title: Rodent-borne Trypanosoma from cities and villages of Niger and Nigeria: A special role for the invasive genus Rattus?
abstract: Although they are known to sometimes infect humans, atypical trypanosomes are very poorly documented, especially in Africa where one lethal case has yet been described. Here we conducted a survey of rodent-borne Trypanosoma in 19 towns and villages of Niger and Nigeria, with a special emphasis on Niamey, the capital city of Niger. The 1298 rodents that were captured yielded 189 qPCR-positive animals from 14 localities, thus corresponding to a 14.6% overall prevalence. Rats, especially black rats, displayed particularly elevated prevalence (27.4%), with some well sampled sites showing 40-50% and up to 68.8% of Trypanosoma-carrying individuals. Rattus were also characterized by significantly lower Ct values than in the other non-Rattus species. DNA sequences could be obtained for 43 rodent-borne Trypanosoma and corresponded to 41 T. lewisi (all from Rattus) and 2 T. microti (from Cricetomys gambianus). These results, together with data compiled from the available literature, suggest that Rattus may play a particular role for the maintaining and circulation of Trypanosoma, especially T. lewisi, in Africa. Taken into account its strong abilities to invade coastal and inland regions of the continent, we believe that this genus deserves a particular attention in regards to potentially under-looked but emerging atypical trypanosome-related diseases.
authors.affiliation: Institut National de Recherche Agronomique, Centre de Biologie pour la Gestion des Populations (CBGP), Campus International de Baillarguet, CS30016, 34988 Montferrier-sur-Lez, France.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Tatard
authors.affiliation: Direction Générale de la Protection des Végétaux, Ministère de l'Agriculture et de l'Elevage, BP 323, Niamey, Niger.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Garba
authors.affiliation: Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD), CBGP, France.
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Gauthier
authors.affiliation: Université Abdou Moumouni, Faculté des Sciences, Département de Biologie Animale, BP 10662, Niamey, Niger.
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Hima
authors.affiliation: Institut National de Recherche Agronomique, Centre de Biologie pour la Gestion des Populations (CBGP), Campus International de Baillarguet, CS30016, 34988 Montferrier-sur-Lez, France.
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Artige
authors.affiliation: Université d'Abomey-Calavi, Ecole Polytechnique d'Abomey-Calavi, Laboratoire de Recherche en Biologie Appliquée, 01BP2009, Cotonou, Benin.
authors.forename: D K H J
authors.initials: DKHJ
authors.lastname: Dossou
authors.affiliation: Centre Régional Agrhymet, Département Formation Recherche, BP11011, Niamey, Niger.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Gagaré
authors.affiliation: Institut National de Recherche Agronomique, Centre de Biologie pour la Gestion des Populations (CBGP), Campus International de Baillarguet, CS30016, 34988 Montferrier-sur-Lez, France.
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Genson
authors.affiliation: Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD), UMR IRD/CIRAD InterTryp 177, Campus International de Baillarguet, 34398 Montferrier-sur-Lez Cedex 5, France.
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Truc
authors.affiliation: Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD), CBGP, France. Electronic address: gauthier.dobigny@ird.f.
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Dobigny
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002947:Cities; D004197:Disease Reservoirs / Q000662:veterinary*; D006801:Humans; D058865:Introduced Species; D009548:Niger / Q000453:epidemiology; D009549:Nigeria / Q000453:epidemiology; D051381:Rats; D014345:Trypanosoma / Q000502:physiology*; D014352:Trypanosomiasis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000635:transmission*
keywords: Africa; Biological invasion; Commensal rodents; Trypanosoma lewisi; Zoonotic agents