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Molecular detection of Babesia capreoli and Babesia venatorum in wild Swedish roe deer, Capreolus capreolus

Andersson, Martin O. LU ; Bergvall, Ulrika A. ; Chirico, Jan ; Christensson, Madeleine ; Lindgren, Per-Eric ; Nordström, Jonas and Kjellander, Petter (2016) In Parasites & Vectors 9(1).
Abstract

Background: The epidemiology of the zoonotic tick-transmitted parasite Babesia spp. and its occurrence in wild reservoir hosts in Sweden is unclear. In European deer, several parasite species, including Babesia capreoli and the zoonotic B. venatorum and B. divergens has been reported previously. The European roe deer, Capreolus capreolus, is an important and common part of the indigenous fauna in Europe, as well as an important host for Ixodes ricinus ticks, the vector of several Babesia spp. in Europe. Here, we aimed to investigate the occurrence of Babesia spp. in roe deer in Sweden. Findings: Roe deer (n = 77) were caught and sampled for blood. Babesia spp. was detected with a PCR assay targeting the 18S rRNA gene. The prevalence of... (More)

Background: The epidemiology of the zoonotic tick-transmitted parasite Babesia spp. and its occurrence in wild reservoir hosts in Sweden is unclear. In European deer, several parasite species, including Babesia capreoli and the zoonotic B. venatorum and B. divergens has been reported previously. The European roe deer, Capreolus capreolus, is an important and common part of the indigenous fauna in Europe, as well as an important host for Ixodes ricinus ticks, the vector of several Babesia spp. in Europe. Here, we aimed to investigate the occurrence of Babesia spp. in roe deer in Sweden. Findings: Roe deer (n = 77) were caught and sampled for blood. Babesia spp. was detected with a PCR assay targeting the 18S rRNA gene. The prevalence of Babesia spp. was 52 %, and two species were detected; B. capreoli and B. venatorum in 44 and 7.8 % of the individuals, respectively. Infection occurred both in summer and winter. Conclusions: We showed that roe deer in Sweden, close to the edge of their northern inland distributional range, are infected with Babesia spp. The occurrence of B. venatorum in roe deer imply that it is established in Sweden and the zoonotic implication of this finding should be regarded to a greater extent in future.

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organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
in
Parasites & Vectors
volume
9
issue
1
article number
221
publisher
BioMed Central (BMC)
external identifiers
  • scopus:85007500589
  • pmid:27094215
  • wos:000375038700001
ISSN
1756-3305
DOI
10.1186/s13071-016-1503-8
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
9ac5e6e8-b6f7-4e1a-bd3c-090d7d50e4f4
date added to LUP
2017-02-01 07:38:24
date last changed
2024-06-14 23:10:57
@article{9ac5e6e8-b6f7-4e1a-bd3c-090d7d50e4f4,
  abstract     = {{<p>Background: The epidemiology of the zoonotic tick-transmitted parasite Babesia spp. and its occurrence in wild reservoir hosts in Sweden is unclear. In European deer, several parasite species, including Babesia capreoli and the zoonotic B. venatorum and B. divergens has been reported previously. The European roe deer, Capreolus capreolus, is an important and common part of the indigenous fauna in Europe, as well as an important host for Ixodes ricinus ticks, the vector of several Babesia spp. in Europe. Here, we aimed to investigate the occurrence of Babesia spp. in roe deer in Sweden. Findings: Roe deer (n = 77) were caught and sampled for blood. Babesia spp. was detected with a PCR assay targeting the 18S rRNA gene. The prevalence of Babesia spp. was 52 %, and two species were detected; B. capreoli and B. venatorum in 44 and 7.8 % of the individuals, respectively. Infection occurred both in summer and winter. Conclusions: We showed that roe deer in Sweden, close to the edge of their northern inland distributional range, are infected with Babesia spp. The occurrence of B. venatorum in roe deer imply that it is established in Sweden and the zoonotic implication of this finding should be regarded to a greater extent in future.</p>}},
  author       = {{Andersson, Martin O. and Bergvall, Ulrika A. and Chirico, Jan and Christensson, Madeleine and Lindgren, Per-Eric and Nordström, Jonas and Kjellander, Petter}},
  issn         = {{1756-3305}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  number       = {{1}},
  publisher    = {{BioMed Central (BMC)}},
  series       = {{Parasites & Vectors}},
  title        = {{Molecular detection of Babesia capreoli and Babesia venatorum in wild Swedish roe deer, Capreolus capreolus}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/s13071-016-1503-8}},
  doi          = {{10.1186/s13071-016-1503-8}},
  volume       = {{9}},
  year         = {{2016}},
}