid ticks sampled from European hedgehogs for the presence of Rickettsia. A total of 471 Ixodes ricinus and 755 I. hexagonus were collected from 26 German and 7 British European hedgehogs. These were tested by a genus-specific real-time PCR assay targeting the citrate synthase gene (gltA). The rickettsia minimum infection rate was 11.7% with an increase detected with each parasitic tick stage. No significant difference in Rickettsia prevalence in the 2 Ixodes species was detected. Using sequencing of partial ompB, Rickettsia helvetica was the only species identified. More than half of the hedgehogs carried Rickettsia-positive ticks. In addition, tissue samples from 2/5 hedgehogs (where tissue DNA was available) were PCR-positive. These results show that European hedgehogs are exposed to R. helvetica via infected ticks and might be involved in the natural transmission cycle of this Rickettsia species.
authors: Bundeswehr Institute of Microbiology, Department of Virology and Rickettsiology, Munich, Germany. stephaniespeck@bundeswehr.org
authors: Stephanie
authors: S
authors: Speck
authors: Lea
authors: L
authors: Perseke
authors: Trevor
authors: T
authors: Petney
authors: Jasmin
authors: J
authors: Skuballa
authors: Miriam
authors: M
authors: Pfäffle
authors: Horst
authors: H
authors: Taraschewski
authors: Toni
authors: T
authors: Bunnell
authors: Sandra
authors: S
authors: Essbauer
authors: Gerhard
authors: G
authors: Dobler
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D005260:Female; D006364:Hedgehogs / Q000469:parasitology*; D008297:Male; D012281:Rickettsia / Q000145:classification / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D013984:Tick Infestations / Q000662:veterinary*; D013987:Ticks / Q000382:microbiology*