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Molecular detection of arthropod-borne pathogens in Eurasian badgers (Meles meles) from the United Kingdom

Guardone, Lisa; Ebani, Valentina Virginia; Verin, Ranieri; Nardoni, Simona; Consolazione, Antonio; Bennett, Malcolm; Mancianti, Francesca

Molecular detection of arthropod-borne pathogens in Eurasian badgers (Meles meles) from the United Kingdom Thumbnail


Authors

Lisa Guardone

Valentina Virginia Ebani

Ranieri Verin

Simona Nardoni

Antonio Consolazione

Francesca Mancianti



Abstract

© 2020 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. Arthropod-borne diseases (ABD) are of increasing interest in veterinary and public health. Eurasian badgers (Meles meles) are known to harbor a wide range of pathogens, but information on their role as ABD reservoirs and their potential epidemiological relevance is limited. This study aimed to investigate the occurrence of arthropod-borne pathogens, specifically piroplasmids and the bacteria Anaplasma phagocytophilum, Ehrlichia canis, Coxiella burnetii, Francisella tularensis and Bartonella spp., in badgers from Great Britain (GB). Blood and heart samples from 18 badgers were examined using PCR and sequencing. A neighbour-joining (NJ) phylogram was also produced. Nine animals tested positive for Babesia sp., while none of the samples was positive for the investigated bacteria. The sequences obtained clustered with other sequences of Babesia sp. from badgers from GB and elsewhere, including China, Hungary, Spain and Italy, showing a widespread distribution of this parasite in badgers. Badger-associated Babesia DNA was also found recently in a wild cat in Bosnia Herzegovina, in a wolf in Italy and in dogs in Hungary. Further investigations are needed to understand the epidemiology of this putative pathogen and its impact on the health of wild and domestic carnivores.

Citation

Guardone, L., Ebani, V. V., Verin, R., Nardoni, S., Consolazione, A., Bennett, M., & Mancianti, F. (2020). Molecular detection of arthropod-borne pathogens in Eurasian badgers (Meles meles) from the United Kingdom. Animals, 10(3), Article 446. https://doi.org/10.3390/ani10030446

Journal Article Type Article
Acceptance Date Mar 3, 2020
Online Publication Date Mar 6, 2020
Publication Date Mar 6, 2020
Deposit Date Apr 7, 2020
Publicly Available Date Apr 7, 2020
Journal Animals
Electronic ISSN 2076-2615
Publisher MDPI
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Volume 10
Issue 3
Article Number 446
DOI https://doi.org/10.3390/ani10030446
Public URL https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/4176509
Publisher URL https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/10/3/446

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