Acta tropica最新文献

This qualitative study was implemented with sixty-five respondents from ten ethnic groups across four communities in Tak and Mae Hong Son provinces of Thailand from November 2020 to January 2021. A total of 45 respondents (69.2%) participated in focus group discussions (FGDs), while 20 respondents (30.8%) were involved in in-depth interviews (IDIs) to determine the characteristics of wildlife interactions, consumption, and the usage of traditional medicines (TMs), with particular emphasis on the influence of socio-cultural contexts, ethnic backgrounds, the impacts of COVID-19, and law enforcement regulations on these interaction activities. The findings revealed that most interaction activities involving hunting wild animals were for personal or family consumption, crop protection, and the use of animal parts to treat diseases and their symptoms. These findings should be disseminated to local and national health and environmental protection authorities to develop communication campaigns aimed at enhancing proper wildlife interaction and consumption, particularly by promoting appropriate wildlife contact literacy among rural ethnic communities residing in forested and border areas.

Zoonotic vector-borne infectious diseases represent a significant global challenge. Ticks are one of the most important vectors globally, transmitting a wide range of pathogens. Among these pathogens, bacteria of the genus Rickettsia cause zoonotic diseases, knows as rickettsioses, that primarily affect tropical and subtropical regions. Rickettsiae are transmitted between vertebrate hosts and vectors, with some wild mammals serving as key amplifying hosts. In Colombia, the limited information on wild reservoirs contrasts with their high diversity, which includes 553 native mammal species, and 51 species of ticks associated with wild mammal hosts. To detect Rickettsia exposure and infections in wild mammals from the Colombian Andean region, serum, blood, and organ samples were collected from wild mammals in the Departments of Caldas and Risaralda, Colombia, between July 2021 and November 2022. A total of 147 mammals belonging to 58 species and three orders (Didelphimorphia, Chiroptera, and Rodentia) were captured. The indirect immunofluorescence assays analysis detected antibodies for Rickettsia in 100 % of didelphids, 65.2 % of rodents, and 45.9 % of bats. Rickettsia DNA was detected in 4.1 % of the mammals analyzed, with 'Candidatus Rickettsia andeanae', Rickettsia felis, Rickettsia rickettsii, and Rickettsia parkeri identified in rodents and bats. The detection of Rickettsia in wild mammals reinforces their role as reservoirs and highlights the need to investigate their ecology to improve surveillance and control of rickettsiosis in Colombia.

Enterocytozoon bieneusi is a common zoonotic pathogen in wild, farmed and pet rodents worldwide. Recently, one study reported E. bieneusi infection in laboratory mice. To investigate the positive rate and genotype distribution of E. bieneusi in laboratory mice and assess the zoonotic potential of E. bieneusi isolates, 390 mixed mouse fecal specimens were collected from two medical experimental animal centers in Heilongjiang Province, China. E. bieneusi was identified and genotyped by nested PCR amplification and sequence analysis of the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region of the ribosomal RNA (rRNA) gene. Seventy-one specimens (18.2%) were positive for E. bieneusi, and 38 genotypes were identified, including eight known genotypes (EbpC, D, Peru8, CS-4, Henan-III, CHC5, ETMK4 and SHWR14) and 30 novel genotypes (HLJLM1 to HLJLM30). Genotypes CHC5 and ETMK4 were firstly detected in rodents. Genotype EbpC showed a dominance (50.7%, 36/71) in positive specimens. Zoonotic genotypes (EbpC, D, Peru8, Henan-III and CS-4) accounted for 64.8% (46/71) of E. bieneusi-positive specimens. In phylogenetic analysis, the novel genotypes fell into three subgroups (1a, 1d, 1e) of Group 1. The identification of known zoonotic genotypes and the phylogenetic result of novel genotypes indicate the potential of laboratory mice in the transmission of E. bieneusi to humans. The routine detection of E. bieneusi should be a recommended practice in laboratory animals to ensure the accuracy of the experimental results. Meanwhile, health education of the potential zoonotic transmission of E. bieneusi should be provided to those people having close contact with laboratory mice and their feces.

In recent years, populations of beavers are rising and spreading in Europe, so we can expect increasing human contact with them in future. The aim of the study was to examine the blood samples of free-ranging beavers to detect antibodies to 12 infectious agents. In total, the blood samples from 76 free-ranging Eurasian beaver (Castor fiber L.) were used for the detection of antibodies to 12 infectious agents, including 3 parasites (Toxoplasma gondii, Neospora caninum, Trichinella spp.), 5 bacteria (Brucella spp., Chlamydophila abortus, Coxiella burnetti, Francisella tularensis, Leptospira spp.), and 4 viruses (Aujeszky's Disease Virus ADV, Hepatitis E virus HEV, Tick-borne Encephalitis virus TBEV, and West Nile Fever virus WNV). The sera were examined by Agglutination test, or Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, depending on the tested pathogen. Out of 76 animals, the following seropositivity was obtained: T. gondii 18.4 % (14/76), N. caninum 7.9 % (6/76), Leptospira spp. 3.9 % (3/76), F. tularensis 2.6 % (2/76) and Hepatitis E virus 2.6 % (2/76), with statistically significant differences in the positivity of animals to different pathogens (p=0.0007). Antibodies to the other 7 agents were not found. In total, 19 of 76 (25 %) animals had antibodies at least to one tested pathogen, with single infection in 12 animals (15.8 %) and mixed infection of 2-3 agents in 7 animals (9.2 %). There was no difference in positivity between individuals' genders (24.2 % for females and 23.7 % for males, p=0.7244), age of animals (juvenile 15.4 %, subadults 20 %, adults 31.6 %, p=0.3962), area (South Moravia 31.9 %, Český les 28.6 %, Elbe (Labe) River 14.3 %, and Šumava National Park 0 %, p=0.1894) and year of sampling (from 9 positive samples in 2008 to 0 positive samples in 2010). This first seroepidemiological study, dedicated to a wide range of pathogens, determined the extent to which this animal species is infected with these pathogens.