Search

Coxiella burnetii is the causative agent of query fever (Q fever), and distributes broadly in environment. Livestock are identified as main reservoirs, which may infect people through their contaminative urine, feces, milk, and birth products. Wild animals can also be the potential carriers and transmitters of C. burnetii . To understand the geographic distribution and host species of C. burnetii in China, we investigated the prevalence of C. burnetii in hedgehogs ( Erinaceus amurensis ) in Hubei Province. Hedgehogs were tested for C. burnetii with PCR targeting three genes ( com1 , rrs , and icd ) followed by multispacer sequence typing (MST). We found that 12.2% (5/41) hedgehogs were PCR positive for C. burnetii . MST revealed presence of two novel genotypes and phylogenetic analysis revealed that the strains were similar to a group of isolates from chronic Q fever patients and mammals. This study showed that C. burnetii are highly prevalent in hedgehogs in Hubei Province in central China, suggesting that hedgehogs may play an important role in the ecology and transmission of C. burnetii to humans because it is captured and used as traditional medicine in China.

Background: Leptospira is the causative agent of leptospirosis, a zoonotic disease of global importance. To have a better understanding on the host species of Leptospira , we investigated the prevalence of Leptospira species in hedgehogs in Central China. Materials and Methods: Hedgehogs were captured in Hubei Province, China in May and October, 2018. Total DNA was extracted from the kidney tissues of hedgehogs for determining the Leptospira species by PCR amplification of the rrs2 , secY , and flaB genes with genus-specific primers. Results: PCR amplification indicated that the positive rate of hedgehogs to the rrs2 , secY , and flaB genes were 19.5% (8/41), 12.2% (5/41), and 9.8% (4/41), respectively. The homology of the partial sequence of rrs2 , secY , and flaB genes were 99.0-100% among the Leptospira strains from hedgehogs. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that Leptospira species detected in this study clustered together with Leptospira interrogans. Conclusions: We detected L. interrogans from hedgehogs in Central China, suggesting hedgehogs are the hosts of L. interrogans.

Bartonella are vector borne gram-negative facultative intracellular bacteria. Bartonella species are associated with rodents and their flea parasites worldwide. The genetic variation and distribution of Bartonella species in rodents are not clear in China. We investigated the presence and genetic diversity of Bartonella species in rodents from eastern China. We captured rodents from 2015 to 2016 in Jiaonan County, Shandong Province, and detected Bartonella species in the spleen of rodents by PCR amplification of the citrate synthase ( gltA ) gene and RNA polymerase beta subunit ( rpoB ) gene. We found that 8.38% (16/191) of the rodents were Bartonella positive by PCR for both gltA and rpoB genes; that Bartonella sequences from the rodents were phylogenetically divided into five clades, which were closely related to B. tribocorum , B. rattimassiliensis , B. grahamii , B. fuyuanensis , and B. queenslandensis , respectively; and that each Bartonella species is rodent species-specific with B. rattimassiliensis and B. tribocorum for Rattus norvegicus , B. grahamii for Tscherskia triton , B. fuyuanensis for Apodemus agrarius , and B. queenslandensis for Niviventer confucianus . This study indicated that Bartonella organisms have a broad distribution and a variety of genotypes in rodents in eastern China and the threats to public health by these Bartonella species should be monitored in China.