Ticks and Chlamydia-Related Bacteria in Swiss Zoological Gardens Compared to in Contiguous and Distant Control Areas.

Details

Serval ID
serval:BIB_82820DB1EEA6
Type
Article: article from journal or magazin.
Collection
Publications
Institution
Title
Ticks and Chlamydia-Related Bacteria in Swiss Zoological Gardens Compared to in Contiguous and Distant Control Areas.
Journal
Microorganisms
Author(s)
Vanat V., Aeby S., Greub G.
ISSN
2076-2607 (Print)
ISSN-L
2076-2607
Publication state
Published
Issued date
30/09/2023
Peer-reviewed
Oui
Volume
11
Number
10
Pages
2468
Language
english
Notes
Publication types: Journal Article
Publication Status: epublish
Abstract
Ticks are vectors of numerous agents of medical importance and may be infected by various Chlamydia-related bacteria, such as members of Parachlamydiaceae and Rhabdochlamydiaceae families, which are sharing the same biphasic life cycle with the pathogenic Chlamydia. However, the veterinary importance of ticks and of their internalized pathogens remains poorly studied. Thus, we wondered (i) whether the prevalence of ticks was higher in zoological gardens than in control areas with similar altitude, vegetation, humidity and temperature, and (ii) whether the presence of Chlamydia-related bacteria in ticks may vary according to the environment in which the ticks are collected. A total of 212 Ixodes ricinus ticks were collected, and all were tested for the presence of DNA from any member of the Chlamydiae phylum using a pan-Chlamydiae quantitative PCR (qPCR). We observed a higher prevalence of ticks outside animal enclosures in both zoos, compared to in enclosures. Tick prevalence was also higher outside zoos, compared to in enclosures. With 30% (3/10) of infected ticks, the zoological gardens presented a prevalence of infected ticks that was higher than that in contiguous areas (13.15%, 10/76), and higher than the control distant areas (8.65%, 9/104). In conclusion, zoological gardens in Switzerland appear to contain fewer ticks than areas outside zoological gardens. However, ticks from zoos more often contain Chlamydia-like organisms than ticks from contiguous or distant control areas.
Keywords
Chlamydiae phylum, Chlamydiales order, Ixodes ticks, Parachlamydia, Rhabdochlamydia, chlamydia, chlamydia-like bacteria, epidemiology, intracellular bacteria, real-time PCR
Pubmed
Web of science
Open Access
Yes
Create date
06/11/2023 12:27
Last modification date
19/12/2023 8:15
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